The Adventures of Mip Membrane

Chapter 3: The Insidious New Girl

I ran as fast as I could, my breath heavy and my sides burning. I wanted to stop, lie down in the cool grass, maybe pick a dandelion or play with a caterpillar, but from what I've learned in skool, value is measured by physical capabilities. If you can't do the sports, you're worthless and should die where you stand. But not me. I was so close to that soccer ball, and I was gonna kick it, and then... I'm still not entirely sure how the game works, but I was determined to do something!

Now, why did I care so much? I was already a social reject, there was no recovering from that. But I could be much more. I was a pathetic crybaby that no one wanted to be around, but what if people feared me? What if they avoided me, not because of how uncool I was, but because of how strong and intimidating and powerful I was? No one would ever dare mess with me again, and even Moofy would go running home crying if she crossed me.

My target in sight, I charged forward at the ball, ready to kick it with all my strength...

Then some kid pushed me over and kicked it himself, landing it directly in the net.

"Great, our team lost again. Thanks, Mip." One of the boys on my team said sarcastically.

Yep, gym class is the worst.

Thankfully, it was almost over, and soon I'd be sitting at that creepy old table in the back of the cafeteria where I could rant about it to Louie.

My time at skool had caused me to develop a bit of an anger problem. I think it was a defense mechanism of some sort. No one was actually intimidated by me, though. I think I gave off an "angry Chihuahua" sort of vibe, so not really all that threatening.

I could always count on Louie for support. He never used that condescending tone when he talked to me, he'd just let me say what I needed to say, even if it wasn't always morally stable. He treated me like a person. I'm not entirely sure if I count as a person, but still, it felt nice.

More than anything, I wanted to tell him I was Irken. I knew it wasn't safe, but I wanted him to know the real me. He was the only kid I knew that didn't want to harass me, and while I appreciated the support I was able to get from him when he simply believed I was a human, he couldn't fully support me if he didn't know the truth.

There were things I wanted to talk about that I couldn't talk about with my family, like my desire to know more about my origins and home planet. The memories I had were vague, despite not being that long ago. I knew my life was bad before Dad found me, but at the same time, I was curious. Zim was the only Irken I knew, and he wouldn't tell me anything either. No one would.

"Hey, Mip, you okay? You've been quiet today." Louie said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Oh, I'm fine."

Ah yes, the universal lie that actually means "I'm not fine, please help me" but no one ever seems to understand it.

Suddenly, a girl I didn't recognize walked into the cafeteria, and everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her. She had a dark blue pixie cut and wore a stripey purple outfit. There was an uncomfortable silence as she walked through the room, and when she stopped and pointed at Moofy, I swear I saw her flinch.

"You! Tell me, where can I find Mip?" The new girl asked. I held my breath, terrified of what she possibly wanted with me.

"Why do you wanna know? Mip's a loser!" Moofy replied. I hate her, so much.

"I'll ask again. Where's Mip?" She asked, aggression rising in her voice.

Desperate to be left alone, Moofy pointed a shaky finger at the reject table.