Unworldly (Completed 2016 version)

Chapter 1

I slung my backpack over my shoulder and slammed my rusty blue locker shut with a bang.

It's only a Monday.

It was one of those schooldays where the stars align to give everyone three lectures, too much note-taking, and two group projects — all within the same eight hours. 

I loathed group projects with a burning passion. When I had to do an assignment alongside humans, the real project wasn't making the presentation, it was the juvenile pieces of work that were supposed to be contributing just as much as me.

As the locker door shut, I sighed to hear the heel-clicks of the bane of my existence and her posse strut up behind me. 

Right on cue. They were on their way to their after-school fan club — the Max Harker fan club. That's me, by the way, I'm Max.

What? I didn't ask for a fan club. I'm the last being that wants that kind of attention, and yet that only seemed to encourage club president Kaitlin.

I always got an uncomfortable abundance human attention. I never should've designed my facial structure like this.

I possessed this corpse early on, and was able to pick my appearance as I grew up. I made myself to be very attractive, because as I'd observed, humans tend to draw unfair judgment just based on looks. I needed the benefit of that, so the humans would accept me.

Unfortunately my appearance also made too many humans want to interact with me, which was turning out to be a weakness, considering I needed to be staying under the radar. The Max Harker fan club is a great example of an unwanted side effect.

I turned around, and came face-to-face with three girls backing up their leader, all looking unusually dressed up for a Monday. Heels and a skirt or dress were standard for Kaitlin, but today all of them were doing the same.

"Hey Maxie, whatcha doin' after school today?" Kaitlin asked, twisting her long dyed-blonde hair with her finger so tightly, it was like she wanted it to get stuck. 

And before you ask, yes, she is always like this. Around me, that is.

"We're goin' to Tiffany's and rankin' our outfits," she went on, "so we still need to know your favorite color."

I knew what color she hoped was my favorite. She wore white more than every other day, an obvious point to my snow-white hair.

So of course, today she again wore a white– Oh god, no, wear a higher shirt next time...! I averted my alien gaze as I plotted an escape plan.

I was physically incapable of attraction towards any of these creatures. Or any creatures, really.

I don't reproduce, and I have no inclination to — unlike all these teenage younglings who would be highly incompetent at handling actual human reproduction, yet are so interested in meddling with it anyways.

As annoying and fake as Kaitlin could be, I could never bring myself to be blatantly rude to her. Honestly, it's my fault she's obsessed with me. 

Long story short, in sixth grade she had a big crush on me, which led to an incident that I had to forcefully erase from her memory. When I take someone's memory without consent, it leaves unwanted permanent effects...in this case, a lifelong obsession and fan club. 

"I'm busy again, and, just...please don't call me that," I tried to say politely for the 758th time. 

Humans call me Max Harker. Or Max. Or Harker. You could also call me alien overlord, body-snatcher, 'the gray ghost' — all of those were acceptable answers. Anything but 'Maxie.'