Ella

My family is no longer bothered by what the news broadcasted last night. They were worried slightly, but now that everything is done and over with, their lives are back to normal. I wish I could say the same thing.

I haven't heard of an asteroid obliterating a planet before, but it hit over sixty miles away and it shook my house. That is what scares me. If another one hits even just fifty-nine miles away, what damage would it do then? I brought this up to my dad — an English teacher in the elementary school — and he told me not to worry about it. He said it was just a freak of nature happening and that the next time space debris would collide with Earth, I'd be long gone in my grave.

The thing about that is, he can't actually know that. He only assumes that that won't happen again. I get pretty paranoid on occasions about happenings that happen all over — this being the biggest one. Sure the whole thing with global warming, the Earth ending, and yada yada scared me, but those things weren't going on in my back yard. Sure, this didn't happen in my backyard either, but I could feel it. That's what really scares me.

I'm not as shook up as I were when it happened, but it's been on my mind ever since then. Ugh, first the Norovians and now I'm worried that my planet is going to get smashed — how ridiculous.

The sun is setting behind the trees, and I let out a sigh as I ease back onto my bed, my mind full of everything from today at school to the asteroid. Hunter tried convincing me to talk to Brad, but I kept shrugging him off. I'll talk to him on my own time, I don't need a friendly push. The thing that annoys me most about Brad, is I have no idea how to talk to him. "Hi, I sort of — maybe — matter-of-factly have a very serious crush on you. It's not love or anything, just high affection." Oh, he'd enjoy that one. And to top off the school day, Dean wouldn't leave me alone. I know he finds pleasure out of teasing and torturing me. He continued to ramble on about how he knew more on the test and about how he should ask Tiera out, as if I would be jealous. Are you kidding me? Good, go ask her out, marry her, then move far far far far far far far far far away.

The funny thing is, I got a 100% on my test. The whole time Dean was just screwing with me about getting everything wrong. The sad thing is, I worried about it all night thinking I did get it wrong. There is no other face I would love to punch as much as his. The thought alone makes me happy.

I just wish Dean and his entire species would choke on some oxygen and drop dead. That's horrible, yes, but they have no sense of emotion toward us, so why should I feel emotion toward them? I guess hate could be classified as an emotion, so that thought is just thrown out of the window.

"El!" I hear my brother Peter call from downstairs. "There's someone here to see you!" I let out a sigh, not wanting to visit with anyone at this very moment. Who would it be anyway? If it were Hunter, Peter would have said that and I don't really hang out with anyone else...maybe Brad?

But why would Brad even be here? There goes my excitement, especially since the only other person that I could think about that would be visiting me is Dean. But why would he visit me, either? He tortures me enough in school, surely he doesn't need more time to poke fun at me.

Slowly departing from my room, I walk down the stairs only to be met with yellow eyes. Besides Dean, I hate Tiara the most. Her ignorant comments, her outspoken attitude, and everything else about her. She's the exact duplicate of a mean girl at school.

"Ella," she smiles. "Do you want to go for a walk?"

"Uh, no?" I half laugh, wondering if she's trying to be funny. However, as I watch her smile fade, I realize she isn't trying to be funny. She's genuinely serious.

Right when the words exit my mouth, I am met with my father coming up behind me and clearing his throat the way he normally does when he thinks I'm being rude. "You might want a drink of water," I smile as I turn to him. However, his face shows no sign of amusement, and I roll my eyes. "Fine, I'll go for a walk."

"Thank you," Tiara nods before walking out the door, hoping I'll follow.

"Why do you want to go for a walk?" I ask as I shut the door. "We barely even talk." Her shoulders slump, and I wonder what's bothering her. It's not that I care, but normally Noroviansa don't show any emotion, and her face is definitely showing emotion. She looks almost...worried.

"Are you worried — you know — about the asteroid?" She questions after walking a few steps in silence.

She is worried.

"Um, a bit, why?" I never expected she would bring this up, but it's not surprising. Her kind has probably seen a lot in their life from traveling to Earth. I can only imagine they've seen many asteroids on their passage from North. Asteroids and meteors and many other large space debris.

"I'm just curious. It's frightening how something so far away could rattle houses. It was like an earthquake," she whispers, as she looks off into the distance, her yellow eyes much duller than usual.

"Yeah, scary." My mouth is dry as I really think about our conversation. I can't help but have the feeling that it will happen again, and my body goes rigid. "Do — do you think it will happen again?" I ask, trying not to show how much this topic scares me.

"I'm not sure," she sighs. "Everything is unknown up there," she replies as she looks towards the sky. There is almost something in her eyes that looks like longing, and I can't help but wonder if she misses being up there among the stars. If I experienced the universe in person, I would miss it too.

"Hey," I swallow down my feelings. "I just forgot that I haven't done my homework yet, so I had better get back home."

"Oh, oh, of course. I'll see you tomorrow, Ella." She smiles, before walking off in the opposite direction. As I watch her go, I can't help the churning feeling inside my stomach. If a Norovian is worried about something, that means that we all should probably be worried as well.

Beginning the walk back home, I can't help but wonder who else is feeling the same as Tiara. I wonder if all of the Norovians are worried. What have they seen up there? What have they witnessed? I can't help but know that if they're worried about all of this, we should be too. 

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edited
8/11/17