Sunshine didn't see Toxic when she came into the Mess Hall, but she was gone again. She did see some friends. She took her food over and sat down and looked at them. "Hi,guys!" Thena looked uncomfortable. "Those ARE real, like we heard?" She looked at Jalisco. Prince smiled,"They look sort of like your famous 'water-balloon' experiment of a couple of months ago." She smiled,"They're QUITE real! SO are my Hyperframe repair tools that I grew in my bones like mom's! That Azreal guy wanted me to save his son, so I DID!" Jalisco said,"He did not give you a choice in the matter. If he spelled it out and gave you a choice Mpm and Dad wouldn't be so mad about it. AND DON'T give me the old,'I wanted to BE older, now I AM' argument! Your BODY is more mature, but YOU, the person in it, isn't! Just remember that,Sunny." She sighed in irritation. "Fine, FINE, I get it! Why is everyone so torqued up about this anyway? I didn't get hurt AND Abaddon IS better! No harm, no foul, right?" Thena exclaimed,"THAT--that is part of the problem! You are NOT ... mature enough to understand the problem! You just turned adolescent? Fine... but you LOOK older than some! That's trouble. Believe me. I'm fourteen and it is HARD! Things were easy being a punk kid. Now I'm not. That's why I'm trying out for Junior Cadet! I want to pull my own weight! If I went from eight year old to this over night-- it would be VERY bad!" Sunshine asked Prince."What do you think?" He took a deep breath."You look far too distracting to make me happy. I AM trying not to look but you look very pretty. Aldus said I'm worthless because I'm a pubescent boy and my brain only thinks of one thing. I want to prove him wrong. That is why I am practicing being an Earthling and dressing like one!" Sunny flinched. "Your language is ...uhm... VERY concise this morning." That meant Prince was very uncomfortable and tense. Sunny sighed and said,"You can look all you want. They ARE real!" She lifted her shirt without thought. Prince's eyes almost bugged out. He looked away and covered his sight of her. Thena shouted at him,"Don't stare at her, you perv!" Jalisco off-handedly punched her in the head with a 'CLOP' sound, causing her to fall out of her seat. Sunny groaned,"WHAT WAS THAT FOR? You...YOU PUNCHED MY HEAD! I'll tell mom!" Jalisco said as he came over,"Pull down your shirt, and I would BE HAPPY to tell mom what you just did! Look here, little sister--it is my JOB to sock you in the head if ANY of my younger siblings including YOU, do something egregiously stupid! Flashing your breasts while we are trying to eat is egregiously stupid, in my opinion! DO you still want mom to come here and play judge?" She said in a really small voice,"No." Thena scrunched up her face and said,"I gotta say this. I NEVER thought I'd EVER say this about YOU, Sunny! YOU DON'Y HAVE ANY GOOD SENSE! THAT-- THAT was exactly the kind of problem your Mom and Dad was worried about! That is dangerous AND foolish!" Sunshine blinked,"Dangerous?" Thena sighed,"A LOT of men like girls like you and me! They want to have their way with us! That can get either one of us hurt or maybe KILLED!" Sunny recoiled with a look of horror. Jalisco put his hand on Sunny's shoulder and sighed,"'egregiously'... but at least NOT in front of a LOT of people OR the midget alien sex perverts,the Tapponok!!" Prince said,"When I met the older version of you, I grabbed her boobs and she SOCKED ME! She said a gentleman doesn't DO THAT! SO I AM trying really hard to be a gentleman. I want my dad and grand-dad,Narchi,to be proud of me! SO I did try not to look!" Jalisco said,"If I'm not around, it's YOUR job to protect her, even from YOU and herself. You understand?" Jalisco's knuckles cracked. Prince swallowed and nodded. --To be continued!--