head up to the ship later today, and youâll join them once your affairs are settled.â
âThen, sure,â I said. âThat would be great.â
She led me through a series of hallways and into what lookedlike a high-level meeting room. There was a long wooden table, and on one wall were multiple video screens of the sort that allow a president to keep an eye on wars as they unfold.
Inside, I also saw the other kids from the slide show. Charles DâUjanga and Park Mi Sun were both sitting at the table, reading through thick binders. Charles wore khaki pants, a white short-sleeved dress shirt and a tie. Tae Kwon Do Girl wore jeans and a long-sleeved patterned shirt. Her hair was cut short, and though she had seemed pretty in the picture Iâd seen, her scowl made her appear a little intimidating. They both looked up when I stepped into the room. Charles grinned broadly.
Then I saw Nayana Gehlawat. She wore dark jeans and a green and gold shirt that looked like material for a sari, with a matching scarf around her neck. Her hair was long and a little wild, falling into her eyes. I was also impressed by the fact that she was sitting in a chair, legs pulled under her, reading a paperback copy of The Hitchhikerâs Guide to the Galaxy .
I wanted to go talk to her at once, but Charles was up and out of his chair, pumping my hand. âYou must be Ezekiel Reynolds,â he said. His voice had a clipped and precise accent. âI am Charles DâUjanga, and I am pleased to meet you.â
âZeke,â I said. âGreat to meet you too.â
Park Mi Sun looked up from her reading and gave me a brief nod. âHey,â she said.
âHey,â I answered to show I could be unenthusiastic too if I wanted.
Charles interrupted our brilliant exchange. âThis is truly the most amazing thing, donât you agree? There is so much to doâpapers to sign and meetings and arrangementsâthat it iseasy to forget that we have met a being from another world, and we shall soon meet many more.â
âDude,â I said. âTotally.â He was more articulate than I was, but I appreciated that he was having the same trouble I was in getting my head around it.
âWhatâs in those binders you guys have?â I asked.
âThey are our individual governmentsâ directives,â he said. âYou will not need one because a member of your government travels with you. I understand you are to follow us tomorrow.â
I nodded. âAssuming I can get my mother to agree to let me go.â
âI cannot imagine she would object to you having this incredible experience!â I hadnât met a lot of people who spoke with exclamation marks, but he was one of them.
âYeah,â I said, but I knew he could probably not imagine she had ALS, either.
âI hope you will excuse me.â He gestured toward his binder. âI must demonstrate my understanding of my governmentâs policy before I am cleared to depart.â
âSure,â I said. I headed over to Nayana. Unlike the South Korean girl, she did not seem to have a do-not-disturb sign swinging from her psychic doorknob. As I approached, she held up the book and met my gaze. âHave you read this?â she asked. She had an extremely proper British accent, which I suspected was real and not the translator.
âSure, like a dozen times,â I said. âItâs hilarious.â
She tossed it onto the table. âPapa gave it to me before I left, but I find it far too silly.â
By some miracle of self-control I kept myself from displaying disbelief. âItâs supposed to be silly. Thatâs why itâs fun.â Ichose to say nothing about Douglas Adamsâs connection to Doctor Who , because this felt like the wrong way to get on her good side.
She studied me for a long moment, as though she could not quite believe what I was saying. I, on the other hand, was