" Got it. It's so good to meet you." She came over and sat in the chair across from Lissa. "So have you met the others?" I met them last night."Alya s...iled. It was the kind of smile that broke hearts. "So what do you think of Meg?" Very entertaining," Lissa told her."Oh, she is definitely that! And what about your first night here? Spending the night in a room with a lesbian. Or ... I mean ... you're not a lesbian yourself, are you?"Lissa laughed. "No, Meg hasn't conquered me yet. And. . er... ', pondered the Captain, ' ... will do all I can to let the Admiralty let you both stay''Thanks. I really like it here', I found myself saying.'Good', smiled the Captain. 'And I would like you to earn your reprieve. My cabin immediately.'I shot Suzanne a look and then passed the Captain in the doorway. It was weird walking down the corridor with nothing on, but there was nobody there and was inside the Captain's office is no time.The Captain closed the door behind her and was shedding. “What are you doing?” she snarled.“In my village, when someone is emotionally distressed, it’s customary to give them a hug. I thought that might comfort you.”The girl whirled round and I felt something sharp pressing just below my ribs, but I didn’t look to see what it was because the girl’s hood had flipped up and I saw her face for the first time.“You’re ... you’re an orc!” I stammered, on seeing the pig-like snout and the two vestigial tusks protruding half an inch upwards from just above. The next few nights I purposely wore only my underwear to bed ? Laurie's parents still had neglected to buy me boy's pajamas. They still didn't know I was sleeping in Laurie's, and I didn't want them to know. But I didn't ask them for pajamas so I suppose they forgot. Anyway, the next few nights I really wanted to feel like a real 100% boy so I didn't wear the pajamas as I had been doing until then.Three days later ? it was a Monday morning ? the letter arrived. Every day I had been checking.