Note from the author: Total Words: 17,277. Words to go: 12,723.
We land on Earth after 5 hours of space travel. It wasn’t scary at all….well maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement. I must admit, it was a little scary at first. Luckily I had Amy next to me who makes the commute every single week.
I made friends with all of the other passengers. Chelsea, one of the gardeners, played checkers with me. Tim, one of the curriculum schedulers, told me stories. Ned, one of the flight attendants, pointed out galaxies and other cool things to me.
Space is beautiful. It’s also kind of strange. It’s so incomprehensibly vast. I guess sometimes the most beautiful things are also the most strange.
I may have enjoyed the trip, but I’m happy to be on solid land. I don’t know if it’s my natural clumsiness coming into play or the Earth’s gravity, but I seem to be extraordinarily unbalanced. I even tripped and landed on my face when exiting the shuttle. I think the Moon’s gravity imitation must not be exactly like the gravity on Earth. That’s okay, I’m sure I’ll get my Earth legs soon enough.
We were picked up by a really expensive hovercar complete with a driver. Wow. I hope Amy didn’t spend too much on my homecoming. I don’t think she gets paid terribly well for being a maid. She must have rented this hovercar for the occasion.
I am absorbed with my surroundings. I stare out of my window trying to take everything in. Moon Academy stays the same. Earth changes. It’s nice to have a change of scenery. And people! There are so many people. They’re everywhere!
We drive for about fifteen minutes before turning in to a gated neighborhood. We pass by some truly spectacular houses before pulling into a long driveway.
The driveway ends at an elegant mansion. It’s a cream colored house with white trim. It looks like it’s about three stories. The banner on the four car garage reads “Welcome home Charlie!”
“Oh, here we are. Thank you Dustin,” Amy says to the driver. Dustin pops out of the front seat and opens my door for me.
“Madame Charlotte,” he greets me, bowing his head slightly.
“um, Thanks!” I reply. I’m shocked. I guess I always assumed that Amy was poor. Huh. Guess not. It would appear that she is actually the opposite of poor: filthy rich.
We enter the house through lavish glass doors. I gape at the dual staircase and ginormous chandelier. Great paintings line the walls. My jaw drops open. Amy chuckles at my reaction.
“Wow, Amy. Your house is beautiful. Truly,” I say, practically speechless.
“Our house. I’ll show you to your room. You’re probably tired; it’s been a long day. I’ll bet you didn’t sleep a wink last night,” she responds.
We climb the left staircase then turn left once we reach the top. I find myself in a long hallway. I’m the first door on the left. Shouldn’t be too hard to remember: left staircase, turn left, first door on the left. Amy hesitates for a second with her hand on the knob before throwing the door open.
“Omigod! AMY!” I shriek. The room, my room, is perfect. The walls have been painted to look like space. There are twinkly lights all over that resemble stars. There’s a flat screen tv on top of a dresser. I have a window that opens up to a view of the front yard. My bed looks positively opulent. It’s adorned with a fluffy white comforter and matching white pillows. There’s a stuffed animal turtle on my bedside table.
“Happy Birthday Charlie! Do you like it?” she asks.
“Like it? I love it! Thank you so much!” I say leaping onto my new bed and admiring Amy’s attention to detail.
“I was thinking tomorrow we could go get you a pet. Whatever you want. I know it was hard to leave Shelby, but I’m sure a homesick student will care for her. Maybe you should take a nap Charlie,” Amy suggests.
“I am a little tired. Wake me up for dinner please,” I say closing my eyes.
I wake up feeling like I’ve slept for a century. I glance at the clock. 8:30?!? I’m late for school! I sit up really fast before realizing that I don’t have to go to school. I’m at Amy’s house. Wooooo!
I hop out of bed and pull open one of my dresser drawers. They’re full of clothes. Amy must’ve unpacked my stuff while I slept. Man, I must’ve been dead to the world. I change out of my graduation dress and into a new outfit. Then I open a couple of doors. One leads to a bathroom.
I brush my teeth and put my hair up into a high ponytail. Then I retrace my steps into my room. I open another door to reveal the hallway. After a lot more of exploring and getting lost, I find the kitchen. There’s an omelet and hash browns waiting for me on the counter. I pull up a barstool and dig in.
It’s really, really good. I must be getting a little homesick, because it tastes just like Gus’ cooking. I can’t believe I graduated yesterday. It feels like a dream. I’m reminiscing when Gus walks through the kitchen door.
“Morning Charlie,” he says while smiling hugely.
“GUS! What’re you doing here?” I run over and hug-tackle him.
“I am Amy’s chef,” he replies simply.
“Wha-” I start.
“Hey hey. No questions until after breakfast. Amy wants to talk to you in the living room when you‘re finished,” he informs me.
“I’m done then. I’ll see you at lunch,” I reply, eagerly running out of the kitchen.
I run back in. “Where’s the living room?” I ask. Gus chuckles and gives me directions.
"Thanks!"
