"Is everybody ready?" Veronica Franco stuck her head into the three girls' room. "We have no time to waste."
Desirée finished making her bed before tucking her sandy-blonde hair into a ponytail. She straightened up, walking quickly towards the door. Veronica looked elegant and fresh as always, no sign of last night's activities in her face or demeanour. She tapped her watch significantly as the three girls quickly got into line behind her.
Kalyani, still wearing the borrowed t-shirt and wraparound skirt, gave Desirée a shy smile. Desirée smiled back: she could see a tentative friendship building there. As for Bridget, deliberately moving slowly in order to maintain some hauteur, Desirée had pretty much written off the blonde aristocrat.
"Sometime this year, people," Veronica said sharply as she led the way down the hall. Desirée scrambled to follow.
The woman led them through a maze of corridors to sick bay. Once there, she took them into a small waiting area, painted in neutral colours.
"What are these?" Bridget looked scornfully down at the large ball-like things strewn around the area.
"They're smart chairs," Veronica replied. "Their fabric is designed to analyze your body structure and contour itself to give you the most comfortable seating arrangement possible."
Kalyani touched it tentatively, then jerked her finger back. With a sniff, Bridget gingerly lowered herself on the ball-like thing, then squealed with surprise when it suddenly shifted underneath her, making itself into a comfortable chair.
Veronica smiled. "If you'll come with me, Desirée, we'll get you to your physical."
The teen followed her headmistress across the bay, trying not to gawk at the strange contraptions and even stranger beings that populated the room. Veronica led her to a curtained area, which held an examination bed. Buttons and readouts twinkled on the bed.
"You can change into your gown," Veronica said, pulling the curtain to give them some privacy. "An attendant will be with you shortly to administer your physical."
The older woman slipped through the drawn curtain, and was gone. Desirée looked around. She saw the smock she was supposed to wear, tied in the back like every other hospital smock she'd ever seen, but in a burst of perversity, she decided to wait until the attendant arrived before she changed. She looked around the curtained room, her arms folded under her breasts, trying to contain her nervousness.
"Hello, there. You must be Desirée."
Desirée's first thought when she saw the attendant was "Devil Girl." The female creature had black hair that fell to the middle of her back, and blood red skin. Yellow eyes, slitted like a cat's, regarded her and heavy breasts and hips filled out an otherwise shapeless pale blue attendant's outfit.
"Hello, I'm Meljahza," the attendant said, flicking back her curly black hair. A pair of small horns protruded from her forehead. "I'll be giving you your physical, and outfitting you with your UTD."
"A pleasure to meet you," Desirée said through a suddenly dry mouth. She wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans.
Meljahza smiled, showing pointed teeth. "Likewise." Her voice was low and smoky. "I'm glad to see you haven't changed yet. That's all right: I'll need to take you to another area for your physical. This room lacks the necessary facilities for what we need."
With that, the attendant tossed Desirée the smock, and turned towards the door. "Coming?" She grinned.
Desirée smiled back, following the red-skinned woman.
***
Ssurhuk-T'at was walking along one of the corridors when he saw Desirée walking behind an Asmodii female wearing the uniform of a sickbay attendant. He nodded to the Asmodii and smiled at Desirée. The human teenager smiled back but he could see her face redden in what humans called a 'blush.' He coughed to hide a grin; he remembered that Desirée had watched him have relations with Veronica last night. He nodded politely to her again and continued on his way.
Something made him stop. He blinked his three eyes, then his tongue flickered out, tasting the air. He stared back at the Asmodii leading Desirée towards a bank of elevators. He turned around, moving casually towards sick bay, tickles of suspicion running along his spine.
***
"Here we go." Meljahza closed the door to the examining room and locked it. "I'll get things ready while you change."
"All right." Desirée looked for a screen to change behind but there was nothing there. No matter: the red-skinned woman was busy setting up some machines, her back turned. Desirée quickly slid out of her jeans and top, thankful that she had been able to shower and shave this morning. She grabbed the smock, holding it in front of herself.
Apparently some things were the same all over the universe. The pale blue smock fitted badly and there were only three ties holding it together. After spending a few seconds agonizing over whether the ties should go in the front or in the back, she opted for sliding her arms through the smock, and trying to figure out how she could tie the damn ties without turning into a pretzel.
"Please remove all your clothes," Meljahza said without turning around. "The physical is quite extensive."