Daydream

13. Ending with a BANG!

"There it is!" Carlos shouted and pointed out the window. It was the Bunuelo station. Their station. Their home.

"Finally." Karen said and began to relax a bit, but she still had a firm grip on Zezilia's chair.

"Look." Zezilia threw her hands up in the air. "I did what you wanted. I brought you to this banished space, now can I please fly away?"

"You have to drop us off properly first." Karen said and Zezilia pretended to faint. Karen rolled her eyes.

"But I don't want to talk to them!" Zezilia sounded like a whiny child. "They're going to ask me who I am and what I do. And they're going to find out that I'm the wonderful me and that I borrowed Daydream without permission. And then they're going to think that I kidnapped you and try to arrest me. There will be paparazzi and journalists everywhere! Everyone will know who I am and I just can't deal with that!"

"You manage to be both conceited and self loathing at the same time. I would recommend you to only pick one."

"Fine." Karen said to Zezilia, ignoring Ernest comment. "It would probably be a disaster to let you talk anyway. Carlos, you do it."

"Wait, me?" Carlos looked back and forth as if he had been told to sing a birthday song to the queen. "Why me?"

"Who else?" She looked back at him with raised eyebrows. "Didn't you go around and play com-centre when we were young? Isn't one of your goals in life to speak with someone between ships or stations?"

"Well, yeah, but..."

"But what?"

"But I never thought it would happen so soon. I haven't prepared myself. What if I say something wrong?"

"Just roll with it." Karen took out a microphone from the control board and tossed it over to Carlos who barely caught it. "It'll be fine, trust me. At least you can't say anything worse than the thief here." She pointed at Zezilia.

"Okay, just- just give me a minute, okay?" Carlos inhaled and exhaled a few times in a failed attempt to stop himself from shaking. Miguel felt a weird amusement when watching his friend. He could think of way more embarrassing things they had done this day, like when Carlos pulled him up on the stage, but this was what got Carlos all nervous. A phone-call?

Ernest opened a channel to the station and Karen switched on the microphone. Carlos began to stutter through a greeting and the small amusement Miguel had felt disappeared. He really didn't like to see his friend suffer. Karen also had an expression of regret as she looked at her brother.

Miguel scratched his head a little and then went over to Carlos who looked at him with panicked eyes. He took the microphone from his friend. He had never been that good at public speeches, but this was only a few words to an operator.

"This is Miguel Ulu, 14-78 from the Bunuelo station." He didn't know what he was supposed to say during a call like this and just said his name and number.

It was quiet on the other end. He looked at Karen and mimed "is it on?" and she nodded. Then he looked at Carlos, who had calmed down after letting go of the microphone, and asked him if he said it right. Carlos gave him an "it's acceptable" which prompted Miguel to repeat his words. Still silence and he could swear that he heard Zezilia mumble "maybe they don't want you back". He did his best to ignore her and was about to say his name again when there was an answer.

"This is Julio Zhang from the Bunuelo station." Miguel looked around at the others, they had been heard! "You say that you are Miguel Ulu, are you related to Laka and Alois Ulu?"