Earth's Scattered Children

Chapter 4: The Crash

I couldn't stop thinking about that girl. I don't know why she scared me so much, but every time I thought about her I got this terrible feeling and couldn't stop shivering. Peter kept trying to help me with everything and wouldn't stop asking if I was alright. I'm not sure if it was because I still had a slight fever or because I looked terrified and still hadn't told him why I ran in flustered and in a panic a few days earlier. I tried to keep my mind off of the mysterious little girl, but whenever I stopped thinking about her I started thinking about my family and got sick to my stomach.

After about three hours of sitting on my bed and reading books (or pretending to read), I started getting curious. Who was this girl, and what was she doing there? Was she really a ghost? Why did she appear to me? A million questions flashed across my mind as I tried to make sense of the whole thing. Eventually I wasn't even scared anymore- just anxious to know more about the strange ghost girl. The more I thought, the more curious I got until I finally couldn't stand it and rushed out of the room. I nearly crashed into Peter again, who gave me that pitying look like there was something wrong with me and felt my forehead for the billionth time that day.

"How do you feel?" He asked, as if he hadn't asked the same question about five minutes ago. Impatient and annoyed, I yanked his arm away and growled,

"The same way I felt last time you asked!" Peter looked a bit taken aback as he responded,

"Well, sorry for trying to help. I just wanted to make sure you were ok. Do you want a drink or something?" I rolled my eyes and walked past him, not even bothering to answer. Right before I walked out the door, Peter grabbed me by the shoulder and said, "Wait, where are you going? You shouldn't go wandering about while you're sick. Besides, it's almost lunch time! Stan's doing all the cooking today, and he promised to make us a nice desert, too! You don't wanna miss that, now do you?" I crossed my arms and glared at him until he gave up and moved out of my way. I was about to step out the door when he called me back again.

"You can't stop me, Peter," I told him, "There's something I have to know." He gave me a quizzical look, and I realized that was a bad move. "I'm just gonna take a little walk." I said.

"You took a walk the other day," Whined Peter, "and you were acting all weird when you got back." He made a ridiculous pouty face that I hope wasn't supposed to look cute.

"See you later, Peter." I said as I walked out the door, ignoring him again. This time I didn't stop walking.

"Can't I at least come with you?" For some reason I actually considered this request. Maybe I thought if someone else saw the girl too, then she must be real. I kept walking anyway, as if Peter hadn't even said anything. I blankly wandered down the hall, lost in thought. Suddenly I felt like someone was watching me and realized that Peter was following from a distance. Letting out a sigh, I yelled back at him,

"Well, if you're gonna follow me anyway-"

"Great let's go!" He skipped up  to join me before I could finish my sentence. I held back a groan as he started to ramble, trotting along next to me like an idiot. I was only half-listening as he tried to explain how the space ship works then somehow switch to different types of food. Eventually I made him switch topics 'cuz he was making me hungry and he started talking about Earth. Of all the topics he could've picked, it had to be that one! I started feeling sick again just from listening to him. I wanted to plug my ears so that I couldn't hear what Peter was saying, but for some reason I couldn't stop listening. He started by just comparing the difference between life back  at home and on the ship, and then he switched to telling me old childhood memories he had of the dying planet: running through dry fields, watching the dust rise from under his feet, dreaming about a much greener Earth... It was as if he was describing MY childhood! Before, I had just assumed Peter was one of those spoiled, rich brats who always got what he wanted. To hear that his life was not much different than a girl who had never owned a toy because she couldn't afford it was surprising. It almost gave me more respect for him.