Generations

Chapter 4

Memory Lane

Larissa was ready for bed. Her facemask was in place as part of her new beautifying routine; for a more refreshed and natural look, or so the package had said. Now the mask had set hard and it felt uncomfortably tight. A glance in the mirror showed how little having a green face suited her. She could never compete with Emily lookswise, that was for certain! Neither could poor Thea...

Emily swept into the kitchen, the folds of her silvery night dress billowing behind her.

"Don't you have a long shift tomorrow morning Em?" asked Larissa, following her friend into the kitchen.

Emily had switched on the harsh halogen lights and was fumbling with the food producing unit. The smell of waffles quickly filled the little kitchen.

"I can't rest when I'm all jittery, Larissa" she said as she sat down to a plate of steaming waffles and poured golden syrup all over them. "Wouldn't you like at least a small piece?"

"Sorry, I've already brushed my teeth," Larissa replied.

"It was awful having to face Thea," said Emily suddenly. She picked up three waffles and crammed them all into her mouth, swallowing quickly and leaving crumbs and smears of syrup around her dark green lips. "I can't believe she still doesn't know..." Emily's husky voice quivered, "and to think she turned up to support me as well. It really makes it hard to bear, that I have done her wrong..."

"Let the guilty feeling this evening be punishment enough, Emily," said Larissa, stroking her friend's long silky hair as Emily continued to stuff herself. Emily's hair was so smooth to the touch, a real pleasure for the finger tips...

It had been Larissa's idea that Leo should bring Thea along for their meeting. That should stop him getting any further ideas. Trouble was, it seemed to have intensified Emily's feelings of guilt now that she knew Thea's face as well as her name.

"Think of it as a learning experience too," Larissa said, as inspiration struck her, "you'd never do anything of the kind again, so it has taught you something."

Emily nodded, her cheeks bulging again and then she swallowed.

"I'm sorry I've been such a high maintenance friend lately, dear," she said, gazing at Larissa with those clear, dark eyes, "but now I've going to have a new brother and I'm so much happier. You sure you can spare time to come with me to Leo's research sessions? I know the life of a legal secretary is a busy one."

"I'm always going to make time for you, Emmy," said Larissa.

Larissa was doubly glad that Emily would not consider pursuing an affair with Leo. It wasn't just the bloke's questionable motives that were a red flag, but there was something else too. Larissa was not at all comfortable with the idea of Emily moving away from her, or moving out, as would happen if she had a boyfriend.

Her happiest memories came from life with Emily. She had always liked Emily's house much better than her own when they had been schoolgirls together and best friends forever. Her own parents were always quarrelling and didn't make time for her. Emily's family were so nice, always calm and acting like they actually loved each other. What a welcome change that had made from Larissa's own household! Larissa's dad had acted as though his daughter was not there most of the time and her mum was always griping at her over something. Emily's house had been a great place of refuge.

Larissa had been astute enough to realise that Emily's mum, Elisabeth had not been entirely happy with how much time Emily spent with Larissa instead of doing mother-daughter things with Elisabeth, but she was always polite and included Larissa in the family events. Alex, Emily's grown up brother was pretty cool and Emily adored her big brother, going into transports of delight when he visited. And Emily's old grandpa was always so lovely, acting like a big bear to amuse them when they were in the garden and showing them how the electric blue snapdragons and the rest of his plant menagerie lived. When they first got their fifth former school uniforms, he fussed around them like they were princesses...

Elisabeth could not be happy that Emily wanted to live with Larissa now. She had obviously been desperate to have another baby. Why else would she have used that shady clinic? In those days, most reputable clinics would not treat older ladies who wanted to be mums. Bad for their success rate statistics probably. Elisabeth has wanted another child and it was clear now to Larissa that she was not the sort of lady who would trick a poor, foolish man into being an unwitting sperm donor.

Larissa had loved Emily too much to feel envious of her. One should not envy a loved one. But it had saddened her to make the comparison between Elisabeth and her own mum. Instead of receiving hugs and smiles, Larissa got yelled at. Larissa's mum would not arrange special treats for her, rather she would act as though she had never wanted Larissa at all.

How exactly had she felt when Emily moved in with Larissa? Even bearing in mind that the girls had found better jobs where they were now, in London. Larissa had to feel sorry for Elisabeth.

Emily had stuffed down the last waffle. "Sleep by me tonight if it will help you relax, Emily," Larissa suggested.

Emily did sleep beside Larissa occasionally during times of stress.

Emily's bedroom was decorated a soft, pale pink and at this hour was lit only by the glimmer of the saturnian lamps that hovered near the ceiling. Since she was a big girl, her bed was larger than Larissa's. Every time Larissa had slept beside her friend they had shared Emily's bed.

As Emily lay down, Larissa pushed aside the duvet and discovered a plush toy unicorn.

"Oops, that's mine," said Emily, cuddling the toy to her breast, "well I don't need him to keep me company tonight."

As they lay side by side, Larissa felt warm contentment fill her as she gazed upon the lovely face of her friend. The glimmering lamplight shone off Emily's pretty nose and cheeks and glinted emerald off her luxuriant hair. "While we both have green faces, could we pass for sisters?" asked Emily giggling.

"I wish," said Larissa, "snuggle!" That was the cue for Emily to take Larissa in her arms and hug the smaller girl to her. Just like they had decided the first time they had had a sleepover. Back then they had agreed that only Emily was big enough to hold Larissa. Larissa was obviously too small to hold Emily and so it remained until this day.

Larissa enjoyed the warmth and closeness of her friend and the feel of silky black hair on her cheek as she lay there, slowly drifting off. If only this nighttime could last for a lifetime, in the arms of the one she loved most... Emily was making soft, contented sounds in the back of her throat - that faint rumbling sound that she sometimes made when both sleepy and contented. "There Emily, you're purring," Larissa pointed out, "you can't really be jittery."

"My father must definitely have had some cat DNA," said Emily, giggling again, "I suppose Leo will know for certain. Wish we were allowed pets in our block."

"Oh the Tarantula would never allow that," said Larissa. Larissa had nicknamed their landlady "the Tarantula," when she had been angry at all the silly rules the woman laid down. The nerve of her, thinking she could control their lives or tell them they had bad habits. She wasn't even Larissa's mum, just her stupid landlady!

"Larissa, are you still OK after you and Mark stopped being together?" asked Emily, her raspy voice little more than a murmur as she held Larissa to her.

Stopped being together? Mark was Larissa's colleage and they had gone out a couple of times, but Larissa wouldn't have called him a boyfriend. They had never had a real relationship. There had been no chemistry between the two of them whatsoever. It had sadly been a very unmemorable episode. She never even gave it a thought, let alone let it weigh on her mind.

"Perfectly fine dear," said Larissa, "and I assure you that while Leo may have made you feel confused, it will get easier over time."

"You're so strong," said Emily, "your strength gives me strength."

"We can always support each other, whatever happens," Larissa reminded her, "It's our pinkie/greenie promise."

Emily's purring deepened.

Now the pinkie/greenie promise, that had been a memorable episode. Larissa would cherish those memories in her heart forever. As she drifted off to sleep, she reminisced about how she and Emily first became best friends forever and the happy memories made her dreams pure bliss.

It had been five years previously. Larissa and Emily had both attended St Cecilia's middle school for girls. St Cecilia's had no problem with accepting hybrid girls and Emily had had some half-sisters in their yeargroup. Larissa and Emily had already become friends. Larissa thought Emily a sweet girl and easily the prettiest in their year. When they had first met in the school cantine, Emily had given her the last lime sherbet even though she herself had an unearthly appetite for sweet things, just like her sisters. That had created a good impression as far as Larissa was concerned and Emily was easy to talk to because of her open and friendly nature.

One day they sat together in maths. Miss Stevenson, the maths mistress really couldn't make the subject less arid than it usually was. Larissa knew she would have to do a lot of extra studying to get good marks. Fortunately one could find better materials on the 'net these days.

Suddenly she noticed a look of agitation in Emily's dark eyes. Her friend was shifting restlessly on her seat. She lifted an elegant green hand towards her chest and dropped it again. "Can't..." she murmured, looking around anxiously.

"What's wrong Em?" Larissa asked.

"My breast milk's coming out," muttered Emily, looking quite unhappy. Sure enough, Larissa could see a stain spreading across the frount of Emily's school blouse. Larissa already knew that the hybrid girls could lactate at any time. One of Emily's sisters had even thought it funny to put her milk in another girl's drink. If Emily had lost control of her breasts that would be humiliating for her. Larissa made up her mind on the spot.

"Miss Stevenson!" she said loudly, "Emily's not well and we've got to go to the school nurse."

"Oh alright Larissa," said Miss Stevenson, "hope you get better soon Emily."

Larissa took Emily by the hand and they stepped out in front of the class. But now drops of breastmilk were dripping down from beneath Emily's skirt...

"Can't you control your boobs, sis?" rasped Trina, another hybrid girl whose green face showed sardonic amusement. The other girls all giggled. Emily gave a little sob and Larissa glared at them and led Emily quickly from the room. They left a trail of milk drops behind them as they went.

"Never mind that bunch of idiots," said Larissa as they hurried down the corridor.

Emily sniffed and nodded her head. Larissa could see that her large, dark eyes were bright with tears.

"You'll be alright," said Larissa soothingly as they hurried to the nurses office.

The school nurse was a maternal, older lady, with bands of silver hair smoothed over her calm forehead. She had come back into nursing after taking a break to raise her own children.

"Listen, Leah, Emily's not well," said Larissa to the nurse.

Emily's bottom lip quivered and she pointed towards her breasts. A puddle of milk was spreading around her feet.

"Don't worry lovely, you're perfectly fine," said Leah, "best just to wait for it to stop."

"I'm waiting with her," said Larissa firmly.

"You're a good girl Larissa and a good friend," said Leah with a smile. She motioned to them to sit on a soft leather sofa and instructed Emily to remove her blouse and bra, exposing the glistening green mounds of her breasts. Leah extended the flexibasin from its stand to give it to Emily so that she could catch the streams of her milk in it. Emily's n*****s were a very dark green, almost black. They were now spurting twin fountains of the thick, milky liquid into the basin.

"Best not to interfere with it," said Leah, "it'll soon stop on its own."

She left them to attend to another girl who had, it seemed, developed a sudden fever.

"Thanks so much for helping me, Larissa," said Emily, her husky voice quivering, "it's so embarassing. The Dax, the being who fathered us, he may have had trouble controlling certain bodily functions as well. So why Trina-" Emily choked and a shining tear rolled down her bright green cheek.

Larissa reached out and wiped the tear away. "Yes, she is your sister and it was rotten of her to make fun of you." Larissa wondered whether Trina may have thought she would win the approval of the other girls by raising a laugh at Emily's expense. "It was rotten and childish."

Emily's breast milk seemed to have filled the bottom of the basin, but it was still draining away. Now the fountains of milk that issued forth dwindled to little rivulets that trickled down Emily's front. Larissa picked up a wad of paper towels. "Here let me help," she insisted as she wiped the milk from Emily's stomach, "you've nothing to be embarassed about. I think you are perfect." Emily really was a great beauty, even at thirteen. Larissa admired her pretty eyes, the perfect formation of her cheekbones and the sheer cuteness of her nose that made her want to kiss it...

Emily smiled, her black eyes sparkling. "You really cheer me up Larissa," she said, "I'm so glad to have you to talk to. You should come over to my house again, this time for a sleepover."

Larissa felt a sense of triumph that she could not fully explain as yet.

"We should always tell each other if there's something on our minds," she said.

"Well certainly," said Emily, "I'd be delighted to help with anything on your mind."

Larissa wanted to capture this moment somehow. "Hmm how about we make it a pinkie promise," she held up her pink hand, "ahh..."

"A pinkie/ greenie promise?" said Emily chuckling.

And so their everlasting friendship had been sealed. Larissa could no longer imagine life without it.

Eventually the flow of Emily's breastmilk did stop. "There you go my dears," said Leah, "I told you there was nothing to worry about. Here," she gave them each a chocolate twister.

"Leah's a real brick. I would like to be a nurse someday," said Emily as she and Larissa left arm in arm.

Larissa looked forward to her stay at Emily's house for the weekend with eager anticipation. She had been waiting eagerly by the front door for Elisabeth to collect her and her mother was in the kitchen, ranting to an acquaintance over the holophone:

"Oh Larissa can't do anything right... she's so lazy and useless I'll be glad to have her taken off my hands for the weekend..." her awful, screeching voice carried through to the hallway loud and clear, "well her only friend seems to be one of those hybrids... no from Genutec, you know the old scandal? The unnatural creature, she looks like a changeling brat..."

Larissa breathed hard, anger coursing through her. Without reflecting, she strode into the kitchen and said, in a voice pulsing with the strength of her feeling, "don't talk about Emily like that, don't!"

Her mother had switched off the holophone in mid conversation and glaring at her daughter, picked up a fresh purp from the work surface and threw the purple citrus fruit at Larissa's head, narrowly missing.

"You dare speak to me like that you bone idle brat!" she shrieked.

At that moment Larissa's dad entered the room.

"What's going on here?" he asked, "the whole tone is always bitching, moaning and complaining."

"Larissa can go and live somewhere else," bawled her mum.

"Quiet, you are always jumping to the worst case scenario," said her dad, looking bored, "Larissa, wait quietly for Elisabeth."

Larissa was still inwardly fuming as when Elisabeth collected her and her hovercar hummed and lifted itself into the air for the quick drive across Surrey.

Larissa could easily see that Elisabeth was rather old as mums went. Her hair was purest silver and her kind face was lined, showing her soon to be advanced years.

"Are you alright, Larissa dear?" asked Elisabeth.

Larissa supposed she must still look flushed and angry.

"Yes thanks, Elisabeth," she replied, "I'm so glad to be staying with you again." Larissa suddenly remembered that in the commotion before leaving she had clean forgotten about brushing her hair and now it was all over the place. "Bother!" she said aloud, "I've not got a hairbrush and no comb will go through my hair. I wish I had hair like Emily's."

"I love my Emily's hair," said Elisabeth smiling, her eyes positively glowing, "when I cuddle with her on the sofa - whether I read to her or whether she just wants to swallow a large amount of pudding - I love to stroke her hair so that she gives little wriggles."

"Like a cat," put in Larissa.

"Yes, like a cat," said Elisabeth tenderly, "and she even purrs when she's with me."

"And with me," said Larissa with a touch of pride, "we are closer than sisters now and it's proven. Emily's closer to me than she is to any of her half-sisters."

"Well then, you are as good as family my sweet," said Elisabeth.

Emily and her Grandpa Franz were in the garden when Elisabeth arrived with Larissa. Emily rushed up to hug her friend, her long black hair streaming behind her.

"You're just in time dear, we've gathered the ruby gourds," she said. Larissa could plainly see large amounts of the sticky red syrup that could be found in ruby gourds plastered around her friend's mouth and even adorning her pretty nose. The mistresses at school had told Emily off for slovenliness before, but Larissa loved that it never got her down and that she would still eat messily.

"Were they tasty?" she asked, with a small smile.

"Yes, they're so juicy and sweet and I have been trying them, I wonder how you guessed?" said Emily, gazing at Larissa with those wide, dark eyes of hers. Another reason Larissa had loved Emily from the first was that she was so easy to impress.

Larissa liked the taste of the ruby gourds, although she couldn't possibly eat as much of their gooey insides as Emily could. They tasted of sweetened melon, but their texture was rather like jelly.

Emily's grandpa, Franz had prepared a surprise for Larissa's arrival; the superdragonflies from his insect menagerie flew around them in a swarm, glinting electric blue, lime green and chartreuse and emitting tiny, buzzing voices which chorused:

"Welcome Larissa, welcome!"

"For Emily's very good friend, nothing is too much effort to give," he said, beaming at Larissa.

Larissa felt touched by the gesture and wasn't quite sure how to respond. The idea of her own parents going to such lengths to make her feel welcome was sadly difficult to imagine. "Amazing, you taught them to speak! So clever, what clever insects."

"Aren't they great?" said Emily, looking up from her ruby gourd, fresh syrupy goo adorning her face.

"Afterwards, I show you how, if you like?" Franz suggested.

Alex, Emily's older brother arrived soon afterwards, in time for lunch. Emily rushed over to hug him as well.

"Emily, you've missed a spot of something," he said, as Emily rubbed her cheek against his and got ruby syrup on his face as well.

"Probably, I always seem to do that," said Emily. She was already even taller than her brother and her arms easily encircled him as she held him close to her. "Stay with us for ages this time, alright?"

At lunch Alex reminisced about how when Emily was little and she had loved to hug him when she had been stuffing herself with trifle, thus smearing him with cream.

Larissa could not remember feeling more relaxed. Becoming closer than a sister to Emily was the best thing that had happened to her.