Circadia was really starting to come together and grow.
A WEEK LATER, I WAS helping the nutrition team gather supplies for the next meal when one of the girls from my crew came running through the creek towards the supply hull where we were dropping off our harvest from the day. “Aella! Aella, come quick!” she yelled.
I immediately dropped everything in my hands and took off in a mad dash. My feet hit the ground hard through my strapped-up boots, until they were splashing wildly through the creek. I didn’t even know what was happening, but it must have been urgent for her to be yelling. When we reached the other side of the creek and came upon the field, she suddenly stopped at the edge. “Look!” she said, her hand pointed down to the ground. I didn’t even stop to catch my breath, and instead got down on the ground to quickly inspect further.
It was a tiny green sprout from a soybean seed sticking up out of the soil. I wasn’t even mad that I had run across hell to see it. My heart melted and my eyes filled with tears of joy. We had done it. Really done it. Knowing that I was an expert in the field never mattered to me. It was always a surprise when the first sprout emerged. We had done it! We had planted a seed on Circadia, and it had grown.
Late that night, I laid in my hut and listened to the fire crackle once again. The days were so warm on Circadia, but the nights were cool. It was a relief to warm my toes by the fire at night. I got out my notebooks and looked over the measurements and numbers about the soil tests and seed counts. The scientific aspect of my notes were wonderful, but I wanted to document how I was handling colonization. I put the pen to the paper. I thought about the day with a smile on my face, and then I heard footsteps just outside my hut. They seemed to pace back and forth, until finally coming closer.
I looked up from underneath my blanket and saw Garrett peeking into my hut. “I would knock, but there’s not exactly a door,” he said apologetically.
“Come on in,” I said. “Make sure you take your shoes off, though! I wouldn’t want any mud in my house.”
He paused for a moment, then realized the joke and laughed. “Okay, Aella, I’ll do that.”
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Just wanted to congratulate you,” he said, as he sat next to me on my makeshift cot, looking down at the fire.
“On what?”
“I heard you had your first sprout today. That’s a big deal, right?”
“Yeah, but who told you?”
He snorted and looked at me coyly. “Don’t you worry about that. I have my people.”
I laughed with him. “So, what did you bring me?”
“What?” he asked.
“You know, as like a congratulatory gift, what did you bring me?”
His face turned instantly red, “Oh...”
“I’m just kidding. You should try it sometime,” I said. “And thank you.”
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in what seemed like an attempt to hide embarrassment.
“Sorry, I don’t get many visitors,” I said. “You'll have to excuse my manners. Would you like a drink?” I held up my jar of water for him.
He took it. “Thank you, that would be great.”
“So, how are you liking life here on Circadia?” I asked. “Missing home yet?”
“Oh, ha. Nah, not really. I mean, I was kind of a big deal there, but this has opened my eyes. Everything is so different here. It’s nice. I do sometimes kinda miss home, though.”
“Did you leave anyone behind? I heard you talking really quiet on the phone when we first got here,” I said.
“Oh! No, I actually don’t really talk to anyone back home. Not much of a people person, I guess. I have a pretty big family, but we don’t talk much.”
“So, who did you call?”
“My dog-sitter.”
“You’re kidding me, right?”
His face went red as he rubbed the back of his head. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I wasn’t much of a people person. Why? Think I was talking to someone special?” His eyes tempted me to answer, but I denied him the satisfaction.
“Why are you really here, Garrett?” I couldn’t help but be straightforward. I think I like Garrett. Really like him. Jane and Smith had found that they were closer friends than they had thought, and since I seemed to have a closeness with Garrett, they didn’t seem to talk to me as much. I wanted to know what was going on in Garrett’s head so badly.
“Well, you’re forward, aren’t you?” he asked.
“Yes, I am.”
“If I’m being honest—holy shit, this is awkward—I can’t get you out of my head.” The words rushed out of his mouth. “I enjoy being around you, I guess. I like the way you make me feel when we talk, I—” He stumbled on his words. “I like watching you, even though you’re always covered in dirt. I like that we share secrets—like the critters in the woods. What did you call them? Skeeters? Scooters? Skr-“
“Garrett, shut up,” I said before melding my mouth with his. I watched as his eyes shot open in shock, then slowly closed. I embraced the kiss as well, closing my eyes and feeling everything all at once. It was like everything I didn’t know
