Khesan’s irritated gaze burns into my back as I cook, but I ignore him. Then, I withdraw the chicken from the oven, and it looks just like the picture on the internet. Pleased, I serve one breaded breast to each of the three plates, then top them with my sauce and the cheese.
“I should have you make this again with real parmesan instead of the stuff in a can,” Fiona says as I put it on the table in front of her. “This smells amazing. Can’t wait.”
She dives in right away, and I sit watching her, enormously happy that I could give her something she likes. Khesan eats, too, and I catch his eyes going wide from the corner of my eye. He is clearly enjoying it, but keeps his mouth closed.
That’s fine. I only need Fiona’s approval.
After dinner, I try to clean up, but she insists on doing it herself. I wait idly by while she finishes, hoping that I can spend some time with her afterward, as she was with Khesan all afternoon. He smirks as he passes me into the living room.
“I kissed her today,” he whispers to me, arching an eyebrow suggestively. “She was very receptive.”
I grit my teeth and try not to look at him, so he doesn’t have the gratification of knowing he is getting under my skin.
“I kissed her first,” I hiss back. “Yesterday. You are in second place.”
His fans go up, but I keep myself calm, not wanting to start a fight after doing such a good job of making Fiona happy.
“It doesn’t matter,” Khesan says, turning his head away. “She will see my nalopo and know that you are the liar.”
I scowl. “Stop making up stories.”
Khesan simply shrugs and picks up the television remote to turn it on.
But I find myself somewhat disturbed. Does he truly have nalopo, too?
That could be disastrous for my chances of remaining on Earth. This new life I’ve already begun forging with Fiona…
I shake my head. There’s no possibility of that.
Buoyed by this knowledge, I step out into the cool night air to bring myself back to center. It is much colder on Earth than on Arshur, but Fiona has assured me that is simply because it’s winter. I am surprised when a tiny white dot drifts down through the air, and I hold out a hand to catch it. It is cold and immediately melts on my warm skin.
What could this be? Now there are more white bits falling every which way and sticking to the grass. Is this natural?
I rush back inside just as Fiona is drying a pan.
“Fiona!” I call out. “There is white coming down from the sky. I am concerned.”
She blinks, then lets out a giggle. “It must be snowing!” With a surprising amount of energy, she rushes to the back door and peers out the glass. “Sure enough! Wow. I wonder if it’ll stick.”
“What is it?” I ask. Khesan has heard the commotion and come to look, too, standing on the other side of Fiona as we all gaze out into the backyard.
“Snow is frozen water that falls from clouds,” Fiona explains. “If it’s cold enough, it will accumulate, and we’ll have snow on the ground.” She turns to me and grins. “It’s fun to play in. Well, for children, anyway. I haven’t played in the snow in years.”
Snow. Frozen water falling from the sky. What an odd world I’ve come to.
We all watch for some time as the flakes drift down to the ground. It is strangely magical the way it makes the night sky brighter, the light of the Earth’s single moon turning the clouds silver.
“There are three moons on Arshur,” Khesan says after some silence. “None nearly so large as yours, Fiona. It is beautiful.”
I say nothing because I agree, and I don’t want to give him the satisfaction.
“It’ll be Christmas soon,” Fiona says, backing away from the window. “Do you guys know about that?”
We both shake our heads.
“It’s a holiday that’s a really big deal here. Maybe we should hang up some lights soon.”
“Lights?” Khesan asks.
