Swollen Years

Note: Ok, one day I have about 30 hits, then the next, I'm in the 70's. I'm not sure if I should be surprised, or happy. *Shrugs* Oh well.

I tried to put some humor in this chapter, I possibly failed XD

~*Chapter 5*~

Dib could've sworn his eyes were going to be blinded when he entered the building for his World Wide Scientist Meeting. People were flashing their cameras in his face, along with Gaz'z, but she didn't care. Sometimes, she'll send the people a nasty glare, causing the person to flinch back. Dib wondered to himself how he had such an evil sister.

"Aww Professor Membrane! It's so nice to have you be here!..and your kids.."

Dib turned and saw an old man, possibly in his mid-40's. You can tell he had gray hair, even though he tried and failed to dye it brown. He was wearing a fresh new tux, and dressed fancy. Although his clothing looked good, he didn't have such a friendly face.

Professor Membrane grabbed his hand in a firm, happy handshake. "Aw, Charlie! I haven't seen you in months! You look quite younger then the last time I've seen you!." You can hear the tint of lie in his tone. "These are my kids, Dib and Gaz- the ones that are going to be questioned on the newly found alien species."

"OH! I didn't know that!" Now he sounded pleased to meet Dib and Gaz. Before he sounded bored of them. As he stepped up to Dib for a handshake, Dib could tell he was already taller then Charlie. Dib was trying his best not to chuckle by placing his hand over his mouth. He took Charlie's hand and began to shake.
"Uh, nice to meet you, Charlie.. I guess.."

Charlie nodded and turned to Gaz. For a moment he didn't move, like he was scared of her. He possibly was. "Er, hello..Gaz, I'm-"
"-Charlie. I know. I've heared you." Gaz huffed. Oh, you can just see she is having fun! [/sarcasism]

Charlie immediantly jerked his hand away from Gaz, as if she was about to bite it off. "Er..yeah." He turned to their father and pulled off a fake smile. "You have uh.. wonderful children Professor..er.. ANYWAY, your children can go on up and get ready."

As Dib and Gaz walked by Charlie to go up on stage to get ready, Charlie looked at Gaz with a frightened expression.
At least you're not her sister.. Dib thought.

The questioning was about to start in 1o minutes, allowing Dib to relax and get ready. Gaz only sat down and didn't look impressed at all. "Why do I have to be here? You're the alien freak, Dib! If I look stupid out there, then it's all you're fault!"

Yup, Gaz never really changed over the years at all.

The lights began to dim, causing the huge audience to silence down. Two microphones were placed on the set. Charlie began to wipe off the dust on his clothing, and stepped out stiffly out to the middle of the stage.
"Hello, and welcome all world-wide scientists! As you all know, we are all here to question about those strange creatures,..erm.."

"Irkens!" Dib screamed out into the stage. He was also trying his best not to be heard by anyone besides Charlie.

"Erthkins!" Charlie blurted. You can hear a big slap echo throughout the building. Probobly coming from Dib face-palming himself.

"Today, we have brought two Erthkin experts- the children of Professor Membrane! Dib and Gaz!" He held out his hand to the side of the stage, allowing Dib and Gaz to start walking out into the stage. Everyone clapped, but stared at Dib oddly.

"For an Erthkin genius, he has a pretty big head.." one female whispered to the male next to her. Dib heard that comment, but pretended she never said it.

Why does everyone say that? My head is decent sized!

The two children stood at their own microphones as Charlie began to walk off, waving to everyone. But no one cared about him, really.

As the audience stopped clapping, Dib began. "Hello, my name is Dib."
Gaz crossed her arms and huffed. "Whatever. I don't care. My name's Gaz, and don't ask me anything! Ask my stupid brother your questions!"

The group of scientists only glared at her. Was she not happy to be at a world famous meeting?

Dib only glared at his sister, a little embarressed she actually said that. To stop the silence, he clapped his hands together and began to rub them together. "Ok then! We introduced ourselves! So, who wants to ask the first question?"

A hand was raised in the crowd, and a female scientist stood up. "Uh yes, I have a question, Dib. How long have you been studying the Erthkin species, and do they have any major weaknesses?" She took out a notepad, waiting for Dib's response.

"Uh, lets see. I've known the Irken Race since I was 12 years old. So, for about 10 years or so now. And about the weaknesses, I do know things that can harm an Irken here on this planet. My first discovery was water- with contact with water, the skin will burn. This is possibly a chemical reaction. Another one is meat. Irkens are actually allergic to Earth meat of nearly any kind. With contact with meat and skin, the meat will actually fuse together with the skin."

All this knowledge only came from Dib torturing Zim in his early life. He felt kind and sick to his stomach about it.

The female scientist nodded as she wrote down her notes on her notepad. "I see, Dib. Thank you." She sat down, and 5 more hands were raised. Dib pointed at one of them, and up stood a very fat male scientist.

"Dib, uh, you had personal experiences with Erthkins, correct? How is their behaviour?"

Dib sighed. "They're not called Erthkins, they're Irkens. Just wanted you guys to know.. and yes I had person experience. Irkens have a common character trait in all of them. All of them tend to be greedy, and self-absorbed."

His thoughts went back to Zim, and how he acted. "An Irken's personality can be in many different forms. They like to torture others for their own amusement, and as I re-call, they have a great ego."
Yeah, that sounded pretty much like Zim..

After the fat man, more people raised their hands. Some questions were repeated, making Dib somewhat angry. Do they even listen to him when he's answering other people's questions?

Soon enough, Dib became so frustrated with people repeated one another, that he was nearly screaming at them. This only caused Gaz to smile and chuckle at times. She loved how everyone was pissing him off, while she just stood there and watched the show.

Dib sighed and looked at the clock. In a short moment, he was his normal self again. "Oooh, im sorry people. It's already 4:45, I'm afraid it is time for me and my sister to go." Ohh how happy he was. " I thank you all for your questions!" Such a liar.

Everyone got up and began to pick up all their supplies and leave. Some stayed behind, hoping to still catch Dib and ask questions. The security stopped them and nearly threw them out of the building, to Dib's relief. He was already sick of answering people's questions. He just wanted to go to his home, and be lazy.

Yes, he finally was living on his own. Being a scientist for his father really payed him off. Now, he could afford a nice home for himself. Really, he's 22 years old. You can't expect him to be a nobody and still live with his father.

As Dib was about to leave, all he could think about was sitting on his ass, and watching TV.