Head In The Stars

It was the creaking of old bedsprings and the padding of bare feet on the ground that drummed me out of my sleep.

I cracked open an eye.

There was only a slight glow coming from the singular window of the dorm room, yet its occupants were already gone. All except for Aron who was getting dressed.

"What are you doing?" I mumbled as I shuffled forward to see him better. I wasn't fully awake yet.

"You're awake! Sorry, did I wake you up?" Aron asked apologetically. He was tall enough to look into the top bunk without much effort.

An image of the boy from my dream overlayed on top of the Aron of today. Different, so totally different. Other than the similarities in bone structure and the like, they could have been two totally different people.

Except for his eyes. His eyes still looked lonesome.

I shook my head. "What's all this…? Where's everyone?"

"Oh, just morning exercise." Aron stepped back and stripped off his baggy shirt then pulled on a tank top. He was fast about it but I still got a good look.

As I'd suspected, he was lean and well-muscled with no extra anything.

"You can go back to sleep," he said, oblivious of what I was thinking.

Hell, what even was I thinking?

"...Okay."

I covered my head under my blanket and went back to sleep.

--

"Do you always exercise so early in the morning?" I asked.

It was morning, proper morning, and me and Millie were having breakfast with Aron in the canteen. There weren't as many people as there had been last night though the two extra tables were still there.

"Mm, most days," said Aron.

"...Wow."

"It's pretty normal around here," Aron added.

"You all have too much energy," I said. Aron laughed.

"You just have too little," quipped Millie as she munched on her toast.

"You're welcome to join us, if you want Millie," said Aron.

"I'll go if Lachlan goes," she said.

Aron looked at me. "Will you come?" It had obviously started as a joke on Millie but now Aron looked genuinely excited.

"I'll… give it a go," I said.

"Alright!" Aron looked about as excited as Millie got when opening a new library book.

"How early is the exercise?" asked Millie, finally getting to the crux of the issue.

Aron told her.

I felt the regret roll off of her.

"Never gamble unless you're okay with losing," I said.

Millie glared at me and kicked me under the table. By this point I'd gotten good at anticipating these kinds of attacks so dodged most of the impact.

The table rattled as Millie's foot made contact with its leg.

"Ow…"

"You okay?" I asked.

Millie ignored me and focused on her breakfast.

"So," said Aron. "What's the plan for today?"

"Today…" I looked at Millie. "What do you want to do?"

"Reading!"

"And you?" asked Aron with a nod in my direction.

"Me..." I went through different things I could do. "I think I'll go to a music store to buy guitar strings."

"You still play?" Aron asked excitedly. I take back what I said earlier about him getting as excited as Millie and her science books. This time he's just that exuberant.

"Uhh..."

"Have you heard him play before?" asked Millie.

"Of course I have! I'm a big fan. I still have the sign with his name on it from your last show," Aron said enthusiastically.

I flushed. "They didn't make signs for that..." Did they?

"I know," said Aron. "I had to make it myself."

My stomach churned.

Millie put her hands down on the table. "I don't get it, what are you talking about?"

Aron pointed at me. "Lachlan's a music superstar."

"I am not!"

"His band entered into a big competition with his song back when he was in university, and they ended up going all the way to the finals. A different group won in the end, but I think Lachlan's band was way better," Aron went on, ignoring me. How, how did he know all this?

Millie's eyes went wide. "Ooohhh..."

"Aron, please..." I begged.

Millie tugged at my sleeve.

"But then, how come you're like this? Why are you a security guard?" she asked.

I felt my stomach drop and my vision start to shift. "I..." I looked away but my eyes refused to focus, and the light was too bright. It burned.

"I..."

--

I was initially not too keen to leave Millie all on her own, even if she promised not to go anywhere and to stay glued to her books, but Yuetling said she had reports to write and would love the company. If it was someone else, I might have assumed they were just trying to be nice, but Yuetling seemed to really have taken to Millie and Millie to her. I wondered if Yuetling had younger siblings.

When I asked, she laughed.

"I have five," she said.

Which was how I found myself wandering unfamiliar streets on my own, not quite certain if I was reading the map wrong or if the GPS on my phone was broken or both. Things were not going well in the music store finding department.

The online search had been clear, my map had been clear, but it seemed my special ability to get lost had reared its ugly head yet again.

All I could do was sigh and press on.

And it was a nice place to press on in.

The streets were busy, but not too busy, just enough to feel vibrant. I guessed this road used to be more of a back alley but the opening of a number of cafes, galleries, art supply stores, and, hopefully, a music shop had turned the area in a bit of an arty destination.

I craned my neck to look for a street number, any street number, but couldn't find a single one. I shook my head and put my phone away in my bag. Best to forget the guitar strings and just enjoy the walk. What did I need guitar strings for anyway? It wasn't like I was planning on playing any time soon…

I looked around to see if there were any friendly looking people. Perhaps I could ask someone for directions.

There were plenty of people but the friendly ones looked to be visitors themselves while the ones that looked local had a fierce vibe around them.

Then I saw someone familiar, two someones actually. Aron and his colleague Gaming were standing by the end of the road helping a tourist with a map.

I quickly turned and walked away from them. I could find the shop myself.

My eyes wandered over the graffitied walls and fell upon a number of gacha machines lined up against it. In school I'd spent a lot of money on these machines trying to get a particular charm for my phone. I never got it but it did leave me with a nostalgia for them.

I walked over to them and bent to see what they were all about. The first two were of characters from old cartoon shows that were after my time, the third was all about fat cats in various poses, but it was the fourth that caught my eye.

It was a series about space exploration and featured an astronaut, a rocket, and a good assortment of wacky aliens. I wasn't sure if it was based on a particular show, but they looked good.

Would Millie like one?

I checked the price. My eyes nearly fell out of their eye sockets.

A single pull of a gacha cost how much now?

I mulled over the cost then decided to go ahead anyway.

I slotted in the money, turned the handle and picked up the see-through plastic ball that popped out. I held it up and turned it about to see which I'd gotten.

It was the rocket. I smiled and put it in my bag.

I thought it was funny, and kind of adorable how obsessed Millie was with all things space and aliens but there was also a part of me that really respected it. I had no idea how she'd amassed the knowledge she had, but she had a genuine understanding of things far beyond anything I could wrap my head around.

I took my bag from my shoulder again and pulled out my phone.

I scrolled through my recent calls then tapped on the one I was looking for.

The tone rung twice before the other side picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Paili Kai, this is Lachlan. I wonder, do you have a minute?"

I seemed to have caught him off guard. "I do, go ahead," he said. I thought I heard the distant sounds of beeping machines.

"I won't take up too much of your time, but I was wondering, do you know anyone into space and aliens that would be willing to have a chat with Millie? I was just thinking that it seems like a waste for her to just be reading library books…"

"She is talented," Kai said. He paused.

"If it's too much trouble…"

"It's not trouble at all," he said interrupting me. "I have someone in mind, but I'll need to ask him when he's free."

"Really?"

"Really."

I beamed. "Thank you so much."

Kai chuckled. "You make it sound like it's for yourself."

I laughed too. "I think her enthusiasm's infectious."

"I agree. I'll contact you when I know the details then," said Kai.

"Alright, and thank you again."

"Don't get all formal with me."

I felt a pang of pity that I wasn't able to work at the weather station. It was nice getting to chat with Kai.

We said our goodbyes and I hung up. But as I went to put my phone away again, my eye caught sight of a familiar object across the road in the window of a shop.

A guitar.