The Earth Above Us

Surprises and Blue Planets

„Hey honey!" Her mum's voice carried through the giant stack of books Eth was carrying to her room.

„Hey mom." She finally reached her destination, and let the heavy load drop to the floor.

„Oh, I am so proud of you, finally agreeing to take an extra lecture!"

Yeah, sure. It was fabulous. It wasn't exactly like Eth had any free time at all, and the scarce rest she did have just dissipated before her eyes as she watched her time running away. Sprinting, even.

„Hello?? Etheodra?!" Mum waved a hand in front of her face.

Eth blinked. „Uh, sorry, was a little lost in thought." Seeing her disparagement, Eth relented. „It won't happen again, I was just wondering where I should start."

Her mum's features softened. „Oh, honey. You will get it, I just know you will. Why don't you come down for supper now and I can give you a number of one of my old classmates. He's a really bright person, a professor at Adromeda University. He teaches historical geology."

Oh. That sounded... lovely. Eth tried her best not to roll her eyes.

„All right, all right. What do we have for dinner anyway?"

„My special- fresh molecular milk shake."

„Hm... Delicious!" Eth exclaimed, and followed her mum to the kitchen. She had to admit though, flying pancakes would've been better.

Beep. Beep. Beep. No reception. Again. Etheodra huffed and threw her phone on the floor. Her mum had warned her that the reception at the University was pretty bad, especially due to its high location in the hills, which caused it to be located in the heavy heart of the fog.

„Still not working?" Her Dad was standing in the door frame now, towering over her even from the distance between them.

She simply shook her head.

„I wanted this to come as a surprise for your project, but I might as well tell you a little earlier."

A surprise? That certainly got Eth's attention.

„What is it?" A hover bike? Some ultra cool new tablet? She looked at him expectantly, her green eyes wide.

Grinning, her dad took something out of his pockets, on further inspection it revealed itself to be a key.

So, a hover bike it is? Really? That would be so cool! Etheodra leaned forward, ready to snap the keys and make a run for it if her dad should reconsider his promise. But just then she realized it wasn't a key for a bike.

„You can use the wave intensifier in my work! I originally thought it might be a great idea when you are going to analyze the light waves and the spectrum of the fog, or the signals inside the brain and the neuro functions before and after exposure to the fog."

Every other time this might have been some kind of nice of him. But when one expected to get a hover bike and one's dad gave access to his work for a lecture one didn't even want to have... Let's just say Etheodra wasn't too happy about his surprise.

Nevertheless, she mustered up the cheekiest smile she could, a „Thanks, Dad!" coupled with a hug, grabbed the keys and her phone and headed for her dad's work.

At the very least, she had to admit, her parents did try their best. They didn't know that it had indeed not been her intention to hold the lecture, and as there was no way around it, she might as well show some gratefulness for their help.

The walk through the darkness had helped her to calm down again, and she was set on the task to actually reach this professor somehow. So when she arrived at her dad's work, she tipped the security code in the main gate, greeted the night guards who knew her well from her visits during the day, and fumbled with the key until the lab finally opened. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the wide room.