Oasis

Nova

"She"s so lucky," I breathed.

Crown Princess Cordelia is so pretty, and rich, and so loved by everyone. What a life, huh? Getting everything you want, being waited on hand and foot. Oh Poseidon, what would I kill to be like her, to look like her, to be her.

To be looked at like Xander looks at her.

It"s true we"ve been friends forever, it feels like. And I wouldn"t trade my friendship with him for anything. But I"ve always wanted more y"know?

But I know that"ll never happen. He"s always too busy; when he"s not working at his 80 something jobs he"d, be helping his mom out. If not that then he"s working out getting ready for the underground brawl fights. And then on the bottom of the totem pole would be me.

But it"s worth it. Having someone to be there for you; having a friend. Someone who understands you so you don"t feel alone anymore. He saved me that way. And I always hope that someday I might save him in the same way.

"What were you saying again?" Xander asked.

My mind returned to the present. "I was asking why you want to stop being Robin Hood? I mean it"s the easiest and fastest way for either of us to get money."

"You could get a job," was his snarky remark.

"Wow, I see how it is." I said sarcastically. He"s always pushing me to get a job, but I"ve never been lucky when applying. I"m still young and I don"t have much of an education, like Xander. I"m not as hard working either; or reliable, trustworthy, honest...I"m just not Xander, plain and simple.

"Seriously Nova, you need to grow up you"re almost as old as me."

I smirked, "I"ll never be as old as you."

"Nova," he pleaded.

"What is it old man, do you need help chewing your food? Did you loose your hover car keys?" I joked.

"You piss me off sometimes, you know that?"

I stopped snorting. His tone was serious. "I mean, you"re fine with your job right? You didn"t lose it yet so you"ll be fine. Right?" There was a lump in my throat.

"I know I know, but...I don"t want pick pocketing to be my only source of income OK? I told you that I might lose Miguel"s and other jobs and I don"t think I can do this anymore." He gestured to the both of us.

"But you won"t get caught. We promised we"d never stoop low enough to find a job in Neptune or Triton. What made you change your mind now? I promised-" I pleaded.

He held up his hand to stop me. "Aren"t we both a bit old for all of that? We can go back to being street performers," he suggested.

"Like when we were kids and barely filled up that f*****g tomato can? No way!" I stood up furiously.

"Neither do I. But..." Xander hesitated.

The robotic announcer voice came on to announce our stop.

We both got off and walked the dirty streets of the District.

"You"re so stubborn, you know that?"

"And you"ve got a stick up your ass!" I countered.

"You can"t keep living like this. We can"t keep living like this."

"I don"t know if you"ve noticed but we live in the slums. Look around," I waved my arms around and pointed at the run down huts and buildings, the dirt in the streets, "we live in a f*****g s**t hole. We might as well stick to just stealing and robbing just to survive!" I kicked a bottle across the street.

"Nova, calm down." He reached out to comfort me, but changed his mind.

I took a deep breath. "I"m sorry. But if these blackouts are as bad as you said they are, then I"d have to get a job here in the District at least. But I can"t leave my brother alone out here. He wants to join the Underground brawls like you y"know."

The Underground brawls were basically just that. The Underground is an illegal operation run by the District, created to protect our own since the emperors in the past to now never did. They"re held in the basement of the Underground headquarters. Down there you fight another person in a ring. Last one standing wins, they get a set amount of univs and it was seen as a crime if you weren"t gambling. Mostly lowlifes and degenerates hang out down there. The loser is lucky enough to survive, some competitors go all the way, even chomping or biting off a finger as a trophy.

It"s not rare to see children, but it"s not uncommon. Sometimes they"re down there like the rest of us, to win the prize money and feed their families or to get medicine. Hopefully, Pallas won"t have to live like that. Or like me.

"How old is Pallas now? 10, 11?" Xander scratched his head.

"11. But he"s small and weak and won"t last a second in a ring with anyone."

"I see. Whatever happened to that couple that adopted you?"

I squeezed my hand into fists to keep from remembering. "Ran away. They were too stuffy for me. Trying to make me all sophisticated and shit."

"They seemed great. Even the dad was pretty cool, you said so yourself."

"Yeah, well, I lied," I said curtly.

"Where are you guys staying now?"

I put my hands in my pocket and felt around for the fire gem. It was in my right pocket; warm and smooth. "Don"t worry about it. We"ve found a nice little ditch for the night. Nice and dusty," I sneered.

"Nova, one of these days you"re going to have to swallow your pride and come stay with us. And grow up too."

"How about no?" I started walking away from Xander.

"If not for you then at least do it for Pallas!" Xander yelled.

I ran before he could say anything else.

"Why didn"t you save me anything, Nova? I want a shiny rock too!"

"Too bad I wanted to feed you and made sure you had clothes on your back. That"s more important anyway." I pulled his nightshirt over his head.

Pallas always had thinner and more manageable hair than me, bigger eyes, lighter skin. He was such a beautiful kid. Almost to a point people didn"t believe we were brother and sister. Some days even I doubt it. All around me are such beautiful people. Cordelia, Pallas, Xander, Lady Gemini. So beautiful.

This time we were camping outside of Xander"s small house. We"ve been here for weeks without him knowing. We would tamper with the pipes to shower and sometimes steal food from his kitchen. But, most times, his mom would find me or Pallas and give us food or some of Xander"s old clothes.

"Can you at least read me a story again."

"Aren"t you getting too old for stories?"

"Yeah, but it"s funnier when you tell them," He smiled.

Oh Poseidon, I hope he never has to brawl like Xander just to make ends meet.

"Before I read to you, how have your grades been?"

"Really good! Can you read to me now?"

"Is that so?" I teased.

"Nova, c"mon!" He laughed as I tickled him.

I grabbed the book from my bag. It was a thick book of fairy tales. The pages were made of paper so you know it was ancient. I dog eared my favorite stories and Pallas did the same for his making some of the pages frayed or worn. Some have been torn out from when we would fight with each other. But we always put them back in where they belonged and always stuck out at weird angles. We really did love that book.

"What will it be tonight? A pirate adventure? Or maybe a princess with long flowing hair?"

"How about Jack and the Beanstalk?" Pallas began to flip the pages.

"Again?"

"It"s my favorite!"

"Alright. Once upon a time there was a boy," I started.

"Wait!" Pallas put a finger to my lips.

"What"s up?"

He settles his head on my lap. "Why do all the characters look white?"

I looked back into the book. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, none of the characters look like us. They are all white and none have skin like mine, Jupitarians, or Zelphaxians, or as black as yours."

"Well, long ago, these stories were just for those types of people. So people like us and those silly Zelphaxians aren"t in those stories yet."

"Can we make them look like us?"

"I guess. So instead of Jack you want Pallas and the Beanstalk?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright. Once upon a time, there was a boy named Pallas..."

Once he fell asleep I began to look at the pictures with the princesses. Fair skinned; I rubbed my dirty skin. Long silky hair; I touched my puffy, red afro. I"ve always hated this red hair. Delicate features and small lips. I touched my big lips and thick thighs, my chubby stomach and floppy arms.

I"ll never be a princess.