Mia the Martian

[6]

I run through the hallways and stairways as fast as I can to get to my ship.

"Mia!" Michael yells, following me.

I reach the door in record time and waste none in swiping Michael's card. Darren and Sydney jump as I throw the door open.

"Janice!"

She cracks one eye open.

"How long? How long until I can start fixing my ship?"

She yawns, her blue figure glitching slightly. "Why?"

"Just tell me, you blue baby."

She sighs. "About seven more hours. Relax, no cops are gonna bust in here. We're on another planet."

"Mia!" Michael yells, finally catching up. "What happened?"

I glance at Darren and Sydney, who are doing their best not to let me know they're eavesdropping. "That . . . uhh . . . that thing where uh . . . Oh!" I glance over his shoulder. Please get when I'm saying. "I just wanted to make sure I got the right date. My planet died on April twenty second."

He frowns at me. "Okay, but . . . ohh. No, maybe you got the wrong date?"

I shake my head, glancing again at Sydney and Darren, who are now very engrossed in coffee mugs and magazines - that Darren is holding upside down. "That's why I came here."

He nods and I want to heave a sigh of relief. I also want to bang my head against the wall, because Michael now knows that his planet dies in less than a month. He shakes his head. "Well, let's just forget about that for a while and finish off that date?"

He holds out his hand with a smile, but his eyes betray how scared he really is. I smile as best as I can and take it. "Good idea. I hear the third course of toasted steak and cheese is to die for."

As we leave, I hear a cup shatter and remember Darren and Sydney. Oops. We don't end up sitting at the table. After a few seconds of silence, we go back inside to Michael's room, where he drops himself on the bed and heaves a heavy sigh. I crawl up next to him and rest my head on his chest.

"I'm sorry," I mutter.

His one hand plays with my hair and the other locks with mine. "It's not your fault, Mia. Anyway, you know what it's like, what's the best way to get over it?"

I grin. "Find a local and screw him."

Michael laughs. "Hm, and is that working out for you?"

"Pretty good, yeah. It helps if said local is hot."

"Ah, so I am hot."

"Shut up."

Tomorrow is April first, maybe a good prank will make him forget about this . . . for a while anyway.

I fall asleep thinking about burning planets and April Fools pranks.

---------------

I'll bet it's the first time in his life he's over slept so far. It must be, because when I finally woke up to the shouting, Darren looked like he should be steaming at the ears and Michael looked like if he rolled his eyes any further, he'd be looking at his brain.

Michael comes out of the bathroom tying how own tie and just to spite Darren - who's complaining that he's late to a meeting because of me - he kisses me quickly before leaving.

Darren gives me the WTF look, and I shrug in reply. A moment later, Sydney walks by. "I told you to check his room," she calls, sounding very smug.