Watching Skylar through the cameras was a pair of bored agents. Their only comfort was the alien must have been more bored than they were.
They would have been very disappointed to learn how wrong they were.
With eyes shut Skylar was able to concentrate on what their database could show them. They had made the necessary updates for them to access most of the internet.
Skylar read page after page, following links, finding definitions, learning about all the ways a human body was supposed to work.
Following a link about swallowing things down the 'wrong pipe' Skylar came across the name of the flap which was designed to prevent that very problem: the epiglottis.
In a sudden flurry of activity Skylar flung themselves out of bed and ran to the bathroom. No cameras in there, but one of the agents turned up the mic positioned near the bottom of the door.
"Sounds like my brother when Mom made him home a bar or soap in his mouth for swearing." The senior agent said.
"Shhh." The younger one waved a hand.
The two pops repeated, the faucet turned on, water splashed, and then off again. Skylar left the bathroom and the agents sighed as the alien returned to bed. Dangling their heels off the bed and crossing their arms over their chest before closing their eyes.
"Creepy." The younger agent shook his head. "Like a vampire." The two watchmen went back to being bored.
Too bad they couldn't see what had happened in the bathroom. Maybe they would have feared Skylar more, but at least it wouldn't have been boring.
Sklyar had stood in front of the mirror, leaning their head close. When they opened their mouth, the ah sound came out. For a couple moments they studied what they could see, tongue, teeth, gums, cheeks and uvula. Skylar tilted their head forward to see the back of their tongue and throat. When that wasn't enough to see the epiglottis at work, Skylar pressed their fingers to the hinge of their jaw. Changing the interior structure and popping the bone out of their sockets allowed Skylar to see even deeper.
Making some noises as they pulled their cheeks back, Skylar breathed, then swallowed spit in order to see the little flap at work. It would cover the trachea when swallowing and open back up when breathing.
After watching the epiglottis a few more times Skylar popped the jaw back into place, wiggling their chin to make sure it was properly set. They washed the spit off their hands and then ran back to the bed.
Surely there was more interesting things to find out about the human body.
Word count: 448
