Zera and the Green Man Read Online Free PDF Page A

Toad blushed. “Lily Gibbons started it.” His eyes searched the crowd. Zera thought he looked like he was afraid he might see her there and wondered about Lily Gibbons — she’d never heard of her before. After a few seconds The Toad’s furrowed brow relaxed. “I don’t think we have to worry about that group. I doubt they understand the science behind what we’re doing.”
    “Maybe,” said Zera, “they understand common sense instead.”
    Tiffany turned to Zera, her cat-eyes narrowing. “Listen, missy — this is a big night for Theodore, for all of us, and we expect you to be on your best behavior.” Her hand went up to smooth her blonde tresses. “Otherwise, your uncle might have to make you wait to open those presents from Guinevere.”   
    “As far as I know,” Zera said, glancing at the red, white, and blue building, “this is still a free country.”
    “Ladies,” said The Toad, “I think we need to calm down.”
    “I have a right to my opinion,” murmured Zera. She silently dared Tiffany to follow up on her threat. She knew Tiffany could be mean, but it wasn’t her style to do something truly hateful in front of her uncle.
    Entering the double doors, the trio was greeted by the franchise’s female mascot, a robotic cow-human.
    “All-American Marilyn,” The Toad said.
    Marilyn, like All-American Mac, stood upright and had a human body shape. The hard foam structure gave her bovine facial features the texture of human flesh. She was decked out in a tight red jumpsuit, blue scarf, and high-heeled pumps. She held two American flags, one in each hoof. 
    “Let’s put our coats away and get our nametags, shall we?” Tiffany said.
    Standing in line for their nametags, they watched Marilyn’s routine. In an electronically activated voice, she breathily exclaimed, “Try our Beefy Fries. They’re All-American!” At the words “All-American,” she waved her flags. Next came a shimmy-dance from horn to hoof as she exclaimed, “Our milk-shakes are Moo-Licious!” She ended with a “Mooo! Mooo! Mooo!” while turning her head from side to side, winking. 
    An older man working at the table winked at Tiffany. “They should have named her Marilyn ‘Moo-roe,’ don’t you think?”
    “Oh, how clever!”
    Another man who looked to be in his late 20’s, but was balding (Zera could see the bare top of his head in the security mirrors overhead) walked up to them. He wore a navy blue suit almost identical to The Toad’s. The dark hair that circled his head matched the color of his large, furry eyebrows, brows that reminded Zera of caterpillars. “So, Theo,” he said, “what do you think of Marilyn?”
    “Hey, Harv. She’s all right, I guess. As long as she sells hamburgers.” 
    “And don’t forget Beefy Fries.” Harv laughed and gave Theodore a friendly clap on the shoulder.
    The Toad beamed.
    “It’s gonna be your night, buddy,” said Harv. “Gonna be your night.”
    Theodore introduced Tiffany and Zera to Harvey Headstrom, one of the newer scientists at BioTech Multinational. Zera noticed that he clapped The Toad on the back again when he said something about meeting the deadline for the project. Zera’s attention drifted as they chatted about her uncle’s new E-SAT and his lame vanity plate: NU CR8N, New Creation. She caught herself absentmindedly staring at the glowing reflective pattern the light made on Harv’s shiny head until Tiffany nudged her. Embarrassed, Zera diverted her gaze. A dark sea of geekdom surrounded her. Most, obviously from BioTech, wore eerily similar dark suits and white shirts. Although The Toad’s DNA bowtie is icky, at least he doesn’t look totally cloned. I stand out like a sore thumb — a big, sore, pink thumb.
    A huge monitor for Americo, the pharmaceutical company that created Burger Depot and funded Biotech’s work, hung on the wall opposite the nametag table. Americo products flashed across the screen as a spokeswoman’s voice said: