How to Date an Alien by Magan Vernon Page A

that alien you work
with, are you?" Malcolm raised an eyebrow.
    “Hey, what’s up? You all aren’t talking about
me, are you?" Gavin asked as he and Riley walked down to the
bowling area.
    “I guess only if you’re tall, dark, and not
from this planet." Justin laughed, slamming the rest of his
drink.
    Riley rolled her eyes. “Can we just spend one
night not talking about those things? It’s bad enough we have to
spend all day working with them. I thought by taking this
internship I would get some great research for my thesis on Mars'
plant life, but having to work alongside those bugs has made
me really wish I had just taken an internship back in Philly.” She
shivered, shaking her head as she knocked around a few ice cubes in
her drink with a tiny red straw.
    Then she looked directly at me, a smug smile
crossing her face. “But I don’t think Alex minds working with the
bugs. Do you, Alex?”
    I could feel the heat of everyone’s eyes on
me. I tried to focus on the wood-paneled walls and ignoring
them.
    “Oh, come on, guys. We aren’t here to talk
about work. Let’s bowl." Jen nudged me before heading toward the
rusted metal ball rack.
    Everyone else followed, but Gavin slinked in
next to me. “Were you really looking around for one of those
aliens?" he whispered.
    I tried to ignore the pointedness of the
question and knew the answer that he wanted wasn't the one that he
was going to get.
    “Well, I kind of invited Ace.”
    Gavin’s eyes widen as his hands closed into a
tight fist around his plastic cup.
    “But it was just to be nice,” I blurted,
trying to cover my tracks. “He was asking me why I was all dressed
up, so I told him that we were going out and he could come if he
wanted.”
    Gavin shook his head, crushing the glass in
his white-knuckled fist with a loud pop. “I can’t believe you have
to work with that thing all day. You shouldn’t have even brought it
up to him. I don’t think he even has clearance to leave base,” he
spat.
    “Why wouldn't he have permission?”
    Everyone went silent and I heard a low growl
escape Gavin's lips. He leaned in closer. “You really don’t know
the kind of guy you’re working with? What that bug has done?”
    “Come on, Gavin. Let’s just have some fun.
Let's not talk about aliens tonight." Justin swooped in at Gavin's
side and put his hand on his shoulder, but Gavin flicked it away. A
bead of sweat formed on his forehead as he wiped back his
bangs.
    “No, if she wants to know, I'll tell her. We
don't want her to have another incident like with the Cephlapod."
Gavin leaned in even closer. His breath smelled just as sour as the
words that were coming out of his mouth.
    “That little alien friend of yours isn’t as
innocent as he makes himself out to be. Trying to act like he's
your guardian when really there should be someone guarding you from
him. He’s classified as dangerous and potentially hazardous to
humans and other aliens." Gavin’s eyes narrowed.
    “That can’t be true." I crossed my arms
firmly over my chest. “Why would my dad let me work with him if he
was dangerous? Why wasn't I told about this before?”
    “They kind of had to let the two of you work
together after he killed that Cephalopod who attacked you. Plus, he
threatened to take down a whole unit if they didn’t let the two of
you work together,” Riley chimed in from behind Gavin. "We only
just found out about it ourselves."
    I shook my head, turning my back to everyone
and looked down at the ball rack. “No, you’re wrong. He was trained
in the Air Force; that’s why he’s considered dangerous and
potentially hazardous."
    Riley pushed her way past Gavin and I looked
up at her. "It's funny how soon you forget that an alien attacked
you on your first day here and yet you still feel like you need to
protect them."
    Gavin nodded in Riley's direction and threw
his cup in a nearby trashcan. He mumbled something under his breath
as he made his way back to the bar. Justin