Page 10 of The Bully Alien

"You're here for a reason," she says. "You must need something."

"Yes, for you to fulfill your end of the bargaining leave me the fuck alone."

She snorts. "Fine, but don' get in my way either, Alien Man."

"You—"

"Relax. No one else is around us. No one can hear me."

And she actually has the nerve to smile at me.

Honestly, I have a few questions for her. That scar, how did she get it? Why does she not talk to many others? Why does she seem so strong but also vulnerable at the same time? There's something about her, the more time I spend with her, but she's a distraction. I can't have any distractions.

"Goodbye."

"Do you even know my name?" she asks, tilting her head to the side.

"No."

"You're that arrogant that you didn't listen to any of the roll calls during our classes?"

"No."

"Because you're only worried about your mission. Which isn't to get A's in your classes."

"You can stop trying to figure out anything about me," I hiss. "You and I, we aren't in on anything together. Take your money and run."

She hesitates, though. "How do I know that I won't be charged with a crime if I use your money?"

"I earned it."

"How?"

I flare my nostrils. "You are getting on my last nerve."

She tilts her head to the side. "You sure use a lot of Earthling phrases."

"I've been here for years. Ive learned things about you."

"You don't think you're going to be able to leave, do you? Why else would you also be studying archeology? You want to know about the past of Earth's people. Why?"

"Don't you have a saying about curiosity killing you?"

"Curiosity killed the cat," she supplies.

"Yes, that," I say, gesturing to her.

"Ah, but did you know that satisfaction brought it back?" she counters, smiling again.

My eyes are drawn to her scar.

She flinches. Her body language clearly shows that she's uncomfortable.

"Brought what back?" I ask.

"The cat," she mumbles. "We say that cats have nine lives. They don't, really, but it's a saying... I'm not even sure where it came from, but... Maybe because they always tend to land on their paws even if they all from a tall height."

"Do you often drop cats from tall heights?"

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