| Posted by Ctulu Katzl (Felice) on 12-05-2001 | |
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The Twi’lek couldn’t seem to stop smiling. His very eyes beamed. He was like Padre examining a new trophy, except Padre kept talking, whereas the Twi’lek… ”Erm…” he said. Ctulu waited, politely fiddling with her I.D. to fill up the space, listening to Daren verrrrry quietly polishing Pink Thunder’s nose, obviously snooping. She liked him, but he'd have to stop doing that. ”Erm…” She could feel Padre bursting with the need to say something, could picture him behind her with his mouth perched half-open, wanting to tumble forth. Was the Twi’lek shy or something? He didn’t look so much flustered as…vacant. Why anyone would hire a dreamer to race was beyond her. ”Yes, well…wha…so how long have you been racing?” Small talk was odd for Ctulu. She didn’t know what to do with her hands. She tried locking them behind her back and rocking on her feet, super-casual style. Why was he being so nice? Maybe he liked her?…but Ctulu gave up on that every time it occurred to her. Her headfeathers were chopped off short, and her manners were gruffed and out of practice. It couldn’t be. Besides, Ctulu didn’t do that anymore—and her stupid suit was sealed shut anyway. She almost laughed. What to say? Sometimes other racers exposed the shortness of her career, made it into a shame. But here she had the spotlight. ”Less than a year. I’m a prodigy.” ”How long have you been with OutRight?” Poor Padre. She heard him fussing with who-knows-what, desperate for distraction. Maybe a little longer and he’d start talking indirectly to the Twi’lek, via Daren or the slicer-stand or something. She should have gone somewhere else to talk, but that would just be too suspicious. ”Since the day I got on a slicer, and I never want to leave.” She said that plenty loud, and both Daren and Padre were plenty listening. ”Been in many races? ”Yea, won them all.” Or something like that. ”Well, this one is my first, and probably last…” Really? What was Lerros thinking? Who was this guy? Come to think of it, he was probably lying, trying to phase her and the team. It wasn’t working. She gave her best shrug, flippant as a dolphin. ”Oh yea? I hope you have fun. Though honestly, you probably won’t. It gets nasty.” So there. The conversation continued, and she did her best. Not bad at all. You’d never think Ctulu Katzl got ritually screamed at by bigger racers. And then, ”So how do you race? You don’t strike me as the type to shut out other racers…but I guess you’ll probably have to win and all.” Wha-at? She felt Padre step up, and Daren tense, and her own face scowl. That was just badly done. Unsubtle! And with a sigh, she also realized it figured she’d be the racer others picked to try and squirm out tactical info. So she was young, fine. But not stupid! ”Oh, come on! This is a professional race. Don’t even try it!” ------------------------------