Page 78 of Becoming Super

“What do you know, Slug?”

I shouldn’t have been so argumentative with Rylee, but a part of me was irritated that I was even being put through all of this. I never asked for an imprinted pair. I am a pilot and a warrior. As far as I was concerned everything went straight to hell the moment the human woke up.

“You are being a dick, Zack,” Rylee tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder. “You think that you know everything. But I am telling you, I would be careful with Chloe, or this could all blow up in your face.”

“It’s easy to point fingers and have opinions when you don’t have to be in the situation.”

I could feel my temper rising again.

Rylee also carried the gene to imprint with a human. But the galactic council decided to only try the program with earth females. So that meant for now Rylee was safe.

Rylee’s jaw clenched together. “You know what? I hope that she gives you hell. You deserve it. All you can think about is how this affects you. I am telling you, Zack. That girl needs someone to care about her. You should have seen her when we picked her up from Queen Neopia. She was hiding under the bed, thinking that she was in hell. Maybe if you can pull your head out of your ass for five minutes you will figure it out.”

Rylee stomped out. I briefly considered getting up to go and talk with her. I really needed to know more about Chloe and it seemed that Rylee had a better idea of who this girl was. But another part of me, the sensitive testicles that were mentioned earlier, was still pissed.

“Well, that was interesting.”

I sighed, seeing my mom at my door.

“Did you come to yell at me?”

She smiled, “No, but I suppose that I could if you wanted me to.”

I groaned, “I didn’t even want her in the first place.”

My mom nodded, “I understand that.”

“I’m a warrior. I know about fighting, and piloting ships. I don’t know how to do this woman stuff.”

Mom nodded again. “It has to be frustrating, I am sure.”

“Are you just going to agree with me?” I moved over, and my mom sat on the bed beside me. She placed a hand on my arm.

“Everything that you are feeling, she is likely feeling the same. Chloe never asked to be a part of this program. She certainly didn’t ask to be a part of a secret space experiment involving superpowers. All I am saying, Zack, is that you may find you have more in common than you think. Can I give you some advice?”

There was something about talking to my mom that always made me feel better. She was the voice of reason in my life. I tended to be more like my dad, which wasn’t a bad thing, but I didn’t have the calming nature that my mom did.

I nod, “Sure.”

“Why don’t you just try to get to know each other as friends? I think that if you got to know one another you might be able to see each other’s perspectives a little more clearly.”

I nod slowly. “Yeah, I can do that.”

Mom pats my leg, “We will be back on Zeron by tomorrow morning. The chambers have already been arranged for all the pairs. You will have separate bedrooms but share the communal areas. Maybe living in close quarters will help to build a bond?”

I wasn’t so sure. But I nodded anyway.

The rest of the trip to Zeron was uneventful. Chloe came out of her room once and didn’t speak to me at all. But she did talk to Rylee for a little while about something called gaming. I had no idea what game they were talking about.

Chloe had become animated speaking about streaming games online, doing speed runs, and competitions where the best of the best would compete.

I wanted to ask what games she was talking about. I liked to run. I hadn’t really taken Chloe for a runner, but she said she liked speed runs. An idea sprang into my mind, maybe I could wake her up early to come on a run with me?

A grin split my face. I ignored the pointed look from Rylee and the hesitant one from my mom. Alright, so I may have been a grouch since they came and got me, but that was before I had a plan. Chloe and I were going to be the best of friends, running friends, everything would fall into place and I would be right back in the battle where I was meant to be.

With a spring in my step, I gathered my things to take off the ship. It was good to be home again. Sometimes I forgot how amazing Zeron really was. Now that Chloe was here I could discover it all over again.

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