Page 44 of Catching the Kot'oll Driver

He picks up the pineapple bun again. “I don’t mind that for sure. I just want good food, and the timing isn’t that important.”

I finish a piece of bacon before diving back into the pineapple bun. I like every food in the order, only hating how quickly it disappears into my stomach.

He grins as he enjoys his bun. I’m happy. Being with him is great.

The waitress is back, and she puts down our bowls of noodles, finally, instead of sliding them across the table.

Grihul stirs the noodles with his fork. “So, what’s this? Meat and... green thing? And pieces of chili?”

“It’s rice noodles. The green thing is a marinated vegetable. It’s slightly spicy.”

He slurps the noodles as he tries it. “I like this, too. I don’t get to try this kind of noodles a lot.”

“I—”

Now, our milk tea arrives. Grihul watches it at once. “Is that coffee?”

“No, milk tea. Usually made with black tea as the base.”

“Okay, this is pretty new too.” He takes a sip. “Hm... I wonder what kind of milk they used.”

“Cows.” I take a sip. “Yes, boolon milk tastes different. This place uses cow milk, it’s the flavor from home, or so it should be.”

“Where’s home for humans?”

“Earth.”

He blinks, seemingly clueless about that. “Um... Maybe I’m not that well-versed. Where’s Earth?”

I shrug. Even though I should know as a human, I don’t know exactly where Earth is. “In the Milky Way, close to the Orion Arm, in the Solar System. Well, at least I think that’s the case.”

He muses and nods. “I suppose I’ll pretend to know where that is. I... I’ve never been to that part of the universe.”

“Makes sense. I’ve never been there either. I was born on this planet and grew up here. I don’t think any of us are ever supposed to go there anyway. I heard that the planet is pretty backward in technology compared to us. Before they find some of the planets we’ve heard of, we aren’t supposed to be there.”

He says, “I suppose that’s the case, but apparently, not everyone follows the rules.”

I laugh. “Yeah, that’s what I think too. Some time back then, my parents, or my parents’ parents were brought out of Earth. Who knows what happened? Part of me wants to be there and look at how humans there live. That’s the origin of humans, after all.”

He scratches his head. “Yeah... It’s a bit more complicated compared to kot’olls. I can head back there if I want to, but that planet doesn’t feel like home the same way as where my home actually is. I’ve never spent significant time on that planet.”

I let out a breath before taking a sip of my milk tea. “Maybe that’s not that important after we settle on another planet. Home is where your heart is, right?”

Maybe I’m trying a bit too hard to convince myself. “I mean... I’m a human, that’s for sure. Those on Earth are humans too, that’s also for sure. But I don’t think we share a lot of similarities past that. Do we speak the same language? Do we have the same culture? It can’t be the same, right? Maybe it’s just me, it feels... foreign. In some sense, I’d expect you and I to be different, but with other humans... Maybe I’m the weird one.”

He blinks, seemingly trying to understand me. Not that I expect him to understand every bit anyway. Kot’oll‘s planet is mere galaxies away. If the portals work in his favor, he’d be there in a week. While Earth... I think some portals lead to there, but those aren’t on any trade route for obvious reasons. Just getting to the outskirts of the Milky Way from here may take half a year. If the portals don’t work out, it won’t even work out for a few lifetimes for a human to even get close to Earth.

He pats the back of my hand. I shake my head, trying to pull my mind back. “Sorry, did I worry you? I wasn’t expecting to be thinking about that.”

He chuckles. “It’s okay. Sometimes I do that too.”

I let out a breath and get started with my rice noodles. “I hope you’re enjoying the food.”

“I am. This is so different from what I used to having. Maybe next time, I’ll show you... I was going to say you should come to my place and my mother makes the best food. But...”

I swallow with my throat tight. I almost choke on the food. What does he mean? Maybe he realizes that he isn’t going to invite a random female to his place just like that...

“Kendra... I mean... I know this is a pretty interesting restaurant with the waitress staring at us, and...” He glances to his side. “Is she going to come over and ask about how we’re liking the food?”

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