She glanced at Phares, and his expression remained neutral. Whether he was happy or sad, she had no idea.
She was still in limbo over the whole thing.
Re-lee gestured to the middle door. “Olmed and Tori, this residence will be yours.”
Olmed glanced at Tori.
She rolled her eyes and followed him to the apartment.
“Guess that leaves you and me,” Polly said, glancing at the tall green one with the tail. “Erzo, wasn’t it?”
He nodded. “Polly. Interesting name. You may have to tell me more about the idiom of it sometime.”
She smirked. “I am not sure I know the answer. It’s a common name on my world.”
“And if this doesn’t work out?” Tori asked, glancing at Olmed.
“You do get to go home,” Re-lee said.
Phares glanced at Jana. “I cannot stay here,” he said. Pretty much the first thing he’d outright spoken since all this came about.
Jana blinked. “Look, I’m not—”
“The residences are the nicest ones we have. I even arranged for some special time together for the six of you, considering the circumstances,” Re-lee said. “My assistant arranged several outings for you all.”
She came over and handed Jana a card. “Here, from the IDA. I’m sure you’ll need to do some shopping to get some items specific to your tastes.”
Jana accepted the card. “Oh, okay. Thanks.”
Tori accepted hers and stared at it. “Is there a limit to how much I can get?”
“No more than I can carry,” Olmed muttered.
“I bet you can carry a lot.”
He glared at her. “You have no idea.”
Polly accepted hers as well. “Alien shopping. This is going to be interesting.”
“Tomorrow, my assistant, Addigale will be by to help you ladies get assimilated. Unfortunately, I need to go, but each of your apartments have meals inside ready to be eaten when you’re ready and some necessities.
Phares didn’t say more, just opened the door and waved Jana into the suite.
If she thought the patio area was nice, this was even more amazing. Bright and colorful, art on the walls, sculptures, and decorative pieces everywhere. A kitchen area was near the entrance, at least, she assumed that's what it was. The appliances were nothing like what she was used to. Even if Re-lee hadn't said they'd been upgraded, she would have assumed as much. The place was absolutely had that new sort of shine or smell to it.
And nothing rested on the floor! Everything was floating.
“Wow,” she said, walking over to the nearby couch. She pressed on the back of it, and it bobbed just a bit in the air.
She pressed again.
And it bobbed a bit.
It made her giggle, so she walked around the front of it and threw herself onto the couch.
It bobbed in the air before settling in.
And then the cushions—which didn’t really feel very soft at first, started to shift and curve around her body until it perfectly cradled her.
