Oh my God is it raining? It’s raining. This is the first time I’ve gotten my hair to look good in weeks and it’s raining. I guess I could take a cab to lunch; no it’s only a block away. Great, I have to put my hair in the rain, maybe a hat? No nothing is going to match this. Damn, hair in the rain it is, where is my watch? Let’s see, not under the bed, why would it be there at all? Not in the bathroom, not in the fridge (also unlikely but after that one time I’m checking there more often). Where the heck is- oh right on the stand next to the door where I left it, where it’s supposed to be. Stupid place for it, why did I put it there? Let’s see fasten it on, all three locks sealed, keys loaded, house security synced, ok good to go. Wow it does kind of cover up like two thirds of my forearm, maybe I should buy one of those smaller ones, but I like the bigger screen on this one, and it has all those cool skins for the time feature. Plus I haven’t talked to Lacey in forever and I don’t want to call her just to ask for her to hack another watch to accept all keycards I input. I should call her.
WOW elevator music is AWFUL, I should have taken the stairs. It is a couple hundred stories though; I should repel down the stairs. Then make it a sport. I want this elevator to hurry before the playing of this elevator music develops into a war crime. Hey my phones ringing. Sarah!
“Hey Sarah, I’m on my way to lunch right now. Oh my sister’s there, hmmm maybe I should head back. No you couldn’t have me on speaker cause you know you called me deep down to warn me she’s there. Then why did you call me? They are! Damnit! I was just getting used to the place, now I’ll have to clean it and everything. Because I made the mess I can clean it up I don’t need to call a maid for everything. Uh, actually I would call the last 5 months “me VERY successfully dodging my parents by jumping between the various properties they own” thankyouverymuch. Why isn’t them existing in the first place a good enough reason, why did they have to do something THIS time. No they totally did do something and I’ll………. Don’t listen to Emily she’s practically PROUD of the fact she doesn’t have to do anything herself. Well my Dad tried to fire a guy who- oh hey the rain stopped- for giving me a bad review on one of my flight tests. No he was being kind of a dick but I don’t need my daddy showing up and trying to fix when poor little me gets a bad review. Yeah well its worse for my career to have everyone think I can’t actually fly and I only get a position because my dad is a firkin Admiral. Exactly everyone who spends two second in a cockpit with me knows I can fly so I can handle a bad review. My Mom? Are you serious, I look for reasons to avoid her, but she also tried to get involved and made it worse. I’m not even sure how either but she managed. I guess I can stay in the central park penthouse. Yeah the one in the tree, it’s awesome. What guy? Wait how did you know he likes to hang out in the park? I did not tell you, I didn’t even know, or rather didn’t remember that I knew. Cause my parents probably won’t even think of going there till summer, even if I saw him there I wouldn’t say Hi to him. He’d probably get all anal about me interrupting his sacred tree hugging time. Yes I do remember him telling me all about the delicate balance of Mars’ ecosystem and how trees make breathing there possible, I almost expected a PowerPoint. Whether or not he found a way to make Terraformatted environmental biology interesting is beside the point entirely. As is whether or not the napkin drawing diagrams were cute. I did not keep it that other dude kept it to study off of. Well I forgot I took a picture of it. Yes I really did.” Yay pizza shop, I’m starving.
“How’s my favorite cousin?” Sarah smiled brightly with a greeting as honest as it was uplifting. I’m glad out of all the genes running through my family a few of them combined into a decent person. I smiled in return and began walking to where they were seated, dodging a table in-between the door and them.
“Hi little sister.” Emily’s tone and expression seemed inviting, but had the tone only another girl could identify as more contempt than compassion. As long as she didn’t talk too much I could get through this meal without wanting to choke her on her own pizza slice. Mmmmm pizza, I hope they already ordered.
“Did you already order?”
“Half pepperoni and half some kind of cheese that apparently makes you healthier.” Sarah looked over Emily with a confused look.
“Yeah its suppose to be really good for your complexion, I read all about it in-“ That’s about where I stopped listening, which felt a little awkward for Sarah cause I basically just stared off into nowhere until a waitress asked me what I wanted to drink. I let Emily talk for a while, staring at my watch most the time looking through new skins for the clock. I’m sure I’ve told Emily how annoying she is when she starts…….uhg…..talking, but I can never tell if she’s a moron or just doesn’t care. Either way the only real way to create a conversation that isn’t her talking for hours is to get confrontational, then she pouts, which is annoying but its quiet.
“Wow that’s a lot of information on a type of cheese you read somewhere, do they have a food that improves brain power?”
“Why?” Emily did her best to form an expression that matched her sarcasm, I doubt she connected the dots to what I meant yet, but she knew it was supposed to be offensive. I shrugged, content with having made my remark; Emily simply rolled her eyes, as though I was the one being ridiculous. “So Mom is wondering if you’ve picked out what you’re going to wear to the formal ball at the Embassy.”
“When is it?” Emily looked as though I’d forgotten a holiday.
“Next month, OBVIOUSLY. What have you been doing this whole time?”
“Missing this...” I smiled and let out a sigh.
“I LOVE the Embassy Ball...” Sarah was leaning her chin on her arm and looking upward, thinking about the architecture of the main hall. The oval shaped room was easily a hundred yards, with a terrace spanning a third of it, pointing at the entrance from the opposite side of the room. The walls were lined with half circle indents, each housing a ten story statue; eight total. Each statue one of the pagan gods the planets were named after, all spectacular works of art, obstructed only by a thin staircase against both walls leading to the terrace. The ceiling was an oval dome that went clear at night and opaque during the day, and hovering right beneath it, a hologram of the solar system with the real time alignment of every planet. Specifically though, I believe she was remembering when she first danced with her current boyfriend of the last couple years, somehow she had every column and statue of the building and each song they danced to memorized.
“We’ll I’d love to have my sister put a little thought into what she’s going to wear so I don’t have to remember being embarrassed the whole night.” Emily took a drink in an effort to calm herself down from the idea that I might make a wardrobe choice that was not in the height of fashion. “It’s already worrisome enough; you never even dance with anyone, or talk with anybody.”
“Find someone interesting to talk to, or music decent to dance to.”
“We’ll why don’t you find a date so I don’t have to do EVERYTHING to make you seem socially acceptable.”
“You’re right; maybe I could attract someone by wearing something slutty enough to make them overlook my personality… Could I borrow some of your clothes?”
“Hey, where’s that pizza at.” Sarah looked behind her with a forced smile, moving her head around as though the waitress was hiding in wait with the pizza and would only deliver upon being spotted. I took a drink while smiling at my own cleverness as my sister began her pouting: mission accomplished.
“You know some of those Spaceflight institutions you’re so obsessed with attend the Embassy Ball. They’re going to notice, too, if you’re just awkward and unattractive at the entire event.” Wait, I thought I won, why is she still talking? And why am I not saying anything? Oh my God, I don’t have a comeback, I’m just sitting here silently because she…..no…..no this can’t be, is…….is she right? Think of something. THINK OF SOMETHING!
“Well it is considered very fashionable to bring a date from another planet to the Embassy Ball. Maybe that guy can help your reputation and give you decent conversation,” Sarah inquired.
“What guy?”
“What guy?” Emily now inquired with a slightly more than polite astonished look.
“Uh, the one we were just talking about on the phone?” Sarah gave a smile.
“The MARTIAN?” Emily’s eyes widened curiously, I couldn’t tell if Martians weren’t a hip group in high society anymore or if, hey wait a minute-
“How do you know about the Martian?” I removed my hand from the glass long enough to point and squint accusingly.
“You told me about him.” Sarah laughed hysterically while I made an obvious show of being at a loss for words. “Oh my God he was so interesting, He was like double smart since he’s like the only Martian ever not to be biology major but still be from Mars.”
“You would think that.” Emily was unscathed by the aggression of my comment.
“And he was kind of cute.” Sarah helping Emily’s argument? What?
“No it was just the muscle stimulants-“
“Wait, if he’s just here for school he might not have anything formal to wear.”
“I don’t think he even knows what formal-“
“We could find some formal clothes for him we just need to know his size.”
“Do you have his number?”
“I WILL KILL YOU BOTH!” was all the waitress heard as she placed our pizza on the table and attempted to avoid eye contact with me. It is going to take my entire conversational prowess to stop the rest of this lunch from becoming my doom.