The Fifth Housemate: Part 2

"Is Mel in?" asked Laoren, entering the living room.

"Course not," said Greg. "Can't imagine how she does it. We weren't back until at least four last night, and she's still out by nine."

"Jeremy still asleep, I take it?"

"He won't be up for a few days," laughed Greg. "Anyway, I'm lecture-bound, and I want to pick up some alka-seltzer on the way. T'ra!"

As soon as Greg closed the door behind him, Laoren dashed back to her bedroom.

"You can come out," she said.

Trenavass climbed out from under the bed, still wearing his spacesuit.

"I've been thinking about this," she said.

"About what?"

"How we keep you secret." She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. "I've written up a schedule. Look, Mel doesn't spend much time in the house anyway, between lectures, societies and parties. Greg tends to be out between eleven and four, and then again between five and ten, between lectures and work."

Trenavass examined the page.

"The problem is Jeremy," said Laoren. "He can do most of his work from home, he isn't in any societies, and he keeps himself to himself. In short, he spends most of his time in the house."

"I don't understand this diagram," said Trenavass. "I can only speak your language – I can't read it."

"Right," said Laoren. "Okay, I'll explain it to you later, and you can write it out in your own language."

"Thankyou."

"Anyway, I think we have to face the possibility," said Laoren, breathing in deeply, "That we're going to have to tell Jeremy you're here."

-10001-

An hour later, Trenavass had amassed a stack of papers, full of diagrams to help him in everyday life. Laoren was fascinated by the symbol he used, and particularly the maps he drew – remarkably, he'd memorised every detail of the house that he'd been able to see the night before, despite having spent only a few seconds in a darkened hallway. With Laoren's help, he'd also managed to calculate exactly where everything was in the house.

During this time, Trenavass had relaxed considerably. He was less stiff, less awkward. After they'd finished, he decided that it was time to remove his helmet.

"As you can imagine, I don't look like you," he said.

"Well, no. I expect you don't."

"So ... just be prepared."

"Trenavass," sighed Laoren. "We have a planet full of different species. From apes to insects, they're all very different. Not to mention that fifty years of hard sci-fi has, I daresay, prepared the entire human reace for alien contact."

Trenavass paused. "Right," he said eventually.

He reached for the clips on the sides of his helmet, undid them, and the helmet came apart in two pieces.

Laoren was surprised at how human he looked. His skin was tinted a light blue, but it merely made him look cold. His mouth looked absolutely human, and the only thing remarkable about his eyes was that his pupils were larger than human ones. The most dramatic differences were his nose – very flat, and his nostrils seemed to have eyelids – and his hair, which was thick and a very dark navy.

He placed his helmet down on the bed, and inhaled deeply. He smiled.

"They were right," he said. "This planet's atmosphere is disgusting."

Laoren laughed.

"So," he said. "How do I look? From a human point of view, that is."

"You look more human than plenty of locals," Laoren replied. "Certainly more so than Michael Jackson."

"Who?"

"Human celebrity," explained Laoren. "Famous for having a lot of surgery."

Then, Trenavass took off his gloves. Laoren gasped. Each of his fingers had an extra joint, making them look remarkably long. But that wasn't the most dramatic difference.

"You have two thumbs," she said.

"Yes."

"Wow."

Looking closer, it wasn't just that he had two thumbs. The entire hand was symmetrical. Where she'd have expected a little finger, there was another index finger, with another middle finger where there should have been a ring finger. This made his hands look incredibly powerful, and certainly the most alien thing about him.

"Alright, that's very different," Laoren said. "You might want to keep your gloves on when you meet Jeremy."

-10001-

"He's an alien," said Jeremy.

"Yes," said Laoren.

"A proper, no-messing, alien."

"That's right."

"Not one of your mates in make-up?"

"You should see his hands."

They were in the living room. Trenavass was sat on a bean bag, a bizarre sight indeed.

"Prove it, then," said Jeremy. "Where's your spaceship?"

Laoren nudged Jeremy in the ribs.

"Recharging," said Trenavass, meekly.

"Anyway," said Laoren. "He won't be here long – he'll be meeting world leaders and stuff later this week. We just need to keep him safe until then."

"Right." Jeremy turned back towards Trenavass. "Do you ... use a toilet?"

"I do," said Trenavass softly.

"And can you use human ones?"

"Certainly."

"Okay." Jeremy paused, thinking. "Do you need to eat?"

"I have slowed my metabolism down for the journey," said Trenavass. "But food would certainly be appreciated."

"And what do you eat?"

"Fruit and vegetables should be alight," said Trenavass. "As long as they're ... is it 'organic'?"

"Makes sense," said Laoren.

Jeremy muttered something about the expense.

"I'm sure we can stretch a few extra pennies for organic meals for our extra-terrestial visitor," said Laoren.

"There are provisions in my ship," said Trenavass. "If necessary, I can wait until then."

"Certainly not," said Laoren. "You're a guest in this house, and you'll be fed."

"So," said Jeremy. "Are we telling Greg and Mel?"

"As if," said Laoren. "Greg would have told the world in a second, and I don't think Mel's kept a secret in her life."

"Won't they be annoyed we didn't tell them?"

"We're sheltering an alien astronaut, Jeremy," said Laoren. "This is hardly a uni project. Secrecy's of the utmost importance."

"And it's only for a few more days?"

"That's right," said Trenavass. "In four more days, I'll be gone."