Haszie's Christmas Gift (Part Three)

haszie's christmas gift

Part Three

By Delfin

"Hasz, guess what?!  We're having a Roachie," Reminghee shouted out to her, before mouthing, "God save us" and shaking her head side-to-side rather vigorously. Reminghee was seated at a table in the far right-hand corner, about three tables away from Haszie who was playfully tossing a blue-black fruit in the air and catching it. It was a fruit packed with nutrients that her mum swore by to stay healthy but it had a bitter-sour taste that Haszie did not relish. Haszie thought it made a better toy.

"What?! A Roachie! Oh, gosh, when, when is she or he coming?"  The toy was forgotten; no, this news was better sport!

"Next year, transferring to our school from the one she goes to in her ghetto planet. And oh, yes, it's a she, though I don't see why we should bother - for all we care, she's an it!" Reminghee almost spat out the last word.

"Why can't they just stay in their ghetto planet?  Why would they want to come and ruin our beautiful planet as well? I have heard about these guys; they are pretty odd. It was just last year that Maallang's father went to work there. Maallang said they are incredibly ugly. They have spindly legs, or at least, long, thin limbs they call legs."

"Really? I have never seen a Roachie before. I have always wondered how they look like," little Miss Do-Gooder Jemimiah squeaked.

Haszie rolled her eyes and smiled knowingly at Reminghee. "So, Jemimiah, would you like to see one?" she asked sweetly.

"Yeah, I think a different kind of person would, you know, would add colour to our school. I am sure it would be interesting to get to know them. We could, you know, we could, maybe, learn from them, maybe?" Jemimiah's voice was tinged with uncertainty as she glanced first at Haszie and then, at Reminghee.

"My dear, why wait! I will show you what they are like." Haszie's voice took on a professorial tone as she got up from her seat. "Let me first show you how those precious darlings walk." She stood on tiptoe with her hard claws touching the golden-brown grassy patch on the canteen floor. Wobbling around, she managed a few steps before falling with an exaggerated tumble.

Most of her classmates fell forward, laughing hard. Jemimiah became silent, looking on uncomfortably.

Haszie had a wonderful day, indeed. She was the star, the one who caught everyone's attention. Ah, if only every day was like that - the coveted comet-jewel in her possession and her classmates' admiration at her cleverness. She was clever, wasn't she? She giggled silently to herself as she walked home. Then, her thoughts returned to comet-jewel and her paces quickened. She needed to get home to give the comet-jewel the shine it deserved before attaching it to the necklace. The Christmas Ball was in a couple of days; she didn't have a moment to lose if she wanted to make sure she was not just the star of her school but, most of all, of the Ball as well.

Part Four will be posted on 20/12/2014