To the Stars and Back

Chapter 10

Hazel

We have about nine days left on the shuttle, according to Alyssa. We were supposed to be close to arriving at this point.

I can't stop thinking about my friends. Cat, Rhea, Nyssa, and Scarlett. I can't get their names out of my head. I have a splitting headache, and I feel like throwing up, but all I can think about is them. My family, too. The look on Nia's face when she waved to me one last time.

It's okay. I'll see them again. All of them. Even my friends.

I stop pacing my room and go to get dinner, missing Marie's calls from downstairs to stop reading my Ebooks on my phone and come to dinner. I picture sitting down at the table, Avila and Tony in the kitchen dishing up our food, Nia waiting at the table, the twins running down the stairs. I picture Alex grumpily being pulled to the kitchen by Zara, and May coming out of her downstairs room Josh leaving the room behind her, staring at his phone. Zara picking at her food, Avila asking her what's wrong, Zara glaring at her, then her own food, then mumbling something about homework. Nia asking everyone about school, to silence. I always just wanted to gush to her about all my homework, and tests, and trash-talk about people, but we were never like that. We were never close. But now I need a sister. I can always talk to Alyssa, but I've only known her less than a week. It's not the same.

I pull out my phone, going to our group chat.

I know it won't send, but I start typing anyway.

Hi, guys. You probably won't ever see this, even if... even if you're ok. But I just want to tell you, I miss you more than the world. Literally, more than I miss the Earth. Of course, it was a dying planet, but still. You guys were my friend, and even though you were friends before you met me, you treated me like you'd known me all your lives. You're all I think about. I know I'll see you again. I have to. I miss you so much. More than you can imagine.

Despite being on a spaceship in the middle of outer space, I press send.

I toss my phone onto my pillow, sighing and lying back on the bed, and resting my head on the pillow beside my phone.

A text tone sounds.

My hands fly to my mouth.

How is this possible? It couldn't have sent. How could it have sent?

Oh my god, is that really you, Hazel? It's Nyssa!

My fingers freeze, hovering above my phone, unable to move.

Oh god oh god oh god... Can I really talk to her?

I start to type again.

Nyssa? I didn't think that would work. Did you really get that?

I send it off, my heart racing as I wait for a text to pop up.

Hazel! It's Cat! We can text each other! It works! A text from Cat comes in.

Oh my god! I miss you so much! I say.

I wait for a reply, but then it says not delivered.

Of course it doesn't work. Four texts and it doesn't work anymore.

I feel a tear drop onto my shirt, though I'm not sure how it got there.

I close my eyes, letting the tears come.

"Hazel? Did you really fall asleep this time?" I hear Nyssa's voice echo through my head. "Hazel, this is serious." she told me when we heard the alarm that started this mess. If only I'd listened. If only I'd said goodbye one more time.