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&039;Back in a ot out of the car

I watched him disappear into the warehouse and sat and waited

And waited

It was a glorious late summer&039;s day and even with the s and sunroof open, the heat inside the car was rapidly becoe which sloped down between the edge of the pavement and the tar frustration I wouldn&039;t have minded if Joe had said he&039;d be back in three hours - what botheredwhether he was going to be out in the next fiveto his ot up and gone inside to see as going on but, if I was completely honest, I just couldn&039;t be bothered toelse to do and, anyway, it was too hot

&039;Excuse me,&039; an unexpected voice suddenly said fro about the tone and the accent of the voice that was unusual I knew before I&039;d turned around that it was an alien

I stood up and tried to reply but I felt inexplicably nervous and ood six inches taller thana s but there was nothing I could do to stop myself

&039;I&039;ently &039;I&039;m lost&039;

What kind of a species can travel halfway across the universe and then get lost in Dreighton I foundeven reet to?&039; I asked instead

&039;I&039; for Lime Street ,&039; the alien replied politely &039;I&039;ain I foundat the creature in front of me It had obviously seen many more humans than I had aliens and I sensed that I was of little reciprocal interest Its baby-blue eyes quickly scanned ently curled at the corners again I&039;d heard that the aliens had two separate sexes in uessed that this one was fe about its movements and manneris way off,&039; I said, eventually re to reply &039;Lime Street &039;s on the other side of town&039;

&039;Oh,&039; she said quietly

&039;When I say you&039;re a long way off,&039; I continued, blabbering like an idiot, &039;I&039; relatively It&039;s only half aA badme look like an idiot What kind of ambassador was I for my species?

&039;I don&039;t understand,&039; the alien said &039;I don&039;t knohat youto a visitor frolish for just a feeeks and as speaking it like an expert I, on the other hand, had been using the language fortroublemyself understood

&039;What I meant to say,&039; I explained sheepishly, &039;was that the distance to Li compared to the distance you&039;ve travelled to end up here&039;

She nodded No s, aard and huet there?&039; the alien asked hopefully

&039;What? Oh, yes,&039; I sta my face redden &039;Sorry, it&039;s just that I wasn&039;t expecting to&039;

&039;To what?&039;

I didn&039;t knohat to say Instead I began to direct the alien across town

&039;Take a right, follow the high street until you reach the junction with the road to Fordhaht&039; &039;Thank you,&039; she said and she turned and began to walk away

&039;So how are you finding it here?&039; I asked, shouting after her I instinctively wanted her to stay a little longer I would have been disappointed if my first conversation with an alien had ended as coun

She turned back and san, &039;are you talking about the town or the planet?&039;

&039;Either,&039; I replied &039;Both&039;

She sighed and thought for a

&039;I don&039;t kno to answer honestly without offending you&039; she said

&039;Just offend me then,&039; I interrupted

&039;Your planet is fine, but it&039;s not what I&039;h her use of the word &039;fine&039; annoyed me because it made my planet sound nondescript and barely adequate, I understood what she was trying to say

&039;Of course it isn&039;t,&039; I agreed

&039;Don&039;t get , I like what I&039;ve seen here,&039; she continued, &039;but I&039;d rather be back hoet back?&039;

&039;A year and a half, er&039;

&039;And how does that make you feel?&039;

&039;Desperate,&039; she replied, before turning and walking away again

I watched the alien disappear and thought about her constantly until Joe finally eed from the warehouse