An Alienated Legacy; Chapter 1

213 wandered into the dormitory. There were teens dancing and eating in a cafeteria-like room, and she could faintly hear a girl talking loudly upstairs. One of the students motioned towards a door with an empty picture hole. The alien teen stared at it blankly for a moment, when suddenly, the picture hole showed her face. If she were any normal human teenager, she’d be shocked by this. From her home planet, they have technology like this everywhere.

What am I supposed to do? She thought as she walked into the cafeteria and grabbed a plate of food. What do I do here? Where do I learn? That’s when she felt someone poke her.

“Heya stupid!” yelled the male voice from the inside of a cow costume. He poked above her chest to try and irritate her.“Pardon me?” asked 213, wondering if this was some kind of newcomer joke.“You think you’re so cool?! I’m the cool one around here, not you!”

“Have I made an error in any form?” 213 asked, still completely confused. She rubbed her chest to somehow try and heal it from the strong finger that made her tender. The cow simply chuckled and skipped outside. “What in the world?” That’s when she heard another male voice, this one not so frustrating.

“Hey, are you alright?” asked a boy about 213’s age.“Yes, I’m fine,” she spoke stiffly.“That guy comes here all the time and screws with everyone, so don’t take it personally,” he explained with strong gesticulations. “In fact, I think he’s about to leave. Let me go give him a strong talking to.”As the boy ran outside, 213 stared after him. No one had ever stood up for her, and it was almost as if he didn’t recognize her skin.

“Hey asshole!” yelled the red-headed boy as he ran after the cow. He poked the mascot’s chest and stared into his beady, cow eyes. “Don’t come around here. You’re not welcome. Am I made clear?” The cow simply nodded and ran off into the distance, presumably back to his farm.

“That was very kind. I’ve never been treated that way,” she said with a smile when he re-entered the room.“It’s not a problem. I hate that guy. I’m Kennedy, by the way. Kennedy Santander,” he replied, remarkably leaving out that he was very well known around La Fiesta Tech.“I’m… uh….” 213 stuttered. How was she going to tell him that her name was what they considered a number? He would surely make fun of her.

“I know you’re not from here, it’s clear. But everyone at La Fiesta Tech is used to seeing aliens. We have a lot here, actually.” 213 stared at him, shocked. She had a lot to learn about this place.Kennedy chuckled. “Okay, you take your time. I have to go to class. I’ll talk to you later.”

213 took a deep breath after Kennedy left. She would have to put her nervousness aside and make herself known.

She introduced herself to anyone in sight. The first one was Robi Toyonoga.“Yo yo, wassup,” he said with a hearty laugh. His voice was deep and very similar to John Travolta’s.

The next was a girl she found dancing lazily in the common room upstairs.“It’s soooo nice to meet you,” said Cadence Royce in a very breathy, high-pitched voice. “Life is just lovely, don’t you think?”

The next person she met was unintentional while she was eating dinner at the table.“HI! I’M PAMELA! THIS SOUP IS JUST WONDERFUL, DON’T YOU AGREE? YES?!” She screamed out. This must have been the girl she heard yelling earlier.

That night, 213 went outside to study the sky. “Dad? If you can hear me… I made it. So, you can, as my dorm mates say, suck it. Good riddance, you terrible person.”

Good morning, journal! I found an empty notebook in our common room bookcase and decided to use you to document my endeavors. I awoke at approximately 6:01 this morning. I have taken a shower, and eaten a plate of what human’s call Omelets. The food here is much more impressive than the kind we have back home. Eating food paste out of a tube is not very warming. I have a class in an hour and I am excited to meet my new classmates.

After 213 returned from her first class, she hopped right onto the computer and started on her essay. Back at home, Philosophy was something you learned in kindergarten, so this was all very simple to her. Not only was it good to get her essay out of the way, it gave her more time to socialize with people and maybe get her into some kind of secret club.

213 and Kennedy spent a lot of time together, as well. She told him all about her home planet, and he told her all about Earth. She already knew a lot from reading about it, but hearing it from a civilian was different. Kennedy also mentioned sororities in college. “It would be a perfect way for you to get along with other women your age,” he said, “not to mention raise your influence.”

I decided to take Kennedy’s advice and invited over members from the local sorority. The girl from Tri-Fruhm on the other line could not be more thrilled about everything.“You want to join?! Greeeeeeat! You don’t have a ride? That’s cooool! We’ll come to you! Yeeeahh, greeeat.”

If only they could be more obnoxious, 213 thought sarcastically. She knew she shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, but it was pretty funny.

They all sat down and talked in the hallway for a while. As loud and annoying as they were around everyone else, they were pretty cool when you got to know them.

In the middle of hanging out, Jessie, one of the girls, stood up and began to holler.“Have I done something?” 213 asked kindly.“Yeah, giiirl! You made it! You’re a Tri-Fruhm now!” Jessie yelled.“That’s lovely,” 213 said with a smile. Of course, if she were a human, she would be freaking out. She wasn’t aware of what an honor this was.

The next morning, 213 awoke, excited to move out. She was just a Freshman and already, she was invited to live in a sorority. 213 was certainly making herself known on campus.

“This is Backside Taxi Service, how may I help you?” said a raspy-voiced woman.“Yes, hello. I would like a taxi cab to move me out of my dormitory and into my new home at a sorority!”“Well, isn’t that just lovely for you. We’ll be right ovah.”

When 213 arrived to her new home, she looked around. All the girls were in their togas and welcomed her with shouts. How else would they do so? As she explored the small home, she realized that there was only one bathroom for all five of them. This was going to be a long four years.

Sorority life wasn’t much different than any regular student’s life. She often went to campus and brought back pizza for the house. None of the girls could cook and basically had no skills other than partying.

213 would always wait until her classes were over to go out to community lots and find people from La Fiesta Tech’s so-called “Secret Society.” She observed and found some people in certain outfits. After a bit of studying, 213 greeted them and became friends to infiltrate their secret lot.

It was fairly easy to make friends with these people. It was as if they were normal students. 213 could hardly wait until she could wear that outfit.

On her last night of looking for people, she saw her best friend, Kennedy. 213 ran up to him and squeezed him.

“Kennedy! I have not spoken with you since I left the dormitory.” In all honesty, she missed him a lot. She was having feelings for him that she hadn’t had with anyone of the opposite sex before.

After some time, 213 and Kennedy began to flirt a bit. There was obviously chemistry between them and they were just now realizing it. 213 spent so much time trying to be the big man on campus that she completely forgot about the legacy she was to make.

With all of this socializing, 213 was staying up all night and sleeping in all day. She missed a lot of her classes and during a final exam, completely forgot about writing her essay. Fortunately, her Professor gave her a B+.

One night, 213 was in the kitchen eating some pizza when she glimpsed out the window. A long, black limo had pulled up front. She put down her pizza to investigate.

213 was on her way out the door, but a man in the Social Society outfit barged in. “Who are you?” she asked, a bit nervous.

“You’ll know eventually,” said the man. His voice was deep and serious.

The man whipped her around and cuffed her hands. She whimpered, thinking she had been arrested. They must have found out that I tried to infiltrate them, she though, deflated at her failure.He lead her outside and threw her into the back of the limo.

213 looked out the window. This was definitely not a prison. No prison would look this nice. Had she won? Had she finally become one of them?

When she stepped outside, 213’s new colleagues cheered. They handed her a Secret Society outfit and she gladly changed into it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kennedy.

213 rushed over to him and kissed him without thinking. It was very romantic and everyone cheered again. She had only read about kisses in books, and no one at home used that as a form of affection.“Wow,” Kennedy laughed as they pulled away. “I’m glad you made the first move, I was too nervous to.”And from then on, the entire school dubbed them the cutest couple.

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Since 213 had completed her goals of joining a Sorority and becoming a part of the Secret Society, she now had to focus on raising her grade. It had dropped even further because she was spending so much time out mingling. Kennedy would often drop by to check on her but the sisters would have to explain that she was at class or at the library studying.

One day, she had actually been home when Kennedy visited her. He managed to lure her into their photo booth. I think it’s pretty obvious what they had been doing.

In the beginning of her Senior year, 213 took Kennedy out on a date. It was their first actual outing and she couldn’t think of a better time to be close than at the end of college. It was a perfect night.

Well, except for the waiter dropping their food on 213 accidentally just moments early.

One morning, Jessie approached 213 in the dining room.“Hi, love! You should follow me outside,” she said with excitement.“For wha-”“You’ll see.” Jessie grabbed her arm and dragged her outside.

213 gasped. “Wooow… a car!”

“A sports car,” Jessie corrected with emphasis. “The girls and I chipped in to buy it for you with the money we’ve made from out final exams. We wouldn’t have that money if it weren’t for you.”“That is very kind of you, Jessica. I think we should take this car out to a community lot.”

“Of course. I’ll gather the girls, but not before getting a hug,” said Jessica, pulling 213 into an embrace.

The girls quickly came downstairs and out to the car. 213 left out the little fact that she did not have a driver’s license, but she had played enough driving games to know the rules of the road.

In the car ride, they had all decided that they wanted to go to the Riverblossom Heights Ice Rink. It had just opened and they all wanted to try it out.

213 was on her way up the hill to possibly grill up some burgers when she saw a blue blob far away. Without panic, she slowly approached the area and her suspicions were confirmed.

Father? She thought. No, it can’t be… 500 caught her staring when he caught a glimpse of her.

500 walked towards his daughter, then walked right past her in a sign that he was disappointed and disgusted. 213 was just glad she didn’t have to deal with the argument, especially in public.

After her father left the scene, 213 called Kennedy, desperately needing to talk to him. He promised to be right over so they could spend time together.

Once Kennedy arrived, 213 led him into a small, enclosed circle in the woods. She pulled him close and began to slow dance with him.“Is something wrong babe?” asked Kennedy, clearly concerned.

“Nothing. Nothing at all. I love being in your company.” She paused for a moment. “I was thinking maybe, after college is over, we would still be together. Oh, what do you humans call it… getting married.”

Kennedy chuckled, loving how everything was serious with her. “It’s traditional that the men ask the women for their hand. We’ll see when we graduate. Is that okay with you?”

“That is okay with me,” she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder. Being in her boyfriend’s arms was like no warmth that she had ever experienced, including the day her father’s spacecraft passed awfully close to the sun.

After a long day, all that 213 wanted was to soak in the pool. She knew how her father could be. He could have come here to kill her. That’s how intense he was. These thoughts raced through her mind like bullets out of a gun. All she wanted was to relax.

The next morning, when the scary thoughts had passed, 213 answered the phone to a voice she hadn’t heard in years.“213? Is that you?” squealed her mother.“No… what is going on? Tell me!” 213 almost screamed.“Darling, you need to know something. Your father, he’s on a rampage.”

“What? For me? Wha…” she stuttered nervously.“He’s come to Earth. He left home, and when I demanded an explanation, all he said was ‘I’m out to get her.’”213 stared wide-eyed out the window. How could her mother do this? How could she let him leave to hurt her?“213? 213?”

“I’m here, mother. Please, try to get a hold of father, tell him that I have learned so much about this place and I’m happy. Maybe he will have mercy.” 213 had an inch of hope and she was going to use it to the best of her ability.“You know your father…” said a doubtful mother.“Just try. Please. I graduate college today, and I don’t want to die.” With that, she hung up the phone.

Just hours later, 213 grew into a beautiful adult. She graduated with honors and came back to a Sorority house filled with – what else – screaming sisters. Unfortunately, she wasn’t one to say goodbye. When it came time to leave, she just wanted to get it over with.

When all the girls left for their classes, 213 called a taxi and headed out to her brand new house. She was excited to see what a legacy house looked like.

“This is my home? Well… I guess there’s only one direction from here, and that’s up.”