Chapter 1 – Transfer Student
The usual shuffling of desks and idle chatter was absent today.
Unlike the students.
First-period chemistry had never seen attendance this high. Rumor had it they were getting a transfer.
Darius didn't notice. His mind was galaxies away. He muttered something about signal decay and interplanetary warfare—just loud enough to make his lab partner glance at him, the way you do when you're used to your friend being a little strange.
"Darius," she said, snapping her fingers. "Come back to Earth. Class is gonna start."
"Huh?"
"I said pay attention. You're muttering like a loon again."
"Huh?"
"Don't huh me! We're getting a transfer. Make a good first impression. You don't want to keep being the class loner-nerd, do you?"
"Sorry." He shrugged. "I was thinking about what aliens are up to right now. They've found evidence of life on other planets, you know?"
"Yes, Darius. I'm in the Alien Research Society too."
"Really? Since when?"
"Since always! You're the president—how can you not know!?"
"Oh yeah." He scratched his chin. "Guess it slipped my mind."
"Slipped your—" She cocked her hand back to smack him but froze when the classroom door opened.
"Okay, settle down, you bunch of animals," Mr. Brown said, strolling in with his coffee like the weight of the world had already crushed him. "We've got a transfer. She's a bit unique, so make her feel welcome."
"I'll do it, Mr. Brown!" Jake shot to his feet.
"Sit down, you degenerate. Darius is taking this one."
"What? Why him? He's a dork!"
"Yeah, but this is more his speed."
"How so?"
"Shut up," Mr. Brown muttered. Then he turned toward the door. "Come on in and introduce yourself. You'll understand when you see her."
The room went still. Every chair squeaked as students craned for a look.
And then she stepped through the doorway.
At Mr. Brown's prompting, a girl—a girl?—stepped through the doorway.
Her hair spilled almost to the floor, a sheet of pale silver that caught the light like moving water. Her warm brown skin looked faintly wet, as if she'd just stepped out of the ocean, and her eyes were large and soft blue—clear tide-pool blue. When she turned to face the room she smiled, bright enough to hurt, but no one was looking at her teeth; they were staring at the thin band of scales that shimmered yellow across her cheeks and neck.
"Hello," she said cheerfully. "I'm T'ara. It's a swell to meet you all."
"Swell?" someone whispered. "Who even says that?"
"Quiet down," Mr. Brown muttered, already sinking into his chair. "Darius, come up here and introduce yourself."
The words barely reached him. Darius was already halfway to the front, moving like a man in a trance.
Instead of introducing himself, he studied her the way most people study shooting stars—half curiosity, half disbelief.
"Wow," he said, reaching out before common sense could stop him. "Your skin's actually wet."
"Yes!" she said, delighted. "It's a trait of my people."
"Your people?" He kept looking, eyes full of questions.
"I come from a world entirely submerged in water. We have adapted to survive there."
"Sounds like Earth. Some scientists think all life came from the sea."
"Your science is likely correct."
"Is it?" he murmured, his hand drifting lower. "Surprisingly firm for an aquatic life-form."
Her brows lifted. "Is it?"
"Darius, don't get hands with the new girl," Mr. Brown groaned. "If I wanted her perved on, I'd have let Jake do it."
Jake threw up his hands. "Uh, no thanks, Mr. Brown. I'm not tryna get freaky with an alien. That's all Darius."
Laughter rippled through the room.
T'ara blinked. "Get… freaky?"
"Huh?" Darius blinked back, completely lost.
Then his inner voice betrayed him: She's super pretty though. I'd date an alien that looks like this.
T'ara tilted her head. "What does date mean?"
He froze. "It means—wait, why do you ask?"
"I heard you say it."
"Huh? I didn't say anything."
"But I can hear it all the same."
He stared. "What?"
Can you still hear me? he thought.
Yes, came the reply—inside his mind, soft and certain, her voice echoing where no sound should reach.
"Whoa," he whispered.
Author's Note
Hey readers,
Thanks for starting this journey with me! Love From Afar is one of those stories that popped into my head and refused to wait—I've been impatient to get it down ever since. I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I'm enjoying writing it.
If you'd like to check out something I've already completed, my story "Man in the Middle" is available on Inkitt, as well as on Webnovel and Wattpad.
Thanks again for reading, supporting, and sharing your thoughts—it means a lot.
— Dri