Present Day

Skye, a light-skin young woman with crimson hair and matching lipstick, waited outside next to her father. The morning light blinded her, and she wished she had brought her sunglasses. She wore skin-tight black leather pants and a silver blouse. Her father gave his usual Mars colonization speech to the cameras and paparazzi. It had been a while since she had left her house for this long. She inhaled the fresh air, smelling the recently cut grass.

A university sized school loomed in the background. An enormous gold-plated sign hung over the entrance.

Mars Preparatory School #17

Bettencourt Enterprises

You could count on her dad to take advantage of free publicity.

Skye's viewer vibrated. A message appeared.

Maria BFF: I'm so jealous!!!!!!!

She was not ready to go back to school. Did they expect her to take tests? Her father had over-emphasized the trip to Mars part and understated the go back to school portion. Mars and other sciencey things infatuated Maria, so she would not need to twist her arm to get her to join.

Skye's viewer vibrated again. Another message appeared.

Maria BFF: I'm watching you on news. You look amazing. SMILE!!! 😊

Skye smiled. Maria always looked out for her.

She typed into her viewer.

Skye: You must enroll with me. I need someone to do my homework.

How much longer could this possibly take? She examined her surroundings. This school was in one of a few remaining nice areas. Tall maple trees bordered the school, and they had scattered multicolored flower beds throughout the grounds. Her father ended his speech, then he moved to speak with a young woman standing behind him. She appeared to be about her age.

"It is always a pleasure to see my star student." Dr. Bettencourt took her hand. "You probably know we've been through some tough times. Skye's older brother, my son, died twelve months ago. She has not returned to school since."

"Yes, that must have been traumatic for both of you," the young woman said.

"Now I don't expect her to learn everything, but she will at least need the basics to survive on Mars. Who better to guide her but you?"

"Me?"

"You can show her the ropes. I would like her to shadow you this year."

"Shadow me?" She considered the idea for a few moments. Skye spotted a camera pinned to her shirt. She glanced down at one on her blouse to record the Being Skye show.

"If I didn't believe you could handle it, I wouldn't have chosen you." Her father did his best to reassure her.

She said, grinning, "Of course I will."

"Great." He released her hand and called his daughter. "Skye, I would like to introduce you to Hope Anderson." Skye moved closer to them. "Hope is the smartest student in all of our schools. She's so smart we let her skip a year."

Skye shook her hand. "Thank you for helping me. I will try not to be too much of a burden."

"You're welcome. Although, technically, Cole is smarter than me."

"Who?"

"Cole, my best friend," she jutted her thumb at a young man standing next to her. "He's smart enough to be the best student, but he's easily distracted." Hope moved back and gestured at him. "Since he is my best friend, he asked me to introduce you to him. Would that be ok?"

"Yes, it would." She heard this question often, and she switched into her work mode.

"Good."

Hope turned to Cole and pointed at him. "Do not embarrass me."

"Skye, please meet Cole."

Cole took her hand. His skin was dry. "Nice to meet you. Wow! You are way hotter in person. This is a dream come true."

Hope interrupted a few seconds of uncomfortable ogling when she snapped her fingers and waved her hand in front of his face.

"Wake up, Cole. Like I said, he's easily distracted."

Cole reacted the way most guys did. Her brother, Kody, was with her the last time she was at school. He used to step in and defend her if things got out of hand. Skye rubbed his cross pendant she carried, remembering him roll his eyes when that one crazy fan proposed to her.

A tear fell down her cheek.

She smeared it to the side. This would be more difficult than she expected. "I'm sorry. Can we go inside?" Skye asked. "I need to freshen up."

"Yes, we can." Hope inspected Skye's face, took her hand, and led her into the school, motioning for Cole to follow. He ran and caught up with them by the ladies' restroom.

"Skye, the bathroom's right there." Hope pointed. "You can collect yourself before the first class."

Skye walked into the restroom and made her way to the sink and mirror. She felt guilty doing anything without her brother. She took her makeup bag from her purse, but had no desire to fix anything.

The hinges squeaked when somebody entered the bathroom and paused next to her. They remained there for a few moments. Then she placed her hand on her shoulder and she realized it was Hope.

Skye glanced at her in the mirror. "I'm sorry. You seem like a nice person, but I don't think I belong here. My dad means well, and I only said yes for his sake."

Hope put her arm around her and caressed her shoulder. That was comforting. Hope said, "You must feel horrible. I mean, I don't have a brother, but if anything ever happened to Cole, it would devastate me." She stared off into space. "I'd be useless forever."

She continued staring for a few more moments. "My apologies. I wanted to make you feel better, but I'm only making it worse."

Skye took a deep breath to calm herself.

Hope glanced back at her and grinned. "My best friend's a guy, so I'm not very good at this stuff."

Skye chuckled. "You are bad at this, but no words will make it better. What is important is that you are here, being supportive. Although, next time, try talking about positive things we will do." Skye rinsed her face, and Hope gave her a towel to dry it.

"Like going to Mars."

"Yes. Like going to Mars."

Skye's viewer vibrated.

"Can you get that for me?"

Hope pressed the viewer and a life-sized hologram of a young woman wearing fitted black exercise pants and a neon purple tank top appeared. She had long, dark brown hair, a cute smile, light bronze skin, and beads of sweat covered her face. Hope gazed into her dark brown eyes and shouted, "Oh my god, you're Maria Gonzalez!"

Maria shouted, "Oh my god, you're Hope Anderson!" Maria pointed and then waved at Hope. "Why do you have Skye's viewer?"

"I don't. She's..." Hope motioned towards Skye.

"Right. That's why I'm calling." Maria's hologram spun toward Skye. "I'm so sorry that I'm not with you today. My tour ends in two months and then I'll be there. Stay strong and you'll make it through."

She repositioned toward Hope and said, "Hope, please watch out for my best friend."

Bell rang.

Hope said, "That's the first bell! We have to go. We only have five minutes and I've never been late." Hope shut off the viewer. "Come on, Skye!" She took Skye's hand and guided her into the hall.

"Lead the way."

"There you are," Cole shouted. "We're not gonna make it. We need to run."

"If we run, we'll get points taken off," Hope said, warning him.

"If they say anything, I'll make sure my dad removes them," Skye said, insisting.

Cole and Hope ran down the hallway. Skye paused and stared at the immense size of this school. This hallway alone spanned three stories. To her right was a red brick wall that almost matched the color of her hair from a distance. Although each brick was a different shade when viewed closely. On her left were clear glass windows that exposed the library behind them. Many people in the library saw her, rushed to the windows, and pointed.

Skye leaned forward, lifted her right foot, and placed it underneath her. Her shoe did not support her movement, and she stumbled. High heels were a bad idea. She removed them and chased after Cole and Hope, tossing her shoes in the next garbage container she passed.

It had been years since she had run. The adrenaline of chasing them was invigorating. Her bare feet pressed against the cold floor and she was faster than she remembered. She inhaled the air deep into her lungs and it appeared like everybody else was moving in slow motion. After several seconds, though, her body screamed at her to stop.

She caught up with them and was close enough to hear.

"I didn't tell you the best part," Hope said, breathlessly. "I met Maria Gonzalez."

"How did you meet Maria Gonzalez?" Cole asked. "You weren't in there that long."

"They're best friends, she called, and she knew who I was."

"No way. You love Maria Gonzalez."

"I know!" Hope squealed.

A second bell sounded, and the three of them raced into a classroom.

This room's walls were concrete blocks, painted white, and the top half had whiteboards. The left side had mathematical calculations on them and the right side had inspirational quotes. The back had an orange circle with Mars written underneath and a blue circle with Earth written underneath. There was another smaller circle for Earth's moon. Two-way arrows were between Mars and the Moon. The drop ceiling tiles were old and above her was a human-sized burn mark. This was a small room comparable to the ones at her middle school.

She rested in the front, gasping, and glanced at the other students. Everyone gawked at her.

Danny, a black male student, shouted from the back, "I hope she sits next to me."

"Name jinx!" Cole yelled and pinched Hope's upper arm.

"Ouch!" she massaged her pale skin.

"What the hell was that?" Skye asked.

"Name Jinx is a game, where anytime somebody says the word hope, not her name, the first person to shout, 'Name jinx!', gets to pinch the other one," Cole said.

"He rarely beats me," Hope added.

"Whatever," Cole said, dismissively.

SMACK!

An older woman slapped a ruler down on her desk. The sound hurt her ears. The professor wore black dress pants and a jade turtleneck sweater. She had pulled her gray and white hair into a tight bun.

"All right students, enough chatter. Especially coming from up here." She motioned towards them.

The teacher recognized Skye and changed to a cheerful tone. "Miss Bettencourt." She approached her and took her hand. "My name is Professor Blanche. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Skye shook her hand.

"You will sit at the head of the class next to Miss Anderson."

"Alan?" She pointed at the teenage boy seated in the front. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind giving up your seat." She waved him toward the back.

"Anything for you, Skye." Alan stood, blushing, and moved to the last row.

She sat down, and the other students did too. She whiffed the aroma of lemon and chlorine emanating from the floor. It made her nose itch. This room was chilly. She had lost her shoes, and she had not chosen her clothes to keep her warm. She crossed her legs and rubbed her bare arms to keep from freezing.

Professor Blanche said, "Skye, your father mentioned you may need an overview of what we are doing here. But since you are the revered Dr. Bettencourt's daughter, you may know more than any of us."

Doubtful. He spent all his time working, which exhausted him, and when he was home; he slept. She prayed for the relationship that his coworkers and students had with him. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "I usually zone out whenever he talks about work."

A hush fell over the room. She did not bother to turn to see their disappointed faces.

"Well," Professor Blanche said, breaking the silence, "I remember doing the same to my father when I was a teenager." She smiled at Skye. "I will do my best to help you catch up."

Professor Blanche reached to press a button on her viewer, but hesitated.

"What happened to your shoes?"

"I... lost them," she said, not wanting to explain that to her.

"And you are cold. I have a sweater if you would like it."

"Yes, please."

The Professor marched over to her chair and took it off the back, then she returned and placed it over her shoulders.

"Thank you." She would need to remember to dress for this tomorrow.

"Dim lights. Display Earth, rotating," Professor Blanche announced.

The lights lowered. A large hologram of Earth appeared in the front and spun around on its tilted axis.

"First, Dr. Bettencourt foresaw the Earth's downward spiral, including overpopulation, global warming, disease, famine, and uncontrollable species extinctions. He and many other experts like myself spent years trying to convince people they needed to change their ways. But our words fell on deaf ears. At the same time, his space research division had sent many long-term missions to Mars and had realized that we had the technology to colonize there. Most importantly, he envisioned a way to manufacture the materials we needed on Mars, so we were not dependent on Earth."

"Two years ago, he gave his first Mars Colonization speech, outlining his plan to allow people to leave our failing planet and start fresh on Mars. He said it would be hard work and long hours and asked the smartest people to join him. His speech invigorated thousands of professors and scientists, including Hope's family, to join him."

She learned more in the first ten minutes than she had at any other school. She had thought her dad had left her alone to make a lot of money, but he was doing much more. Yet, she preferred having him at home over all his accomplishments. It was a lot for her to absorb. She was certain to ask Hope many questions throughout the day. Professor Blanche continued lecturing until the bell rang.

She met Cole by the door.

"Nice sweater," he said, joking with her.

"Huh?" she had momentarily forgotten that she had it on. "This is from my autumn collection." She flipped her hair, batted her eyelashes, and did her red-carpet pose.

The remaining students laughed.

Professor Blanche did too and said, "You can keep that for the day. The entire campus is cold."

"Thank you very much."

It had been months since she had interacted with people, and making them laugh piqued her spirits. She massaged her brother's cross necklace and remembered laughing with him at his high school graduation, which was the last time he could still get around on his own.

"Our next class is that way," Hope said, paused in the hallway, and faced them. She motioned to her right. "There's a school store on the way. You can get gym shoes in there." Hope headed in that direction. Cole and Skye caught up with her.

"Professor Kain is next," Cole said.

Cole and Skye joined her, and the three of them went to the school store.

When they arrived, she analyzed the area. She was more comfortable in a store than she was in a classroom. It had a clothing section in the corner with jeans, overalls, khaki pants, and white undershirts.

They only had one style of gym shoes of different sizes. She found her size and tried them on. They were blue with white trim and tan soles.

She raised her right foot and twisted it in the air, inspecting the shoe. "These are a fashion nightmare and they do not match my clothes."

She bounced around to test them. They were comfortable. She hopped a few more times and pressed her toes on the soft cushion inside.

"You can deter shoplifting by only selling ugly clothes," Skye said.

Cole chortled.

Skye continued to inspect the rest of the store. She thumbed the material of the jeans. They were coarse, and the hairs scratched her fingertips. They filled the rest of the store with farming tools, shovels, pickaxes, hoes, and rakes.

She did not see a salesperson or a cashier. "Where do I pay for these?"

"You don't."

Skye shrugged her shoulders.

"We do not pay for anything here."

"I would be ashamed to charge for them. Whoever made my dad responsible for the clothes made a crucial mistake. I have a PhD in fashion. He should have asked me." Skye modeled her shoes to them. "What do you think?" she asked Cole.

"I love you, Skye!" a student hollered while he strode past in the hall and waved at her.

"Thanks," she waved back and said under her breath, "for not caring about these ugly blue shoes."

"There's a tag on them," Cole continued, "that will signal when we leave to adjust the inventory. We need to hurry. Let's go."

They left the store and followed Cole through the school. He halted in the middle of the hallway and motioned them, like a crossing guard, into the classroom. The bell rang.

They hurried to three seats in the front. This room was twice the size of the last room and had a taller ceiling. The lights were off, and a man projected a three-dimensional image of Mars spinning at the front of the room. They arranged large wooden tables across each row. The room angled downward toward the front where the man was writing on the whiteboard. He had short black hair with a few white strands, brown eyes and wore long khaki pants with a white long-sleeve dress shirt. Students filled most of the dark blue plastic chairs.

"Class, I want to begin promptly."

They sat at the front table.

The man nodded to her. "Welcome, Skye. I am Professor Kain."

He shifted and addressed the entire class and stated, "Welcome back, students. You will be the first class that completed the entire three-year program. Now many of you know we will spend your final year working on the dome outer membrane." He spoke each letter separately, "E.T.F.E." Then he wrote it on the whiteboard in front of him. Then, he said, "Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene," and wrote it on the board underneath ETFE.

She chuckled to herself. She did not understand him when he said it and, writing it, clarified nothing.

"This membrane protects us from the deadly atmosphere outside and allows light through too. We let Hope work with our graduating class last year. We will talk more about that later."

The entire class nodded, except Skye. This teacher lost her attention one minute into the class. She removed her viewer and messaged Maria.

Skye: Hurry! I need your help.

MariaBFF: Pay attention.

MariaBFF: and take lots of notes.

Too late for that.

Loud shoe steps echoed in the hallway. She craned her neck and saw through the open door.

"Well, I can't understand why he would request to see me on the first day." She saw Professor Blanche and a much taller woman that towered over her. They made their way toward the main office.

"I do not know," the other woman said in a thick Russian accent. "I only know Dr. Bettencourt wanted to speak to you."