’ Don’t you mean ‘we?’ WE’RE doing really well? ‘Didn’t he work there in high school?’ ‘Off and on. He went full-time after graduati...n, and his dad finally retired three years ago, so…’ ‘Huh.’ ‘Yeah.’ After a short, awkward silence, wherein Jasmine takes yet another nervous sip from her water glass, the waiter arrives and we order. I’m actually starting to relax and enjoy this a bit in spite of her discomfort. Or maybe I’m enjoying myself because of it. Either way, it’s not nearly as hard as I. She was not afraid to die. Lilly had come to see that a life's worth was not to measured by its length but by the way it was lived.Her legs were chained together at the ankle. No clothing was given her and she was glad of this because her back was terribly sore and she doubted she could bear for it to be touched by even the lightest garment. She would have been happy for her womanhood to be covered, though. But this was unlikely ever again.Outside the prison she was made to get on an open truck. Her ears were smaller and rounder than most Earther’s. She had a stocky build, was 150cm tall with darkish brown skin, and a higher forehead that gave her away. Her features were, however, pleasing to look at, and her sunny nature and big brown eyes drew you in. She specialised in Palaeobotany, was about twenty-five years old and worked with Wain as his assistant.Stephen (Steve) La Palene specialised in Palaeontology. He was comparing the history of the planet with its current environmental. “I’ve got an idea.” I reached for my music player and headset. I scrolled through my music list and let the song run once in the headset.“What is it?” Lissa asked.“It’s not important. I’m going to lay in a drum track that was never in the piece and you don’t need to know what the music is. You just need to hear the rhythm. Damn! This is fun! Ready?”Everyone nodded. Melody and Lissa each had one of the boys in her lap. I started the music through my earphones and hit the drum with the mallet..