The Lack of a Plan
“I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing, Ri,” I mutter. “You realize these people might kill me if they find out what I am, right?” I look Ri directly in the eye.
She stares me down with pure gray steel. There’s no real arguing with Henrietta Jones, as much as I wish I could tell her this plan is likely to at best result in my fiery death and at worst possibly result in the explosion of several million star systems. Maybe I’m exaggerating, but you can never be too safe with your exaggerations when Henrietta, better known as Ri, is involved.
“You’re not getting out of this, Winnie,” Ri says. She keeps staring at me. It’s times like this I wish I had a roommate who didn’t want to involve me in absurd galaxy-destroying plans.
“What if it’s like that time?” I say. She just gives me a look like she’s not even sure what I’m talking about, but I know she is. I continue, “You know the time. When you went there. How you even got out alive, I don’t wanna know.” I shake my head
“There won’t be as many fiery explosions this time, promise. We’re full grown adults now. More developed in our abilities,” she says, smiling.
Gods, that smile is something else. So confident, yet promising plenty of danger and excitement. It’s the kind of smile all the guys fall for, but it just makes me nervous.
“We’re more developed in our abilities, but the point of your ridiculous lack of a plan is that I don’t even freaking use mine, as the people we want on our side hate abilities like ours. And I’m supposed to convince them with what? My natural charms? I’m only an A cup, so that isn’t gonna work,” I mutter. I can’t help looking down at my chest. Normally, I like my small breasts just fine, but it might help this mission if I had some suitable distraction.
“You’re hot, Winnie. Not my type as I don’t swing that way, but hot. You’re cute enough you don’t need boobs,” she says. Ri nods, as if she’s affirming her own statement.
“What? You want me to flip my hair at them? Distract them with the power of my natural blonde mane?” I say, rolling my eyes.
Ri looks as if she’s deep in thought behind her thick black glasses. “It could work. Hair flipping is sexy, yeah?”
“Hair flipping is stupid,” I snort, shaking my head.
The whole thing is stupid, really. We’ve been invited to this party through some accident of nature, but Ri says I have to go in alone and do -- what exactly, I don’t even know. Get the people on our side. Do my part to save the galaxy, even if I think this particular mission is more likely to destroy it. I haven’t been given anything even close to a plan, just “go to the party and get them on our side.”
At least Ri gave me some evidence. I’m supposed to get these people to look at it and hope it’s enough. I don’t think a few blurry photographs are gonna show the threat properly. How do you convey that the freaking world might end to a bunch of people who will almost certainly be drunk off their asses?
Maybe drunkenness will make them more open minded? Release their inhibitions so they see the truth? There’s a thought for you, but I doubt it actually works that way. More likely these guys will have a good laugh at my expense before they kill me.
Gods, I want to back out of this more than anything, but I can’t. Looking into Ri’s hard gray eyes, I know there’s no other option than to do this.
I only hope I survive.
She stares me down with pure gray steel. There’s no real arguing with Henrietta Jones, as much as I wish I could tell her this plan is likely to at best result in my fiery death and at worst possibly result in the explosion of several million star systems. Maybe I’m exaggerating, but you can never be too safe with your exaggerations when Henrietta, better known as Ri, is involved.
“You’re not getting out of this, Winnie,” Ri says. She keeps staring at me. It’s times like this I wish I had a roommate who didn’t want to involve me in absurd galaxy-destroying plans.
“What if it’s like that time?” I say. She just gives me a look like she’s not even sure what I’m talking about, but I know she is. I continue, “You know the time. When you went there. How you even got out alive, I don’t wanna know.” I shake my head
“There won’t be as many fiery explosions this time, promise. We’re full grown adults now. More developed in our abilities,” she says, smiling.
Gods, that smile is something else. So confident, yet promising plenty of danger and excitement. It’s the kind of smile all the guys fall for, but it just makes me nervous.
“We’re more developed in our abilities, but the point of your ridiculous lack of a plan is that I don’t even freaking use mine, as the people we want on our side hate abilities like ours. And I’m supposed to convince them with what? My natural charms? I’m only an A cup, so that isn’t gonna work,” I mutter. I can’t help looking down at my chest. Normally, I like my small breasts just fine, but it might help this mission if I had some suitable distraction.
“You’re hot, Winnie. Not my type as I don’t swing that way, but hot. You’re cute enough you don’t need boobs,” she says. Ri nods, as if she’s affirming her own statement.
“What? You want me to flip my hair at them? Distract them with the power of my natural blonde mane?” I say, rolling my eyes.
Ri looks as if she’s deep in thought behind her thick black glasses. “It could work. Hair flipping is sexy, yeah?”
“Hair flipping is stupid,” I snort, shaking my head.
The whole thing is stupid, really. We’ve been invited to this party through some accident of nature, but Ri says I have to go in alone and do -- what exactly, I don’t even know. Get the people on our side. Do my part to save the galaxy, even if I think this particular mission is more likely to destroy it. I haven’t been given anything even close to a plan, just “go to the party and get them on our side.”
At least Ri gave me some evidence. I’m supposed to get these people to look at it and hope it’s enough. I don’t think a few blurry photographs are gonna show the threat properly. How do you convey that the freaking world might end to a bunch of people who will almost certainly be drunk off their asses?
Maybe drunkenness will make them more open minded? Release their inhibitions so they see the truth? There’s a thought for you, but I doubt it actually works that way. More likely these guys will have a good laugh at my expense before they kill me.
Gods, I want to back out of this more than anything, but I can’t. Looking into Ri’s hard gray eyes, I know there’s no other option than to do this.
I only hope I survive.