To the Stars and Back

Chapter 6

Hazel

It's been a few hours since the tour, and I finished Run. That was probably the fifth time I've seen that movie, but I don't really care. I just need to focus on something else right now.

I flick through the movies again. I've already seen this, that has bad reviews, this one is for ten-year-olds... Eventually I just get up and leave the room. I ate a good lunch on the train, but when I'm stressed, I eat, whether I'm hungry or not.

"Do you have chips?" I ask.

"Sure, what kind?" The woman behind the OS asks.

"Tato's salt and vinegar chips, please." I tell her. "I'm feeling salty." I mumble.

"Ha. Don't worry, we all are. Okay, just a moment. You can call me Olivia, by the way. Are you alone?" She asks me.

"Yes, I had to go on a different shuttle than the rest of my family." I say for the fourth time today.

"Wow, that's hard." She walks through a door into what I assume is the kitchen, and then comes back out a moment later with a bag of chips.

"Okay, would you like anything else?" She asks.

"Do you have candy?" I ask.

A few minutes later I'm walking back to my room with hands full of candy and chips, ready to binge watch a show for six hours. I lie down on my bed and look through the shows, finding nothing, so that idea is out. But then I remember Marvel movies. I've seen most of them, even the old ones, but now I can watch them all in order. But that's over ninety hours, so I won't get them all done in the time we're here. Although, We'll be here for over 120 hours, so if I don't sleep much, I could...

Ugh, I'm a mess. Maybe I should actually get something done!

No. No, I'm watching all of the Marvel Avengers series.

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Two and a half hours later, I've finished Iron Man, the first movie, made in 2008. I find The Incredible Hulk and start it. By the end of that, one bag of chips and half of my candy is gone. I realize it's seven already, so I put down my things and leave the room, heading back to the food hall.

"Out of candy?" Olivia asks.

"No, I need real dinner." I say.

"Good choice."

I order a veggie burger and cheese fries and bring them back to my room, but on the way back, I run into a girl my age, and I wonder if she's Dawn's sister.

"Are you Dawn's sister?" I ask.

"Yeah, I think she told me about you. I'm Alyssa." she says.

"I'm Hazel."

"So you're alone here?" Alyssa asks.

"Yeah. I assume Dawn told you about it?"

"Yeah, she said you're from Colorado." She says.

"Yep, I was randomly picked to come here." I say.

"Do you want to, like, hang out sometime? I mean, I know we're only here for a week and a half, but, there's not really anyone else our age."

"Yeah, sure! We could, like,... play speedball or something." I say.

"Yeah, that would be fun! How old are you, anyway? I'm 16."

"Me too. Tenth grade." I tell her.

"Me too."

"Do you want to meet in the Multi in...two and a half hours?" I ask.