Annica: Starseed Ambassador

Chapter 10: Passing Grade

Two weeks after deciding to start her school's very first croquet club, Annica was taping up promotional posters in a hallway with Adam during lunch.

Adam approached Annica while she was taping up the final poster in her stack. "Hey, Annica, there's someone here who says she knows you."

Annica turned her attention away from the poster to see Maya standing next to Adam. Maya wasn't dressed in her usual blue jumpsuit; rather, she was wearing ordinary jeans and a bright yellow T-shirt with a retro 1960s-style rainbow design.

Annica was startled by the sight of Maya in this context, but it wasn't the same deep, gut-level fear that Maya had instilled in her before. Maya had a warm smile on her face; Annica didn't see her as merely an empty projection for some higher-dimensional entity. She wasn't a little girl either, though – she was something in between. For the first time, Annica felt fully comfortable with this thought.

Adam scratched his head. "Are you two sisters or something?"

"She's family," Annica answered calmly, without hesitation.

"Oh, uh, all right," Adam replied, clearly still confused by the situation. "I'll just leave you two alone then."

As soon as Adam was beyond earshot, Annica quietly asked, "Are you physical? I mean, purely physical?"

"Yes!" Maya exclaimed with the same childlike enthusiasm Annica had first seen from her. "Like I said before, we can manifest physically! This is what you wanted, right? To meet during the daytime, in a public space?" Maya gleefully spun around in a circle.

Annica nervously looked around. "So others can see you and everything?"

"Yes! Your friend Adam did. And here, watch this!" Maya proceeded to intentionally bump into a student walking by. "Oh! Sorry about that!" she hollered as the confused student walked away.

Maya placed an index finger on her lips before adding, "I suppose from your perspective it's possible for that student to be a figment of your imagination. I could demonstrate with another student if you'd like. Or perhaps a teacher?"

Annica laughed. "No, it's okay. I believe you. But why are you here?"

Maya's eyes lit up as she lightly clapped her hands. "I wanted to congratulate you personally on the completion of your very first assignment!"

Annica thought back to the last time she spoke with Maya. "Do you mean the croquet club, or me giving you guys a piece of my mind?"

"Oh! I meant the croquet club. But actually, they were both good assignments," Maya said with a grin.

Annica crossed her arms. "So my little speech was an 'assignment' too?"

"Well, sort of. We knew you would express dissatisfaction with the situation, but we didn't know exactly what you would say. The Council was actually quite impressed with your boldness!"

Annica took a step back. "So it was all planned, then? Even me going against the plan?"

"Yes," Maya confirmed with a vigorous nod. "I know our methods seem a bit convoluted to you, but it was the most efficient way to give you the training and development you needed, as quickly as possible."

Annica shook her head. "It's just crazy. You know that, right? How completely insane this is?" She lowered her voice but added extra emphasis while continuing, "That interdimensional aliens came all the way out here and orchestrated this whole... event... so a high school freshman would start a croquet club? And why didn't you just tell me from the very beginning?!"

"Two reasons, mainly," Maya quickly responded. "First, your heart wouldn't have been in it, if you had not come to the realization on your own. And second, we were concerned that you might not recognize the... 'gravity' of your assignment without the necessary education and experiences first."