FULL NOVELXO Chapter Didn't See That One Coming!
“I knew I shouldn’t have come,” Deena thought as she surveyed the crowded Metro Station. She had always had a phobia of crowds, and this one truly made her feel faint with panic. She pushed her rising anxiety down and searched for Max among the many travellers. Just as she was about to turn around and flee, she spotted him leaning against a pillar at the end of the station.
“Deena!” Max practically shouted when he saw her. “I can’t believe you actually came to see me off. I was sure the crowd would prevent you from coming,” he said.
Deena smiled a bit nervously and replied, “Well, Max, it was face the crowd or lose out on saying goodbye to a dear friend.” She hugged Max quickly and stepped back. “There is another reason I came to see you off,” she revealed. Her emphasis on the word ‘is’ worried Max.
“Ok, tell me,” he said.
Deena sighed before she continued.
“Max, I’ve wanted to tell you this from the beginning, but I just couldn’t find the right moment or the perfect words to say it. Right now, I’m still fumbling for the correct thing to say, but I guess I just have to spit it out or choke on it.
“You see, I’m not actually an Earthling. I know you won’t believe me, especially since you travelled all the way from Mars just to meet your very own Earthling, and you paid so much for the journey here. I’m actually an undercover Venusian detective stationed here on Earth two years ago to monitor the Jump Lanes between Earth and Venus. I’m so sorry you wasted your time by befriending me when you wanted to befriend an Earthling.”
Max grinned mischievously. “Hey, guess what?” he said. “I’m not actually a Martian. I’m really an Earthling who wanted to meet my very first Venusian, and I knew the only way to meet you, in particular, would be to pretend I’m from Mars. I bet you didn’t see that one coming, did you?”
Deena stared at him in open-mouthed surprise, and then both of them burst out laughing.
With a smile of genuine friendship, Deena waved at Max as the Metro sped off towards the distant Space Station, where Max would travel onwards to his next assignment.