9 KIM – HOW TO SAVE YOUR NEW FRIENDS FROM YOUR SISTER

"I guess I should thank you for bringing her back home."

Amy wasn't facing me anymore but I knew exactly what those words implied. "Who are you ? How did you meet my sister ? What do you want with her ?". Am's was going to make minced meat of them.

My sister tended to be a tad overprotective. Not just with me but with our family, her friends, kids from the neighborhood, even the dog. Basically anyone she had already met and liked. Sometimes even persons she had never even saw. If she saw someone in trouble, she reacted. Period. No questions asked. She would naturally be the first person to go and help them. A girl was being harassed by some asshole on the streets? She would go over there and act like she was seeing her long-lost best friend before quickly going away with the girl in her toll. A kid was being bullied ? She would pretend to be his older sister. You get the idea.

But being overprotective meant she also had a tendency to be a little over the top. As in, she could easily start getting paranoia over the smallest things. When I started drawing kids I saw in my dreams, she thought I was trying to tell us I was being bullied. She started stalking me at school to make sure I was okay. She would glare at every person that came a little too close to me. I had a pretty hard time explaining to my friends that no, they didn't have to be scared of Amanda. But yeah, she was kinda weird.

Thankfully, her actions never led her to be in actual danger. But Mom always ended up lecturing her about the dangers of modern society. If you asked me, it went straight from one ear to the other one. Meaning Amy's brain never registered the info. I heard Dad say to Mom that this was part of her instincts. As in animal instincts. He said it was normal. That she would need this side of her personality one day. Mom's answer scared me. So much I never told Amy about this overheard conversation.

"The day she will have to use those instincts means we would die ! The Elders will have us killed ! Us and Kimmy ! You know it ! I know it ! And I don't want this for my children ! She didn't want this for her child !"

She. I'm not aware of whom She could be but I know a few things about her. She has a child. She is someone important to my parents. And She just happens to be dead. How do I know this ? My parents have always talked about her in the past tense. And never in front of me or Amy. I'm not supposed to know anything about She.

But, right at this moment, She didn't matter. My new friends did. They were about to get chewed on by my sister. Because she though they had tried to kidnap me or something and I had somehow managed to escape from four strangers, two of whom where like twice my size (yes, I might have been exaggerating a tad). And that, as I ran home to safety, they had followed me to do all sorts of unspeakable things.

Basically, every single freaking brain cell in Amy's head was screaming bloody murder with a red alarm going nuts in the background.

Which also meant it was my job to make sure she didn't actually commit any type of homicide. Not that she wouldn't be able to pull it off. Heck, if she decided to kill someone the cops would only notice that they were missing about three months after the actual crime, would never find the body and would never even think of her as a possible suspect.

To my surprise, Neptune – who I mostly thought of as the goofy friend like Link from Beautiful Creatures up to this very moment – did the most well thought thing he could possibly do. He took a step away from me. Whilst dragging Mercury with him. Flashing a huge, completely honest smile. All without opening his mouth that had been working nonstop since I had met him.

"Hi" he said. "My name's Neptune but you can call me Nep. I'm guessing you must be Amanda, right ? Kimmy's been telling us lots about you."

"She has ?" Amy asked, faintly tilting her head. "Do you know them ?" she said, turning back to me.

It took me a few minutes to be able to actually register the fact that she was talking to me. And not calling the whole FBI or aggressively beating someone. I mean my Yandere sister had been calmed by… a "Hi" and 24 random words. No more red alarm. No more full Homicide Mode Activated. Amy was staring at me, perfectly calm.

"I… uh…" I fumbled, not knowing what to tell her.

Oh them ? Those four there ? Sure sis. They're super powerful genetically modified aliens from some very far away galaxy who came down to our little island to look for… uh… a VIP alien ? Who kind of zapped me above the volcano ? But mind you, they did come to save me and they're our age so how about we all just be friends ? Wouldn't that be just thrillingly nice ?

That's when it hit me. They WERE our age. And summer break was going to be over in a week. They had to stay here for a month.

"They're exchange students !" I yelled, quickly glancing at Saturn. Clearly, he was the only one I actually trusted to back me up. "From Kansas. They'll be here for a month, I think. Did I get it right ?" Your turn to make it convincing. I was trying my very hardest to communicate with my eyes. Why can't they read minds ?

"From Kansas ?" Amy asked. Oh my Lord, she wasn't going to buy it.

"Indeed," assured Saturn. "We applied for an exchange program in another state. And here we are. We signed up at Hoku'ula Private High School. One of the teachers told us most students would hang out at Waipi'o."

"So we decided to hit it up," added Mercury. "Ya know, to meet other students and all. So that we would be completely lost on the first day. That would kinda suck…"

"Oh," whispered Amy. Clearly, she was feeling bad for judging them too quickly. "In that case, welcome to Honoka'a. I didn't know our school had an exchange program. I would have applied..." Or maybe she was just annoyed because she had missed an opportunity…

"It's very new." As always, Neptune was all smiles when he spoked. "We're the beta testers if you would. Average students that can adapt to a new environment. They'll probably start the real thing next year."

"Oh. S'that so ?" grumbled my sister. She appeared more relaxed and I was pretty sure the exchange program thing was credible, but I also knew she wasn't the most at ease with strangers

"In any case," I declared, "it's getting pretty late so you guys should head home. Come on Amy. I'm sure Dad and Mom are super worried." I started dragging her back to the house, waving to the other.

As I opened the door, I smiled and said, "See you during the week !".

Basically meaning "Don't fuck this up or we're all getting murdered."

° ° °

Once the two girls were safely back inside their house, Saturn turned back to look at his three friends. Said friends who were very badly hiding the fact that they were extremely thrilled by the fact that they would be going to a human school.

"Guess I should sign us up for school, uh?" he asked.

Looking at the wide grins on their face, he couldn't but feel that it would probably be enjoyable. Not that he would ever admit it.