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"Oh, cool, bubblegum!" Alice takes the packet eagerly, unwrapping a piece and popping it in her mouth. After chewing a moment she offers the packet back to Kara. "Do you want one?"
Kara smiles. "Thank you, Alice, but you know I can't eat," she reminds her gently.
"Nobody eats bubblegum," Alice says dismissively. "Um, except by accident, maybe? A girl at school told me that if you swallow gum, it doesn't dissolve, so it just stays in your stomach. Forever."
"That sounds unlikely."
"Leah said it could happen. And if you swallowed it, it would probably be even worse, so... don't do that. But I think you can chew it," she says, staring at Kara in scrutiny. "You've got teeth, and a tongue. I can show you how to blow bubbles!"
The girl looks so enthusiastic for once, Kara can't bear to say no. "Okay, I'll give it a try." She unwraps a second piece and places it gingerly in her mouth.
"Now you just chew it!"
Kara has never attempted to chew something in her life. She watches the movement of Alice's jaw and attempts to copy her, grinding her teeth together in a completely unfamiliar manner. Working the gum between her teeth, she is careful to keep it away from the back of her throat. The sensation is not unpleasant, but, "Alice, I don't think it's working."
Alice's piece of gum has become an unrecognizable wad of putty in her mouth, soft and pliable, while Kara's remains stiff, if a bit smashed. She spits it out into the palm of her hand, and Alice looks at it thoughtfully. "Oh! I think it needs spit!" The girl spits out her own piece of gum and hands it to Kara. "Here, you can use mine."
As Alice begins to work on a second piece, Kara places the used wad in her mouth and tries again. This piece of gum is far more elastic; she can feel it stretching as she chews. Unlike some of the newer models, Kara has no sense of taste, but her olfactory sensors begin to register a scent. Watermelon.
"Okay, I think it's ready," says Alice. "You just stick your tongue into the gum..." She demonstrates with her own tongue, wrapped completely in a thin, pink layer of gum, and with some difficulty says, "Theb bwoh!"
Blow. Though her lungs mostly serve as a secondary cooling system, this is something she can do. The first few times she tries, her tongue pokes right through the thin membrane, spoiling any chance at a bubble. But on her fifth try she has it, and carefully pushes some air into the pocket. It expands. She finds herself smiling. Alice, she thinks, wishing not for the first time that Alice could receive internal communications. Alice, I did it!
"You did it!" echoes Alice, almost as if she'd heard the message. She pops her sixth bubble. "But I bet I can blow a bigger one."
They continue to practice, blowing bubble after bubble and grinning all the while. At first Alice has the advantage of experience, but eventually Kara finds she can regulate the airflow with a high level of precision, maximizing the time before the bubble reaches its breaking point. Alice looks on in awe.
"See if you can make a really big one," she whispers, passing Kara her second piece of gum. Kara chews for a moment, combining the two pieces, and begins to blow. It's far bigger than any she's managed so far. The bubble grows and grows, as do Alice's eyes, until...
POP!
Kara blinks. The bubble is gone. No, not gone, it's... everywhere. She can feel the sticky remnants on her nose, her cheeks, and reaching up with her hand... her hair. "Alice?"
"Oh, wow." Alice's eyes are shining with admiration as she repeats, "Oh, wow! I've never seen one that big before! Kara, you could be a bubble-blowing champion!"
"A sticky champion," she says wryly, standing up and looking around for the nearest restroom. "I've got to get cleaned up before Luther comes back with the car." If she can find somewhere private enough to deactivate her skin, that should at least solve the hair problem.
"Yeah, but that was so cool!"
"It was," she agrees. "Thanks for teaching me."