Saint Joseph School

"Oh, yeah, it's so great here! I just wish Pookie would stay put..."

All of a sudden a loud burp causes the duffle bag to shake, and what almost sounds like a content cross between chirping and purring is heard.

"... but I think he's still a bit curious. Oh well.... at least he hasn't been chewing on power cables."

Annie comes back to the couch where Kris has seated herself, and places a jar of strawberry jam, some Tostitoes, 2 cans of cream soda, a bag of chocolate chip cookies, and salsa on the table.

Opening one of the sodas, Annie looks like she's thinking.
"Well, I could totally pay for a new costume... I've been saving up my allowance that the UN gives me while here on Earth."

"Well, if you really wanted to, you could," Kris replied as she pulled an ankle under her. "I just hope with all of that noise that your... hloogle? is making, that he'll be okay."

She took a can of the soda, and opened it, then looked curiously at the assembly of other munchies Annie had brought to the table.

Oh no, Pookie will be fine. Hloogles are susally very picky about what they eat, but...."

Annie then lowers her voice a little, almost sounding embarrased, "...I think all the moving we've done, and all the treats I've given him has made him want to try new foods all the time."

As Annie is talking, she pops open the bags of cookies and chips, then opens up the salsa.

It's at that point that Annie dips a chocolate chip cookie into the salsa.

"So... Are those good to you, like that," Kris asked with a slightly questioning look, but also with a furrowed brow.

"It doesn't taste good to you?"

Annie takes a bite out of the cookie, salsa piled high on top of the soft and chewy morsal. As she's chewing, she reaches for the strawberry jam and dips a totilla chip into it. Swallowing, Annie continues.

"I think it's only fair for me to replace it, just as I have bought a case of eyeliner for friend Francis. I think I'll just need to get Pookie used to Earth a bit better. He needs some time to get used to some real human contact, but he likes hiding far too much."

"Well, he likes my bag," Kris nodded. "And, he liked my suit, as well as my cape. If you find my D-Clicker, I would appreciate it, alot! And, He's kinda cute... In an extraterrestrial sort of way."

Looking to the chips and cookies, Kris smiles, takes a cookie, and eats it without adding anything. They were excellent cookies, so at least Annie got the right kind.

"I like my cookies plain, personally. Or with ice cream."

"Mmmm, I don't understand how humans can eat that stuff. It always gives me this really painful headache."

Then, almost as if on cue,

"Hick....Hick..... HURRRRKKKKKKK!!! Ptoo!"

Out of the duffle bag flies a slightly chewed up D-Clicker, landing on the couch next to Kris.

"Ice-" she stops mid-question and looks to her D-Clicker. "Huh! I wonder if it still works? Cool! Thank you, Pookie! Now. Where was I?"

Kris looks to Pookie's new portable hiding place with cape blanket, and grins. She looks to Annie and laughs.

Annie swallows down her strawberry jam tortilla chip, and smiles. Usually when humans laughed, it was because either something good had happened, or they were enjoying another being's pain. Annie knew that kris was not the kind of human to act like that, so once more Annie had tho think she had dome something that amused her friend.

"Did I do something funny? It happens so often these days, I guess I've just gotten used to it..."

Annie usually had Mimi or Francis around to tell her when she did something out of place, but both of them had been so busy lately that Annie was begining to rely on others to tell her the truth.

"No," Kris giggled. "It was Pookie. He gave me back my D-Clicker from iCON. I had just asked to get it back, and 'Patooey!' There it was!"

Both girls turn as they hear the door open and Cricket walks into the room.She smiles at them both as she takes off her Pocket D staff jacket, tossing it onto her bed. "So what's up?", she says cheerfully, sitting down by Annie. At the sound of her voice the duffel bag begins the move a bit as it occupent seems to try to climb out half heartedly. Cricket glances at the bag with a smile and makes a low humming sound that is felt more than heard. Pookie stops moving and makes oddly contented gurgles, Cricket cocks her head to the side and glances at Annie saying,"You right he does like that song..". She reaches for a tortilla chip and dips it in the jam.....

"Hi," Kris says, suddenly feeling awkward. "Remember me? We met when I first got here in February or March."

She really felt wierd now. She remembered her first meeting with Thunder Cricket was a rather good one, so she hoped it would smoothe over the odd re-introduction. She grabbed a tortilla chip, and decided to go for the gold, and dipped it in the jam as well. Hopefully, this would be an okay discovery.

"So Pookie like low frequency sound? That's cool!" *crunch* "Wow! Not bad, Annie! There's this whole sweet and salty thing going on!"

Annie smiled brightly as she watched her friends eat the snack that she liked so much.

"Oh, thank you! I was always so confused why humans didn't do this in the first place! I found this, like, when I was trying to make stuff that tasted like the food I used to eat. I love Earth food, but I sometimes want something... more like what I'm used to. This wasn't ANYTHING like what I had on any of the other planets I've been on, but it was good!"

Finally, Annie got up and picked up the bag with Pookie, and gently carried it into her bedroom. Then, she gathered up some of the empty cans from the trash and put them on the floor besides the bag.

As Annie picked the bag up and headed towards her bedroom, Cricket looked at Kris saying,"Yeah I remember you all right...you're the one who dragged Detective to the nurse after my room...had an accident..",with a wry smile. "Did you do something to your hair?",suddenly looking at her intently.

"Well," Kris swallowed. The doctor did say that taliknig about things with people she knew would help, and Cricket was close to both Annie and Kali, so she felt like it might be okay. "I sort of... No. I suffered from some very traumatic experiences, both on my trip, and upon my return. It was a bit much for me to handle, and I dyed my hair black. It's just now looking normal, again. I'm still not completely recovered, but the worst is over, and the rest has to be rebuilt, one piece at a time."

She smiled. It felt awkward revealing this, but she also said it so as to help Annie get a better picture of things, too. If she heard it.

"I think this will eventually help me become a stronger person; but currently, there are times when I feel like my world is falling apart, and there is no safe haven."