{"id":2372,"date":"2022-04-23T14:42:25","date_gmt":"2022-04-23T21:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2372"},"modified":"2022-04-23T14:42:25","modified_gmt":"2022-04-23T21:42:25","slug":"friends-in-secret-places","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2022\/04\/23\/friends-in-secret-places\/","title":{"rendered":"Friends in Secret Places"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt: Write a story involving a friendship between two different species.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I first met her a month after my twelfth birthday\u2026the day I got my first period. At first, I thought I had a minor stomach bug. I\u2019d told Mum I\u2019d be fine, and she went to work while I worked on my studies. I was working on a problem in differential calculus \u2014 a side benefit of being home-schooled by a theoretical physicist mother \u2014 when I felt it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeing the stain on my shorts, I cleaned myself up and changed, adding a pad in the way Mum had taught me. I was so excited for it, that I ran to her office to tell her. She wasn\u2019t in her office. The door to the labs was behind her desk, but it was off-limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d tried to open that door once, when I was younger and received a stern lecture on how dangerous it would be. My hand shook as I reached for the knob. Wait,<\/em> I thought, I\u2019m a woman now. I can do anything Mum can.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe I should back up a little, first. They say the pill is ninety-nine percent effective. That seems like decent odds\u2026unless you\u2019re in the one percent like me. I was an \u201caccident,\u201d but my mother thanked me for my existence every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aside from me, Mum had no living family, which, she said, is why she was selected for this job, where she met my father, the microbiologist. He died when I was two. He went outside in the middle of an August storm, the only explanation his health report that showed he had symptoms of early-onset Alzheimer\u2019s. They didn\u2019t find him until the annual supply drop in the December summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up in the complex under the ice, I never got the appeal of going outside. Mum assured me that most of the world isn\u2019t like here, a barren expanse of blinding ice and snow. I\u2019ve seen loads of it on the telly, but it doesn\u2019t feel real to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I never knew what they did in the labs, or why a theoretical physicist was needed in Antarctica, but Mom said she was committed to the position for life. She assured me that when I was old enough, I could leave to explore the world, go to university, whatever I desired. With my body telling me I was growing up, that seemed not so far away as it used to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I set my shoulders with false confidence and went through the door. The hallway on the other side was underwhelming. Beige walls, floor, and ceiling, doors to other offices along the opposite wall, and a large door with an \u201cAuthorized Personnel Only\u201d sign at the end of the hallway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was about to slink back into the office when she barreled around the corner and ran into me. \u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d she said, disentangling herself from me. \u201cI know I\u2019m not supposed to run here, but I was bored.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was shorter me, with pale, blue skin, huge copper eyes, and four arms. While I wasn\u2019t frightened by her, I was<\/em> shocked, and rather than introducing myself properly I blurted out, \u201cI just got my period. I\u2014I mean, I\u2019m not supposed to be here, but I was looking for my mum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She smiled with her eyes, her wide mouth opening the slightest bit, and the slits where a nose should\u2019ve been widening. \u201cHi. You\u2019re small for a human. You can call me Liz. I\u2019m a kellian.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her voice sounded like tinkling glass, and she seemed thin and frail to the point of fragility. There was something in her manner that endeared her to me in that moment of our clumsy awkwardness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSorry. I\u2019m Abigail, and I\u2019m not small, I\u2019m twelve. Is my mum around? I was just excited to tell her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know anyone named \u2018My Mum.\u2019 Sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, I mean, her name is Dr. Marilyn Arthur.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDoctor Marilyn is in the labs. I\u2019m not allowed in there.\u201d Her large eyes grew even wider. \u201cDid you come from one of the doors on that side<\/em> of the hall?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nodded and put my hand on the door to Mum\u2019s office. \u201cThis one. Which door did you come from?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She pointed to the door opposite Mum\u2019s. \u201cMy progenitor\u2019s office. Wait, does \u2018mum\u2019 mean progenitor\u2026parent?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExactly. Were you born here, too?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, but this is a neat planet.\u201d She looked back and forth down the hall. \u201cI should probably sneak back before someone notices. See you tomorrow at the same time?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was the first meeting of thousands. Not every day, but most days. How we evaded detection for five years is beyond me, but we did. I snuck her into my room every day both our mums were in the lab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days we would speculate about what our parents were doing. Others, we would watch one of Mum\u2019s DVD movies in my room before I snuck her back to the hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We made up songs and told each other stories based on the most outrageous concept the other could imagine. She comforted with me when my period cramps were bad, and I massaged her when her growth spurts came with the attendant muscle and joint pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She put up with my constant complaints about my nearly non-existent breasts and short stature, and I consoled her when she was feeling bad about her changing skin color. I thought the swirls of darker blue were beautiful, but she assured me that until she was uniformly dark, she would not be considered an adult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My first crush, Brian from the Breakfast Club<\/em>, was a frequent topic of discussion, at least until I let the credits run on Mum\u2019s DVD. When I realized that he was older than Mum, he was my first heartbreak as well. Liz comforted me in the way only she could, two arms holding me tight, one hand petting my hair, and one hand rubbing my back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It turns out, I was Liz\u2019s first heartbreak. I didn\u2019t mean to hurt her, and if I\u2019d known then, I wouldn\u2019t have said anything. I had just gotten my passport and was working out with Mum where I\u2019d go to university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was more scared than excited about leaving and told the only person I could, Liz. She didn\u2019t say anything; just stared at me for a few moments before her nostril slits closed and her eyes narrowed, and she got a hitch in her breath. By then, I knew her well enough to know that she was doing the closest thing her kind can do to ugly crying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She stormed out of my room to go back to the hallway and to \u201cher side\u201d of the station. I was on her heels, but not fast enough. Liz stormed into Mum\u2019s office as I was crying and apologizing and begging her to tell me what I\u2019d done wrong. She\u2019d stopped in front of me, and as she was now taller than I, blocked my view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was only after I hugged her from behind, asking her to wait and talk it out, that I realized we weren\u2019t alone. I peeked around her upper shoulder to see Mum\u2019s face. The last time I\u2019d seen that look was when she talked about my father walking out into the storm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cM\u2014Mum, what\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou two first,\u201d she said, regaining her composure. \u201cLisiakta, what are you doing in the human quarters?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHang\u2014hanging out with Abi.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot even half an hour,\u201d I said, \u201cand she won\u2019t tell me why she\u2019s upset.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI mean,\u201d my mother said, \u201chow long have you two been sneaking around?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stepped around Liz and found it difficult to look Mum in the eye. \u201cSince I was twelve\u2026the day I got my period.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve known about them that long and never said anything?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLiz said she\u2019d get in trouble if anyone knew, and I thought I\u2019d get in trouble for going in the hall that first time.\u201d I set my shoulders the way Mum did when she put her foot down about something. \u201cMum, I\u2019m seventeen, I\u2019m an adult. You can\u2019t keep me away from my only friend here, and I\u2019ll be back to visit her<\/em> from Uni every chance I get.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I felt Liz tighten up behind me when I said it. \u201cOh my god!\u201d I spun around and grabbed her. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry. Am I your only friend here, too?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She hugged me back and her breath hitched in the way that meant she was crying. \u201cYou are,\u201d she said, \u201cand I\u2019ll miss you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mum cleared her throat and we faced her. Grief etched lines across her face. \u201cI\u2019m afraid you won\u2019t be able to go to Uni. I did my best to protect you, but anyone who has had contact with our guests is not allowed to leave\u2026ever. That\u2019s why we only recruit people with no living family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liz\u2019s eyes narrowed and her head dropped. \u201cI\u2019m sorry I got you in trouble, Abi. Now you\u2019re stuck here forever and it\u2019s my fault. It\u2019s okay if you never want to see me again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou silly goose! Of course I want to see my best friend in the whole world! That\u2019s why I was trying to tell you that I\u2019ll be going to Uni in Australia to make it easier to fly back here on break.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAbigail Rose!\u201d When Mum said my middle name I knew it was serious. \u201cDon\u2019t take this lightly. You can\u2019t<\/em> leave. I\u2019ll make sure you finish a proper education, along with some of my colleagues. You don\u2019t have to study physics if you don\u2019t want to, but you\u2019ll have to find something to make you useful around here. As of now, you work here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy, Mum? I still don\u2019t get it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHer Majesty\u2019s government, along with the others of the G20, have determined that anyone not working here that knows about our visitors must either be held in permanent solitary or\u2026eliminated. It\u2019s just too dangerous if the information gets out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a knock on the door to the hallway, and Mum opened it up. I knew right away it was Liz\u2019s mum\u2026progenitor. She looked like a darker version of Liz. \u201cYour mum\u2019s pretty, just like you,\u201d I told Liz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She stood frozen in the doorway, until Mum spoke. \u201cSarilakta, I\u2019d like you to meet my offspring. It seems she\u2019s been aware of your presence for some time now. She\u2019ll be working with us moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAbigail, it is a pleasure to meet you. I\u2019ve heard much about you over the past years.\u201d She crossed all four of her arms and berated Liz in a language that made no sense to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I felt Liz tighten up as she went on and hugged onto one of her arms. When her progenitor had finished, she said, in English, \u201cYes, Mum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My mother smirked and wiped it away as quick as she could. \u201cAbi, for now you\u2019ll do janitorial duties until you decide where you want to work and finish your studies. Lisiakta, you shouldn\u2019t be on the human side of the station, it\u2019s dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, Dr. Marilyn,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t you show Abi around the shared sections, the common room, and so on. Tomorrow, I\u2019ll take her down to the labs and introduce her to what we\u2019re doing, and what kind of jobs are available.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

True to her word, I had an employee badge the following morning and spent the first half of the day working and the second half studying. Every spare minute was spent with Liz watching Mum\u2019s old movies on the big screen in the common area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pushing a mop five days a week was good motivation to finish my studies with all haste. I ended up deciding on Materials Science, was accepted into the lab eighteen months later, and the usual rotation started back up. Every one of the humans would spend a week doing janitorial work, from the lab techs all the way up to the director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A month into my job in the MS lab, Liz came in, pushing the cleaning cart. \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d I asked. The kellian didn\u2019t have to partake in the cleaning roster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy progenitor is returning home in a month, but I want to stay. Means I have to make myself useful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI hope you\u2019re not planning on mopping floors and scrubbing toilets for the rest of your life on my account,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, just while Dr. Marilyn gets me up to snuff on physics, then I\u2019ll be helping her in the lab.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWorking with the kellian teams?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNope. I\u2019m the first kellian employed by humans. I\u2019ll be learning stuff from my home world at the same time as you.\u201d She pulled a small box with a bow out of the cart and handed it to me. \u201cI missed your birthday, since you were busy in here, but Dr. Marilyn assured me you would love this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I opened the belated gift to find a sliver of metal. It felt smooth, polished, yet it reflected only a tiny fraction of the light that hit it. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a piece off a kellian ship. What it\u2019s made of, is up to you to figure out.\u201d Liz gave me one of her patented hugs and whispered in my ear, \u201cDr. Marilyn suggested you write a dissertation on it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hugged her back. \u201cDon\u2019t you two start ganging up on me, now. I\u2019ll write it, for sure. I just hope I can figure out how it\u2019s made.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was halfway out the door when I said, \u201cBy the way, common room tonight. You and I are watching Out of Bounds<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAgain? I thought you were over Anthony Michael Hall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am. Well\u2026mostly.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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