Page 10 of Kiss of Fury

Gently, he covered her hand. Her skin was soft and smooth, her bones slender. He hadn’t intended to sleep, but somehow oblivion claimed him.

Chapter Six

Verity halted in front of the green building. “This is it.”

“Do I have to? Why can’t I stay with you?” Brody said.

“Because I have to go to work, and you need to go to school. I know you’re nervous. I’m nervous about my first day, too—” The first day of any new job was stressful, and she’d be dealing with alien medicine and technology. Would anything be familiar? Would she be of any value to Dr. Twygg? What if everything she’d learned in nursing school was irrelevant?

“Then, why don’t we both not go?”

She chuckled. “Because we must face our responsibilities. Putting it off will only delay the inevitable, it won’t stop it. Once you get in there and meet the other kids, you’ll make friends.”

“They won’t be like me.”

“No, they’re aliens. But how cool is it to have alien friends? Imagine how envious the kids on Earth would be that you got to meet real live aliens.”

“But they won’t know.”

No, they wouldn’t. For everyone’s safety, refugees were prohibited from contacting their home worlds. Violating the rule would result in instant expulsion—not that she would risk contacting anyone. Her parents were dead, and she had no siblings to worry about, but the Dorns would be hounding everyone they had had contact with. Her friends couldn’t reveal what they didn’t know. She regretted they would worry after she’d vanished into thin air, but there was nothing she could do about it.

“You’ll still have new friends,” she replied and opened the door.

Seated at desks with computer screens, ten small aliens turned to look at them.

“I’m sorry, are we late?” she asked the teacher at the front of the room. Her humanoid face peeked out of an incongruous kangaroo costume. How would an alien teacher know about marsupials? Still, Verity applauded her for a clever way to engage the kids.Brody is going to like his new teacher.

“Not at all. You’re ten minutes early. We’re expecting one more student.” Shehoppedtoward them.

Oh my god— that’s not a costume!

“We’ve been expecting you.” Kangaroo Woman smiled. “You must be Brody.”

He stared. Verity nudged him.

“Yes, ma’am,” he responded.

“I’m Ms. Jularee.” She had regular-length arms instead of forepaws, but other than her face and upper limbs, she was all kangaroo, right down to huge, clawed feet, a long tail, and apouch. She turned to the class. “Students, say hello to Brody.”

“Hi, Brody!” Shouts rang out along with a few clicks and grunts.

“Everyone has an embedded translator—I assume you got yours or you couldn’t understand me—but not everyone has the vocal structures allowing them to utter all the translatable sounds,” the teacher explained. “Since I don’t see a box lunch, I assume you wish him to go to the mess hall at noon?”

Verity shook her head. “I forgot about lunch. Is that what the kids do, bring a box lunch?”

“Generally, yes. You can pack your own or order one from the mess. Tell them it’s for the school, and they’ll deliver it.”

“I’ll pick him up today at noon. I’ll order him a box from now on.” Break times in the medical profession were catch as catch can. Often, she’d worked throughlunch. She would have to leave the infirmary to take her son to the mess and then leave early to get married.Not a good start for the first day on the job.Phibious had messaged that the officiant would be arriving in the afternoon. Hopefully, Dr. Twygg would be understanding.

She tapped Brody’s shoulder. “You wait for me, okay?” She turned to Ms. Jularee. “I’ll be right next door at the infirmary. That’s where I’m working.”

“Oh, you’re the new nurse! Dr. Twygg is thrilled to finally be getting help.”

“That’s good to hear.”

The door opened, and a kid resembling a giant squid crawled in.

“Good morning, Bob!” Ms. Jularee said.

---