Beyond Orcus

Chapter 3

"Yeah, okay. I'll wait here until you finish your work.” says Alex. Anxious about what will happen next.
Juniper returns to the counter, greets the customers, and leaves Alex on the couch with a warm, comforting latte.

About an hour or two later, Juniper returns to Alex.
Alex is asleep on the couch. Juniper gently wakes her up.

"Hm... Are you done with the clients?" Alex groans.
"Haha. Yes, I have finished. You look pretty tired. Why don't we go to my apartment first? We will go to my friends' house tomorrow."
"No, no, no! I need answers right now. I can't wait until tomorrow. We need to go ask your friends."
"All right then. Pack your stuff. Let's get to my car." says Juniper

They close the front door and exit through the door at the back of the cafe, walking to the car. Juniper is driving while Alex is looking up at the sky. It’s 7 pm on an autumn evening, and the sky is already dark and covered with stars.

"Juniper, look at the sky! It's the same one the elderly showed me yesterday." shouted Alex.
"Really? That one? On your planet?"
"Yes. He showed it to me just a few seconds. It was somewhat scary how big everything was but also amazingly beautiful. Then I fell asleep and tada! I'm on Orcus."
"I wonder how the sky is on Earth. I have forgotten how it looks." tells Juniper

The sky was covered with colorful stars. Some of them were big, some small. On Earth, you weren't able to see other planets well except the Moon and the Sun. Here on Orcus, there are a bunch of new planets you can see with the naked eye. The overall looked quite pink, purple, and a bit blue. It was all so pretty but it made Alex feel anxious. What if her heart ached again? What if she had relapsed?

"And voilà! We have arrived." says Juniper taking Alex out of her daydreaming.
They got upstairs and knocked on Juniper's friends' apartment. Juniper opened the door straight away and entered the apartment.
"Hi guys! How you doing?" ask them
"June! We're fine. Who did you bring with you today?" says one of the three roommates checking Alex up and down.
"It's Alex Swanson. She's new in town." said Juniper to their friends
"Ooh great! A new girl in the group! I'm Ava. The two guys on the couch are Caleb and Henry but don't mind them. They are useless.." says Ava excited about the new girls coming into the group
"Hi sorry to come here without asking." apologized Alex impressed by Ava's confidence
"Oh! Don't worry. Everyone comes and goes as if it were their house here." says Henry reassuring Alex
"Not everyone only June. Except them everyone here lives in this apartment." adds Caleb
"Yeah well, whatever. We have to talk to you about something." says Juniper