"She said she thought Nick was going to surprise her. But when I got back, she told me that Nick left her at his house, alone for the weekend, while he and his kids went fishing. They didn’t even know it was her birthday. She was crying. I got so mad." #lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon #shortstory

Cecilia folded her arms again and looked away. In an awkward, halting manner, Marty explained.
“I gave my gifts to her the day before her birthday, because me and my parents were going to visit my grandma. We were talking about it, and I asked her about her party." #lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon

Marty blushed and muttered, “My mom said I should give her something a girl would like.”
“The cost of these gifts left you with ten dollars? And you gave this amount to Nicholas Thompson? Why did you purchase Cecilia? Why did Thompson accept so little compensation?” #lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon

“I had my birthday last Saturday,” she explained. “He gave me a video game. Mackenzie’s Rock. It’s his favorite game. And he gave me a metal vase with a metal rose. The petals are painted red, and it so nice. It’s the best gift, ever.”
Marty blushed. #lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon #alieninvasion

“What?” Marty’s explosion expressed more surprised than anger. “I gave Nick ten dollars.”
“You paid ten dollars for Cecilia?”
“Yes.”
“That is a meager amount, even for someone as small as her.”
“That’s all I had left, after I bought her presents.”
“Presents?”
#lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon #alien

"Do you have any other male relatives?”
“No, it was just me and my mom, before we moved in with Nick.”
“Then legally, after your mother perished, you became the property of the Ragoon.”
“What?” Marty’s explosion expressed more surprised than anger. “I gave Nick ten dollars.” #lookinmybriefs #alien

“Are you ever sad that you don’t have a mom and dad?” she asked.
“No. You said Nicholas Thompson was your mother’s boyfriend. Does this mean they were not married?”
“Yes. I mean, no. I mean, they weren’t married.”
“Then this form is invalid, since he was not your legal owner." #lookinmybriefs #alien

“The Ragoon do not have mothers and fathers. We are hermaphrodites. We reproduce in a manner different than humans.” It continued with a lengthy explanation of its sexual reproductive system.
“Oh,” Cecilia said when it finished.
“Cool,” Marty said.
#lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon #alieninvasion

Cecilia lowered her head. “Sometimes I wish the woman who killed my mom, died too.”
The alien checked its database but found no adequate response to the girl’s statement.
Marty asked, “Did your mom and dad come with you to Earth?”
#lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon #alieninvasion #shortstory #alien

“No. It is illegal to eat humans, unless they have been condemned to death by a court, or if they have forced other humans to engage in human sexual business. He was incarcerated here and then released.”
Cecilia lowered her head. #lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon #alieninvasion #shortstory #alien

“I was hit by a drunk driver.”
“But you didn’t die,” Marty said.
The alien shook its head. “No. I was angry. The human man was careless.”
Cecilia raised her head and stared at the alien before speaking. “Did you eat him?”
#lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon #alieninvasion #shortstory #alien

“He’s not her real father,” Marty explained. “Her mother was Nick’s girlfriend. She and Cecilia moved in with Nick and his boys last year. But then her mother died when a drunk driver hit her car.”
“I was hit by a drunk driver.”
“But you didn’t die,” Marty said.
#lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon

The alien swiveled its chair, forcing the kids to step back.
“Transferring property under the influence of chemicals is illegal. Was your father intoxicated when the transfer was made?”
The girl’s good humor evaporated. She folded her arms, and lowered her chin.
#lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon

The kids argued while the alien typed in the correct name, ignoring Marty's tentative touch as the boy gave in to curiosity and lightly fingered the spikes on its grey skin.
“Nick has an HP, and he loves it,” Cecilia said.
“Nick is a drunk. Smart people have Macs.”
#lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon

It turned to its computer and brought up a screen. It pecked in ‘Nicholas Thompson’, and emitted a sound that might have been a curse when it made a typing mistake.
“Is this spelling correct?”
The kids skipped around the desk and took positions on different sides of the alien.
#lookinmybriefs #alien

He scowled at the girl who promptly lifted her nose and stuck her tongue out.
“This form says that your original owner was a human named Nick Thompson. Is Nick short for Nicholas?”
“Yes,” Cecilia replied.
“You should have entered the correct name.”
#lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon #alieninvasion

“That’s what I said,” Cecilia said. “But Bubba couldn’t find the box to click. You should make your website more user friendly.”
“Your name is Bubba?”
The boy reddened. “That’s what my dad calls me. My real name is Martin, but I like to be called Marty.” #lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon #shortstory

“We always call you Sissy.”
“That was when I was a little kid,” she exclaimed. “I’m ten now.”
The translator made a noise that suggested irritation, so the kids turned their attention to the District Supervisor.
“This could have been saved and sent over the internet.”
#lookinmybriefs #alieninvasion

"It says ‘deliver to the proper authority at the Merced Human Rehabilitation Center’, so that’s what I’m doing. We didn’t know if Sissy was supposed to be here, so she came too.”
“My name is Cecilia,” the girl said, giving the boy an annoyed frown.
#lookinmybriefs #talesoftheragoon #alieninvasion

“It says so on the bottom? See? It says ‘deliver to the proper authority at the Merced Human Rehabilitation Center’, so that’s what I’m doing. We didn’t know if Sissy was supposed to be here, so she came too.”
“My name is Cecilia,” the girl said, giving the boy an annoyed frown.
#lookinmybriefs