Aliens Are Real: Part 2 (15 page)

Jasmine’s suspicion meter jumped.
Why would the aliens want to get on base?
Even if her “friends” professed to wish no ill to mankind, she was still
wary
, and she didn’t want to be part of the reason humans were enslaved for a million years.

Yumi? Why do you want to visit the base?

It was one of Honorio’s demands,
Yumi explained.

Really?
Suspicion leaked into Jasmine’s thoughts. She looked over at Honorio briefly.

Yum
i continued,
He said if we were going to study human interaction that a complete study requires we observe military settings as well as casual social settings.

Jasmine was still concerned.
So the visit will be strictly scientific?

Yes. I will be observing how commanders and subordinates operate on earth, and do a comparison analysis to my people.

Okay.
That sounded like a really boring project to Jasmine, but at least they weren’t planning to blow up the Earth, or something.

I will rely solely on Honorio’s mission report, then.
I assume things are going well over there?

Honorio has Dad eating out of his hand.

What?
Jasmine could hear the surprise in Yumi’s thoughts.

Jasmine assumed the saying didn’t translate well.
It’s a colloke... whatever you called “letting someone off the hook” - What
I mean is that Honorio has my father convinced that he is a good soldier.

Ah, yes, a colloquialism. I was confident that Honorio would do well.

Yeah, well it’s still weird. We need to find a different cover for you all quickly. I don’t want my dad to get too attached to Honorio.

Please be patient Jasmine. I promise it will all be over soon.

Jasmine gulped, and tuned back into the conversation that had restarted at the table. It was military stuff, so she allowed herself the luxury of wondering what Mark was doing at that moment. She wondered if he was thinking of her. A small smile crept across her face.

Soon enough, they were done eating the main course, and were helping them
selves to desert.
The conversations were dying down, and Jasmine was becoming annoyed with
playing Honorio’s girlfriend,
despite what Yumi had said. He kept putting his arm around her, and holding her hand. She was running out of excuses to separate herself from him.

The trouble was that holding his hand wasn’t unpleasant in and of itself. His hand was warm and inviting even if there was a tiny zap of electricity when their hands touched. She couldn’t deny the fact that Honorio was handsome, and in a purely physical sense, she was drawn to him. The attention he lavished on her was more than any girl dared desire from a guy.

She struggled internally to remember that he was not interested in her as a person. He was only interested in her as a part of his plan to avoid suspicion. She reminded herself of his glares and rude words when they had been elsewhere.

With the conclusion of desert, Dad rose from his chair. “Let’s retire to the living room, shall we?”

They all got up, and moved to sit in the living room. Jasmine darted to a chair, and sat quickly. She didn’t want to end up sitting next to Honorio on the couch and have him smother her with facetious affection.

Honorio sat on the couch nearest to the chair in which Jasmine sat. He looked intently at her then looked at the empty cushion next to him. Jasmine shook her head inconspicuously, so as not to rouse suspicions. Emma sat on the other end of the couch, while Jasmine’s dad grabbed a chair from the dining room, and placed it next to Emma. He and Emma made eye contact as he sat.

Emma smiled then looked at Jasmine. “So, your father tells me you play guitar.”

Jasmine’s mouth dropped open. She glanced at Honorio.

His eyebrows rose as he gazed back. “I didn’t know that.”

“I’m not very good.”

“Nons
ense! You’re extremely talented,
”
her father insisted.

“Would you play something for us?”
Emma asked.

Jasmine shook her head, looking into her lap. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”
Honorio asked.

“Because, I don’t have anything prepared. I would have to practice first.” Her face started to burn as a blush crept over her body.

“Just play the song you were practicing
the other day,
”
her dad said.

How would he know what I was practicing
, she thought to herself.
“One of
my strings is broken right now,
”
she said.

“Really?
Let me see if I can’t fix it,
”
he said.

Jasmine
knew she was defeated. She said, “just a minute,” then
trod up the stairs. She couldn’t believe her bad luck. She didn’t want to play for them. After her disastrous attempt to give a one minute speech on her
second
day of drama class
where she passed out
, she wondered if she would survive playing for Honorio, Emma and her dad.

Jasmine walked into her room. She considered snapping one of her strings. If she had a pair of pliers, she could snip it and no one would be the wiser. Unfortunately, she didn’t know where the tool box had ended up after the recent move. She gazed around her room, but didn’t see anything she could use to break the string.

She sighed, grabbed her guitar, then clutched it to her body as she trudged back downstairs.

As she turned the corner to the living room, she plastered a fake smile on her face. “I guess I forgot that I fixed it already.”

“What songs do you know?”
Emma asked.

“Uh, not many, really
,
”
Jasmine mumbled.

“She knows
Hotel California
,
”
her dad said.

Emma clapped her hands. “I love that song! Do you mind if I sing along while you play?”

Jasmine shrugged. She hoped that everyone would stare at Emma while she played. Maybe that way Jasmine wouldn’t pass out.

She sat down, and
positioned
the guitar on her lap. She
placed
her fingers
on the neck
for
the first chord, and strummed. She heard Emma hum. Jasmine looked up. Emma’s eyes were closed.

Emma sang the first line of the song as the strings on the guitar vibrated.

The rich timbre of Emma’s voice startled Jasmine. While she despised Emma for trying to weasel her way into their family, Jasmine grudgingly admired her voice.

Emma opened her eyes, and winked at Jasmine. Jasmine’s dad and Honorio both looked at Jasmine. She then realized she needed to play the next chord for Emma to continue singing, and for everyone to look at Emma again.

She fumbled with her fingering, and strummed the wrong chord. “Sorry...” She felt her body turning red once again.

“It’s ok honey,” Emma said, “from the top?”

Jasmine nodded, and fingered the first chord.

Emma sang the first line again. Jasmine fingered the second chord correctly that time, her guitar’s melody stealing away some of her stress. Her father looked at Emma as she sang.

Honorio still watched Jasmine, but she chose to ignore him.

Emma continued singing as Jasmine played the third chord.

Jasmine continued strumming as she watched Emma sing. At the transition, Jasmine switched to plucking along with Emma singing. When they reached the chorus, Jasmine switched back to strumming the chords. Her guitar resonated with Emma’s voice in such a way that Jasmin
e forgot to feel disgust toward
the woman. She lost herself in the melody and rhythm,

Jasmine didn’t notice the attention returning to her until she plucked through the last chords in the acoustic solo. The world consisted of her and the guitar she cradled in her lap.

Emma’s clapping jerked her back to reality. Jasmine looked up and noticed all eyes on her.

Emma sighed then said, “You are amazing, Jasmine,
”

Jasmine blushed again. “Thanks, you have a nice voice.”

“Thank you!”

Dad looked
at Honorio. “Gosh, we’re just su
rrounded by talent, aren’t we
?”

Honorio nodded then placed his hands on his knees. “Thank you for a lovely dinner
, but I need to get going.
My
calculus
teacher has issued quite a big assignment this long weekend, and I really need to get started on it right away.”

Jasmine noticed his pale face.
Did the food disagree with him?

“Thank you for joining us
,
”
dad
said
.

Honorio and Dad both stood. They shook hands, and Dad clapped Honorio on the shoulder with his free hand. “You’re welcome over when ever you want.”

Honorio turned to Emma, and took her hand as well.

“It has been a pleasure to spend the evening with such wonderful company.”
He kissed Emma’s
hand lightly.

Emma giggled and blushed. Jasmine rolled her eyes.

Honorio walked to the door with Jasmine following him, while Emma and Dad chatted in the living room.

He placed his hand on the knob to the front door
,
but paused before turning it.
“Thank you
,
Jasmine, for a lovely dinner.”

“
Yeah. Sure,
”
she said as she shrugged.

“Did I behave as an adolescent male properly?”
he asked, dropping his voice to a whisper.

“You did fine,” she replied softly.

He nodded solemnly.

“We will see you tomorrow.” He leaned forward, and kissed her on the cheek, then turned and walked out the door. He trod down the stairs as she stood in the doorway with her hand over the tingle his lips had left behind. She recognized the fact that he was an alien, but his behavior bewildered her.

He pulled out of her driveway before she realized she had forgotten the most important event of the meal. They hadn’t broken up, and now Honorio had an open invitation from her dad. She wondered if things could get any worse.

***

After driving a block down the street, Honorio pulled
to the curb, and placed the car
in park. He dropped his head to the steering wheel fighting to control his racing pulse. He felt as though he were drowning in the swell of emotions elicited by the music Jasmine and the Captain had created. While familiar with the concept of music’s effects on the human body, the experience overwhelmed his senses.

Inwardly, he cursed himself for practically running out the door. It reflected poorly on him, but he needed air. He needed space.

While he wanted to blame his weak human body for everything going wrong that day, he wondered if it was he that lacked. Was his will too weak? Was he not cut out to lead as some had whispered behind his back at home? Even though he worked harder than everyone else, he couldn’t shake the rumors that his father influenced his successes.

He had to get his team home, and prove to everyone that he was capable. He banished the image of Jasmine’s deep, brown eyes for the time being. He had plans to make.

The next day on base, Jasmine
watched Yumi’s black sedan pull up next to her car.
As she was the first to arrive and her father insisted that she accompany the tour, s
he watched the group of seemingly normal teenager
s exit the car from inside the
Welcome
C
enter
.

The weather was unseasonabl
y
warm
,
so instead of heavy winter coats, the group wore light jackets. Everyone wore stylish clothes
,
and Jasmine pictured them in a movie in a slow motion sequence.
The wind kicked up at that moment
,
causing Malika and Yumi to toss their hair over their shoulders in perfect timing.

Honorio quicken
ed his pace.
He swung the heav
y door open
,
and held it for the others to enter first.
Jasmine spotted Malika’s gl
are that jerked into a tight-
lipped smile as she walked by him.
Yumi nodded her thanks as she passed Honorio.
Tyrone appeared oblivious as
he wandered in next, craning his neck to look in all directions at once.

Joseph slapped Honorio’s shoulder.
“Thanks
,
man!”
He walked past.

Malika caught sight of her target, and feigned affinity.
“
Jasmine
!”
She
pulled
Jasmine
into a hug.

Her
eyes wide with confusion and fear,
Jasmine
glanced at Yumi.
What is she doing?

She is behaving as your friend.

Why?

I
believe it would be suspicious to your father if Malika was rude so
I
instructe
d
her to be nice for a few hours.

Malika stopped squeezing
her
then stepped back
, allowing
Jasmine
to hug
Yumi.

Oh.
She’s not going to kill
me
then?
Jasmine asked
.

No,
Yumi replied.

Thank goodness
.

Jasmine
plastered a smile across
her
face
,
as
she
greeted the others.
Honorio walked over
, and
put his arm around
her
.
She
looked at Yumi
,
and saw her stiffen just as
she
did.

You okay?
Jasmine asked.

Yes,
Yumi replied.

Her father greeted the guests.
“Well, is everyone ready to see the base?”

Emma walked up behind him. “Don’t leave without me!
”

Her dad turned around.

“Emma!
I didn’t know you’d be in today,” he said.

“Oh, I had a few things to finish,” she said with a dismissive wave. “I thought I’d tag along since I’ve been here a while longer than you.”

Emma
leaned towar
d
Jasmine and whispered loudly.
“
It’s good to get a
break from all
my
boring paperwork.”

Jasmine w
a
tched Emma put her hand on
her dad’s arm
,
laugh
ing
while looking into his eyes
.
Jasmine’s stomach twisted at the familiar gesture.
Her hands clenched
,
and her mouth turned into a sneer.

Honorio squeezed Jasmine tight against him.
She looked up
,
and considered elbowing him.
His dark brown eyes seemed to bore into her, past her building anger.
She noticed he was chuckling as he gave her a meaningful look.
Jasmine glanced around
,
and saw that everyone was laughing at Emma’s lame joke.

Jasmine realized Honorio’s message in time to change her expression just as her dad broke eye contact with Emma
to
look at Jasmine.

“Let’s get started.
”
Dad
looked at his watch. “
I
need to be in my office by 1400 hours.”

Her d
ad led the way
,
and
they
all fell in line behind him.
Two golf carts sat outside the building
,
and he led the group toward
them.

“I was going to have one of the
private
s
drive one
,
but Emma, would you do the honors?” Jasmine’s dad asked.

“Of
course!” Emma gushed though her
eyes didn’t seem to smile as much as her mouth.
Jasmine wondered if she wanted to ride with
her dad.

Jasmine jumped into her dad’s golf cart in the passenger seat. Honorio climbed in the back, sitting directly behind her
,
and Joseph climbed in next to him. Yumi, Malika and Tyrone s
eated themselves
in Emma’s vehicle.

As
they
ventured
by
the different buildings on base
,
she
tried to ignore Honorio’s hand on her shoulder. She knew everyone expected her to play the part of a teenager with a crush
,
but she couldn’t bring herself to do more than cast a smile now and again. If it had been Mark, it would have been a different story.

She
peeked over
her
shoulder several times, trying to figure out what
Joseph
was doing.
She
saw him with the official map of the base that
her
father’s secretary
had
handed each of
them
,
and he scribbl
ed
something on it.
She spotted symbols scrawled in random places on the map
, which
she didn’t recognize
.
She
could only assume that he was writing in whatever alien language they
wrote
.

Near the end of the tour Joseph stopped
their
progress.
“Excuse
me
, sir.”

“Joseph, right?” After Joseph nodded
,
the c
olonel
continued. “What can
I
do for you?”

“
I
was looking
at th
e
map
,
and no
ticed that buildin
g
over there
i
s
n
o
t on
i
t
.
What i
s it for?”

They
all looked to
their
left
,
and studied a large
building
with
a
couple
of
privates
, toting M4s,
posted outside
.

“
That building is a temporary building.
It was constructed to house some
construction
equipment until
we
can find a new home for it
.
”

Watching D
ad’s
stony
face,
Jasmine
knew something wasn’t quite right with his statement.
His jaw
had
tensed after he
had
finished talking.
It was the same expression
he wore
when
ever
she questioned him about her mother’s death.
She
looked at the building again
,
and it didn’t appear to be temporary.
It seemed rather sturdy and permanent.
It dawned on
her
t
hat what
ever was in the buildi
ng was probably one of the top-
secret topics
he was
n’t allowed to discuss.

Jasmine
heard voices yelling. She
turned around
,
and saw the guards
by the
controversial
building,
poin
ting their guns at someone.
That
someone was Joseph!
How did he get over there?

Dad
uttered something unintelligible
that sounded a bit like cussing. H
e jerked the steering wheel to the side
,
and
motored toward the building. “Stand down, privates! He’s with me!”

Her d
ad
jumped out of the cart
,
and
marched over to Joseph.
He held his hand up to the troops with the guns
,
and they lowered
the barrels
but didn’t put their guns at ease.

“Joseph
, what are you doing?”

Joseph looked sheepish
,
and held up his map.
“
I
dropped
my
map
, and th
e
wind blew it over here.
I
wa
s just picking it up.”

“Son, this is a military base.
You can’t
wander around without an escort. Also, I can’t believe you’d jump out of a moving vehicle!
”

“Sorry sir.
I
did
n
o
t
know
it would
be such a big deal.
I did
n
o
t want
to
lose my map.
”

“
These men are trained to shoot the instant they perceive trouble. You’re lucky to be alive, young man!
Now, don’t do that again.
”

Jasmine cringed inside. Her dad, ever the commander, ordered everyone around.

“What is the big deal? It i
s a building with junk in it. Why are there
armed
soldiers
guarding it?”
he asked with an innocent air.

Emma walked up at that moment and said,
“That doesn’t matter
.
Next time, say something so
we
can all move as a group
,
and no one ends up with guns pointed at them, ok?”

Joseph shrugged.
“Sure.”

“What is beeping?”
Dad
asked.

Jasmine hadn’t noticed the sound
,
until her dad
had
said something.

Joseph held up his arm
,
and pressed a button on his watch.
“
It’s just the alarm on my watch.
I forgot to turn it off.”

Dad glanced at his
own
watch
,
and grimaced.
“
I
need to go.”

The ride back to their cars felt longer than the ride there. Her father’s jaw was clamped shut
,
and the monologue he
had ru
n for the majority of the ride
had
stopped short. Jasmine sighed in relief when they
had
arrived at the
Welcome
Center
.

“
Jasmine
,
I
’ll see you at home.”
Dad
patted
her
shoulder briefly. “Honorio, it was nice to see you again.” He reached behind
her
,
and shook Honorio’s hand. “Joseph
.
” he shook Joseph’s hand as well.
As soon as they were clear of the cart, he turned it around
,
and headed back in the direction he came from.