Hannah unlocked her car and Skylar scrambled into the back. For the moment no one was paying them much attention, but Skylar felt like every human eye was on them.
Skylar had the hood down so low, they couldn't see much, but they could hear Hannah rustling through the glove compartment.
"Here." The tube was held in front if the opening to the hood. "This balm should help the itching until John gets back with the benedryl."
"Thanks." Skylar scanned the instructions before applying a generous amount to her hands where the hives were the most severe.
"Now, are you going to explain what the hell is up, or are we going to wait awkwardly for John?"
The leather seat squeaked as Skylar turned to glance out the back windshield. "Um... I er..."
"Well? This isn't your average allergic reaction."
"Correct." The word was heavy. "It isn't.” Skylar spun back around, glancing at Hannah. “But I’m not an average human.” The silence filled the small space.
“What do you mean?” Hannah finally asked.
“I’m, what you call,” the leather squeaked some more, “an extra terrestrial.”
Hannah’s laughter filled the car, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Okay, okay,” she slapped the headrest as her laughter died down. “You’ve really pulled my leg this time.” One finger tugged Skylar’s hood up a little bit, tilting her head. “Such an elaborate prank, I’m not really mad. I just want to know how you’ve pulled this off.”
“Er, it’s…” Skylar brushed Hannah’s hand away, the hood falling back over their face. “Um, I’ve been studying makeup. Like, stage makeup.”
“Wow.” Hannah whistled. “And anatomy too I reckon. It’s really well done Skylar.”
“Yeah, and uh,” Skylar swallowed. “Thanks.” Their voice dropped.
“And here comes John, so, is the benedryl part of the prank?”
“No, the hives are real.” Words tumbled from their mouth as they continued to work within this framework of lies they had started to create. “The translucent skin is the makeup.”
“Ah.” The car jerked slightly as John opened the door and hopped into the passenger seat.
“Here Skylar. Follow the directions.” The pills rattled as John passed it back.
“Thanks John.”
“Hannah, let me explain-”
Hannah slapped John’s arm. “You two are master prankster!” She started laughing again.
“Right.” John looked into the backseat as Skylar was putting the pills in their mouth. “It was a good prank wasn’t it Skylar?”
“Yep!” Skylar flicked their hood up for a moment to stick out their tongue. “The look on your face Hannah when you looked at my skull makeup… John, why didn’t we film any of this?”
“I knew we were forgetting something.” John snapped his fingers.
“Next time we should pull the prank on a random person and film it.” Hannah started the car. “And Skylar you have to show me how you did that sometime.”
Skylar ran their sleeve down their face. “Sometime.” Skylar said quietly, checking their hands and arms before pushing the hood completely off.
Word count: 498
