Read Aliens Are Real: Part 2 for Free Online

“ Guess what? ” Alex , then, broke into a makeshift song. “♫ The gas station’s slushie machine is fixed! ♫ ”
    “Oh. Well. Isn’t that something? ” Jasmine was happy that the slushie machine was fixed but she didn’t appreciate the interruption of her first potentially romantic moment . Honorio doesn’t count , she insisted inwardly.
    Alex dropped her hands to her sides and pouted. “Come on, you adore s l ushies! Sheesh! I expected more of a reaction from you.”
    “Ya y ?” Jasmine feebly waved her hands.
    Alex threw her arms in the air. “Ugh. I need someone to bask in the epic glory of the return of ice- cold sugar infusion with me .” She turned and dashed down the hall.
    Mark stared until Alex disappeared from sight , then turned, dead-panned, back to Jasmine. “ I think she drank a few too many at lunch .”
    “Yeah. I think so.” Jasmine laughed, and Mark joined her .
    Jasmine looked over at Mark , and he smiled. She smiled then looked down and pulled her hair behind her ear. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her cheek on them so she was facing Mark. She wrapped her hands around her knees and tried to decide if she had enough courage to try to hold Mark’s hand again.
    The bell decided for her by ringing. It felt like they had only been si t ting by each other for a minute but several must have passed unnoticed. When all the students had filed into class, she was about to take her usual seat toward the middle when Mark called her name.
    “Jasmine, sit here! ” He said as he pointed to the seat next to him in the back by Alex and the rest of the group.
    Jasmine shrugged . “Okay.”
    Outside she was nonchalant as she gathered her books to move seats . Inside she was beaming. Maybe Mark did like her . He wouldn’t ask her to sit next to him if he wasn’t into her and she was sure they would have had full-blown hand-holding had they not been interrupted.
    Drama class flew by as she glowed from her budding friendships. Sitting with a group of friends and feeling accepted and a part of the revelry soothed her lonely soul. As hard and as often as she tried to co nvince her self that she didn’t care whether she had friends or not, the truth was clear:  H aving friends mattered to her . Now that she had some, she couldn’t lose them.
    The thought of moving again scared her . Leaving behind these wonderful people was not an option. Leaving scared her more this time than any other move. She froze for a moment in her seat as panic washed over her . It was more important than ever before that she should fi nd a way to stay in Omaha .
    How could she do that? She wasn’t old enough to get her own place. Her dad would blow a gasket , if she tried. Not because he would miss her, of course, but because it would hurt his precious career.
    The only possibility that came to mind was convincing her dad to let her stay with other responsible teenagers. It could be complicated since Honorio was supposed to be her boyfriend, but that wasn’t reality . If her dad knew how Honorio couldn’t stand her, it should be alright. Since moving in with Yumi and the other aliens was her best shot, she made peace inside her self with the notion of continuing interaction with the group.
    “ Jasmine ?”
    She was startled by the low voice. “Huh?” She looked up and Mark was standing beside her . All of the students were heading to their next classes.
    Mark seemed a bit timid. “It’s time for 5 th period. Wanna walk with me ?”
    Alex, Tasha and Abigail giggled and walked between them . Alex called, “Bye Ja-a-a- smine !” in a sexy voice over her shoulder. Jasmine fought, with every bit of determination in her self, to hold back the blush overwhelming her but she lost the battle. She felt her body heat up and her cheeks burn as she stood .
    She braved a peak up at Mark and he smiled. He held out his hand in front of him, gesturing for her to go first. S he turned and walked toward the next