Author's note: This is a novelette that will be broken up into several pieces due to its length. It is a humorous glimpse into the societal rules of a futuristic culture where everyone has something to hide.  This section continued from:

The Naked Truth- Part 9

The crowd cheered the Chief and his EE rose up, towering above the crowd once again, and it/he waved madly to the cheering crowd.  They returned the wave and then returned to partying as the humongous EE exited stage left.

Riding on the EE’s shoulder like some conquering hero (and to return to his table), he walked past wildly cheering EE’s toasting him in every direction he turned.  The unfiltered sights, sounds and smells threatened to overwhelm his senses and he found the sensations to be the most pleasant things he had ever experienced.  He felt as though his body craved the long-denied raw input and he willingly fed it with every breath and sight.  His thoughts strayed to how he could get a very strong drink in a very small glass and that thought was overwhelmed with the need to urinate.

Stopping his EE, he hopped on the board and was turning to head for the back compartment when his actions were noticed by partyers closest to him.  They started another chorus of boos that was eventually taken up by the entire room. He reached inside his EE and grabbed a headset and microphone to allow him to talk with the crowd.  He then rode his board to the top of the EE’s head, crossed his arms indignantly and spoke,

“Breaking one neluan cultural taboo in a lifetime is enough!  You better excuse me or I will have to take a pee in public and break another!”  The already unwound crowd roared with laughter and several persons nearby gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up.  He was about to head back down when he caught Phlegamon staring at him.  Attached to the stare was a smile that Biko could not decipher but he thought it contained admiration.  His long-time rival raised a glass and Biko managed a curt nod.

He then noticed Andela, who stood leaning against Phlegamon.  Her stare was rife with shock, amazement, and disbelief mixed with just a hint of disgust.  He realized that he had lost her for good.  Her past attachment to him, regardless of where it came from, had been a minor derivation into a lower corner of the gene pool.  Given her well bred family, he felt sure she had banished him to a puddle that was outside the pool all together.  He let out a sigh of sad resignation and quickly ducked inside his EE, hooked up the applicable part of his neural suit and relieved himself.

Reemerging to more cheers, he rode past the revelers and finally reached his table.  He began to realize that no one was coming anywhere near him.  No one talked to him.  Everyone was uproariously happy in various sized groups and he would catch a random finger pointing him out as he scanned the room.  He now felt what he imagined it would feel like to have an observed Class 0.  With a little pride and a lot of embarrassment, he also stumbled onto the reality that not one other neluan had joined him and the Chief in the “big yowee”.  He began to realize that he would go down in history as the most publicized Class 0 in neluan history.

Even Greb and Sparla, their faces crowded with sympathy and kindness, could only wave to him from several feet away.  They, like every other person in the room, had a healthy respect for the taboo and kept their distance.  No one wanted to be associated with Biko’s nonconformance.  Biko smiled at his old friend and felt no anger toward him.  Greb was probably looking at him thinking he resembled a Frantian moon-pixie.  Biko was about the same size and moon-pixies had a vicious reputation for devilment and tomfoolery.

In his thoughts, Biko’s form was magnificent as he spread his arms majestically in preparation for an amazing head first drop into the crusty Emaglian sulfur pots of pity.  He stood on the precipice, his eyes closed in concentration, awaiting the moment he would propel himself into the pots bringing on a funk that would last until he walked into the Chief’s office in two weeks.  His concentration was such that the nearness of another EE initially failed to register in his consciousness.  The other EE had approached his table and backed up to it.  Biko began to faintly realize that someone had come over to him.  He looked up to see Phlegamon sitting against the table, looking back at him.  To his amazement, the door on the back of Phlegamon’s EE began to open.

There were screams of joyful shock as nearby neluans realized they were about to witness history repeating itself.  Biko froze as the doors opened and then neatly slid back inside the opening.  He was extremely disappointed that this had not been Andela.  The hoverboard slid out and Biko looked away for an instant, not wanting to see Phlegie in his skivvies.