Borrowing Amor Boxed Set

Chapter 6

6

The latecomer. It was Charles. From the hotel.

Bev glanced at Katie. All these people who were staring, waiting for her to introduce herself, had paid their way to be there. Including him. She didn’t want to be seen as the freeloader who was only there because she won a drawing. If things had gone differently, it would have been someone else there in her place. Galactic Enterprises only cared that they received good publicity; they didn’t care who got it for them.

Katie nudged her. “They’re waiting for you to introduce us,” she whispered.

Bev started to stand up, then decided against it and sat back down. “I’m Bev and this is my friend Katie,” she said. “We’re actually locals, from Amor, and we’re excited to see something that is changing history set up in our own backyard, so to speak.” She left it at that, hoping that Doctor Randall wouldn’t ask any more questions.

“Do you want to tell us—” Doctor Randall started.

“Nope,” Bev said, not letting him finish. “It’s…” She glanced behind her at Charles. He gave her a tentative smile. Bev pointed to the knitting woman who sat next to him. “It’s her turn.”

“Okay, then,” Doctor Randall said. “I like your take-charge kind of attitude.”

“What was that about?” Katie whispered. “You were acting totally weird.”

“Shush. No I wasn’t,” Bev said, hoping the heat in her cheeks wasn’t noticeable. Except, she knew she was being weird. She had held high positions in huge companies, for crying out loud, and here she was stumbling over herself. Maybe it was because she didn’t want the fancy folk to judge her for winning her way onto the spaceship.

“That new guy looks familiar,” Katie said, her eyes squinted. “Wait, isn’t that the guy you were flirting with at—”

“We’re supposed to be listening to introductions,” Bev interrupted.

“Oh my gosh, it is,” Katie said in an excited whisper. “This is too perfect.”

“No, it’s not.” Bev wasn’t sure why she’d said that. She had been all too happy to give the guy her phone number in a rare moment of boldness, but then once she’d walked away, she couldn’t believe she’d actually done that, and was grateful that there was nearly a zero percent chance that he’d actually use the number.

“We’re not done talking about this,” Katie said as the knitting woman began to introduce herself.

“My name is Cecilia Perkins,” she said. “And I’m here because I’ve lived long enough on this earth that I figured it was time I experienced what it was like above it.” She paused and held up whatever she had been knitting. At the moment, it looked like a dead raccoon. “I’m taking this with me so I can tell my grandson that his scarf made it all the way up to space.”

“Really?” Katie whispered. “That’s a scarf? My money was on those hats that have the poofy ball thing on top.”

Bev laughed, and then noticed Charles watching her. When their eyes met, he turned his head, but Bev couldn’t help but notice him glance back to see if she was still watching him. She turned forward, but she couldn’t get his dark eyes out of her mind. They were mysterious, and they seemed like they were searching for something.

“That leaves us with Mr. Kent,” Doctor Randall said. He gestured to Austin and his dad, who sat on the other side of Cecilia.

Mitchell stood up and twisted his shirt, seeming nervous. “I’m Mitchell, and this is my son Austin.” He sucked in a deep breath. “We live in a small coastal town in California. Three years ago, after my wife passed away, I promised my son a birthday present that I am just now able to give to him. I promised him we’d go on one of these flights so we could go to the stars and be closer to his mother. Even if it’s just for a couple hours, being here means the world to us.” He looked like he wasn’t sure if he should say more, and then he sat back down and put his arm around the back of Austin’s chair.

Bev’s heart broke a little, and she felt embarrassed at the way she had judged them when Austin had said this trip was his birthday present. She had assumed Mitchell was the type to give lavish gifts to his son in lieu of his time. She had certainly seen plenty of that from rich men over the years.

“Thank you, everyone,” Doctor Randall said. “Introductions can be a little awkward, but I felt it necessary, considering that you will be training together for the next couple of days. You may have thought you were coming along for a joy ride when you signed up for this, but let me assure you, we are going to push you beyond what you thought you were capable of. Leaving the boundaries of Earth affects everyone differently, but we want you to be prepared so you can have the most amazing experience of your life. A life-changing one.”

Mitchell raised a tentative hand. “What do you mean that it affects each person differently?” He sounded nervous, like he wasn’t sure what he had signed up for, and Bev couldn’t blame him. She felt the same way.

Doctor Randall hesitated. “We will be putting your body through far greater g-force than you have experienced on any roller coaster, which will then be followed by zero gravity. The body wasn’t designed to go through such extremes, but that is why you are here a couple days early. You will attend our own version of astronaut training to help give you the tools that you will need to combat some of the possible side effects.” He looked over Bev’s head and pointed to the row behind her. “Yes, Mr. Michael.”

Bev turned and saw Charles lowering his hand. “By possible side effects, do you mean…motion sickness?”

“That is one possibility,” Doctor Randall said. “In normal circumstances, gravity keeps your blood in your lower extremities, but without it, your blood flows more evenly through your body. This means it can fill your ear canals, which throws your balance off.”

“And that causes nausea,” Charles finished.

Doctor Randall nodded.

“Are we allowed to take anti-nausea medicine before the flight?” Charles asked.

“Our medical team has a medicinal patch they can give you that will help combat what we call ‘space sickness,’” Doctor Randall said.

Charles thanked Doctor Randall, but now seemed just as nervous as Mitchell.

Doctor Randall must have sensed that the group was starting to lose the enthusiasm they had all been feeling a few moments ago, because he threw on a giant grin and said, “I know the unknown can be a little scary, but my job is to help you all feel confident, excited, and a sense of self-fulfillment by the time you touch down in three days.” He flipped to the first slide in his presentation. “Do any of you know why Galactic Enterprises exists today?”

Austin waved his hand in the air, some of his earlier enthusiasm returning. “You wanted to bring the ability to travel to space to the everyday citizen.”

“That is true,” Doctor Randall said. “Why would we want that?”

Silence followed. The idea of everyone going to space was exciting, but what was the point, other than being cool?

“You haven’t ever seen the earth from space, but there are some who have. You know what they say?” Doctor Randall asked. “They say that when they see the earth from that vantage point, they are filled with gratitude for everything they have. And they say that when they see the earth so small and vulnerable, they realize how important it is that we take care of not only our Earth, but also each other. When you are in space, you don’t see the family arguments or the civil wars. You see peace. From up there, world peace doesn’t seem just desirable, it seems possible.” He paused for dramatic effect. “Now, imagine if everyone could have that experience. How would that change the world? That is why we exist.”

“To bring world peace?” Katie asked, her voice quiet.

“Yes,” Doctor Randall said. “And we are going to start with the seven of you. It is essential that you get along as a team—that you trust each other. You might not have the same responsibilities as the astronauts who train for two years for something like this, but when you are up there on your flight, you will have one medical officer and two pilots. Other than that, you must rely on each other to have a safe and enjoyable journey. It’s your job to look out for each other.”

Bev glanced around and saw that everyone’s gazes were fixed on Doctor Randall. Their enthusiasm had returned, and all thoughts of possible side effects had escaped their minds for the time being.

“Today we will have one training exercise, but we will mostly be getting to know our flight companions,” Doctor Randall said. “Tomorrow is when the real work begins.”

The door at the back of the classroom opened and everyone turned their heads. Julie stuck her head in and scanned the group until her gaze landed on Bev and Katie. “Will you two come with me? It won’t be for more than a minute.”

There was nothing worse than being called out of class by the principal, and Bev felt everyone’s eyes on her as she gathered her purse and walked up the aisle. She caught Charles’ gaze as she walked past him, and she tried to ignore what those dark eyes did to her.

She and Katie stepped into the hallway, where Julie was waiting with two men. One wore a nice suit, and the other held a large video camera.

“Bev, this is Phil Malone, the news anchor, and his cameraman, Darrell,” Julie said. They both looked at Bev like she was supposed to know who they were.

Bev didn’t own a TV, so she just nodded like she recognized them.

“As you’ll recall, as part of winning the drawing for the inaugural flight with Galactic Enterprises, you agreed to periodic interviews throughout the three days.”

Bev exchanged looks with Katie. Apparently neither of them had read the fine print while they were both signing their large stacks of legal documents. “Oh, of course,” Bev said, not sure there was anything else to say.

Julie continued. “Mr. Malone is not allowed to interfere with your training and will not be interviewing the other participants, though he will be filming from a distance. During times when you are not in training, please be accommodating and give him a few minutes of your time.”

“We’d be happy to,” Bev said.

“Do you mind if we sneak in a quick interview right now before you head to your next activity?” Phil asked.

Bev wasn’t comfortable with cameras or the spotlight, but because she had apparently already agreed to be interviewed, they should probably get it over with before the rest of the group left the classroom. She didn’t want any of them to see.

“What would you like to know?”

Phil clipped small microphones onto Bev and Katie’s shirts, motioned for Darrell to begin rolling, then turned to them. “You two are a couple of the luckiest people in the world right now,” Phil said. “Bev, you won two seats on the inaugural space flight from Galactic Enterprises. How does it feel to be the modern equivalent of the kid from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?”

Bev forced a smile and hoped that she and Katie wouldn’t look too hopeless. Neither of them did well with publicity, but Katie had gotten better since she married Mayor Freedman. It really should be her carrying the conversation.

“It’s a dream come true,” Bev said. “I actually wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my best friend, Katie. She filled out the entry form for me. I guess I got lucky.” Just as she had hoped, the camera and Phil’s attention swung to Katie.

“Katie, how did you and Bev meet, and what prompted you to enter her name in the drawing?”

Katie hesitated, and Bev prayed that she wouldn’t share how they’d met. Announcing publicly over national television that Bev had been homeless and Katie a criminal on the run when they first met wasn’t the type of attention either of them needed.

“I was in town visiting and happened to meet Bev at a local park,” Katie said, giving Bev’s shoulder a quick squeeze. “We hit it off, and when I decided to stay, we ended up opening a non-profit organization together.”

Bev released a sigh of relief and smiled. “We’ve been best friends ever since.”

“As to why I entered her name in the drawing,” Katie added, “that’s just who we are. We look out for each other.”

By the look on Phil’s face, he was eating this up. “That is truly inspiring. What is the name of the organization you two started together?” he asked.

Bev’s heart thudded. Phil was a journalist, which meant that it would be easy enough to look them up and discover their full story in the local Amor paper. Giving him the name of their organization would make it that much easier for him. At that moment, the classroom door opened and Charles stepped through. When he saw Bev and Katie with the reporter, his eyebrows rose, and Bev knew it was time to cut the interview short. She didn’t want the others wondering why they were the only ones doing interviews with Phil.

“Looks like our time is up,” Bev said, stepping away.

Phil looked disappointed, but with a quick glance toward Julie, who stood a little ways down the hall, he unclipped their microphones and didn’t follow Bev and Katie when they joined the rest of the group as they walked toward whatever adventure awaited them next.

Bev just hoped that none of this aired until they were back in Amor.