We continued walking, comfortably silent. I had gotten tired of all the smiling and vapid conversations. So it was nice to walk alongside Martinus in silence, without the constant smile on my face. He seemed comfortable too, nodding at the people he knew, saying their names. I didn't bother trying to remember any of them. My mental archive of faces and names was overloaded for today.
The stars filled the sky, drawing unfamiliar shapes in the sky. I'd never gone out at night to look at the stars in Marn; this was a new experience for me. The moon, double the size of the moon on Earth, was glaring at us, its round shape similar to the magical lamps that floated along the paths in the park.
"This was nice," I said, breaking the silence, "but I'm tired. I'll be so glad once the exams are ove
