COSMIC

1 - Life on Mars?

Dedicated to David Bowie, the Starman

"What do you think is out there?"

I gazed up at the stars while I waited for my friend's response. The summer air was calm and cool and the night seemed to feel alive. I turned my attention to the outline of the pine trees reaching the sky and their contrast with the sparkling ensemble above.

It was well past ten o'clock, as we sat in the bed of my friend's 1965 Ford pickup--recently handed down from her father--and listened to the radio. It had become our ritual to escape our lives and hang out in the woods ever since I discovered it a few months back. Now that it was well into summer vacation, weekend and occasionally weekday nights were spent in the forest. We wanted to take advantage of our time before entering our final year of high school.

"I don't know," she replied, peering up at the black sky. "I just imagine a lot of time and space." She expanded her arms in emphasis.

"Well, obviously. But there's got to be more than just us--like aliens or something."

She laughed briefly and though I joined in, I imagined her thinking about the absurdity of the idea. To her, it was simply a figment of my imagination, but I recalled the conspiracies we had heard many times. Considering the world was fascinated with aliens and space--especially after the recent moon landings--it was no surprise we talked about it often.

"But seriously," I continued. "Don't you ever wonder about that?"

"I think you've watched too much Star Trek, Jamie," she joked.

"And I think you're too much of a skeptic, Nancy," I said. She brushed off my mockery with a laugh and pushed my shoulder. We were the Mulder and Scully of teenage best friends--that is, if the X-Files had existed in 1973. "Don't you ever wish that there was life out there--something bigger than us? Well, I guess I do--that there was something more exciting to our reality. Sometimes I wish I could escape and live on Mars."

Nancy sighed. "Well, you got me there," she said.

"That's why I like to come out here and look at the stars. It's special to me. It's like the next best thing, you know?"

"Yeah, I can dig that. Speaking of, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind an intrusion on your 'special' hangout spot." Nancy raised her fingers as air quotes and grinned at me.

It was my turn to be skeptical. "What are you getting at?" I said, squinting at her.

"You know what I'm getting at. The gang would love it out here and you know how I've been after Kyle."

A disgusted groan escaped my lips. "If you bring them out here, I'd have to find another hangout."

Nancy rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a drag! It'll be fun and I know how you like Josh. He'd come out here, too."

"Don't use that against me," I replied, but I couldn't help but smile at her craftiness. "Seriously, though, this is our hangout. Why should we ruin it?"

"It wouldn't ruin it."

"How do you know? They'll probably claim this place as their own."

"But we've hung around them before. Why would this be any different?"

"Because...it's secluded. Don't they smoke joints all the time? No, thanks." I climbed over the side of the truck and landed on the ground. I reached inside the passenger window to tune the radio channel when I noticed the clock staring at me. "Wow, it's getting pretty late," I said, as I pulled my head out of the truck.

Nancy didn't move an inch. "What time is it?"

"It's almost 12:30."

"Oh my God," she exclaimed, before hopping over the side of the truck and opening the driver's door. "My dad will kill me."