c l o n e s
"…and I can tell by the way you kids look at one another…"
I frowned and scratched my mustache, 'Look at one another?'
"…that you both love each other very much, and you do a great job of providing emotional support at school at home. I‘m so proud of how your aren‘t ashamed to publicly show your—―"
"Oh my God!" I blurted out suddenly. "Don't tell me they‘ve developed feelings for one another!?!?"
"Huh?" Alex and Emo‘s mouths dropped open simultaneously.
Each one looked at the other, searching for some insight into my statement. I could see Alex get it first, as she let go of Emo‘s hand like it was a tarantula. Emo figured it out from Alex‘s expression, and his own face instantly matched her look of disgust. Joan dropped my hand on the table and pushed her chair away from it to give me the indignation look, fists on her hips.
"Way to go champ," she said after letting me wriggle under the heat of her gaze for nearly a minute. "You just destroyed fifteen years worth of innocent sibling love expressions. Congratulations Bruce."
At least she wasn't on the verge of tears anymore. In fact, everyone was staring at me with mixtures of disapproval and shock. Good. I had given them all a common enemy. Now I could make some progress.
I took a deep breath and said, "Why is cloning a bad thing? There are advantages to being a clone. It reduces the number of variables you have to deal with in life. You know what you're body's going to do to you as you get older. Most people have to worry about their genetic predispositions to diabetes, cancer, and whatnot. Clones know exactly what they're genes have in store for them."
"It's like my philosophy professor used to say, "If you want to know what a girl will look like when she gets older, look at her mother,'" I smiled reassuringly at Alex. "See sweetie, this way you know you'll grow up to be a hottie, just like your mommy. You can tell your prom date that this is what you'll look like when you grow older and they'll be more likely to stay in a long-term relationship with you." I nodded my head encouragingly, "Isn‘t that cool?"
-8-
