Page 19 of The Bully Alien

"That's... that's amazing, but the others... they fought you in your spaceships, didn't they?"

"At times. Sometimes, they have managed to land on our planet, and we would have to fight them on foot."

"That sounds brutal."

"Life is brutal."

I close my eyes briefly and try not to cry.

"Yes," I murmur. "It can be very brutal. Even here on Earth and it's nothing like that, not what you've gone through."

He says nothing.

I hesitate and then ask, "What did you mean that it could have been worse? What's worse than fighting another planet on and off for years?"

"Consider yourself lucky," he says.

"How so?"

"Being backward might keep you under their radar."

"Under whose radar?" I ask, unable to prevent myself from growing frustrated. He's talking in riddles, about something I have no knowledge of.

He crosses his arms, and his gaze shifts to our laptops, where we have up research for our project.

"That is a waste of time," he says.

"Then why go to school at all?" I ask him.

"I hoped for... It doesn't matter what I hoped for. It's not happening."

"Can I see your ship?"

"No."

"It's not completely destroyed, is it?"

"I don't want to talk about my ship."

"What do you want to talk about?" I ask.

"How about you do some talking?" he counters.

I shake my head. "That's not—"

"Why not?" he demands. "Why should I have to talk? You've asked me some questions that I didn't want to answer, but I did. Your turn. Either start talking, or else I will ask you questions you don't want to hear."

I blow out a breath, knowing what question he'll ask first. It won't be enough to not answer it. I don't even want to hear the question.

"I love the stars," I say. "I always have. Since meeting you and learning what you are... I don't want to go to the moon. I don't want to go to Mars. I want to go out there and see as many planets as I can. I want to explore the universe—"

"Universes," he comments mildly.

"The universes." I grin.

"It's not going to happen."

I grit my teeth. "We can make it happen."