ESSEF

`Hi mom.'
`Hello boy. Here's some tea for you. How was your school day?'
`Hm.'
`What, "hm"? You've been sitting daydreaming, right?'
`Oh, no. We started with sociology. Which was interesting enough.'
`Tell me.'
`It was about our space program, and its benefits.'
`Well?'
`There was a guest speaker, who stumbled over the doorstep as he came in.
And then he couldn't even tell his story without reading it from a piece
of paper.'
`Was it interesting?'
`Interesting? That guy was talking about the "boundaries of the universe"!
Which is pure nonsense, of course. They don't exist!'
`How was your drawing lesson? You had a deadline today.'
`Oh.. yes. That was okay.'
`But... you went to school empty handed!'
`Yes, that's right. So I made a caricature of the guest speaker.'
`And you used that for your drawing lesson?'
`Sure.'
`Tsss... And the teacher takes something like that seriously?'
`Well, he has to. After all it is my work, isn't it?'
`Did you do something useful as well, today?'
`Literature. About the parody in American literature.'
`Here. Drink your tea before it gets cold. Did you do something about your
homework during your free hour?'
`Hm... Not really.'
`Not really? Then what did you do?'
`I wrote a text.'
`A text? What for?'
`Don't know. For the school paper, I guess.'
`What's it called?'
`Essef.'
`Let me read it.'

She stood up, moved her chair and sat down again. The belt squeezed her waste
painfully.
`Do you feel alright?'
This question didn't surprise her the least. She had already noticed the fact,
that her behaviour attracted the attention of the others in the lounge. Without
even looking back, she answered: "I'm fine. How about you?"'
The green Marodian wigpicker looked at the floor, shy, and stuttered: "Oh, eh,
well, I'm fine. Uhm... but I thought... yes, well.. you know...."'
`Dammit! What a wigpicker,' she noticed with disgust. `And a green one!
Couldn't be worse than that.'
`Thick saliva!' shouted Anau Hiram, the leader of the Marodes. `When will you
ever stop with that, and do what you are supposed to do?'
`As soon as you stop with that everlasting sexual passivity, you, piece of
viper egg!'
The Marodes stood up as one man. Anau pumped his fist and said: "If it has to
be like this, we will be gone in one minute. Then can see for yourself how to
mix the Marodes with the Ziites!'
Mirna stood up and walked to the exit. `Listen. I make a quicky, you get the
discommendation and I get the rubels that I deserve. Tomorrow I will see another
bunch of skinny biddies like you, and I earn the same amount of money then.'
`What do you mean by that?! Who do you think we are? The Nephrotes?'
That was exactly the wrong thing to say. Her own Frem was a Nephrote and he died
as a hero, together with his whole race. She would never forget him.
`That's it!' Ferociously Mirna left the room and threw herself in the chill of
nocturnal Syania. Anau ran after her. `Mirna, no, wait!'

Anau had forgotten that a Marod should at all costs avoid the open air at night,
without having all his body openings closed with pieces of cork first. It was too
late. With a terrifying scream Anau breathed his last breath and imploded in the
door opening.
Mirna looked back and smiled. An immense feeling of satisfaction overwhelmed her
as she started running. Now she had to find the Cannabes as quickly as possible.
That wouldn't be so easy, at this time of the night. She knew that.

At high speed a montrin approached over the two-track intermendronal speedway.
Mirna walked to the middle of the speedway and raised her arms. With a sucking
sound the montrin came to a halt. Mirna walked to the cockpit. The pilot opened
his ventrobit and looked at Mirna, who looked surprised when she recognized his
face.
`Ynott! You, here?'

In the meantime, the three remaining Marods had closed their openings with pieces
of cork and started the pursuit. Their flawless intuition led them to the speedway,
where Mirna at that time was stopping Ynotts montrin.
`There she is!' the smallest of the Marods shouted.

`Eh... shit! Mirna! You?!'
`Hurry!' Mirna interrupted him. `I go with you! I will explain this later.'
Mirna entered the montrin and Ynott brought the fourdimensional vehicle to life.
Ynott looked at Mirna with a look of non-understanding in his eyes. `What... is
this all about? Didn't you become an Anorodian when Zod left Syania three millennia
ago, to leave the Zoones for the definite and ageless Anawrin?'
Mirna recalled this filthy lie, from the time that she was an anonymous prostitute
with the name Semka.
`I changed my mind, dear Ynott. I'll explain that later.'
Mirna stroke her quick hands along his legs, down to his crotch. Mirna noticed that
Ynott started to sweat. `You are... you are a Marod!'
She frowned and pulled her hands back.
`Yes, Mirna. I have become a Marod,' Ynott spoke softly, now looking not at ease.
`Everyone will become a Marod, Mirna.'
Mirna saw an unopened bottle, blinking in his left hand...

`Did you like it, mom?'
`Hm...'