When Antaska got back to her room after dinner, she found Potat asleep on the bed. M. Hoyvil had gone to his room. He was going out for the evening to the first social event planned for the adolescent Verdantes this week.
Antaska lay down next to Potat, careful not to make any jolting movements that might wake her.
Potat was usually a light sleeper, but not this time. Plunged down into her deepest level of sleep, she was busy receiving the slow communication that the planet’s telepathic trees had been so insistent on delivering ever since her arrival. Her sleeping mind was completely filled with the voices of millions of individual trees harmonizing to send a combined message.
Ordinarily, Potat kept a part of her mind available to watch over Antaska, even in sleep. But the enormous humming message coming from these loud sentient trees was making that difficult, even for the powerful mind of a cat.
About once an hour, Potat sent out a mental feeler. So far, she’d found that Antaska was fine, but she knew that Antaska was having problems with the Earthlings in the residence. A lingering concern stayed with her as she slept on, waiting for the trees to finish delivering their message. And the only reason she kept listening to the time-consuming, annoyingly slow message was that it seemed to be about Antaska! An even more annoying thing about the sentient tree language was that one couldn’t understand the message until the entire message had been heard. And it always took many hours for even the shortest message.
Antaska was exhausted after the long, eventful first day on the planet. She watched Potat sleeping and felt like she could fall asleep too at any moment. Antaska was relieved to notice that the drug Freeta had given her had worn off. If there was a stimulant property to the drug, that was gone too.
“I should go to the bathroom before I go to sleep,” Antaska decided.
After she dragged herself up out of bed, Antaska pressed her hand on the wall to open a small compartment, picked up her toothbrush and toothpaste, and headed out the always open doorway.
Freeta was sitting in the same chair in her own doorway when Antaska passed by.
“Hi Freeta,” Antaska said.
She waved a tired hand at her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Freeta rise from her chair. Freeta walked on soft-slippered feet, but Antaska could sense her following behind her. She walked faster down the long hallway.
Oh great. I told her to stay away from me! Is she going to try to give me drugs again? Antaska wondered. I’m too tired to deal with this now.
Inside the bathroom, Antaska first used one of the stalls. Then she went to a sink and started brushing her teeth. Freeta came in before she was done.
“Hi again, Antaska!” Freeta said in a cheerful, wide-awake voice.
“Ungh,” said Antaska with her mouth full of toothpaste and a nod of her head.
She faced the round mirror and kept brushing. She didn’t look at Freeta, but she could sense her standing next to her and staring at her.
“Look, Antaska,” said Freeta as Antaska spit out her toothpaste and started to rinse. “I know what you’re up to with Ms. Janeez, and I won’t tolerate it.”
Is she hallucinating or something? Antaska wondered. From all the drugs she takes maybe?
Antaska wiped her mouth on the soft towel hanging next to the sink and then turned to face Freeta.
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
Freeta crossed her arms over her filmy dress.
“Playing stupid won’t work with me,” said Freeta. “You know what I’m talking about. We both know exactly what you’re doing.”
Freeta’s eyes and forehead scrunched up in an angry glare. Antaska crossed her arms too and stared back at her. She was relieved to notice that Freeta wasn’t holding her drug spray bottle.
“Actually, I don’t,” said Antaska. “And if you don’t tell me what it is, I won’t be able to stop doing it.”
Freeta’s mouth and nose scrunched up too. She spoke to Antaska in a mocking, sing-song tone.
“I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m just trying to get Ms. Janeez’s attention by racing past her door, so she’ll notice me and make clothes for me. Maybe she’ll like me the best and want me to stay on the planet with her. Then I can get drugs every day!” Freeta yelled in Antaska’s face.
Antaska stepped back from her.
“Are you crazy?” she asked Freeta. “I’m not taking that stuff again! And don’t try to spray it on me. If I see that bottle, I’m warning you, I’ll kick it out of in your hand.”
“Now you’re threatening to kick me!” said Freeta. “I’m going to tell the Verdantes you said that. They won’t let you go to outer space with M. Hoyvil if they know you’re violent.”
“No. I’m not threatening you. I’m threatening your drugs. And you know what? I’ve had enough of this. Tell the Verdantes whatever you want. I’ll have to tell them about your drugs then. You’re nuts. I’m out of here. Stay away from me like I told you before,” said Antaska.
She turned and walked away from Freeta.
“You liar!” Freeta shouted after her. “I know you want more drugs! You’re just doing this because you think now I’ll give you more to make you like me. But I won’t. I’ll wait for you to come back begging to me! On your knees!”
She’s completely insane! Antaska thought as she walked away as fast as she could.