Page 116 of I Think I’m in Love with an Alien

Stargazer: OMG, that’s so nice of you! I’ll send my itinerary. 🤩

Stargazer: [departure and arrival times]

SquidHead: That is a lot of transfers. You gonna be OK, Poppy?

JazzyPlum: She’ll be tired for sure.

FarfromHome: I will not ask her to perform manual tasks while she’s here. She can rest.

Stargazer: Aw, I knew you liked me deep down! ❤️

FarfromHome: I am fond of everyone in the group.

SquidHead: Anyone getting pushback from their family over Friendsgiving?

Jeneticist: Me, unfortunately. 😒

Stargazer: My mom nags me if she thinks I don’t hang out with real people enough, but then when I make plans, she’s all like, WHAT ABOUT OUR FAMILY?

Stargazer: It’s like, make up your mind! 😡

Jeneticist: Uh, what Poppy said. That’s where I’m at too.

Seeker: My family cannot object to anything.

JazzyPlum: I am…out of touch with mine as well.

FarfromHome: My family has been decimated. I am the only one left.

SquidHead: Damn. Now I feel like a dick for complaining.

Stargazer: Me too. 😢

Jeneticist: Yeah, that puts everything in perspective. Sorry.

Seeker: You’re allowed to vent. We care about your feelings.

Stargazer: OMG so cute. I ship you two ad infinitum.

Jeneticist: Uh. 😊

JazzyPlum: See everyone soon! 🤗

41

Jennette

“Got everything?” I ask.

Time has just sped by, and I’ve finished up all my work early so we can leave as soon as possible. I’m so ready for fall break. I love my students, don’t get me wrong, but most of them are in my class to satisfy the science requirement, not because they love astronomy. The question I get asked the most is, Will this be on the final?

“I travel light,” Tam says.

I pet Scotty and Spock one last time and make sure all the doors and windows are locked. Nancy has the key and she’ll pop by for the days we’re going, giving them food and pets. I tried boarding them and letting them stay at my mom’s house, but the boys like it here best. They seem not to be too lonely as long as they have each other. And Nancy hangs out with them for a while, watching a show or two before she heads home.

Tam enjoyed it when we took care of Mr. Snickers while Nancy was on her cruise. I think he wouldn’t mind getting a dog someday, but we probably need a bigger place. Nancy only has one dog, and that would put us at two bedrooms for five sentient beings. Still considering the issue of living space, I put my stuff in the car; it takes up far more room than Tam’s single bag. But then, the clothes he has on aren’t real. They’re an image in my brain, a fact that never ceases to impress me. This will be an incredibly long drive, and if I didn’t have vacation days accrued to make the trip worthwhile, I probably wouldn’t have agreed to go. As it is, we’ll be driving on Thursday, and we’ll have our Friendsgiving a few days later.

We’re close to the Idaho border already, so once I start driving, it doesn’t take long for us to pass the boundary. The scenery is a blur of green and brown with splashes of wildflowers. The Snake River dodges past, and I keep going, trusting that the GPS will find us the best route. My mom isn’t happy about this, but she’s the one who said I need to make more friends. Too bad she meant people at her church, not ones I met at Space Con.