Flame (Fireborn) by Mari Arden Read Free Book Online

early up,
    That calls our person from our morning's rest..?"
    My eyes wander to the
window beside me. It's hard to resist looking out. Now that fall is
here I like to watch the leaves twirl, settling aimlessly about. It's
mundane, thoughtless, yet every second soothes me. Today large vans
and foreign looking cars line the streets obstructing my view. I
stare, but few leaves are falling. Maybe this is the universe's way
of telling me to pay better attention to the movie.
    A loud knock interrupts
my thoughts. Dr. Bingham strolls in looking nervous, and a little
agitated. Someone immediately turns on the lights, and it floods the
room, forcing a few heads to look up, dazed.
    "Daniel! The
movie," Mr. Bernard waves at it. A blonde haired boy in the
front row jumps up and grabs a black remote. He presses a button,
pausing it.
    "This is the
button for pausing, Mr. Bernard," Daniel explains patiently,
showing him. The person ahead of me snickers softly. Dr. Bingham
stands at the front, clapping loudly to get everyone's attention.
    "We have a new
student joining your class today," he begins with a small smile.
He gestures to the people at the door. It's then I notice what appear
to be two secret servicemen, the assistant principal, and two other
official looking men. As if on cue, the two security men part and our
first alien student walks in.
    Rhys.
    Again, the dreamy sighs
I first heard when they landed are reenacted within milliseconds of
his arrival. It somehow sounds just as loud as before even though
only ten female students are in the room. Dr. Bingham seems a little
embarrassed by the sighs. His neck gets red, but he keeps his eyes on
us. Having the hots for an alien is still a novel idea for many
people on earth. I'm not even sure if it's physically possible to do anything about it.
    Rhys's eyes seemed to
glow less in the light. In front of us, they just look abnormally
bright. If you scan past him briefly, you might not even notice it.
But it'd be impossible to pass over him quickly. His physical beauty
is too seductive to ignore, and even though I'm far away, I blush.
Biologically we're supposed to notice differences like disfigurement
or deformity, but the human eye notices something else too; it
notices perfection. Morning sunlight reveals a face that is perfectly
symmetrical. This is something no camera can capture; you have to
experience it to understand.
    He's dressed in dark
jeans and a plain forest green shirt that contrasts the olive tones
in his skin. The clothes are simple and clean, but he wears them like
they've been made for him.
    "This is Rhys, er,
Doe," Dr. Bingham continues. "Rhys Doe," he repeats
more forcefully. I nod in understanding. Like John Doe. Maybe aliens
don't have last names. I'm suddenly curious if I'm right.
    "He will be here
for the rest of the semester with us. Please do your best to follow
the guidelines we sent home earlier this month," Dr. Bingham
reminds us. The "guidelines" he's referring to was a letter
of information detailing what we could discuss with our new
"planetary exchange students." The list included human
culture, language, foods, music, fashion, and media. It asked
students to defer from asking "deep, personal questions"
that could threaten national or Saguinox security.
    "Welcome,"
Mr. Bernard greets in a forcefully cheerful voice. It's obvious he
has no idea how to handle the new events unfolding in the world, like
having an alien student, but he's willing to make the most of it.
Maybe that's why the national government chose Minnesota. Minnesota
nice extended to extraterrestrial creatures, too.
    "Well, um, take a
seat." He gestures to the rows of empty chairs. His white hair
looks whiter next to Rhys' ebony colored head. "We were just
watching a very famous story called 'Romeo and Juliet'. It's, er, a
human story about love." Then he looks at Dr. Bingham as if he's
suddenly realized something. "Does he need an inter-?"Again,
Mr. Bernard stops, not wanting to embarrass his