GDF (HotCider & SandDollar)

[SandDollar]

When Noah purged the disgusting, oversized morsel from his mouth onto his plate, Lana finally heaved a relieved sigh. She lowered her eyes to her tablet once more to continue reading her article, at least until it was snatched right out from her hands, her green eyes flashing in warning as she looked across to her partner.

"Are you telling me you did zero research?" A brow tweaked upwards as she folded her arms over her chest. It wasn't her that was faking her race, but if it had been, she would have done a little bit of reading before hand to make sure she wouldn’t get herself in any trouble. Clearly, Noah couldn’t be bothered.

“You can start by taking off those ridiculous sunglasses,” she muttered beneath her breath before shifting to straightened her posture in her seat. “Just.. act like I do.” She frowned, not even sure how to explain how to act like her own species, or at least in terms that would penetrate his thick skull.

“You’re gunna have to follow my lead on this one.” Slowly, an amused smirk curled across her lips at the very idea. She knew he wouldn’t be too happy with that notion, but it couldn’t be helped. Lana would just have to be the ring-leader this time.

 

[HotCider]

Are you telling me you did zero research?

Noah arched a brown brow at her, giving her a look as though she were stupid.

“Research? What research? It’s not hard acting human, there’s just…” His eyes slowly rolled to the side in his uncertainty. “There’s just the food and drink issue. Your good doesn’t equal my good and your normal doesn’t equal my normal.”

His brows then knitted when she asked him to remove his purple sunglasses.

“I’m actually quite fond of these glasses. They’re about as human as they get.”

Just..act like I do…You’re gunna have to follow my lead on this one.

Noah gave Lana a blank, disbelieving stare. She must have been crazy to think he’d follow her lead on anything. She should simply tell him what to eat and what not to eat, what to drink, and what not to drink. Was it so difficult? But act like her? He was going to act like her all right.

Closing his eyes, Brandon rested his back against the backrest of his chair. He was silent for five seconds as he got into character. He then raised his legs, curling them in his seat before he turned Lana’s pad over and began tapping away with a coy smile on his lips. Every now and then a muffled, girlish giggle would escape him. He raised his fingers daintily to hide the fact that he was laughing until his lips parted and Noah began laughing at a volume that caused the heads of the waiting passengers around he and Lana to turn and regard him strangely.

With a hand upon his stomach, Noah threw his head back and roared obnoxiously with laughter. He then elbowed the old woman in the seat behind him who gasped in offense. It was Noah’s overall impression of Officer Matthews. The magnitude of annoyance was about that level in his opinion.

 

[SandDollar]

For a moment, Lana thought that maybe he would take a back seat, just sit there and, for once in his life, keep quiet. Oh, but she was sorely mistaken. Her gut immediately sunk and twisted at the first faint giggle. Her eyes grew wide and her cheeks flushed as she watched his girlish display, horrified at the attention he was drawing.

"Noa--," she paused in the middle of her frustration, soon to give a faint groan before continuing. "Oh, for Christ's sake, stop it! I do not act like that!" But his hysterical laughter drowned her out.

Brow twitching as she glared across the way at him, she pushed herself up to her feet with a huff. Two could play at this game. Her hands twisted into fists as she made her way to the food court, browsing the vendors and selection of food. If he wanted her to tell him what to eat, she would certainly tell him.

Minutes later, her temper having dissipated, a calm, collected expression about her smooth face. In a thin mesh bag was cradled a sleek container which she soon tossed down into his lap.

"Eat it," she simply commanded before plopping down into her chair, arms folded across her chest. Inside the container was a neat pile of lettuce. On top of that lettuce was some low carb croutons among a variety of vegetables, and on top of those, several large cubes of spongy, moist, tofu. No meat to be seen.

"A delicacy among humans. You should most certainly enjoy it." Raising a hand, she hid her sly smirk from him, absently watching in enjoyment.

 

[HotCider]

Noah instantly fell silent and his eyes widened in surprise when Lana dropped a bag in his lap. He uncurled his legs and stared down at the mystery bag, setting the pad aside as he removed the plastic container from inside the bag. Popping open the top, Noah frowned down at the green stuff. There were white cubes of some strange…stuff and brown cubes.

“What the fuck is this?” he questioned in confusion. “This doesn’t even look appetizing.”

Picking up the container, he raised it up to his face, inches from his nose as he took a big whiff of it. It smelled…leafy. Extending his tongue, he licked at one of the leaves, getting a taste of water and slight bitterness. Setting the salad down, he grabbed up a leaf and popped it into his mouth, munching it slowly. If there was one thing he enjoyed, it was the bursts of water, but beside that there was no prominent flavor. He picked up the tofu next, squishing it between his fingers and narrowing his eyes when it became paste.

Raising his tofu covered fingers to his mouth, he sucked on them and frowned when there was absolutely no flavor whatsoever. It was just mush. He did the croutons next, the hard bread crunching between his teeth. It was very bready, but still nothing. There was nothing but disappointment on Noah’s face as he set the salad aside.

“It has no flavor. What is there to like? You’re full of shit if you think I’ll believe that those green Glork scabs are a delicacy of earth.”

Noah picked up her pad and began researching Earthling foods. He scrolled through a series of images, making disturbed faces at pizza, London broil, macaroni and others. He stopped on an image of a strawberry sundae that didn’t look too bad, and flipped the pad over to show Lana.

“Now that looks like real food,” he said.

He didn’t perceive the sundae to be a dessert but to be something to be eaten on a regular basis such as breakfast, lunch, or dinner. He then flipped on, finding a picture of sushi topped with fish eggs. He showed that image to Lana next.

“That looks good too.”

The eggs reminded him of a galactic dish.

 

[SandDollar]

Her lips pressed together as she watched him sniff and examine the contents of the container, pressing her fist to her mouth to try and contain herself. Personally, she despised tofu, even when it was blended well in a meal. The texture was just something she couldn't stand. So to see him pinch the cube, only to taste the spongy substance, she couldn't help but laugh. Eventually, some moisture having gathered at the corners of her eyes, she sighed out and straightened in her seat.

"It's called a salad, and if they're made right, they can taste pretty good. Dressing helps." And that white stuff is tofu. It's a soy product that vegetarians substitute for meat."

Taking the salad container from him, she tossed it into the incinerator a few feet away from her, though when he began furiously searching through images of her native food, a brow perked, particularly when he showed her the sunday.

"That's a dessert. But yes, they taste good, but not too good for you." With a shrug of her shoulders, she folded her arms over her chest, continuing to watch him as he did a bit more research. Then he scrolled upon sushi, showing her the image.

"You'd probably enjoy it, but it's not something I like, personally." Snatching the pad back from him, she quickly began typing, soon to pull up a picture of a thick beef patty topped with onion rings, bacon, tomatoes, melted cheese and dripping with blue cheese dressing, all atop a toasted bun.

"This is where it gets good. All-american beef burgers." She was practically drooling at the site of it. It had been far too long.

 

[HotCider]

“It tastes nothing like meat,” Noah said to Lana’s tofu comment.

He then frowned when she snatched the pad from him. He hadn’t expected her to take it away so soon. She tapped away on it and then flipped it around to present some sort of meal he didn’t know how to make heads or tails of. He hadn’t tasted the toppings that were covering it before.

This is where it gets good. All-American beef burgers.

Noah smirked and leaned back in his chair. “It looks like somebody got too happy and creamed all over it.” He began laughing at his own immature joke when a woman came over the intercom:

Gate B12 now boarding.

Noah’s expression then collapsed into a foul one. I think I may take some knock out pills. He didn’t want to think about the three-day journey to Earth. The food so far sucked and that was a big deal for him. Everything else about Earth could have been awful, but if the food was good, he would have made it. Now he wasn’t sure if going to Earth with Lana was a good idea.

Standing, Brandon grabbed his suitcase and sighed in a manner as though his life from here on was going to be miserable.

“Let’s get this over with.” Why did he try to show up Michael and Vanessa?

 

[SandDollar]

Her expression fell from one of pure desire for the juicy beef patty to a glare of hatred when Noah cracked his wise-ass comment, her green eyes narrowed intensely before she rolled them a moment later and clutched the tablet to her chest.

"Why do you have to ruin everything..?" she muttered underneath her breath, though hearing their shuttle was called to begin boarding. Tucking the tablet away into her purse, and reaching for her carryon bag, stuffed full with everything she'd need for the voyage, she rose up out of her chair and headed towards the gate, digging out the small chip from her jacket pocket.

The line didn't take too long fortunately, as Lana soon passed the chip over to the flight attendant, who inserted it into a small hand held device. A holographic popped up with her picture and all her information which the woman quickly confirmed before ejecting the chip and returning it to Lana with a polite smile.

Without waiting for Brandon, she strolled down the sloping bridge to the launch pad, awaiting her turn to climb aboard the ship which honestly felt more like a prison. A prison she'd be trapped within for three long days with the Martian.

Three Days Later..​

Lana hadn't slept much the entire trip. She never did, but she didn't mind. By the time her home planet had come into view anyways, she had been too excited to sleep. It had been a long three years since her last visit; too long in her opinion, but work always came first.

They were finally released off the ship after a smooth landing and Lana's cramped legs carried her slowly down the ramp and onto the pad as she lightly groaned. With a glance over her shoulder, she decided to wait for her other baggage a bit impatiently, letting her bag drop heavily to the concrete floor. She couldn't wait to get to the hotel and just relax; spend some time by the pool, get in a few books. Oh, it all sounded so lovely.

 

[HotCider]

The ride for Noah had been an eventful one. It had all started with the food. It looked good, tasted okay, but it sent his stomach on a trip that had him hogging the bathroom for hours. There were angry passengers banging on the door annoyed that they were forced to wait for the one unoccupied bathroom that people knew how to use and get out of, and not hog. Noah eventually returned to his seat. His face was wet with moisture after he had wetted it. He felt so exhausted and was going to vow to fast for the next two days.

Unlike Lana, the Martian found a way to sleep in the uncomfortable chairs. His head hung forward as though he had died in his seat. The blanket was comfortably drawn over him and the pillow had fallen to the floor a long time ago. Eventually, his head tipped over right into Lana’s shoulder. His face was buried into her neck, and he hardly seemed disturbed by the change in position. When the Martian slept, he slept like a rock.

The last two days, Noah had been listening to some information videos about Earth and watching the earth films that came on the drop down plasma screens every now and then. He had to have been the noisiest guest. When a thriller was on, he was standing up in his chair and screaming:

RUN YOU STUPID BITCH!

Forgetting the fact that he had the headphones on that muted all noises but the sound from the movie. There were so many passengers giving them odd looks. When a comedy film was on, unfortunately late in the evening, Noah would startle the snoozing passengers awake with roars of laughter. He had laughed so hard that tears came to his eyes. It hadn’t even taken three days for everyone on the ship to hate him.

When day three came, the passengers were practically running off the ship. They couldn’t wait to get away from the worst flight they had ever had. Noah, as Brandon, carried along his carryon behind Lana. She didn’t look like she got much sleep, and she seemed to be in a hurry just as the other passengers were. He followed her to the baggage area and picked up his suitcase from the conveyer belt.

Brandon stared at the technology that was sliding the bags along and smirked in amusement.

“The technology is practically primitive here,” he said. “Well, where to?”

Just as he asked the question, a rather rotund woman with a white West Highland terrier on a leash screamed in excitement upon throwing her meaty arms about a girl who looked old enough to be in middle school. The girl was lost in her girth, but it was the dog Noah was looking at strangely. He left Lana’s side before she could answer—if she bothered to—and crept over to the tiny dog who turned to regard him with a friendly wagging tail.

Lowering to his knees, Brandon whispered to the dog, “Hey, why are you on a leash? Is she enslaving you?”

He then frowned threateningly. “Want me to arrest her?”

The little dog squeaked at him and did a little dance on its hind legs.

“Is that a yes?” he questioned irritably.

The white terrier leaped up and licked Noah right on the lips. The Martian staggered backwards in disgust as though he had been kissed by Sergeant Hon. It was the same reaction. He rose to his feet, wiping frantically at his face with the back of his hand.

“I hope she chokes you!” he cursed at the dog.

The big woman frowned at the strange man that had been near her baby.

“Come, Poopsie,” she ordered and yanked the tiny dog along.

“Poopsie? Ha! Is that the name she gave you?”

As the dog was led away, Noah could only feel sorry for it. The poor Canaan (so he thought) was enduring slavery and it seemed legal on this planet.