Lovers in A Dangerous Spacetime

Chapter Two

I wake up to the sound of Beth talking to Annabelle, probably in the living room. I drag myself out of my bed and throw on some clothes that Beth laid out for me the night before. I walk out to the living room and see Annabelle hugging Beth, jumping around with a happy look on her face.

 “If it isn’t Annabelle! If you guys don’t mind me asking, what’s the occasion?”

Beth and Annabelle both let out some giggles, and Beth lifts up Annabelle’s hand, displaying a small golden band on her ring finger.

“I can’t afford the engagement ring yet, so we got each other promise rings!” Beth says, holding in her laughter. “Thank you again for doing all of this Sabrina, I can never show you how much I appreciate it.”

I smile at her, taking in all the happiness in the room.

“No problem Beth, like I said, best friends no matter what.”

The two of them continue to hug and laugh, sharing an occasional kiss. I just laugh and continue to get ready for the trip. We were all informed that the bus ride would be a couple hours long, and that we would have rooms near the stations, so I make sure to pack anything that I might need while I’m there.

I make my way down to the campus’ bus stop along with the other students, and we all stand waiting for the bus to come and pick us up. A fancy looking vehicle turns the corner and stops in front of the group of students, opening its doors to let us all in. We walk up the steps and wonder for a moment, looking for the best seats for the journey. To say that the bus is nice would be an understatement, the seats have a soft and bouncy feeling to them, and each set of seats has a heating unit above it on the ceiling.

We all take our seats and the bus starts moving, quietly humming as it moves along the streets. I pull a small bag of snacks out of my bag, nibbling on it while staring outside of the window. I hum a small tune and begin to space out, thinking  about what the trip is going to be like.

‘I wonder if the people there will be nice, or if I’ll fit in well at the station. Maybe, if I do well enough, I have actually get a permanent job there. ‘

My thoughts are interrupted by a gentle voice. I look up to see a petite girl sitting across from me. She has very curly, bouncy looking black hair resting just above her shoulders, framing her soft face. Her eyes are somewhat droopy, with an almost amber-brown color, matching the warm brown color of her skin.

She gives me a look of shock as I look at her, spewing out a list of apologies.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t know if I interrupted anything, I don’t know anybody else here, so I wanted to try and make a friend or two during the trip so I’m not as lonely. I really hope that’s alright with you.”

I smile at her and reach out my hand, she smiles back and grabs my hand in her own, shaking it gently.

“I’m Sabrina.” I say, introducing myself. “I’m studying astrophysics and engineering, but I really want to get a degree in some form of art.”

Her smile gets wider and her eyes become bright and cheery.

“My name is Melody, I just transferred to your college a few weeks ago. I study illustration and graphics design, so I’m a bit more on the artistic side.”

I feel the blood rush to my cheeks, and my face gets hot. I don’t know why, but her response sends my stomach whirling. We continue to talk, the topics ranging from embarrassing childhood stories to the kinds of plans that we have for the future and our careers.

We’ve only known each other for a few hours, but it feels like it’s been forever. The last time I’ve ever felt like that with someone was with Beth, and we’ve been friends since we were both in diapers. I’ve never met someone that I’ve connected with so quickly, it just feels so alien to me.

Sadly, most good things have to come to an end, and our conversation is forced to come to a halt. The bus turns into a large parking lot that sits in front of an even bigger building. On the side of the road we see a sign reading ‘ISS: International Space Station.’

We all quickly gather our things as the bus pulls up in front of the large doors, readying ourselves for whatever might be waiting inside. Melody and I share another glance and a smile, we thank the bus driver and walk out of the bus, standing side by side.