The Red Planet

Chapter 3

The next day we woke up to our breakfast already having been served. We assumed it must have been served a while ago because it was cold. Our breakfast consisted of three things: some type of pie, jam (at least that's what I thought it was) on toast, and some type of frothy drink that looked like curdled milk mixed with orange juice. Andrew only ate his pie and his toast. He told me he didn't trust the drink they gave us. He compared it to throw up from a person who just ate cheese, oranges, and milk. I decided to be the guinea pig and try the drink. It wasn't what I expected. It was definitely an acquired taste. It had a sweet and slightly salty flavor with a bitter aftertaste. The froth added to the saltiness of the drink and the liquid part was sweet. I wasn't sure where the bitterness came from. It was a radish type of prickly bitterness. Even after I told Andrew that the drink wasn't too bad, he still didn't want to try it, so I ended up drinking his as well. Shortly after we finished our breakfast, a guard came to collect our plates and cups.

"Lunch will be served in four hours." The guard said and then left after collecting our dishes.

"Four hours? How are we supposed to wait that long?" Andrew complained.

"Well, there's not much we can do about it." I said.

. . .

One thing that's annoying about being stuck in a cell is that there's nothing to do. You're constantly bored and left to deal with your thoughts. Andrew did his best to keep me occupied but he was slowly running out of ideas. We had played tic-tac-toe, truth or dare (which was a frequent one we played, though the dares weren't too exciting), never have I ever (where I learned a few things I never knew about Andrew), and a bunch of other games. We even created our own freestyle rap about space (which actually sounded kind of good). Both Andrew and I were so relieved when we saw Xena. She was often the cure for our boredom.

"Hey guys," Xena said.

I waved and Andrew said, "Hey Xena."

"Do you guys want me to start off from where I ended?"

We both nodded. We listened as Xena told us about the wonders of life on Mars. She described the rocky terrain, red dust in the air, and the vastness of the Martian landscape. She told us that the night sky was brighter and filled with stars. She talked about strange creatures that lived beneath the surface and shared stories of the advances in science and technology that allowed humans to live on Mars. Xena explained that the red planet was home to a bunch of scientific discoveries that people on Earth hadn't known yet. When describing the architecture of Mars, her whole face lit up. She told us about how Martians had built impressive structures like the Great Tower of Mars, which towered over the red soil and could be seen for miles. She also talked about the amazing cities that glowed with luminous colors.

She also told us about the different festivities that happened every year and about the food. Xena depicted the annual festivities as exciting and joyous events that brought the whole community together. People would gather for several days of feasting, dancing, and music. The traditional foods served at the festivals were a variety of dishes with recipes that had been passed down through generations. She said that vibrant colors were everywhere, with locals dressed in their finest clothes and the streets covered with decorations, the atmosphere was filled with a collective spirit of laughter and celebration. As she spoke, it increased our curiosity and interest about the planet.

When Xena was on the topic of food, I decided to ask her about what we had eaten during our first day of imprisonment.

"Xena?" I said.

Xena seemed surprised when I spoke, but she gave me a smile. "Yeah?"

"Yesterday for dinner we got this dish, and I don't know what it was. It was...it was like a thick, peach-colored soup and it looked like it had...chicken in it? I had never had anything like it before and the flavors were out of this world." I explained.