Read Online Earthling Ambassador by Liane Moriarty - Free Book Online

something both soothing and compelling about Mully’s voice. If Mully thought she could do it, then maybe she could.
    Maybe.
    â€œYou really think I can do it?” asked Nicola.
    â€œReally,” said Mully.
    â€œI think so, too,” said Shimlara.
    â€œWell, that’s that then!” Georgio clapped his hands together. “Have I ever been wrong? Don’t answer that, Shimlara. Now, is anybody else as hungry as me?”
    â€œME!” Squid came running.
    Georgio scooped him up. “I hope you’re going to be good in front of our guest.”
    â€œNope,” said Squid, and Nicola laughed. She pulled the same funny face at Squid that she did for her three-year-old cousin, Sam. Squid started laughing hysterically. It didn’t seem to matter what part of the galaxy you were in; if you bulged your eyes, puffed out your cheeks, and wobbled your head, little kids would laugh at you.
    The dinner table turned out to be a simple metallic oval, without any plates or silverware. In the middle of the table was a strange sort of gold hutch, with a large red button.
    â€œRight, Nicola,” said Georgio. “Have you ever used a Telepathy Chef before?”
    â€œDad!” said Shimlara. “Don’t be so embarrassing. Of course she has!”
    â€œUm, sorry,” said Nicola. “But I don’t think I have.”
    Shimlara slapped the side of her head. “Oops.”
    â€œThey still cook food on Earth,” explained Georgio.
    â€œWhat’s ‘cooking’?” asked Shimlara.
    â€œWell, if you paid attention in your Galactic History classes, you’d know!” said Georgio.
    â€œProbably something boring,” muttered Shimlara.
    â€œUsing the Telepathy Chef is very easy,” Mully said to Nicola. “You just use mental telepathy to order what you’d like for dinner. For example, I love mandarins, mussels, and macadamia nuts. So I just concentrate on those foods. See?”
    Nicola watched carefully as Mully closed her eyes and licked her lips. After a couple of seconds, she opened her eyes and pressed the red button on the gold hutch. A tray slid out from the hutch with a plate containing a rather strange but elegant-looking concoction of steaming mussels and juicy orange pieces topped with a scattering of macadamia nuts.
    â€œNow you try,” said Mully. “Just close your eyes and think very hard about whatever you’d most like to eat.”
    â€œI’m not very good at mental telepathy,” said Nicola hesitantly. “I tried today with my teacher and it didn’t work at all.”
    â€œOh, don’t worry, it never works with teachers!” said Shimlara. “Give it a try! It’s easy!”
    â€œThink of something extra nice,” advised Mully. “You’ll need your strength for seeing Princess Petronella tomorrow.”
    â€œWell, okay,” said Nicola. She closed her eyes tight and tried to think as hard as she could about her favorite dinner, which was All Day Lasagna. It was called All Day Lasagna because Dad always said it was a good thing everyone liked it so much because it took him ALL DAY to cook it.Whenever he made it, everyone had to clap and shout things like, Yay! Go, Super Dad! as he served up each plate.Then he did a big bow from the waist. He made quite a fuss about it.
    Nicola imagined All Day Lasagna as hard as she could: the bubbling lid of cheese, the paper-thin layers of pastry, and the tasty tomato-y sauce.The problem was that other thoughts kept coming into her mind. She thought about how she was in charge of saving the planet and wished she wasn’t. She thought about how much fun cloud-swimming had been that day. She thought about the expression on Mrs. Zucchini’s face when Georgio first came into the classroom.
    She heard Mully cough and say politely, “Okay, Nicola, I’m sure it’s got the message now.You can press the red button.”
    Nicola