Up early and ready to leave her home. Katelyn decided that she’ll go to school besides taking a day off as suggested. Rest was necessary, especially after being confronted by Butch and his gang. Though at the same time, she didn’t want to be at home with the reptile. Kate wanted to be thankful, but she couldn’t wash away the feeling of unease around him.

  As she exited her room, she noticed her younger brother near the end of the staircase. Curious about the alien sitting on their couch. ‘Hey sis,’ he whispered before turning back to listen to the reptile and observe. Like a tourist at the zoo having their eyes glued to an exotic animal they had never seen before.

  Kate raised a brow, annoyed that he was still wearing his pajamas on a school day. ‘Tyler, you need to get ready for school.’

  ‘Mum says I can stay home today.’ He stuck his tongue out to mock his sister. ‘And school is lame when we have an alien here.’

  Kate rolled her eyes and stood next to Tyler to eavesdrop on the conversation below. ‘Heard anything interesting?’ Kate whispered. While it would normally be rude to do that to any guess. Kate wanted to be sure her reptilian hero wasn’t dangerous.

  ‘Nope, he and ma were talking about Appleseed or whatever.’

  ‘Appleseed?’

  Tyler shrugged. Even he wasn’t sure what it meant. ‘Some town, I suppose. I have no clue. She got a bit upset when he mentioned it.’

  Kate listened in, trying to get any relevant information from the conversation downstairs. To her surprise, her grandma was wide awake and happily engaging with the reptile. She sounded younger and more alive. If Kate had to guess, it seemed her ma was telling the truth when she said she knew them.

  However, she couldn’t really understand anything from their talk. She could hear his voice. It was deep, yet flat. While her grandmother is showing a ray of emotions. From great joy to even a hint of grief. He showed nothing. Kate peeked around the corner a few times to confirm that the reptile wasn’t some sort of machine. How does she have fond memories of him when he talks like that?

  Believing she had heard enough, Kate slung her bag over her shoulders and made her way downstairs to the living room. Tissues were scattered all around the coffee table, and the food and water that were prepared for Jackson were already consumed. Her grandma sat across from Jackson, leaning into her chair like she was just soaking in some heavy news.

  As Kate walked into the room. Nancy smiled at her. Doing her best to hide the red in her eyes from crying. ‘Kate. I thought you were staying home today?’

  ‘No, ma. I decided to go to school,’ Kate responded after glancing at the reptile. Feeling more unnerved by his just as emotionless facial expression. ‘Is everything okay?’

  ‘Of course, Jackson and I were just catching up. He is just telling me stories about my mother.’

  ‘You know my great-grandmother?’ Kate curiously asked the reptile.

  Jackson gave a simple nod. ‘Yes. She’s a good friend.’

  Kate raised a brow, unsure if Jackson was lying to be more approachable or being manipulative to get his way. ‘What was she like? Well, what did she do?’

  Jackson turned to Nancy, which she nodded in approval to tell her. ‘She was a nurse for a while. A telephone operator before that. Later became a housewife when she had her own children and a part time wet nurse.’

  ‘Wet nurse?’ Okay, he does know her. Kate thought to herself, now convinced that Jackson had met her. Though she never thought she was a wet nurse after getting married.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  ‘We lived in a secluded town. Some resources and luxuries weren’t available.’ Jackson clarified in a monotone voice. ‘Many were also superstitious about formulas. Chriss, your great-grandmother. Occupied a role that needed filling, up till the 30s.’

  ‘Huh… I didn’t know.’ Kate responded, before shaking her head. ‘I didn’t say it before, but I want to thank you for last night.’

  Jackson awkwardly paused for a moment, like he didn’t remember the events of the night prior. ‘No problem.’

  ‘No problem?’ Kate repeated. She was expecting a follow-up question like who Butch was and the gang that attacked her.

  ‘None,’ Jackson coldly responded before standing up. Before he could leave, Kate’s dad walked inside the house and smiled at the awoken reptile.

  He walked towards Jackson to shake his hand. ‘Names Bob, a pleasure to meet you.’

  ‘Jackson.’ The reptile replied as he shook his hand. But didn’t offer thanks or anything further for helping Jackson recover. To Kate, it was clear he wanted to leave as soon as he arrived.

  ‘Well, Jackson. It seems you healed up real fast. Do you need anything else? Food, water, clothes maybe?’

  ‘The latest encyclopedia edition, a phone book, and a fax machine.’ He sharply said.

  Bob blankly stared at Jackson before letting out a short chuckle. ‘Well, how can I put it this way? We don’t have those anymore.’

  The reptile broke his emotionless expression to raise a brow. ‘Why?’

  ‘Because we have something better.’ He gestured to his daughter. ‘Kate, can you take our guest to your laptop and teach him how to use the internet.’

  ‘I can’t, I have…’

  ‘I’m a quick learner.’ Jackson cut her off. Standing silently as he waited for her to get moving to where he needed to be.

  Before her father left for farm chores, Kate silently pleaded with him to let her leave and teach Jackson instead. She couldn’t beg her grandma, as she had no idea what to do. Reluctantly, she gestured to Jackson to follow her to her room.

  As they made their way upstairs, Kate’s brother moved out of the way in awe as he got a proper glimpse of the reptile. Though Jackson didn’t acknowledge his presence.

  When they got to Kate’s room, she sat Jackson down in front of her home laptop and booted up for him. He examined the strange device, comparing how thin it was compared to his finger.

  Kate didn’t want to be there, she rushed through explaining what a search bar was, how to use a mouse, and what a keyboard does. To her relief, Jackson sat there and listened to her explanations and instructions. He would ask questions, like how to correct his mistakes if he misspelled something. But in the end, the questions he asked were simple enough to explain.

  ‘Okay, if you need anything else. Just ask my dad. Right now, I need to go to school.’ Kate said before heading out. But as she turned around, she noticed Jackson typing frantically. Like he already had something in mind to search for. She wanted to ask what he was looking for, yet in the end she chose to leave him to it. He seemed capable to her, and she argued to herself that she spent too long with him than she needed to.