It was amazing to think that it used to take three days to get to the moon. Sasha gazed at the bright white object as the ship raced past in only a few seconds. On either side of her, she could see the numerous other ships that had taken off with her from various areas of the earth. Where were they going? Were they excited about their newfound freedom? Or were they just as scared as Sasha?
Sasha sent out a signal to the other ships, hoping that her energy signature would be recognized by any of her friends. Maybe she could tag along with someone. A hologram popped up on the dashboard.
It read: Congratulations, Space Explorers! Open or delete?
Sasha chose the Open option, bracing herself for the cheesy speech that was characteristic of School administrators.
“Congratulations on completing your training! You’re now on your way to becoming adults that will contribute to our galactic community! You’ve spent your whole lives building your ships and preparing to live on your own. Be proud! Remember what you learned in School, and you probably won’t die in the vacuum of space! Stay safe, and have a good year! Godspeed.”
The message ended and the hologram flashed before Sasha’s eyes and finally disappeared.
“That one wasn’t too painful to sit through,” Ellen said, and Sasha started. “Perhaps someone else wrote it, knowing the incompetence of the higher ups.”
“Yeah,” Sasha said. “I only wish that they’d done that sooner.”
Another hologram popped on the dash, except this one was from Sasha’s good friend, Nora.
“Hay wassup lol,” the message said.
“You’re eighteen years old and you still can’t spell the word, “Hey”,” Sasha replied.
“Haha, I’m a child at heart.”
There was a slight lapse, and then another message.
“What’s up?” Nora asked.
“Nothing, just wondering where you’re going.”
“Proxima Centauri. Why?”
“I was just wondering if I could go with you.”
Another lapse in conversation, and Sasha could feel her heart pounding in anticipation for the answer.
Nora finally responded, but her answer was unexpected.
“Sasha, I love you, you know.”
“But?”
“But I think we should go our separate ways. And, you’re kind of clingy. I can’t hold your hand forever. And also, I know your mom died, but the whole sadness thing you have going on is really depressing. I can’t be around you. Sorry.”
Sasha sat, stunned.
“I thought we were friends...”
And she didn’t really didn’t get an answer back after that.
“End convo,” Sasha said trying to swallow down the feelings of betrayal and hurt that she felt. She tried to brush it off, but it stung like when she’d rip off a bandaid. How dare she? I’ve been there for her all these years,and she just leaves me. She can get lost in space for all I care.
If losing friends was what growing up was like, then Sasha didn’t want to grow up at all.
“We are on course to Mars, Sasha. Do you want to change the ship’s trajectory or stay on course?” Ellen said, breaking Sasha out of her inner tirade.
“Well... I’m not sure what I want to do...”
“I suggest activating your standard star map. Perhaps that may be of some help.”
“Yeah. Ellen, turn on autopilot?”
“Of course.”
Sasha reached into her pack and grabbed the map orb. The smooth, pearl white sphere activated immediately with a thought. A bright dot indicated the ship’s location. There were thousands of star systems to choose from, to Sasha’s dismay.
How am I supposed to choose, she thought.
“That girl you were talking to. She very likely was not your friend at all,” Ellen said.
“I-I just, I don’t know. I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine,” Ellen said. Her voice had taken on a comforting tone and it sounded almost... human. The fibers in Sasha’s jacket seemed to cling to her skin once more, and she felt the familiar sadness come over her again. That sadness she had when she thought about her mom.
“I’m fine,” Sasha said with some finality, even though she was probably the opposite.
“It is not beneficial to internalize such strong emotions as anger and grief.” Ellen had switched back to robot mode.
“May I brew you some tea?” she asked.
“Yeah, chamomile.”
Sasha turned back to her map, and her eyes landed on the Leda star system. There was something about it that made her want to go there, despite that fact that she didn’t know if anything of importance was there at all.
“Ellen, set a course for the Leda system. And activate the warp drive.”
(Sasha loved saying that. It made her feel smarter and more charismatic than she actually was.)
“Aye, captain,” Ellen said with a slightly sarcastic edge.
“Nice, you’re learning!” Sasha said with a small smile.
“Indeed. Estimated time of arrival is 6:50 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.”
The ship began to rapidly speed up and the stars outside began to transform into streaks across Sasha’s vision until they were nothing more than a iridescent white tunnel. It took a little while to get over the sensation of moving quicker than the speed of light--it felt similar to being thrown at a wall, if Sasha could compare it to anything at all.
There was a high pitched beep coming from the dash again. This time the message read: TEA IS READY.
Sasha climbed down the ladder into one of the hallways which led into the kitchen, and grabbed the cup from dispenser.
“Thanks, Ellen,” she said. Before she left, she shook the hand of the mechanical arm that controlled the brewer.
“You’re welcome, Sasha.”
Sasha climbed back up into the pilot’s room, all the while sipping her tea. She had almost forgotten about how upset she was. Almost. How could she do that to me, she thought again. But the strange pull she felt towards the Leda system overshadowed any feelings of resentment she had.
The dash clock turned 6:50, and Sasha braced herself for when the ship left warp speed. She also braced herself for whatever destiny had in store for her.
Probably death, Sasha thought.
But she’d rather not think about that.
“Now entering the Leda System.”
ns 15.158.61.42da2
