The Mars Project by Julie Steimle (i can read with my eyes shut TXT) 📕

Jennifer nodded, thinking to herself. “Is it a triple date?”

Zormna shrugged and said, “Can be. Jeff asked Joy out, but we didn’t exactly arrange anything. But you and Kevin can hang out with us if you like.”

Understanding, Jennifer walked back to the door. She went out to get ready for her date.

Zormna turned back to her purchases. She sighed. Something was missing. Thinking about it, Zormna cross the room to her chest of drawers where she fished around. When she stopped, she smiled. She pulled out a pair of white biker shorts and laid them on the bed. Now the outfit was complete.

With a satisfied grin, she walked back out her bedroom door and down the stairs, returning to the outside. She promised Jeff that she would stop by his place that morning to make plans.

At five-thirty in the afternoon Zormna stood in front of the floor length mirror in Jennifer’s room. Admiring the dress, she looked like a frosted rose. The chiffon layers over the skirt were like out of a dream. Admittedly, this was a dress she did not mind keeping. It was her favorite color.

Jennifer watched her, getting ready also, though she hopped about giddily. She was already bouncing around after a long date with Kevin. And he had promised a romantic evening that neither of them would ever forget. Already dressed in her royal blue spaghetti strap gown, the velvet shrug hanging on the back of the vanity chair, Jennifer was finishing up her makeup.  

“I think this might work,” Zormna murmured over her reflection.

Jennifer laughed with barely a glance. Touching up her mascara, she said, “Of course it will work. Peach is your color.” Then motioning for her to come over as she put the wand back into the mascara tube, Jennifer said, “Come here. Let me do your makeup.”

Zormna made a face. “I never wear makeup.”

“Your people might not, but we do,” Jennifer said, patting the chair she had just vacated. “Besides, it will look great.”

“That’s not what I meant. Plenty of people back home wear makeup. I just don’t,” Zormna said, lingering in front of the mirror while listening to the swishing of her skirt.

“Whatever.” Jennifer motioned again for her to sit.

Rolling her eyes, Zormna obliged. Jennifer then peered around at Zormna’s flawlessly white skin, plucking up the cover-up stick in her hand.

“Huh,” Jennifer muttered, while capping the stick. “No pimples.”

Shrugging with a glance upward, Zormna said, “I went through that stage already.”

Jennifer scowled. “What? When you were five?”

Zormna didn’t reply. There was no point. Despite all her good qualities, Jennifer was just as capable of getting petty jealous when it came to beauty standards and comparisons. That was something Zormna liked to keep at a minimum.

Going at Zormna’s skin first with a light powder, Zormna went from paper pale to a light porcelain with faint blush. Then, examining Zormna’s reddish-gold eyelashes, Jennifer dug out a brown eye pencil to line at least the top part of her eye lid. Taking one step back after applying a little, though, Jennifer started to go easy on that also. Zormna’s incredibly pale face made the makeup stand out like a drawing and she had to remove some of the makeup, twice. After applying the faintest blush in strategic places and adding a bit of color to her reddish eyelashes, Jennifer took another step back to examine her handiwork. A little pink on the lips, and she was done. If the boys had considered Zormna a knockout before, now they would be passing out at the sight of her.

 Jennifer smiled—not a bit jealous. Really.

“Ok. Now let’s do your hair.” Jennifer said.

Zormna grimaced with a moan, peering at her reflection as if she did not know the girl sitting there.

“You’re not done? I thought you just wanted to do my face.”

Jennifer shook her head, reaching out, as she wanted to do the job well. “Hand me my hair brush.”

Plucking it up for her, Zormna complied, though she didn’t know why. She didn’t want to impress Sam. And she certainly didn’t want to encourage him. It was bad enough with half the school ogling her on a daily basis. But Jennifer took the brush, picked up a few sparkly clips and bobby pins, and then pulled Zormna’s short crop of hair curls into a cascade of spirals at the back of her head. With her finger, Jennifer curled the long wavy strands that fell in front of Zormna’s ears. She also let other strands hang out in wisps. When finished, Zormna could have passed for a Greek goddess. The boys often called her Aphrodite behind her back. She might as well make Zormna look like the lady.

Jennifer nodded with satisfaction. “Done.”

Zormna stood up with a stare at her reflection in the mirror. She was no longer just a frosty rose standing there, but more like an unfamiliar porcelain a sculpture. For a moment she doubted that it was herself she was looking at.

The sound of the doorbell echoed through out the house.

Both girls lifted their heads up. Jennifer walked to the window and pushed the curtains aside. She grinned as she glanced back at Zormna. “It’s Sam.”

Zormna winced though she nodded. “Here we go.”

“Zormna, wait!” Jennifer rushed over with a can of hairspray and sprayed the sticky smelly mess over Zormna’s hair. The odor made Zormna flinch. She pulled away the second she could.

“Zormna! Your date is here!” Mindy yelled from downstairs.

“Wait! One more,” Jennifer snatched her strawberry-smelling perfume off the vanity and sprayed it onto Zormna’s neck and grabbed her wrists to for the same treatment.

Cringing at the application of odor, Zormna coughed for breath.

“Am I ready now?” Zormna asked with a whine, peeking at the other bottles on Jennifer’s vanity.

Jennifer nodded. “Knock him dead.”

Zormna peered askance at her.

“I don’t mean literally,” Jennifer said, laughing while blushing. She could only imagine Zormna taking her at her word.

Nodding, Zormna, hurried out the door and into the hallway. When she reached the top of the stairs and gazed down, she spotted Sam standing in the front hallway downstairs. He was looking more adult than ever in his tuxedo, yet his expression and posture was like an eager and anxious boy. In his hands he was cradling a corsage inside a clear plastic container. Sam’s expectant gaze changed to near awe when he saw her. His mouth fell open, and his eyes grew wider. He breathed shallowly as he followed Zormna’s descent down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, she gazed at him with an amused expression.

“You look like a princess,” he murmured.

Zormna blushed but waved his comments away with her hand as if it had been a fly in her face. “Don’t be silly. It is just this ridiculous dress.”

He shook his head, still in a daze as he said, “No, no. I mean, it helps, but you really do look…wow.”

Rolling her eyes, her eyes turned upon the flower. “What’s this?”

Realizing she meant the corsage, Sam fumbled to get it out of the package. “This is for you.”

He picked up the red rose, adjusting lace wrist holder and trying to slip it on her hand.

“You wear it.” He then shrugged. “I didn’t know what you were wearing, so I picked red. It’s a classic.”

She nodded, staring at it as he slipped the flower over her hand and around her wrist. Flowers were rare items back Home—symbols of love, life and matrimony. No one every just gave flowers as gifts. They were for religious ceremonies or for holidays, as resources to grow plants were scarce back Home. Lifting the rose to her nose, Zormna breathed the aroma in and savored it.

“It is nice,” she murmured.

He smiled with pleasure. Lending an elbow, he said, “Shall we go?”

Zormna nodded, not sure what that gesture meant.

Waving for attention from the upstairs banister, Jennifer mimed for Zormna to link her arm through Sam’s arm. It took Zormna a while to understand. And Sam followed Zormna’s ceiling-ward gaze when she tried to figure it out.

“Oh, hi, Jennifer,” Sam said once he saw her.

Jennifer stopped gesturing, quickly leaning on the banister to look like she wasn’t doing anything special. “Uh, hi, Sam.”

“Waiting for your date?” he asked.

Jennifer nodded. “Just finishing up. He’ll be here around six.”

Sam nodded.

Zormna took his arm, now comprehending what she was supposed to do. Sam’s face lit up once he felt her hand on him.

“Shall we go?” Zormna asked, peeking appreciatively at Jennifer.

He nodded, a blush now forming all over his face.

Looking up, Zormna waved. “Bye Jennifer. See you at the dance.”

Jennifer smiled with a wave back at the both of them. Once they were gone, Jennifer hoped that Zormna was not relaxing her guard. If Sam was a spy, this was the time he could do some damage. After all, already Jennifer could tell it was not going to be a double date. No one else had come with Sam. Not even Adam. And that meant Zormna would be alone.

Sam walked her to the car, then she let him open that door for her. She let him do all those things that Jennifer instructed her to leave to the boy. It made the date seem more authentic, Jennifer said.

When Sam stepped into the car, he smiled at her.

“You better buckle your seat belt.” Zormna motioned to him.

Blushing, he nodded. He fumbled with the belt. His awkwardness was so funny to her that she almost laughed at him, gently setting her hand over her lips. FBI Spy or not, he seemed completely nervous about the date. She wondered what was really going through this man’s head. How long he was going to drag it out before he realized his cover was already blown? She certainly would not let on that she knew, not yet anyway. It was too much fun messing with him.

“So, are we going?” she asked him with an innocent smile.

Sam nodded and turned the key for the engine to start. Shifting gears, they drove off into the suburb toward the high school, which was only a few blocks away. But the journey together with a grand entrance was the point of it all.

Once they arrived in the parking lot, Zormna peered out the window. She recognized people she knew and smiled at them. This was a safe environment. Without thinking, she unbuckled her belt then started fidgeting for the door.

“No, wait!” Sam jumped up out of his seat. “I’ll get that.”

He fumbled with his buckle as Zormna watched him. Again she smothered her smirk as she watched him toss the over-extended belt over the seat and jerk open the door handle. He sprang outside and scrambled over the opened the door as if he hadn’t been in a rush at all.

Lending an arm, he said, “My lady.”

She smirked as she took his arm like before. He closed the door, locked them, then escorted her through the parking lot full of cars to the open gym doors.

Once passing through the gym doors, they both looked up.

The ceiling was completely filled with white and red balloons, dangling ribbons and streamers to the ground. An enormous balloon arch curved over the entire room. At one end of the gym stood a small white gazebo. Ribbons and flowers led the way to it where a cameraman was arranging couples together and taking pictures. The line was already long. They both gazed across the room, watching the nearly empty dance floor fill up. Grinning at Zormna, Sam led her into the room straight to the ticket counter.

He handed their tickets to the girl operating the table. She stamped them.

“You can get your photos over at the gazebo,” she said. Then she took tickets from the next couple.

Sam and Zormna walked slowly toward the dance floor, soaking in the sounds of the DJ playing a popular song at the other end of the gym. Sam immediately started to dance. Zormna shrugged with a glance back at the photo line.

“Shouldn’t we get our pictures before