The Millennial Box by Julie Steimle (snow like ashes .TXT) 📖

engaged in chit-chat. It was all above board and recordable by the spying FBI. Anyone listening in would not have suspected anyone in the household not to be of Earth. Even after dinner was over and Jeff was begged to regale them in a few songs he knew. Jeff took out some of his instruments and played different tunes, including one on his balalaika-like instrument. And he sang tunes he had memorized since coming to America. Those listening in wondered if it was allowed for them to burn a CD or make an Mp3 just to keep. Jeff was that good.

He also drove her home.

Zormna entered the McLennas' house at six o'clock, peeking over her shoulder at Jeff's departing motorcycle. The family was just eating leftovers from the feast. Todd was constructing a particularly huge turkey sandwich with all the trimmings.

"How's it shaking, Zormna? Where have you been?" Todd asked, squirting more mustard onto his bread, then adding cranberry sauce. He placed a leaf of lettuce on top and added another tomato slice.

Looking around the room, she shrugged. "Oh, around. I went to Jeff's."

Mr. McLenna's face darkened behind his newspaper, trying not to visibly glare within the view of Todd.

Todd smiled. "Yeah? How is he? Are you two getting along now?"

"Swimmingly," Mr. McLenna muttered, straightening the paper in his hands.

Todd heard it and smiled. The last time he knew, Jeff and Zormna were exchanging dirty glares and threats.

"We get on ok," Zormna said, ignoring the remarks coming from the living room. "Have you seen Jennifer?"

Jennifer's older brother rolled his eyes. "Oh... She went off with Kevin. She won't be back until twelve." He shook his head and leaned near. "I think they went to Stargazer's Hill."

"In this cold?" Zormna made a face. "Wouldn't it be smarter to go to his place or the mall?"

Todd laughed. "Not with Kevin it isn't. He said his mom is having all their relatives over, and he just wanted to escape them. But I think he just wanted to be alone with Jen." He looked at Zormna. "You didn't give them your house key, by chance?"

"Tch!" Zormna shook her head in disgust. "No."

Even Mr. McLenna smiled behind his paper at that news. He settled more comfortably in his seat.

Zormna turned to walk upstairs, but Todd stopped her, pulling out more bread.

"Do you want me to make you a sandwich?" he offered.

She smiled. "No thanks. I already ate at Jeff's. They had a full feast."

Todd put the bread down and smiled more broadly at her. "You two are getting way tight, aren't you?"

Zormna flushed and almost said something in retort.

"Too tight, if you ask me," Mr. McLenna mumbled.

Todd heard the remark that time and peeked at his father. Zormna quickly turned and headed up the stairs. This was not a conversation she wanted to get into.

Zormna waited until after one o'clock in the morning for Jennifer to get home. When she did arrive, Jennifer was glowing and red-cheeked as she floated into the house. She smiled at the walls and even at her father, who lectured her about her curfew and staying out late all alone with a boy. It was plenty paternal, and almost too much for Jennifer to stand. Yet she did, making promises that she would call if she was going to be late. Zormna listened to the sound of Jennifer's feet as she walked to Jennifer's and Mindy's bedroom. Then she door closed. Jennifer slumped happily against it. Zormna waited. She had to wait to make sure Mr. McLenna was not prowling around the house like he occasionally did when he is in a bad mood. However, he had gone to bed soon after Jennifer had entered her room, and Zormna smiled.

Once the hall was clear, Zormna crept out of her bedroom and down the attic stairs. The thick hall carpet muffled the sound of her bare feet. She twisted the doorknob to Jennifer's room very quietly.

"Jennifer?" Zormna whispered, trying not to wake Mindy.

Jennifer almost screamed, spinning around and pulling her shirt back on.

"I was dressing! Don't you knock?" she snapped in a whisper so she also would not wake her sister Mindy.

Zormna stepped in the room and closed the door behind her. "Sorry. I just need to talk to you."

Still blushing, Jennifer irritably waved her to come over and tell her quickly whatever she had to say. "What is it?" She continued to change out of her clothes into her pajamas.

"Well, I need your help," Zormna started. "I need you to get something off your dad's computer."

Jennifer pulled on her oversized T-shirt and unclipped her bra from underneath, drawing it out of her sleeve. "Yeah, so?"

Continuing, Zormna explained, "Well, I need a list of every bookmark your dad uses on the internet."

Jennifer glanced up at her, pulling on her long pajama bottoms. "What for?"

Cringing, Zormna replied, "It's complicated."

Jennifer made a face at her. "Details, Zormna."

Zormna sighed and looked up at her, hands clenching out of nerves. "Well, it's like this. Jafarr and I need it to trace the location of the murder suspects, and your dad might have a..." seeing something, Zormna paused and gazed at her. " - Is that a hickey?"

Jennifer jerked up her pajama collar and blushed. "What hickey? Besides, you were asking me something. Finish."

"If your dad sees that," Zormna sat down on Jennifer's bed, "he is going to blame me for corrupting you."

Shrugging that off, Jennifer rolled her eyes and let her collar fall down. "He won't see it."

The hickey rested in the crook of her neck.

"Only if you wear turtlenecks for the next few weeks." Zormna blinked at it. Shaking her head, she continued. "Well, the point is, we need the information to cross with another set so we can narrow our search. Will you help?"

Jennifer peeked at her, still blushing, but she nodded. "But only if you don't tell Dad about this," pointing to her neck.

It felt so ridiculous. Zormna wondered if Jennifer thought she was blackmailing her. Yet she said, "Ok. Just don't do any more stupid things with Kevin."

"It wasn't stupid," Jennifer's voice shifted into a whine. And yet there was guilt in her looks. "Promise you won't tell?"

Though tattling wasn't Zormna's nature or style to begin with, she did feel a degree disappointed with Jennifer. Yet she said, "I promise."

There wasn't anything more to say. Both of them quietly listened then peeked to make sure the parents were not waiting to catch Zormna out of bed. Then Zormna snuck back to her attic room.

As she climbed into her bed, pulling the covers up to her neck, Zormna frowned to herself, wondering if maybe she had misled Jennifer in going a little too far with her boyfriend - if not inadvertently. And though Jennifer knew that Zormna and Jeff had not crossed the line of simple friendship into that of lovers - that did not mean Jennifer had not started thinking about it herself since the concept was brought up. Zormna would hate to see Jennifer do something she would later regret - something worse than making out and leaving hickeys. Jennifer wasn't always a forward thinker. She didn't always ponder consequences.

So, as Zormna lay there in bed, she made a decision. She would have to run interference and help Jennifer not make that mistake. After all, Jennifer had full life ahead of her. And Zormna wanted a full life ahead for herself. Jennifer's parents would definitely kill their houseguest if Jennifer got pregnant, because they definitely would believe that it was Zormna's fault.

Jennifer snuck in the den and got the information Friday. It wasn't much, but it was easier than even Jeff had thought. There was a site Jennifer's father used that was linked to other sites meant for Arrassian connections. It was not an authorized site by Arrassian law - as it used real Arrassian writing on the home page. That made it justifiable for shutdown, which Zormna could legally and delightedly do. After all, they were probably connected to those who had murdered her great aunt.

Zormna was right, though, about one thing. If Mr. McLenna had even an inkling that she was behind Jennifer's using his computer, he would have barred the both of them from it, and they would probably have to wait until flowers sprouted legs for Jennifer to use it again. But he never caught wind. And Jennifer also finished her homework at the same time - so it really was a win-win.

It was much harder to get the information from the computer of Agent Sicamore's parents, who were high blood Arrassians and his secret source to all things about their world. Their new house in Arizona had a difficult security system.  Even after their men broke inside the place, the computer had an annoying password system. Jeff had to help crack it over the phone. Despite all that, they found the information they needed.

 

"Hey, Zormna!" Todd jogged after her as she walked out of the house into the chilly autumn air. "Where are you going?"

Zormna shrugged. "Jeff's place. He's helping me with something."

Todd grinned, following her. "Let me get my jacket, and I'll come with you."

Trying to hide a cringe, Zormna said, "Ah...it's...it's homework. We're not doing anything interesting."

But Todd only laughed. "Oh, come on. I haven't seen Jeff in ages. He won't mind."

Zormna didn't dare counter him, though she knew Jeff most definitely would mind. They were planning on going over the websites and examining the information they dug up from it. The last thing they needed was Todd getting entangled in it.

So they walked - slowly.

Todd shoved his hands into his pockets. "So...you and Jeff. Getting cozy."

Zormna rolled her eyes. "It's not like that."

"I hear tell that you two have been saying I told him to watch your back for you." He smirked at her.

Her cheeks flushed. Pulling her sweater a little closer, Zormna pretended to be just cold.

"But I could have sworn he was the one who told us to do that," Todd said.  He then peered into Zormna's face. "Come on. Really. What's going on?"

It was impossible to lose him, or distract him. Zormna tried for a half-truth. She shrugged. "We reconciled our differences. Jeff's been keeping the FBI off my back is all - you know, kind of like a bodyguard."

"Uh, huh..." Todd smirked at her.

Sighing, Zormna said, "Look. It's not how people make it out. We have shared friends, and we realized holding grudges was stupid. Then after that...I dunno, we realized that we have a lot more in common than we thought."

"Yeah..." Sighing weakly, Todd nodded. "You do."

He definitely seemed dismayed about it as well because he, like so many other boys, found Zormna highly attractive and wanted her to like him as something more than a friend. And Todd wasn't blind. He could tell Zormna didn't think in those terms about him. But he also got jealous, if only a little, when Zormna preferred the company of another boy over him.

And as they were walking in this melancholy silence, the autumn leaves rustling above in the trees and crunching below under their feet, only the welcome rumble of a familiar truck engine could remove the mood. Halting the vehicle, Brian Henderson called out from the driver's seat. "Hey! Do you two want to go to the movies with us?"

Jonathan and Mark were in the back. Adam sat shotgun in the front with Joy. 

Todd's face brightened. He quickly looked to Zormna. "Hey! The movies!"

Zormna chuckled, relieved, and yet also painfully as she waved back at the rest of them. "Hi. Uh, I can't."

"We can just go pick up Jeff and Alex," Todd said, growing more excited.

Shaking her head, Zormna closed her eyes. "He's not going to come. Trust me."

Joy frowned from the front seat, hearing that.

Making something up, Zormna said, "His aunt has this whole thing planned. That's why I was going to him instead of him coming to my place. She won't let him leave the house."

"We already stopped by Jeff's," Jonathan called out. He shared a