Out of This World

Andy

Andy walked up to the girl group (Darci, Mary Wang, Claire, Shannon, and Aja) after biology on Wednesday morning. She and Krel had been hanging out a little bit beforehand; the two of them hadn't held hands since their date, and Andy wasn't sure if that was a thing Krel was comfortable with at school yet, so she didn't push it.

"Hey Andy!" Darci called, waving her over. "Come on over!"

Andy joined the circle of girls. "What are we gossiping about?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and giving the group a dorky half grin.

"Oh, we're not gossiping," Claire replied, about to continue with more of an explanation. Before she could, however, Mary Wang cut her off.

"We're planning a sleepover!" the queen bee squealed. "I've been wanting to do one for so long, and our schedules finally line up!"

"What day?" Shannon asked.

"Probably Friday," Darci replied.

Andy nodded. "I should be free on Friday, but I'll have to check with my mother."

The other girls nodded in agreement.

"I'll make sure I don't have any urgent business to attend to," Claire added, pulling out her phone.

"'Urgent business'?" Andy echoed in a questioning tone.

"Don't sweat it," Claire said, giving her a half smile. "It's really nothing."

Andy shrugged. "Okay. Say, how was that trip to Jim's Uncle Marlin's place?" she asked her, shouldering her backpack a bit more so the weight distribution felt better.

"It was kind of an eventful trip, to be honest," Claire laughed. "I learned I am not his biggest fan. But I got to see a lot of neat places, so that was cool I guess."

Well, that was vague. Andy looked at her with slight suspicion, but said nothing.

They finished making their plans, and dispersed to their other classes. This Friday was going to be fun!

Andy pulled up to the Tarron residence. Since Darci lived a bit further away than some of the other girls, she was giving Aja a ride. She hopped out of the car and was about to ring the doorbell, when she heard a voice right behind her.

"Varvatos Vex demands you state your name and business before approaching this household!"

Andy acted on reflex. She reached behind her and grabbed the wrist that she knew was there, sliding her foot back to plant her weight. She slid her other hand up the man's arm and flipped him over her body, throwing him down into the ground with surprising force. This happened in a matter of seconds, before Andy realized who exactly she just flipped.

"You have the reflexes of a larvox and the strength of a member of the Taylon! Most glorious!" he crowed, getting up from the ground with a couple of cracking sounds Andy hoped were his joints popping and not his bones breaking.

"Oh my- holy fuck, I am so sorry!" she gasped, putting a hand over her mouth and rushing forward to help him.

"It is not a big deal," he replied. "In fact, that was most impressive! You have a warrior's strength."

She gave him an awkward smile, embarrassed. "Well I try not to go around flipping grandpas," she said.

"Do not worry!" he said, clapping her on the back with surprising force. "Varvatos Vex is much stronger than he looks!" He opened the door and beckoned her to follow him inside.

This was the first time Andy had been inside the Tarron residence, and it was a nice house. It was pretty retro, but that sort of thing was in these days.