A Past with an Alien

CHAPTER 9

ERIER

I stood before the blue gate of the school, only to realize it was Saturday and there were no classes. I sighed deeply with disappointment as I had come to see Iris, but unfortunately, this wasn't the right time. I must account for clocks and calendars, which dictate specific activities on given days.

As I turned around to leave, Iris popped up in front of me, carrying a paper bag with a big, surprising reaction written on her face. I noticed her swollen eyes, which made me worried. She had always looked like this. She approached me but stopped and laughed for no reason.

"Hector, today is Saturday. Why do you look like that?"

I wore my regular teaching clothes, a long-sleeved white shirt with a necktie, while Iris wore her denim shorts and jumper. She had looked like this from the first day I met her at the bridge.

"Uhm, yeah, I didn't know," I chuckled, trying to make an excuse.

"You know what... I don't know if you're stupid or came from another planet." Iris's words hurt me. I couldn't believe even this human girl could say those words to me. I felt offended and lowered my head. I felt humiliated.

"Hector... I'm just kidding. Sorry for the words," Iris said. She tapped me on my left arm. "I'm looking for company today since you're here. Would you like to join me? I'm going to clean my classroom."

She held my right hand and faced me. At least she apologized. Did she understand how I felt? And then the goal struck my head. "Make her fall in love," I recalled all those movies and series I had watched and studied every action the male took to get the female's attention.

"But it's okay if you don't want to," Iris added.

"N-no... It's okay,"

Inside my head, I was thinking of the first actions I should take. I smiled at her from ear to ear, twitched my lips, did the cute puppy eye look, and finally, did the finger heart. I stared at her, but she just laughed out loud.

"Are you okay?" Iris shrugged her head. "Could we just walk in now, or else I might go crazy out here?"

She curled her arms around mine and handed me the paper bag. At first, I was clueless, but I grabbed it anyway. We both dashed towards the school's gate and inside my head, I kept asking myself if it worked.

***

"Achuu!" Iris sneezed, and I couldn't help but follow suit.

She needed my help to remove some items from a large wooden box. Until now, the objects used for education in this school seemed simple. Humans had a different way of teaching children, using tools like the blackboard in front of us. They had to write on it so that their students could understand. These objects were strange because we used 3D holograms, simulations, and advanced technologies to teach in our mini-cities. Meanwhile, they used things like paper, notebooks, and pencils.

Watching Iris sneeze, I noticed microscopic white things flying in the air. She covered half of her face with a small piece of fabric, and I wondered what it was. I wanted to do the same, but I needed to have material like that.

"Hector, you don't have to help me here. Look at your shirt," Iris said, pointing at my clothes. "You might get dirty."

As I gazed at my shirt, I tried to comprehend what Iris meant by it getting dirty. I needed clarification because we only wear one type of clothing on our planet and replace it based on age or sequence. Every profession has a designated class of garment, which is why human dress is complicated.