Earthling Ambassador by Liane Moriarty

the princess even exists.They can’t agree on what to do. Last I heard, the argument had got so heated, they were threatening to declare an all-out world war!”
    â€œOh,” said Nicola. So much for hoping the grown-ups could work things out.
    â€œDon’t worry,” Georgio said, sounding worried to death. “We’ll work something out.Watch out, BOOFHEAD!”Their aero-car zoomed straight into the side of an aero-truck and bounced off, causing a big burly truck driver to shake his head disapprovingly.
    They arrived back home just as Shimlara was getting off her school aero-bus. Georgio dropped Nicola off and headed back to the university. He said he was going to ask all his intergalactic history and culture students to write essays on how to save Earth. “Who knows?” he said. “They might come up with something, and at least it will keep them busy.”
    â€œMmmm,” said Shimlara sympathetically when she saw Nicola. “I think by the look on your face, you probably did as well as on your mission as I did on my galactic geography test.”
    â€œOh, Shimlara!” said Mully, coming out of the front door. “You didn’t fail , did you?” She paused and gave Nicola an apologetic glance. “Of course, I don’t mean you failed, Nicola.”
    â€œReally sensitive, Mom!” said Shimlara.
    â€œI did fail,” said Nicola sadly. “I failed completely.”
    And then she made the mistake of looking at her countdown watch. It still said:
    Only 2 days left--remember, FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION!
    Nicola was starting to really dislike her countdown watch.
    â€œLet’s have a swim,” Shimlara suggested. “That always makes me feel better.”
    Nicola was much too short to fit into any of Shimlara’s current bathing suits, so she had to borrow one from when Shimlara was about four years old.
    â€œI hope you don’t feel embarrassed wearing this,” Mully said, holding up the suit, which had dozens of smiling teddy bears all over it. Nicola couldn’t care less what she wore, she felt so sad and dispirited.
    But she started to feel a little better once she and Shimlara were swimming together in pink, fizzy water that smelled much nicer than the chlorinated water in swimming pools on Earth.
    Shimlara showed Nicola how to pull a little cord on her teddy-bear bathing suit, so it filled with air and she could float on top of the water as easily as if she were lying on top of a bed. It must be just like swimming in the Dead Sea, thought Nicola as she stretched out comfortably.
    But what about all those people floating happily on top of the Dead Sea when the garbage started to fall? The garbage would never sink! “That Nicola Berry even ruined the Dead Sea,” people would say to one another.
    â€œSo, did the princess just ignore everything you had to say?” Shimlara lay flat on her back, her hands behind her head.
    â€œShe liked it when I talked about tea bags landing on our faces,” said Nicola. “She thought that was pretty funny. Actually, I think maybe she’s just bored with life.”
    â€œBored?” snorted Shimlara. “If I was a rich princess in charge of a whole planet, I would so not be bored!”
    â€œShe seemed almost interested when I told her about oceans, but then she got bored again. She’s a horrible person.”
    â€œWhat are oceans?” asked Shimlara.
    Nicola explained, and Shimlara rolled over onto her stomach and looked enthralled. “I’d love to swim in an ocean! When we go on vacation to Earth for Mom and Dad’s wedding anniversary, I’ll make sure they take me to an ocean. Oh—that’s right ...” Her voice trailed off.
    â€œYep, no more vacations to Earth,” said Nicola. “Unless you want to spend your vacation in a disgusting garbage can!”
    But something Shimlara had said got her thinking.
    With a splash, she sat