Earthling Ambassador by Liane Moriarty Read Free Book Online

bright yellow plastic watch.
    â€œIt’s a countdown watch,” explained Georgio. “It lets you know exactly how much time you have to complete your mission before the garbage starts to fall.”
    Nicola looked at the watch.
    It said:
    ONLY THREE DAYS REMAINING UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD--TIME TO GET CRACKING !
    â€œI think you’ll find it very motivational,” said Georgio.
    â€œThanks,” said Nicola faintly. She strapped the watch on her wrist and decided to try not to look at it that often.
    Georgio glanced out the window and saw a huge expanse of red, rippled sand. “At last! Here’s where we park our spaceships when we visit Earth.Terribly inconvenient.”
    As Nicola looked down, she saw what looked like an enormous, bright pink powder puff shoot vertically into the sky and then vanish.
    â€œHow annoying! That’s the Wardrobewhizonic Ladies and their silly frilly spaceship!” said Georgio. “How did they beat us, Plum? I thought our helicopter was much faster than theirs!”
    â€œThey probably didn’t stop for a spot of leisurely cloud-swimming,” said Plum.
    â€œAh, good point,” said Georgio hurriedly. “Well, Nicola, that far more sensible spaceship you see there is the one we’ll be traveling in.”
    He gestured to a sleek silver spaceship sitting majestically in the middle of the desert. Nicola thought about how Tyler would love to be here right now seeing a real spaceship and thought about how she’d describe it to him.To her, it looked like a piece of giant cutlery, but Tyler would probably be hoping for a more technical description.
    Plum expertly glided the helicopter down toward what looked like a parking bay on the spaceship’s rim. Apparently, the helicopter clipped conveniently on to the side of the spaceship, like a small dinghy on a boat. They all climbed out into the hot dusty desert air, and Georgio punched a security code onto a panel. A hatch opened silently and they entered the gleaming, massive interior of the spaceship. Nicola felt like she was inside a vast computer. She was surrounded by what looked like thousands of flashing lights, glowing buttons, switches, and levers.There were signs everywhere saying things like WARNING!, DANGER!, and VERY,VERY HAZARDOUS!
    â€œGosh,” she said feebly.
    â€œYes, it’s my brand-new model Mercury 5000 .” Georgio proudly patted a nearby console. “It has a ten-volume instruction manual, which I haven’t quite gotten around to reading yet, so I’ve had to hire Plum to fly it for me, just in the interim , you understand.”
    Plum went off to change into another uniform that looked more like a business suit. Her dark wraparound glasses were replaced by spectacles and her ponytail was neatly coiled into a knot at the back of her head. It seemed that flying a Mercury 5000 spaceship was a much more serious affair than flying a helicopter.
    Georgio led Nicola down a long corridor to a row of purple passenger pods.
    â€œNo space suits?” asked Nicola nervously as they buckled themselves in.
    â€œFortunately, we developed the necessary technology to replace those unflattering suits about a billion years ago,” said Georgio. “Oh dear, space travel is such a terrible bore !” He wriggled around, stretching his long legs out in front of him. “Have you brought a good book to read, Nicola?”
    â€œNo,” answered Nicola. “I didn’t know I’d need to bring a book.”
    â€œNever leave your planet without a book.” Georgio pointed a solemn finger at her. “That’s my number-one travel tip.”
    â€œOkay,” said Nicola, not bothering to mention that she’d never left her planet before. Actually, she’d never left her country before.The farthest she’d been was Adelaide to visit Great-Aunt Annie.
    Plum’s voice crackled over the loudspeaker. “This is your pilot