September 26, 2013, noon
By the time the movie was over, nobody had moved. Carol needed to use the restroom, but was too uncomfortable with Rose’s presence to get up. Nic was still asleep (how did he fall asleep so easily after chugging coffee?). And Rose hadn’t written a word the entire time. Carol wondered if it was because the alien felt uncomfortable, or if she simply didn’t speak much on her own.
“Wakey, wakey!” Carol said, shaking Nic. She was a little worried about coming across as annoying, but hopefully Rose would understand.
“What-” he did a double take when he saw Rose. “Oh, hey.”
She waved at him.
“What did I miss?”
“The whole movie,” Carol responded.
“Damn, I’m sorry,” he said. “Did you like it, Rose?”
Rose reached for her whiteboard, but Carol answered. “You were the only one who hadn’t seen it.” She briefly made eye contact with the alien, trying to communicate with her face. Too aggressive? Sorry. Who knew how proficient Rose was at reading expressions? Her bulbous, yellow eyes didn’t react.
“Right! My bad. I’ll have to catch up.”
“It’s okay, all our sleep schedules are off. Except for yours, obviously,” said Carol, addressing the alien in the room, who didn’t really sleep. “I’m surprised I stayed awake.”
“Did you two talk at all during the movie?” Nic asked.
Carol glanced at Rose and back to Nic. “No - I didn’t want to wake you up.” she rationalized.
“Oh, God,” Nic covered his face in shame. “I’m so sorry, Rose. I’m the worst.”
Rose held up the whiteboard. [I’m that boring? What time did you wake up this morning?]
“To be fair, my bed is pretty comfy,” Carol responded. No point lying, she continued: “I got up at 3:30, and Nic was up until just after that.”
[Good lord,] Rose wrote. [People found out I was going here at 3:00?]
“2:30,” Nic said. “But they knew about Oxford earlier. My friend told me at like 1:00.”
[We were halfway across the ocean.]
“That’s so creepy,” Carol agreed.
“I didn’t tell them anything!” Nic remarked. “Should you let your security guys know?”
[I’m sure they’re aware. Could I ask both of you something?]
“Sure,” said Nic. Carol nodded.
[I know how common gossip is, but if people ask about me, could you be as discreet as possible? There are a lot of things the public doesn’t know-]
“Yeah, we won’t say anything,” Nic said. He looked at Carol for confirmation.
“Yeah,” she agreed. “Should we tell people we don’t know you, or-”
[Oh, you can say you’ve met me, but I’d prefer if you leave out specifics. I know it makes my story shady when everyone does that,] She could say that again. [but we have our reasons. Even with your families.]
“Sure,” both Nic and Carol agreed. Good thing we’re not signing any documents. If she reveals anything important…
[Pinky promise?] Rose asked.
She held out her hand, extending a thumblike digit that would have been a pinky on a human.
Carol smiled. It was the perfect combination of a non disclosure agreement and something that could be broken if need be. A serious contract, but only between friends.
She grabbed the pinky-thing with her own and shook, and Nic followed suite. Of course, it could also have been another attempt at physical contact for mind control, but Carol was currently blacklisting that part of her brain’s endless bickering. A new concern made its way onto the list: Maybe I should wash my hands.
Rose sighed, writing [Thank you. I’m sorry for all the future annoyances this will cause you.]
“If only I could tell people I made a pinky promise with an alien,” Nic wistfully complained.
[You can say we shook hands,] Rose wrote. [You helped carry my luggage. Hopefully I seemed nice. Do I?]
“Yeah,” Nic responded. “I think so.”
Carol resisted the urge to roll her eyes. We all know how unconditional that opinion is.
“Uh,” Carol realized the onus was suddenly on her to speak, but Rose held up her board.
[Have either of you heard of shark whales?]
“You mean whale sharks?”
Shark whales were, apparently, a species of whale that had gone extinct more than a hundred thousand years before. Fossils existed, but they were rare and unnotable enough that general biology textbooks didn’t mention them. What made the supposedly intelligent animals interesting was Rose’s bizarre claim that they weren’t extinct at all.
“It’s a test,” said Carol. “She wants to see if we can keep a secret.”
“But why is it secret to begin with? It’s not like people can’t handle the truth,” Nic protested. “Who cares about a bunch of them, out… God knows where?” He gestured into the air.
Carol wondered for a moment where, exactly, they were. Would they be close, on a galactic scale?
She and Nic stood in the lunch line, making active use of the pronoun game to thwart eavesdroppers. Nobody seemed to be aware of the anomaly on campus, other than the group of security officers that had recently taken up spots in the back of the line. There were more new faces than usual; perhaps Rose and William weren’t the only new arrivals.
“I’m telling you, it’s just a test,” Carol determined. “She wants us to come back with questions or something.”
“Do you not believe it?”
“She could be making it up. We have zero ways to test it.” Carol paused to let Nic think of something.
“We could look them up, and maybe research their brain sizes?” he suggested. “I don’t know, I agree it’s…”
“Fishy?” Carol finished for him. “Assuming it is true, what other random details have they not told anyone?”
Nic perked up. “And, if this one’s only a test, I bet the other details are actually important!”
They finally reached the front of the queue. The main course for lunch was fish and chips, but there were also various other things like potatoes bottlenecking the line. Nic went ahead to grab drinks from the tables in the dining hall, carrying Carol’s dish.
Carol tried making eye contact with a kitchen staff member she was familiar with. Rose’s request this time was to get as much milk as possible, and peaches, if they had any.
“Hey,” she said, unsure how to proceed. “Do you think we could take an entire carton of milk?” Does the college even purchase milk by the carton?
“What?” the man asked. Carol couldn’t remember his name.
“Uh-” she stammered.
“What do you need an entire carton for?” he asked, looking down the expanding line. “Wait here, I’ll get some milk out, but you’ll have to pour yourself a glass. Grocery’s on High Street.”
People were staring at Carol. We could have just bought milk, or just Nic-
“Excuse me,” one of the security guards said, approaching her. He had an American accent. “You want a whole gallon of milk?”
“Yes,” Carol fidgeted as dozens of eyes watched her. “It’s for my neighbor.”
“Could you give her the jug of milk please?” he asked the staff member. He turned to Carol. “I’m sorry about this, Miss Ward. Tell your neighbor that we need discuss food accommodations after dinner. You can call me Officer Barry. I’m the new head of security here.”
After Carol shook his hand, he grabbed the milk jug and passed it to her.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said. “Thanks.”
“Wait, is it really true?” asked some guy behind them in line. “Rose is here?”
Carol glanced at Barry, unsure whether she could spoil the secret. He winked at her, and shhh’d everyone present.
“Carol, are you serious?” asked Ben, a junior Carol knew. “You met the alien?”
“She’s not technically-”
“No questions until after dinner,” said Officer Barry. He patted Carol’s back, ushering her off into the dining hall.
Dammit, I forgot the peaches.
“Lunch,” Carol announced as she forced open the door to her room. “Sorry, I didn’t get peaches. There was… nevermind.”
Why didn’t I go back for the peaches? If Rose had been President Obama or Queen Elizabeth, would she have gone back? If she hadn’t spent hours under the alien’s empathetic influence, building some kind of an air of familiarity, would she have gone back?
“Are you good with only milk?” Nic asked.
[Thank you!] Rose wrote. [Yes - I’m a milkaholic. 2% only.]
“Oh, it’s skim,” said Carol. “Shit, I’m-”
[JK!]
She handed Rose the jug of milk and grabbed her a mug off the shelf while Nic set up the rest of the food on her desk. Alright. Time for the bad news.
“I think everyone knows you’re here, by the way,” said Carol. “Some guy asked me when I was getting the milk, and there was a security guy, and… they all probably know you’re my neighbor.” Walking through the dining hall to fetch Nic had been a nightmare. Carol had never seen a rumor spread so visually, like how they did in movies. Nervous as Rose made her, she definitely preferred the privacy of her room to that.
[It’s good dinner won’t be a shock.] Rose’s reply was ready before Carol finished speaking, her eyes staring holes into Carol. There was something intense about the reptilian face, like she was trying to get a message across.
Carol gave up. “What does that mean?” she asked.
“Carol!” Nic exclaimed.
“Your face, I’m trying to understand,” she said. “What are you trying to say? I don’t get why-”
[I’m trying to say “It’s okay.”] Rose made the intense face again. It’s okay. [Don’t worry about the peaches, I’m fine.]
She had said the same thing after shaking Carol’s hand that morning.
“I… Would it be weird if I watched videos of you to study your expressions?” Carol asked.
[Why watch videos when I’m right here?] Rose asked.
“I think I’m learning too slowly,” Carol explained.
[Try me.]
“What?”
Rose gestured with her head for Carol to say something, and waved her hand.
“Uh, hello,” Carol translated.
Rose placed a hand on her chest. “I’m Rose.”
She made that one face again. It’s okay? You’re okay? You’re doing fine?
“Hold on,” Carol stopped her. “This is basically sign language, isn’t it?”
Rose shook her head and pointed at it. Look at my face.
“I… am happy?... to be here,” Carol translated. The alien tilted her head down and raised her eyes. “See? It’s… uh… easy?... I’m still relying on your hands.”
A crimson hand made the so-so motion..
“Can I try?” Nic asked. “If it’s not too annoying.”
Rose held her hands out. Be my guest.
Carol seized the opportunity to finally dive into her food. She passively observed Nic and Rose communicating. Nic did better than her right off the bat. He even spoke back to Rose, but once they got onto the topic of a videogame they both played, Rose returned to her whiteboard.
Carol’s problem wasn’t the inability to read Rose’s face so much as the inability to empathize with her. Why was she here? In Carol’s room, in Lincoln College, in England, on Earth? She certainly appeared to approach life as a human would, but appearance meant almost nothing.
“Rose?” Carol asked once there was a lull in the conversation. The name felt strange coming from her mouth. Is that the first time I called her by her name?
Rose looked at her. Concern?
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but what are you doing here? I mean, I-”
Rose held up her index finger, and began to write. After a minute, she erased the entire board and started over. Carol ignored Nic’s incredulous look.
[Can I show you something, under the pinky promise?]
“Okay,” said Carol.
Rose gave Nic a serious look.
“Okay,” he agreed.
[I know my abilities put you on edge, but the truth is I downplay them. I swear that I am unable to use telepathy on you, but pretend I can. Think something at me. Carol?]
Carol stared at the words and made eye contact with Rose. She downplayed her empathetic abilities? By how much? This would be an interesting test. What topic should I think about…? Rose’s face remained passive. Maybe if those giant yellow orbs blinked more often, she would be more approachable.
Rose blinked once, then twice, the rest of her face unmoving.
No. No way. That was a coincidence. She tried to think of something Rose would never get… a specific wooden door along lunch line came to mind. Carol focused on maintaining her own poker face, but Rose rolled her eyes and picked up the board.
[Don’t put on a poker face! I’m not a god. Try!]
Maybe it was a coincidence. Carol tried to think of something to communicate. We never asked about the whales. Was that a test? How could I… She raised her eyebrow at Rose and quickly glanced down at the dragon’s pinky and back. Was that too obvious?
Rose narrowed her eyes slightly and slowly nodded, subtly enough that Carol couldn’t tell if it was a response, or if it just meant: yeah, that’s right, keep trying.
Why keep the whales secret? She continued, enunciating the thoughts as much as she could with her face. She glanced at Nic, feeling silly. He watched them while eating, heavily invested.
Rose dipped her head in assent, as though she understood and wanted Carol to continue.
If it’s all yes-no, you could just fake it. Maybe Carol went overboard with the expressions on that one, actually nodding and shaking her head for yes-no.
Rose shook her head.
You’re kidding.
Shake.
Why keep the whales secret? Carol asked again, her heart rate rising. No way in hell did that translate.
Rose made a pointing motion with her head. You answer that.
Because it’s too close to something else?
Nod.
“You’re kidding,” Carol said. “What were we talking about?”
[Whales.] Rose wrote.
“What?” Nic half shouted.
Carol’s mind dropped into panic mode. Obviously, she would be wondering about whales, after Rose had told them that. But all Rose’s responses were perfectly timed. Obviously, Rose could deduce what she was thinking; she saw Carol look at her pinky. But most of Carol’s thoughts didn’t translate to facial expressions at all.
She turned away from Rose, trying to blank her mind, and a new realization dawned on her.
Rose didn’t write “shark whales”. She wrote “whales”. The whole conversation, Carol never thought of them as “shark whales”.
Obviously, that could be a coincidence too.
“Do me now!” said Nic.
Carol turned back around. Didn’t he get it? The thing in the room with them wasn’t just another person, it was a monster, a-
It’s okay.
Carol stared at the face, her thoughts out of control. “Don’t think about the white bear,” a saying went. She was compromised. Violated. She tried not to think about Nic - his secrets and insecurities. She tried not to think about Rose, and how awful this was, how awful being around her was. How far could the creature’s damned abilities reach?
God, this is not fun for her, she realized. There was a decent chance the alien had been genuinely attempting to open up, and Carol had not taken it well.
Rose finished writing something and held up the board, but Carol looked away. Whatever’s on that board, it’s manipulative.
“Carol, are you okay?” Nic asked. “Transmission code?”
“Just let me think a second,” she replied, not that she had ever cared to learne his maybe-not-so-dumb code system. There were too many possibilities. All the conspiracy theories flooded her mind, but then again, Rose could just be genuinely trying to connect with them. What a horrible way to go about it. Especially for someone said to be incredibly empathetic! She claimed to be transparent, but why lie about the whales? Why lie about her own abilities? Was that really empathy, or was telepathy involved? Just how smart was she?
Maybe she wasn’t evil, but she had casually lied about her own intelligence to the entire world. Why? It wasn’t that hard to imagine; mind-reading might have prevented her from meeting government officials. Not to mention that it was creepy. But the lie itself was too similar to what many claimed for comfort.
Rose Statton: evil or not? No, the real question is: what the hell is she doing here?
Carol whirled around, question on her tongue, but stopped herself short. I already asked her that.
The expression Rose and Nic shared needed no translation.
“Oh, God, please forgive me,” Carol said, burying her face in her hands. How do I resolve this? Rose had, in all likelihood just to make friends, had attempted to give Carol the simple gift of honesty. “I’m so…” she almost opened her eyes, but she knew exactly she would see. It’s okay. She took a deep breath. “Could you please… explain what you did? What you can do?”
Carol opened her eyes to find Rose staring away uncomfortably, whiteboard at her feet.
[That was too fast. Please forgive me.]
Are you fucking serious? she took another deep breath. “Tell me that was a coincidence.”
Rose nodded enthusiastically, concern in her eyes.
[That was really the best I can do. It’s not telepathy. If you hadn’t looked at my pinky, I wouldn’t have figured it out.]
“But you answered just in time.”
[I did guess what you were thinking, yes. It’s usually not that great.]
“What about the blinking?”
Rose paused for a moment before writing. [That was a coincidence, but I see what happened in hindsight. You know I blink, right?]
Nic chimed in. “What about the shark whales? Was that a test?”
Good point.
[Yes, in part. We tell random people sometimes; it’s bound to get out eventually.]
“Why is it secret?” Carol asked.
[Because we also underplayed the influence of aliens in the history of the world. I know it’s annoying, but you’ll have to take telepathy to get the rest.]
Carol and Nic both read the message in silence. That is annoying. Rose began writing more than usual. When she held up the board, the script was small and filled the entire space.
[You want to know what I’m doing here. Somehow, of all the questions I get asked, that’s the most common. I don’t blame you; it’s difficult to empathize with an alien. Only people with telepathy will ever understand, and most of them find talking with me to be tiresome. I know what I’m asking is a lot, but please give me a chance.]
Carol sighed. “I know. I’m sorry for freaking out.”
“I promise I won’t freak out if you read my mind,” Nic offered. “I trust you.”
[I know.]
Carol sat back and watched as the other two went through the motions of faux-telepathy. Who knew what they were talking about? Probably her. She felt so embarrassed. They had one goal - make friends with the alien - and her dumb paranoia was ruining it. How do I make things right?
“Rose, can I try starting over?” she forced herself to ask after a while.
Rose shook her head. She poured milk into her mouth with one hand while writing with the other, much less graceful than usual. [This is my fault. You might not believe it, but this is my first time becoming friends with strangers, alone.]
Becoming friends. That couldn’t be right. Rose was only seven years old, and had lived most of her life hidden away, but surely she’d met people before… maybe when the rest of her family was asleep? Did she really use telepathy that often?
[Will and I are connected most of the time he’s awake. I’m not great with people otherwise.]
So that was another public lie (they had claimed telepathy was only something they used to communicate when they needed it), as well as a casual use of mind reading.
“You’re doing well,” said Carol, trying to make her words both sound and be genuine. She sat down on the floor next to Rose, who looked at her with a cocked head. Carol awkwardly lifted her arm and patted the base of Rose’s neck a few times. She has to know I’m okay with her presence. Dragons were all about physical contact, weren’t they? Unlike her hands, Rose’s back felt far more reptilian, with proper scales. Rose exhaled hard a few times. Is that relief, or anguish?
Nic sat down as well while Rose scribbled on her whiteboard.
[This isn’t fair. You both know all about me, but I know nothing about you.]
Good, something else to talk about. Maybe Carol’s reaction wasn’t so bad. Maybe-
“Maybe we’re not great at meeting people either,” said Carol. “I’m, um, a psych major - Are you okay?”
Rose’s head had suddenly dropped, almost touching the floor, her breathing much stronger than usual. Her hands clutched the whiteboard tightly, and visible tremors shook her arms.
What?
“Oh, my God, the milk!” Carol realized. She tried to stand up, but Nic grabbed her arm. Did he not understand what was happening?
“Um, wait.” Nic stammered, “There’s this thing that happens to Rose once in a while, kinda like an anxiety attack.”
“Are you sure?”
Rose stood up on all fours, nodding. She seemed to be in great pain, all her muscles flexed. Her wings slowly spread themselves out, taking up a surprising amount of space. They almost hit the ceiling. Carol and Nic rose and backed up a few steps.
Rose’s eyes locked onto Nic’s as he continued: “It’s more random though, and usually happens at least once a day, and… they don’t last very long? I think… it’s also not really a bad feeling, she said it doesn’t translate well.”
“Is there anything we can do?” Carol asked.
Rose dropped her head, snout against the hardwood floor, breathing hard.
“I don’t think-” Nic started, but Rose raised her head again and nodded before dropping it.
Carol stepped forward, ready to comfort the creature. “What can-”
In an instant, Rose pounced. Carol’s first thought was that she was going to be tackled, but the body that slammed into her was almost weightless. Two little arms latched onto her back with surprising strength and a serpentine tail began strangling her leg. Rose’s neck itself somehow squeezed Carol’s shoulder, her head pressed against Carol’s back. For a moment, Carol was too stunned to react. Tremors ran down Rose’s body.
“It-it’s okay,” she said, causing Rose to squeeze even tighter. Her arms automatically moved to hug the creature back, but she couldn’t figure out what to do with them. Rose’s wings were half open and couldn’t be reached around; they connected to most of her back. Carol managed to support some of the creature’s weight only mildly uncomfortably by wrapping her arms around her, just under the wings.
Nic stared, stunned.
“It’s okay,” Carol repeated. Rose’s grip loosened slightly. Part of Carol’s brain realized Rose could easily begin forceful telepathy, but another part told it to shut up. Maybe the Stattons need therapy. Wouldn’t be surprising.
She held Rose for several minutes in silence, Nic saying nothing. Over time, the lizard’s body stopped trembling and her breathing became less forced. She unwound her tail.
“Do you want down?” Carol asked even as she let go of Rose’s back and grabbed her arms. “You’re so light.”
She helped Rose back to the ground, and Nic handed her the whiteboard.
[Sorry about that. It’s usually not so bad.] She didn’t make her all-too-frequent eye contact, instead staring at the floor while she held up the board.
Carol was at a loss for words.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Nic asked. “We can go get Will.”
The lizard head wobbled left and right without rising. Her breath was still somewhat labored.
[Will’s asleep. You don’t need to worry about me. It looks like I’m in pain, but I’m not. Don’t read into it either; they’re pretty random.]
What if it wasn’t random? The thing was a bit convenient. It could have been a display, vulnerability of her own exposed right after Carol’s, to level the playing field. A sort of cathartic bond. Then again, it might have been onset by the emotions in the room.
[I’m sorry for jumping on you. I know you’re afraid of touching me.]
“It’s okay,” Carol said another time, opting to grant the alien the benefit of the doubt once more.
Rose met Carol’s eyes and shook her head slightly. She lowered herself into a sitting position and patted the ground beside her, writing.
[You were saying you’re a psych major? I thought they didn’t teach that here.]
“I hope Rose didn’t give you too much trouble,” said William.
He and Rose had arrived with Carol and Nic for dinner early, enough that nobody else had yet claimed a seat. They defaulted to the table Carol’s friends usually occupied, along the wall.
“No, she was great,” said Nic. “How did you sleep?”
“Surprisingly well, actually. I think I’m nocturnal now.”
“Do you usually wear makeup, Rose?” Carol observed. The alien’s eyes had a subtle wine-colored eyeshadow to complement her purple dress. It was strange seeing her in public. To be fair, it was strange seeing her anywhere. Carol and Nic had spent most of the day with her, before she retired to the Lair to get some work done before dinner.
“Thank you for noticing,” Rose responded. “Does it look appropriate, or is it as if someone put makeup on a lizard?” Will sat next to her, across the table from Nic. Hearing Rose finally get to speak through his voice was a relief.
Carol wasn't sure how to respond. It didn’t stand out that much. “It goes well with your dress. I think it works. Did you make that by yourself?” she gestured towards the dress.
“Is it that obvious?” the lizard asked, contorting her body to reveal a seam that crossed her side.
“Oh, no, it's really good.” Carol wasn’t lying; the dress seemed much more normal than the clothes Rose had been wearing earlier. Maybe it was the makeup, or it could have been that the dress was more clearly designed to fit the serpentine body shape.
“How will you get new clothes in Oxford, if you need them?” Nic asked. “You didn’t have sewing machine or anything.”
“There’s a lot of stuff we need to have shipped, and to buy,” William responded. “We still need two computers, our keyboard, Rose’s violin and bass, a fridge…” he counted on his fingers, “and a sewing machine.”
A camera flashed behind Carol, causing Rose to wince noticeably.
“Please don’t take pictures,” William asked.
Carol turned around to see who it was. Some boy, probably a freshman, muttered something, sheepishly turned away, and sat down at a neighboring table with two other boys. A handful of people had streamed into the dining hall, and it was clear that Carol’s table was the subject of all their attention. Rose and William had done a pretty good job of ignoring everyone thus far. What is taking them so long?
“There’s a jazz band that plays in the Deep Hall here sometimes,” said Nic. “Were you thinking of joining?”
“We haven’t decided. We were in band in high school, and we both really enjoyed it, but so much of our lives is already performance-”
“Oh, my God. Carol?” Hannah Kelly, one of Carol’s friends from London, interrupted the conversation. As far as Carol knew, she wouldn’t be returning from summer vacation for another couple of days.
“Hey! I didn’t know you were here yet,” said Carol. “How was your summer?”
“Wait-” said Hanna as she stuffed her phone in her purse, grabbed the bench next to Carol, and sat down. “My name is Hannah Kelly. I’m studying PPE, and I’m a huge fan of your work. It’s so nice to meet you!” she extended a hand towards a wide eyed Rose.
“Nice to meet you,” said Rose as she shook Hannah’s hand. “You’re a friend of Carol’s?”
“Do you know each other?” she seemed to notice Nic and William for the first time. “I’m Hannah,” she said, this time to William, shaking hands with him. He gave Carol a brief questioning look.
“Our dorm is right next to Carol’s,” Rose answered. “I think they called it-”
“The Lair? No!” Hannah pouted. “Wait, you’re living here?”
“They’re teaching a course,” Nic answered. “Telepathy 101.”
“Oh,” said Hannah, pausing.
“It’s listed as Spanish Literature, if you want to sign up. We’ll be announcing it tonight,” Rose explained. “Carol and Nic are our only students so far. Remind me what PPE stands for?”
“Philosophy, politics, and economics,” Hannah explained. “It’s one of the main reasons that I decided Lincoln College was the right fit for me.”
“I’ll be studying music while I’m here,” explained Rose. “William is taking physics, like Nic. I know it’s weird for one of us to be taking physics, but the truth is we’re both novices.”
It was a little strange to hear William refer to himself in third person. Carol had almost forgotten that the Stattons were also taking courses. How could they find the time to balance all the extra work? She almost voiced the question, but Rose explained.
“Remember, my days are eight hours longer than yours, so it won’t be too bad,” she said.
They switched to William’s voice: “And I think I’ll have more of an assistant role in the classroom.”
“Hey,” a voice said, behind Carol.
“Gina! And Sam!” Nic said, standing up. He approached the two, who both stood an uncomfortable distance away from the table, and embraced them in a three-way hug. Carol would have stood up too, but there were too many strangers paying attention to the table. She hoped Hannah didn’t feel left out.
After saying hellos to Carol and Hannah, Gina put on a serious face.
“Where should I sit?” she asked.
Sam only stood uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact. With three people on one side and two on the other, the answer was obvious: someone should sit next to Rose. That she would even ask the question aloud was-
“I mean, is it okay if I sit next to you?” Gina asked the dragon. She looked at Will. “Is that allowed?”
“Yeah,” Will said, and Rose nodded along. She patted the seat twice.
Carol was starting to understand how obnoxious crowds must be for the Stattons. Of all her friends, she had probably done the worst (depending on Sam), but all the other people in the room apparently had nothing else to talk about. Every time she had turned around, about half the eyes were staring at her. No wonder Rose had been so eager to make quick friends in the privacy of a dorm. She glanced towards the head of the room. Only half the professors were present, and the dean wasn’t among them.
“When I told you to get here early,” she complained to her friends. “I meant by more than two minutes!” Thankfully, nobody had rushed to claim the seats around the celebrity duo.
“Sorry, we got held up at the gate,” Gina explained as she scooted along the bench towards Rose.
Another round of introductions passed, only Sam was too far from the Stattons for a handshake. Gina looked somewhat uncomfortable next to Rose, but she appeared to be managing. Finally, a waiter approached their table.
“Red, or white?” he asked everyone in turn.
“I’ll have a red,” said William, once the waiter finished pouring Nic a glass.
“And for the lady?”
William and Rose both looked around at the other glasses on the table. “Another red, please.”
As soon as the pouring was done, Carol reached for her glass and downed maybe too large a gulp.
“I thought alcohol didn’t work on you,” Nic addressed Rose.
“I thought this table could use a little bit more,” she explained, pushing her glass towards the center of the table. “How about a game: it goes to whomever finishes theirs first?”
Carol eyed her half-finished glass and then met Rose’s bemused gaze. “They refill them at least a couple times,” she explained. “But they’re usually pretty stingy about it.”
A clear ringing filled the air. Dean Emily stood at the head table, addressing the half-empty hall with her own glass in hand.
“These next few days, we will be welcoming no less than ninety-four new students into the Lincoln College family. Five freshmen have arrived today, along with twelve returning Lincolnites. To each of you, we extend a warm welcome.”
Emily paused, and a polite applause filled the air. Whenever she spoke to a crowd, she somehow made eye contact with each person, as though she was speaking directly to them.
“We are also happy to welcome not one, but two new professors, who will also be taking courses as undergraduates. Please extend your welcomes to Professors William and Rose Statton.”
She gestured towards Carol’s table, and William stood up and awkwardly bowed through another round of polite applause. Rose extended her neck slightly and dipped her head, but she was already about as tall as she could comfortably make herself. She squinted her eyes tight before another camera flash illuminated the room. The darkened hall exposed the considerable size of her pupils.
“Please, refrain from taking pictures of anyone without their permission,” Emily addressed the photographer, her face sour. “Now, as the salads are being distributed, I would like to discuss some slight changes that are being made to the curriculum. Normally, this would wait until next Thursday, but I’m sure many of you will be interested in a new elective we’re offering.”
Emily kept speaking until the main course arrived, freeing Carol from the need for social interaction just as the movie had. She would have liked to catch up with her friends, but that would have to wait until they were apart from the Stattons. Gina ended up subtly seizing the extra wine glass, even though Carol won the race. It was probably for the best; Gina looked like she needed it. Although she had shaken hands with Rose when she sat down, there was more than a foot of space between them.
“Do you wish you could fly?”
“What does infrared look like?”
“What's something nobody's asked you before?”
Having an alien at the table provided endless entertainment for the whole group. Nic didn't speak that much, but Carol could tell he was in heaven. Rose and William maintained a good rapport in the telling of their stories, and their table was easily the loudest in the room. Personally, Carol was content with listening, eating, and drinking.
“So I guess it’s worth it if you never have to worry about temperature?”
“Can you see where we are with your eyes closed?”
“Do you wish you could see blue?”
A stream of questions and answers were voiced and returned without pause. The group was thankfully conscientious enough to keep the train of thought on the planet’s surface. Despite the earlier secrets and bonding (if you could call it that), Rose had not once mentioned the other dragon’s name, and she never spoke about how she learned what she knew.
“What’s telepathy actually like?”
“You can’t see purple either?
“Don't you ever get embarrassed?”
Carol only half payed attention to the answers. She knew the answers to some, and Nic probably knew the rest. Instead she focused on William, the only one present who actually knew what Rose was like on the inside. Poor Will, who barely had a chance to touch his food. How much of the talking was him, even when Rose supplied the answers?
“No, tell us what it's really like.”
“Did you need Will to pick your dress?”
“Do you keep secrets from each other?
Every now and then, Carol and Rose made eye contact. She hoped Rose could tell how she felt. Mind reading was creepy, but Carol was willing to accept it. I think I trust you, Rose. I’ll even keep drinking this to let my guard down. See? She imagined that one face that meant It’s okay. Was it okay?
“What was Obama like?”
“What about sunsets?”
“Does this food taste the same for both of you?”
Sometimes, Nic answered a question or two for William. As Carol became more inebriated, she started supplying information as well. Carol imagined that she and Nic had a sort of possessive relationship with Rose. She was their friend first. A few times, Carol asked her own questions.
“Remind me why you drink so much milk?”
“What did your family think about you studying in England?”
“Do either of you have questions about Oxford?”
As it turned out, the Stattons knew surprisingly little about Oxford. The torrent of questions reversed itself, and all the Lincolnites at the table worked together to provide the most detailed answers they could. William finally had a chance to eat his main course by the time mille feuille deserts were starting to be distributed. Maybe that was on purpose.
Eventually, Carol found herself ascending her staircase alone with the Stattons, ready to pass out, still slightly dizzy from the wine. Hopefully it wasn’t too obvious.
“How did you like dinner?” she asked when they reached their floor.
“I loved it. Thank you,” said Rose, or maybe both of them. It didn’t matter.
“Good,” she said. She tried to think of a way to gracefully say goodbye. “I had a good time today.”
“Me too; it was so nice meeting you! Your friends were nice too,” said Rose. “Very persistent on color blindness.”
Carol laughed, opening her door.
“Seriously, I’m sorry for scaring you, I-”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just paranoid.” I guess she told William everything. Do they still like me?
William continued: “Well, thank you for being so accepting of her. I know it’s hard, for most people.” He fiddled with his own door uncomfortably.
“Sure,” Carol responded, unsure how to part gracefully. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Alright, goodnight!”
Carol shut her door and sighed, finally alone.
