Appetite (working title)

By Taylor Russo

Commis

If The Shell’s temperature were not constantly regulated to provide maximum comfort to its inhabitants, Luke Hawthorne would be wetter than a lake. Nerves usually never got the best of him, but his future rested on this interview. Or at least, that was how he liked to put it when speaking to his sister and their roommate. Mavl’s Respite was the hottest restaurant in town, and if Luke nailed this interview, he would be on his way to living his dream of becoming a chef.

As he entered the restaurant, the human, brown skinned hostess looked up at him from her feet, a bored expression plastered on her face. “Uh, hi,” Luke said with a wave. “Um, you wouldn’t happen to know where Nuvar is, would you? I have a meeting with him.” Luke ran a hand through his blonde hair, pulling it out after it got caught over the curve of his head. The hostess paused to look Luke over head to toe with her brown eyes. “Yeah, sure,” she said monotonously.

A tense silence settled into the entrance area as the pair maintained eye contact. A figure shuffled from the restaurant space and next to the hostess. An Evurse, his skin glowed a soft, tender blue. At just over eight feet tall, the alien male swayed, but it was not clumsy. “Oh, hi! No need to come looking for me, Naomi. You must be Luke, the prospective chef. Please, please, come this way. I’m Nuvar, by the way,” said the figure, gesturing towards Luke to follow him. Luke followed Nuvar through the dimly lit restaurant, weaving through tables, waiters, and customers and then stepping through a holographic fixture. Nuvar approached a large door, necessary for someone of his stature, and opened it for Luke to enter.

Luke looked at the pictures adorning the stark white walls; evidence of a life long lived. Images of loved ones, previous employees, and famous customers, each one telling more about his life than Luke could ever know by asking. Luke knew that many of these people were long gone, with some of these images being all Nuvar had left of them.

“Please, sit,” said Nuvar, hand outstretched towards a chair opposite his desk. Luke sank into the seat, still staring at the pictures.

Nuvar turned on his screen and looked through something that Luke could not see. “So, on your application, it says that you graduated from the Arcadia Culinary College on Earth?”

Luke replied with a nod.

“Okay, so it says here you worked at Jenkins’ Sports Bar & Grill while attending Arcadia before moving to the Shell and working at the Restless, what can you tell me about those experiences?”

“Well, Jenkins’ was nice, but it was very crass, not the place I expected to my career to go, even if I’m still technically new at all this. And it was still on Earth,” Luke explained, Nuvar giving a knowing smile. “The Restless, I heard about from my sister, they needed a temporary fill in and I, uh, filled in.” Luke finished his explanation with a chuckle.

“So, why do you wish to work here?” Nuvar asked, smile on his face. Luke simply pointed at one of the photos in response, a photo of Nuvar and a female Evurse.

“Her. I grew up watching her on the screen. Getting to see her bring people together with food inspired me, and I’ve wanted to do the same ever since.” Luke shifted in his seat, hoping his answer did not come off as weird to the alien male. “When she passed, I don’t know, I just knew I had to become a chef.”

Nuvar chuckled sadly. “Mavl had that quality. She was able to make everyone feel welcome. Y’know, some people say that she singlehandedly made the Jugund’r join the Coalition? The delegation had one bite of her food and they immediately wanted in,” the Evursan said with a smile. “It’s not true, I was there, but she made them feel welcome and maybe that had something to do with it. If only she were still around to inspire people like you.” The expression on Nuvar’s face was hard to read for Luke, but he let out a solemn sigh and a smile crept back onto his face.

The Evursan clapped his hands together. “Luke, I’ll be honest with you. Things the way they are in the galaxy, there are employees here that won’t take kindly to you,” he said earnestly. Luke braced for the worst. “But, I like you! So, welcome to the team! You’ll start next week.”

Luke fist pumped in his seat. “Sir, I will not let you or the rest of the team down, trust me,” he said outstretching his right hand for a handshake. Nuvar was no longer paying attention.

“Oh, you want a handshake! Dearie me, I forget human customs sometimes, sorry,” Nuvar explained whilst grabbing Luke’s hand and giving it one hardy shake.

Luke exited Mavl’s Respite and began to walk home. As the lights of the neon shone down on the walkway, Luke could feel the tension in his shoulders that he had accrued due to the stress of the interview begin to the leave him. And as he walked the streets, bombarded by news from across the galaxy, a new anxiety filled his mind.

“Shliv Attacks on Rise in Outer Quadrants” read a news ticker above a screen shop. The fighting was getting worse, but all people could do was keep living their day-to-day lives, Luke included. To quiet his mind from the worry, and focus on happier things, Luke stepped into a bakery, where he was assaulted by the smell of fresh, baked goods. Luckily, there was no line.

Luke smiled at the cashier before ordering, “Hi, I’ll have a box of snicker doodles and plain, sugar cookies,” the regular order when ordering sweets for the entire apartment. Luke raised his screen in front of the register, paying for the cookies, before grabbing the box from the cashier and going on his way.

***

Luke walked up the stairs, passing by his neighbors until one who was just leaving stopped him. “Oh hi, Luke,” said the neighbor, Mrs. Lieber, “How did your interview go?”

“Great!” exclaimed Luke.

She let out an ‘ooh,’ as she placed a hand on his shoulder. “Have you told Lisa and Maro yet?”

“Nah, I’m gonna surprise ‘em with the good news,” Luke said, lifting the box of cookies. “And these cookies.”

“Well, I won’t hold you up. Bye, Luke!” she said with a wave.

Luke waved back as he headed up the flight of stairs towards his apartment. Unlocking the door, he stepped through it and into the humble abode of his sister, her friend from college, and himself. Luke kicked his shoes off by the door, his socks making his steps quieter. Luke then placed the box of cookies on the kitchen countertop and stepped further into the apartment, entering the living room.

“Guys, I got news!” he shouted throughout his apartment. Maro was the first to come to check out what was going on, in the nude. “Oh, dude, I know you live here, but put pants on, goddamnit.” Luke raised a hand to cover his face from the sturdy, alien person’s green skinned, full frontal assault.

“I am sorry, Luke, it is the Chereshan way that we be fully unburdened by clothing when we return from a days worth of hard work,” Maro stated. While his words said one thing, his face said that Luke should already know this bit of Chereshan custom.

“Maro, you work from home,” replied Luke, dumbfounded by Maro’s oddness. It was something Luke had thought he had gotten used to when he moved to The Shell, but being from Earth, Luke lacked experience in dealing with aliens. “No one wants to see your, uh, your,” Luke struggled to finish his sentence.

Maro scoffed. “Well, I’ve had a stressful day, is all,” his voice raised in annoyance.

The pair stood in the living room until, from the master bathroom, an excited yelp could be heard. Lisa then excitedly bounded into the room. “I’m pregnant!” she cried, enthusiasm plain as day. Then, she saw her twin brother and her eyes went wide.

Lisa slapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh god, oh god,” she said trying to ease the tension in the room. However, there was no need.

“You mean, I’m gonna be an uncle?!” shouted Luke. “Holy shit, this is the best day ever!” Luke scooped his twin into a tight hug and spun her around. “Oh my god, this is so exciting!” Luke placed his sister back onto the ground.

“Wait, um, who’s the dad?” he asked, eyebrow raised.

“So… funny story, actually,” replied Lisa, awkward smile on her face. She then proceeded to wrap an arm around Maro’s shoulder. Maro’s face beamed with pride.

It took a moment for the news to really hit Luke. Awkwardness settled into the apartment. Mouth agape, Luke stepped into the kitchen, and then began to pace back and forth. “So, um, oh yeah! The interview! Well, did you get the job?” asked Lisa, attempting to brush over Luke’s shock.

Meanwhile, Maro peaked inside the box of cookies and a toothy grin appeared on his face. “Aw, nice! Sugar cookies!”

***

After being guided to the sofa and sat down, Luke finally spoke. “When did thi-“ he started, before being distracted by Maro’s nudity. “Dude, please put pants on!”

Lisa patted her boyfriend on the shoulder and mouthed, “Go,” at him. Maro complied, but not before grabbing a handful of sugar cookies from the box. He then proceeded to shovel them into his mouth, one-by-one, in quick succession as he left the room.

After he left, Lisa piped up with an explanation. “It started right before you moved in. I didn’t know how Mom and Dad would feel about me dating a nonhuman, so we kept it secret from them and you,” she huffed before continuing. “It was wrong of us to keep that from you, especially since you’re my brother and, like, my best friend.”

“Lisa, c’mon, all our parents want is for us to be happy,” Luke stated. “I could hear how happy you were when you announced it. If you’re happy, great! Also, nice to know that I’m your best friend, loser.”

“Shut up, jerk.”

“So, how did I not find out until today?” inquired Luke with a wry grin.

“Well, you were working at The Restless nearly every night. So, we had a lot of time to ourselves. You were too tired to notice. Maro wanted to tell you sooner, but I disagreed.”

“Lisa, you know you can tell me anything,” replied Luke. “No judgment.”

“Oh good,” said Lisa with a nervous look on her face. She ran a hand through her long, wavy locks. “Because, we’re planning on moving. That new neon that got remodeled is offering discounts for families. And if we’re gonna be able to afford to raise this kid, Maro and I need to save as much money as possible.”

“Okay, well, I can deal with that. How much is the rent on this place, anyways?” Luke asked with a chuckle.

“A lot,” replied his twin. “Too much for you.”

“Well, shit, what do I do? I can’t move with you guys, that ward is too far away from my new job.”

“Well, there’s the pods,” said Maro from the entrance to the hallway. The twins turned around to face him. He was still pant less, but was instead wearing a long shirt. It was an improvement, at the very least.

“What?” asked Lisa.

“The pods? At Pod Palace? Where I lived for freshman year of college?” replied Maro, as he approached the pair.

“Oh. Oh no, no, no, my brother is not living in those things. They’re unsanitary, they’re dangerous,” she said, pointedly. “And most importantly, he’s too damn tall! He’d never fit in one.”

Luke made a confused face that went unnoticed by the couple. “They sound kinda fun, actually.”

“It’s just an idea,” Maro replied to Lisa, ignoring Luke completely.

“Yeah, a bad idea,” Lisa retorted.

“Guys, I’ll do it!” yelled Luke, getting the other two’s attention. “Look, I got a job at the hottest restaurant in town, I’ll be out of there in no time.”

“Are you sure?” asked Lisa, frown etched across her face. Luke nodded in reply. Lisa smiled and pulled her brother into a hug.

Luke wrapped his arms around his twin before being squeezed himself. “I love both of you so much,” said a tearful Maro.

Luke simply sighed in reply.

Next Chapter: Chapter 2: Pod People