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“Both top and bottom?”
“Of course.”
Troy grins. “Maybe go with the flow and leave the top behind.”
I shake my head. “Not happening.”
Treylor looks me up and down. “You have the body for it Melinda. Firm little boobies, yes? Not like me needing all the support I can get to hold these big things up.” She says this, pointing to her generous cleavage.
Beside her, Pravol grunts. “We have talked about this Treylor. No showing of your breasts.”
She tinkles a laugh. “Not me, no, but Melinda? I think yes. You too, Avery.”
Avery surprises us all with, “Yes, I’m planning on only a bikini bottom at the pool today.”
I raise my brows at this. “What happened to that talk about us representing Earth and not planning to go native?”
She has the grace to look shamefaced. “I was just being uptight. I’m not suggesting we do this all the time, but in a pool with everyone around us topless, I think we would stick out more with our tops on.”
“We’ll be objects of curiosity regardless. We can hardly be inconspicuous with our skin color and lack of a tail.”
“I know, people will stare, but it will be one less way we look different.”
“So, what do you say?” asks Troy.
“I don’t know. I’ll think about it. Better hurry all of you and get ready. We don’t have long.”
A few minutes later, a call comes through on my communicator from the security guard on patrol outside our compound, informing me that Kiristen has arrived. I ask the guard to let him inside, and we all make our way out the door, just as his drone, flying low, zooms to a stop outside our house.
Kiristen climbs out and rushes over to us with a smile. “Good morning,” he says, placing a hand on Troy’s chest in greeting. He steps back, bows, and greets the rest of us. “I hope you do not mind, but I have my younger brother and sister with me today. When they heard we were going to the water city, they begged to come, and I could not say no.”
“Of course we don’t mind,” I say, peering at the window of the drone and catching sight of two young faces studying us curiously. We follow Kiristen onto the drone, which is large enough to accommodate about ten people. Once inside, I see a young girl, no more than four years old, and an older boy maybe twelve or thirteen years old. Their eyes goggle staring at us, the first aliens they have ever encountered.
“This is Kiritela,” says Kiristen, pointing to his sister, “and beside her is Kirishar.”
We smile at the children and say hello. As we settle into our seats, I ask Kiristen, “Why is it all your names begin withKiri?”
“It is our family name. That is how we name people on Krovatia. First with the family name, then the given name. Our father is Kirimor.”
Kirimor. All this time, I’ve thought of him as the sicortar, or the evil priest. Somehow, hearing his name makes him sound more human—well not human, but Krovatian. I’ll rephrase. It makes him sound more like a normal being than some hallowed priest.
As these thoughts whizz through my mind, we’re already on our way, flying to an adventure at the water city. Beside me, the two young children chatter animatedly, obviously excited.
“Kiristen,” asks his sister plaintively, “will I be going on the tall waterway?”
Her brother regards her in concern. “It is very steep, Kiritela. Will you not be scared?”
“No! I can do it.”
“Last time you screamed and cried. We had to ask to be fished out and it was very embarrassing,” rebukes Kirishar.
“I promise I won’t cry this time.”
“What is this tall waterway?” asks Troy.
“We get pushed up high on log rafts, and once we get to the top, there is a long and steep descent down, lying on our backs in the water,” answers Kiristen. “It is great fun, but a little too much excitement for very young children.”
“I am not too young!” cries Kiritela.
