Page 15 of Uprooted

Elowen

“You made it!” I don’t blame Bri for sounding surprised.

I still feel guilty about standing her up last week even though she seems to have let it go. I’m flipping through an old copy of National Geographic in the rec room while she settles onto the couch across from me.

“Check out this magazine. This artifact is worth more credits than I’ll see in my entire life.” I’m gingerly turning the pages to avoid getting fingerprints on the glossy pictures. “This issue covers the first human expedition out of the Milky Way. How did they even get this?”

“Let me take a look at that.” Bri reaches out for the magazine.

I carefully close it and hand it over to her.

She promptly drops it on the coffee table between us without any consideration for its fragility.

“What a nice piece of non-biodegradable history. Did you ask Andi about getting out into the field?”

I scowl at her for being so rough with the magazine. “We are swamped in the lab. She’s not going to request a field trip for me just because we’re bored.”

"Elowen, we have to be assertive. We’ve got to make them tell us no. If there is any chance we can get out of here for a single minute, we have to try."

Bri is relentless. I feel bad for Dr. Lee.

Bri claims she earned her position on this trip by sheer force of will.

When her program director announced they would be picking someone to assist him, she assumed the spot was hers.

She approached him and started preparing for departure without ever being formally invited to come.

After seeing how brilliant she was—according to her—Dr. Lee decided she should go.

I wonder what it's like to go through life with that sense of unwavering self-confidence.

“If it comes up organically, I’ll say something.”

Bri and her team of geneticists are also working around the clock to identify ways hypermobile plants could survive on Earth. Something about tossing it all into the CRISPR. I have no idea how that works. I wasn’t kidding when I said genetics is boring.

We’re all under a ton of pressure, and we deal with it in our own ways. I have a hard time turning it off at the end of the day. I’ll be able to relax once we’ve figured this all out. Bri needs something to focus on other than work in order to keep herself motivated.

“Bri, it’s going—”

Bri interrupts with, “Oh hi, boys!”

Aro and another Tilak appear out of nowhere. I’m caught off guard, but Bri is suspiciously unsurprised. Aro plops down on the couch next to me, and the other sits down next to Bri. Her bright smile fades when she recognizes the metal bionic arm from the day we landed.

“You,” she says with disdain. She stops herself. Sitting next to her is our less-than-friendly chauffeur, and apparently Bri’s mortal enemy. I don’t think she will ever forgive him for making her carry her puke the whole way here.

“It’s good to see you again,” he says when it’s clear she isn’t going to finish that sentence. “I’m Tai.”

“You’ve got a lot of nerve,” she says with daggers in her eyes. He looks over at Aro confused, looking for support.

“I think she’s talking about the vomit,” Aro says, accurately guessing why Bri is holding a grudge.

“I thought you were keeping that for some weird human custom. I didn’t know you were trying to throw it away,” he says defensively.

“Why would I want to keep a bag of puke? You were just trying to torture me.”

“You seemed really attached to it,” Tai says, stifling a laugh.

Bri throws her hands up in the air, frustrated by his lack of apology. She gives up with Tai and turns her attention to Aro.

“Not the best pick for wingman,” she says.

“Wingman?” Tai asks .

“A wingman is like a backup, a buddy to help you get the girl. Guys on Earth sometimes need some help feeling confident enough to approach a… a...” I offer a rambling explanation but stop myself from saying “love interest.” I don’t want to presume that is what’s happening here.

It dawns on me that Bri has orchestrated this situation.

Tai laughs. “Glad I can help you out, ‘buddy.’ It’s good to see you acknowledging your lack of confidence.”

Aro glowers at him.

“So, what’s the plan for tonight?” Aro says as he stretches his arm out on the back of the couch behind me.

I level Bri with an accusatory stare, she brushes it off. She is up to something.

“No plans, just taking the night off,” she says convincingly with her doe-eyed innocent act. Tai has already checked out of the conversation, his attention focused on the group of Tilaks at the other end of the room.

“Aro, you tell us the plan. I hear you’ve been trying to figure out what Elowen is ‘into.’” Bri is straight to the point. I realize my mistake too late. I should never have told her about the flirty messages.

“Brisa,” I warn.

“Well, actually Elowen gave me a good idea a few days ago.” Aro turns to Bri. “Wait, I thought your name was Bri.”

“I’m surprised you remember,” she says, sounding genuinely impressed.

“It’s a human custom that we shorten each other’s names or give a less formal name to friends.

It’s a way of showing affection.” It feels like I’m rambling.

I am rambling. I need to stop talking. Why am I still talking?

“Like, shortening the name Robert to Bob, or Elizabeth to Lizzy. You guys don’t do that here?

” Someone really needs to step in and stop me.

“I didn’t know that. I like it. I’m glad you consider us friends already, Bri.” Aro lets me off the hook. I would have just kept rambling until I ran out of air and passed out.

“I wouldn’t go that far. Everyone calls me Bri. Unless someone were to, say, break my best friend’s heart, then it would be Brisa,” she directs at Aro. Tai, who's been silent, snorts out a laugh and watches with an amused smile .

“Point taken.” Aro stares back at her, not backing down.

“Tai, do you know how to play Cubes?” Bri changes her tone, sounding more friendly now that she’s gotten that point across to Aro.

Tai’s amused smile from watching Bri and Aro fades. "I don't," he says slowly. I surmise he is trying to find a way out of being roped into the game by his hesitant response.

“Come on, let’s play a few rounds.” Bri nods toward an empty table a few feet away. Tai looks at Aro. I know that look. It’s the same look Bri gives me when she means, “You owe me one.”

“Wish me some first-person luck,” Tai says while hoisting himself up from his comfortable spot on the couch.

“It’s ‘beginner's luck,’ and you’re going to need it,” I tell him.

I’ve underestimated Bri’s boredom. She’s now spending her free time playing matchmaker.

I haven't seen her smile this much the entire time I've known her.

She's clearly enjoying every second of this, and it's absolutely terrifying.

Bri cocks an eyebrow and her eyes dart back and forth between Aro and I.

Bri is a lot of things, but subtle is not one of them.

Aro shifts his weight a little closer. His hand resting on the back of the couch nearly touches me. A tiny bolt of electricity radiates from the sensitive spot between my neck and shoulder. It wouldn’t take much for me to lean back and brush against him…

No, this is just harmless flirting. No touching. Absolutely not.

“Do you miss Earth?” Aro asks.

“Not at all. I mean, I miss my parents. Earth, not so much.”

“Really? I always thought Earth was this amazing place that nothing could ever compare to.”

“Don’t get me wrong, Earth is great. I never really thought of it as home, so I don’t have that same attachment to it. There’s this weird ‘Earth exceptionalism’ thing that I’ve never quite understood.”

“Where did you grow up?” he asks.

“I’ve lived in nine different systems. My parents took me all over,” I say.

“And you’re how old?” he asks.

“27”.

“A new place every three years. That’s a lot. ”

“Look at you—doing math in your head,” I tease. The trash talk keeps the rambling at bay.

“I didn’t even need to use my fingers this time,” he jokes back. “That’s a lot of moving around. How does j'Tilak compare to the others?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen anything outside the muradome since we arrived.”

“Well, how much of the dome have you seen?” Aro asks.

“Not much. Actually, I haven’t even left this section.” I wince.

“Well now is a perfect opportunity to fix that. Let’s go for a walk, and I can show you around a little,” Aro offers.

Before I can give him an answer, he’s up with his hand out to help me off the couch. When our hands touch, that same electric pulse passes between us. My “no touching” rule is already out the window.

“Was this Bri’s plan or yours?” I ask.

“It was all Bri. She gave me strict instructions to show up on time and bring a friend,” he says with a laugh, then clears his throat. “It did take a little convincing to get Tai to come along." He confirms what I already suspected. Tai was an unwilling participant in their little plan.

“He doesn’t look very enthusiastic about it”. I hope he’s sullen and bored the whole time and makes Bri miserable with his bad attitude. She deserves a little bit of karma for trying to mastermind the situation between me and Aro.

“He’ll be just fine. Bri will have him wrapped around her finger in no time.” Aro already seems to have a pretty accurate insight into her.

He leads me to a section of the dome I’ve never seen before.

I'm anxious about where he could be taking me. I quickly brush away the possibility that he could be leading me to his room—that is not going to happen. As I continue following him, I promise myself that if we end up at his room, I will not step through that door. I’ll turn right around and find my way back to the rec room.