Altaleita

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. I press my forehead against the glass and stare out into the vast emptiness of space. It’s been maybe ten minutes since we’ve left Earth’s surface and I already want to go back. My dad got promoted to their dream job and now the whole family has to pick up and leave everything behind. My home, my school, my friends, …my boyfriend.

“I wonder how long it’ll take them to notice I'm gone if I space myself.” I mutter as I smoosh my face even further into the window. I tilted my head slightly at the sound of someone settling down next to me and see that it’s my youngest brother, Anthony. He leans back on his hands, eating a lollipop, staring out the window, and hums, “Well, I don’t know, how about you try it, and we’ll see.”

Without really thinking about it, I snap a hand out and slap him on the leg, hard. I stare down at his curled up and wait until he finishes cussing up a storm before asking him, “What are you doing here?”

He sits up, rubbing his leg and sighs dramatically, “I came to check on you. You weren’t exactly all that happy about the move.” I scoff, irritated, and go back to staring out the huge deck window.

“Of course, I'm not happy. I mean, where do they get off! Making us move a whole ass fucking galaxy for their dreams. What about us?! I finally started dating Alan, you know I've been crushing on him since sophomore year. Paolo and Marco had just made it to first string on the varsity team. And you got that scholarship to that famous software engineering program. We were happy!” I pause, catching my breath, and then Tony sighs tiredly, “And I get that, I do, but we’re already here, so what’s the point of being moody about it.”

“Whatever…” I sigh, wondering when he became so much more mature than me. I mean he's ten and I’m six years older than him! I shrug it off as I turn to him and try to change the subject, “Anyway, where is everyone else and where did you get that lollipop?”

“Pops is in our assigned quarters trying to get some rest and the twins are in the cafeteria trying to pick up girls. One of the ship attendants gave me candy because I’m adorable.” This last part he says smugly while giving me a superior look. I’m tempted to smack him again, so I do.

“Stop hitting me!”

“Stop deserving to get hit.” I let him pout for a few seconds before tiredly getting to my feet. I help Tony get to his feet as well and then pull him against my side.

“Well, I guess we should rescue those poor girls from our stupid brothers.” We giggle conspiratorially as we walk off the observation deck.

~

“Are you from Tennessee cause you’re the only ten I see.”

We walk into the cafeteria to see our older brothers, Marco and Paolo, trying and failing to woo a couple of girls inside. They laugh loudly and say together, in stereo, “Not even in your dreams.” Then, they brush past the boys and walk away, shaking their heads incredulously. I watch as both their shoulders slump in defeat and I sigh, “Those bitches…” I immediately turn to Tony and say, “Don’t repeat what I just said." I grab his hand and stomp over to my brothers' sides.

“There you are!! We've been looking for you!” Both boys jerk up right and turn to face us, surprised at our sudden appearance. Marco throws a quick glance in the direction the girls went and looks back at us seeming embarrassed and wary.

“Di-did you see?”

I tilt my head in feigned confusion and respond with, “See what?” Tony, always quick to read the room, mimics my expression on cue. Marco and Paolo relax at our confusion and shake their heads, “Never mind. Why were you looking for us?” I take the opportunity they gave and change the subject, “I heard there is an arcade on board, and I issue a four-way siblings challenge.” I theatrically pose with my finger pointed and my feet spread apart. Twin sly grins appear on their faces.

“Oh ho, you think you can beat us.” Paolo leans forward looking smug already. Marco rests his elbow on his shoulder and leans over as well, “We’re reigning champs, we’ve never lost a challenge. Are you sure about this? Are you ready?”

“I was born ready!” I shout in annoyance. “And to prove that I am, I’ll race you there!” and with that I grab Tony’s hand and take off down the corridor. I hear twin shouts of indignation behind me, and I burst out laughing manically. This is how we spend the rest of the trip, battling each other at different games and having fun. I can almost forget where we are and where we are headed.

~

Nearly half a day later we finally arrive at our destination and, after picking up our luggage, we go to the pick-up area in search of Dad. It's crowded, like really crowded, we can’t walk five steps in any direction without bumping into someone, if someone elbows me one more time, they're going to get a black eye. Finally, Pops lets out an aggrieved sigh and shouts, “Marco!!!” A few seconds later a response is shouted back, “Paolo!!!” Both Marco and Paolo let out an embarrassed groan. This continues until we finally meet up with Dad, at which point both Pops and Dad embrace and kiss each other, gross.

When they let each other go, Dad turns to us and smothers us with our own hugs and kisses. His smile is practically blinding, “I’m so happy you guys made it. I missed you. Come on, I got the hovercar waiting outside.” He leads the way out to the station, and we all heave sighs of relief when we finally make it outside.

We're on a flat top mountain high above sea level where I can see the crystal-clear ocean in the far-off distance. I've never seen a sky so blue, and the ground below is covered in plants. I've never seen plants like this back on Earth or so many of them. It looks like we’re on a jungle island, with bits of civilization popping up every once in a while. It’s beautiful. I fucking hate it.

Dad grins and says, “Welcome to Altaleita, our new home.”