Voyager

"Hi, Lizzie!"

I look up from the mountain of wrapped food in my hands as I walk down the hallway and say, "Oh, hi, Erica! Hi, Ricky!" to my neighbors. Erica and her boyfriend, Ricky, who both live directly next to Willow and me, are staring, amused, and I just keep walking. When I reach the door of my room, I kick it open and enter to it full of people.

"Hey, I'm back," I say, setting down the food.

"Oh, thank God, I'm bloody starving," Kavya says, standing up and practically running towards it. She grabs a Twinkie, unwraps it, and stuffs the whole thing in her mouth. Flora and Willow soon follow her and sort through the packages.

"Are Lily and Oleksandra coming?" I ask, plopping down on my bed and stare at the clear rectangle sitting in front of me. On the screen are movie choices that we can watch tonight.

"They said they would!" Willow said, biting into a candy bar. Lily and Oleksandra are roommates and we met them at the Mars viewing party a couple weeks ago. They were trying to sneak food into the Main Hall and Willow and I helped them. Willow then proceeded to propose we have a sleepover and invite them over. But I don't mind–I like getting to know more people.

"What are we watching tonight?" I browse through the movie selections. There are a lot from the early 2000s–that I know are Flora's doing because she loves old films–and even some Bollywood (obviously Kavya).

"I'm feeling a romantic comedy," Flora says, dreamily.

"Ooh, I'm down for some romance!" says a voice. I looked up to see Lily and Oleksandra walk into our room. "Hey guys," Lily says, smiling.

"Hello," Oleksandra says, with a thick Russian accent.

"Welcome to our humble abode," I say, smiling and hopping down from the bed. "I brought food up from the kitchen so help yourselves!"

Lily and Oleksandra grab some snacks and sit down on my bed. Flora starts to scroll through the movie options. It takes a half an hour but we finally decide on an old romantic comedy called The Proposal. Flora squeals in excitement–it's her favorite.

"Okay, next time, we're watching Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham," Kavya says, glaring at everyone so that we remember.

The movie starts and my friends settle into their positions, munching away and watching the screen intently. As I bite into a pizza roll, my head starts to pound and I resist the urge to groan out loud. This is not the best time for a headache. However, I ignore it. I don't want Lily and Oleksandra to think I bail on people easily if I just up and leave. And I also don't want anyone to be suspicious about it. I can hold it out until they leave.

Twenty minutes into the movie, we've all started talking again. It started with Lily making a comment about how attractive Ryan Reynolds was and it somehow led to a discussion about the movie night social that's being held soon down in the Main Hall.

"Would anyone ever get, you know, frisky down there?" I ask.

"Lizzie," my sister looks at me, unamused.

"What? It's like one giant sleepover with men and women and others...it's practically in human DNA unless you're asexual or something, then I wouldn't really know," I reply. Kavya giggles at my words.

"I'd do it," Lily shrugs. "There's a really cute girl in our hallway that I wouldn't mind gettin' busy with."

We laugh and Willow says, "I think I would too. There are some attractive people on this ship."

"And they're all in this room," Oleksandra says.

"A-freakin'-men to that," Flora exclaims.

The rest of the night, we spend talking while the movie plays in the background–something that always tends to happen whenever I'm having a sleepover or some kind of fun activity. Everyone always ends up just talking. My head keeps pounding and I try to ignore it, but it feels like my brain is being squeezed through a small tube. I try not to make any faces or else Flora will notice and haul me to Olivier's room in an instant and that is something I definitely don't want.

Nonetheless, I learn a lot about my new friends. For example, Lily having a twin sister too–named Cara–but that she didn't want to come on the trip. She says that she used to want to have a relationship like Flora and me with Cara but they were just too different.

More interestingly, I learn more about Oleksandra and her life in Russia.

"It used to be very difficult to live in Russia, back in the 1900s and early 2000s. My mother would tell me stories about our ancestors and how they struggled under dictatorship and tyranny. But now, it is not so bad! We are more free than we ever were and I am proud to have been able to walk the streets without fear of persecution of any kind, whether it be that I am a woman or that my brother is gay," she says.

"So, why did you come here?" Flora asks with intrigue.

"Because I want the new world to be nothing like how Russia used to be," she replies, simply.

It amazes me how everyone on this ship has something interesting about them. I'm always curious to know everyone's story and why they're here, and it's always an answer I really enjoy. This whole month that we've been in flight, I've met so many people who all have something to give to Earth 2.0. Whether it be teaching skills, medical skills, or even just pure hearts meaning to make it better than the original Earth. Their story is definitely more interesting than mine, but Oleksandra's might be my favorite.

By the end of the night, Lily and Oleksandra leave not without saying that the next hang out will be in their room. Flora and Kavya leave too after helping us clean up and at this point, my head feels like it's going to split open. I can't hold it back anymore.

Willow looks at me funny and says, "Lizzie, you okay?"

I nod my head.

"Yeah, I think I just ate too much. I'm gonna go get some water," I say, practically out the door. I head down to Olivier's room and pound on the door. He opens it a second later with his eyebrows raised.

"Lizzie, is everything okay?" he asks, concern laced in his expression.

"Hi, I would've called but I was a little preoccupied. My head is killing me and I was hoping you have a whole bottle of painkillers I can take," I say, quickly.

Olivier sighs and lets me inside. He rummages through a little cabinet by his bed and produces a white bottle. He dumps two pink pills into his hand and grabs a bottle of water before handing it all to me. I take them, gratefully, and wish the pain would go away instantly.

"Thank you for telling me," Olivier says.

"I'm just following doctor's orders," I smile, shrugging. "Thanks, Oli."

"Not a problem," he says as I walk out the door.

I head back to my room, feeling more calm, even though the medication hasn't kicked in yet. Willow is already in bed by the time I come back. She's reading a book and looks up at me when I close the door.

"Feeling okay?" she asks.

I nod.

"Much better."

I crawl into bed, suddenly feeling very tired, and glance out my window. There's darkness and little specks of light out there and I pull my purple comforter over my body. I can feel my headache go away and I slowly fall into a deep slumber while the universe slowly glides away by my window.