of things? Name one."
"Well for starters, you like older women. Gay men love to hang out with old women."
"Wha... where do you come up with this stuff? What is happening in that brain of yours?"
"It's true."
"No it's not true. Where have you seen that?"
"Dandee is gay, and he's always hanging out at his grandma's house? And..."
"He lives there! It's closer to school! His parents live in the East End. You're demented. I mean, how... how could you possibly even conceive of such a thing?"
"I notice things. "
"You notice things?"
"Sure."
"Things that no one else sees."
"Sometimes."
"So you see things that aren't there?"
"Yeah OK, I see where you're going. Nope, that would be you. You're the one seeing an imaginary, I might add, handsome man in blue."
"Oh my god-I never said he was handsome."
"I bet he is, and wearing blue, in fact a blue robe!" Emphasizing her words with big eyes. "That is so gay."
"I don't... I don't even know what to say. You're insane." Andee throws his arms up discombobulated.
"He's clearly the man of your dreams, since you keep dreaming about him." Emphasizing her words with giant eyes and a triple lift of her brows. "But you can't admit you're true desire."
"Go away! Seriously. Go!"
"It's OK, just remember, there's nothing wrong with being gay. You're my buddy, we'll always be buds." Putting her left arm in a friendly hug around his shoulders. Andee shoves her away.
"Don't touch me, you're being crazy again."
"OK, I understand. You don't want to be touched by a woman."
"Ahhhhrrrr." Andee groans in frustration. "Go away!'
Nayaa starts busting out laughing. "You're soooo... way-too uptight. You need to relax. I'm just messing with you."
"Great. That's wonderful. Keep messing with me. That's what I need right now."
"Yeah you do. You need to chill. You gay dork."
"No! You need to know when to stop. Didn't you just apologize for that earlier?"
"Yeah, but you're the problem."
"Oh really, me?"
"You need to relax. We're just talking. They're just words. I don't understand why you get so wound up." She takes a introspective moment. "To think of it, you're the most tightly wound gay man I know."
Andee's face and eyes cringe as he stares her down with venom. "It's because of you. If I messed with you like this you'd be just as mad as I am."
"You can't get to me." With a lisp; "I'm not as sensitive as you."
"Really? Oh, I'm not a little girl, stop calling me a little girl."
"I'm sixteen dude. Call me a little girl all you want, I'm a woman."
"My hair, don't touch my hair." Andee mocks her fiddling with her hair.
"I don't care. It's just hair." She swings her head flaunting her hair unconcerned. Andee leaps reaching for it, but she swiftly bounds out of the way and takes off like a bandit. Andee takes chase after her. She's fast but Andee is faster and is on her heels. He reaches out and grabs her flowing cape. She slides out of her jacket and leaps up off a boulder, but Andee dives off the next one catching her in mid air, from behind, in a bear hug. They land locked together and stumble forward. Andee twists so that he falls in the sandy dirt on his back, with Nayaa on her back on top of him. She struggles to escape but he tosses her to the side on her back in the sand, and then straddles her, pinning her arms back. He's got her immobile under him.
"I got you! You think you can mess with me?"
"You got me? What are you gon'a to do?" She smiles. "Hmm? What? You gon'a kiss me?" She challenges him with a big grin, then closes her eyes and puckers her lips awaiting the kiss.
Andee grits his teeth. "You're impossible." Then lets her go and gets up. Nayaa laughs out loud, casually rises, and walks back to her jacket while cleaning the sand off her clothes.
Andee looks at her shaking his head in frustration. Nayaa similes and winks at him as she puts on her jacket.
"I can't win with you." Andee mumbles staring right through her.
"No you can't." She responds with a big smile approaching him. "Might as well just play along."
"You know what, fine."
"You admit you're gay?"
Andee stares at her with a big smile, than starts to laugh.
"You know, I never really realized this."
"That you're gay?"
Laughing. "It's not working any more. You're actually funny. You make me laugh. From now on, when you come up with these stupid jokes of yours, I'll laugh. I'll have a good time."
"A gay time?"
"Yes a gay time. Nayaa you make me gay. Yes you. Every time I look at you, I feel so gay." Nayaa frowns.
"Now, I don't like it."
"I do."
Nayaa gets quiet and walks past Andee. He follows still laughing. After a few minutes of walking in silence, he runs up next to her.
"Wow you haven't said a thing for like five minutes. Must be a record."
Nayaa twists her lips to the side with an 'I'm not impressed' look on her face.
"I won, for good this time." Andee delivers his words with a smirk.
Nayaa cracks a smile. "We'll see."
Mykee and Mirceu are sitting in the shade of the cliff towards the end of Old Tom's yard just before the alcama barn. The natural stone wall is only half as tall here, about 5 meters. Andee and Nayaa approach from beyond the barn.
Mirceu looks up and skips the greets excitedly. "This thing is amazing!" He yells at the two pointing at Mykee's white panel. "We're watching the old race. When he touches these little windows it shows the race from different angles. It's amazing." He continues excited pointing at the lit up screen as Andee and Nayaa stop above them looking down at the screen in Mykee's lap.
"I know, we've been watching all the races over the last few weeks. It is amazing."
"I want to see." Nayaa interjects and seats next to Mykee, but Mykee pulls just slightly away from her. Unfazed she leans closer. Andee squats in front of Mykee and opens his palm showing him the little flying robot ball.
"Ever seen something like this?" Andee asks while Mykee leans forward covering the screen in his lap. His eyes turn round.
"Wow, what's that?" Mykee's eyes open wide with wonder. Nayaa gently pulls the vidrom out of his lap and into her own. He is too focused on Andee's palm to notice or care in the moment.
"I think I know, but what do you think?"
"Is it from the ship?"
"No, it was flying over, watching us."
"Really? Is it a recorder?"
"That's what I think. I want to show it to Old Tom."
Nayaa is messing around with the vidrom, opening and closing windows.
"Hey, that's mine." Mykee snatches it away from her with force. "Go away. You'll just break it." Nayaa jumps to her feet.
"You're a snotty little guy. Here. I got this for you. Thanks for your crap attitude." And she offers him the card. He looks at it for a second, unsure, frowns, but than grabs it. She steps back annoyed.
"She found that at the crash site, in the crevice where the bubble crashed. It doesn't look like a broken part. It looks like its own thing." Andee interjects.
"I know what it is."
"You do?" Andee responds surprised.
"I found the instructions of how this vidrom works in one of the windows. This is called a memory card. It goes in here." Mykee slides it into a slot on the right side. It slides 80% of the way in with a gentle click. The exposed 20% is the section with the diamond bevel. A grey window appears on screen with a word flowed by a rectangular box.
"Keyword? What's that?" Andee asks.
"I don't know." Mykee shakes his head. He pulls the card out and the window disappears. He puts the card back in and the window reappears.
"Key... word, huh?" Nayaa muses as she returns and leans over looking
down at the screen. "Maybe it's like a key, and that's a door."
"What do you mean?" Andee asks.
"Whatever. That makes no sense." Mykee dismisses her. Ignoring Mykee she continues.
"Like a door. Doors have keys, no? Mykee said those were windows, well what if that's a door." Pointing to the grey digital square onscreen. "It says right there, key... word. Maybe you need a word, like a key, to unlock that grey door."
"That's dumb. Go away. You're stupid. Go tumble or something." Mykee snaps at Nayaa.
"Dude!" Andee gently whacks Mykee on the side of his head. "What's your problem? You snapped at her this morning, and now... what's your deal?"
"Nothing!" Mykee mumbles locking his face and eyes on the screen in his lap.
"No, you're being a punk. What's your problem?"
"You two are jerks, especially her." He snaps at Andee.
Nayaa looks around as if her eyes are following a mosquito, with a mockingly incredulous expression. She ends her movement by staring at Mirceu, one eyebrow raised in a question mark. Mirceu shrugs his shoulders with a grin.
Andee seats next to Mykee pointing to the makeshift vidrom in his hand. "Have I ever put you down for liking tech and being good at it? Have I?"
"No."
"Of course not. That's your talent, and I'm proud of you. And I have my talent, and Nayaa has hers. Why are you knocking it? Is it not because of us that you have this piece, and Mirceu?"
"I guess."
"So don't be a little arrogant bastard cuz you're smarter than us when it comes to tech. We all have our own talents, and we all have to work together. And Nayaa is just joking around. Lighten up little man. Life's hard enough as it is. With that attitude you're only making it harder for yourself." Nayaa standing in front of them nods her head up and down in exaggerated agreement.
"Now if only there was someone to give Andee the same brilliant advice." She adds then looks up to the cliffs. "Oh wait, someone did,