“I still don’t see why we have to all go. It was only Josiah who…” Mom didn’t even let me finish this time.
“That’s enough, Suzanna. We have all heard enough about it from you. The law is we all have to go, and you know it.” Mom was turned around in her seat on the shuttle, glaring at me.
“Listen to your mom, Suzu,” Her dad admonished gently from the pilot’s seat. Then he added, “This will be an adventure if you just let it.”
I glared at my brother, then turned to the scenery outside. I watched the last of my world go by—the last of my home, the earth. By tomorrow's time, we would be in a NASA ship heading to colonize Mars, among several other “Unwanteds”- relatives of a known criminal and the criminal.
I was still fuming about having to move when we arrived at the loading terminal. We were taken aboard the ship immediately, and since we were the last ones to come, they sealed the doors completely. There would be no escape. Lift-off was at 0200 hours, and soon, we would be on our way.
Lift-off came and went entirely uneventful, and once we were in space, the pilot allowed us to leave our rooms.
That’s when I saw the one thing that could worsen matters. My nemesis, Paula Stroeder. The one person I hated more than Josiah. The meanest girl in my school. And right now, the meanest girl in my school looked more like the saddest girl on board this ship.
I did well the first couple of days to avoid Paula. The ship was just big enough that I was able to. Then, one day, I entered the commissary a little later than normal for dinner. Paula was sitting at a table with twenty other transportees. Before I could turn around and head back out, she saw me.
Paula jumped up and marched over to me. “What the hell are you doing here, Suzie-que?” She demanded.
“What do you think, Paula,” I shot back at her.
“So, who broke the rules?” She asked in a nicer voice, catching me off guard.
“My older brother, Josiah, got caught after curfew with a group of guys breaking lights. He was the only one they caught.” I replied in a softer voice. As an afterthought, I asked Paula, “What happened with your family?”
“My mother refused to get sterilized and got pregnant again. This time, she had twins. The judge told her that for breaking the rules, we had to leave on the next transport.” Paula sounded as if she would cry at any moment. I was feeling sorry for her.
“Well, if you’d like, since we are the only girls our age aboard, we could maybe hang out sometime.” Paula seemed unsure of herself for the first time since I had met her in kindergarten. I had no choice but to agree with her.
“Sure, that would be great,” I responded.
Paula was called back to her table, and I went and grabbed a tray of food. Looking towards Paula, I gave her a small wave and smile, and she shyly waved back at me. Sitting down at the table assigned to my family, I thought maybe this trip wouldn’t be all that bad anyway.
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By SUEDE the poeta day ago in Fiction
Comments (2)
This concept was brilliant! Break the rules and be shipped off to Mars! Will you continue this story?
Awe .🤎🩷 it’s not so bad after all! Eldritch though! Great work!