Chapter Text
NINE
I love my family.
I love Adrian. They’re quirky and surprising and intelligent. They can be a gentle giant sometimes or the most excitable one in the room, which was saying something when Rocky was also in the room.
Rocky is almost always in the room.
I love Rocky. Obviously. He’s my best friend, my space bro, my soul mate, my copilot. He’s the reason I’m still alive, that two planets are alive.
I love them both so much, and I love being in a family with them, and I am burdened only with the existential fears of losing them, failing humanity, disappointing everyone I’ve ever known, and wasting my chance at happiness and purpose.
No big deal.
This doesn’t matter, this part of my life. I wasn’t even supposed to be alive anymore. There were so many times I could have died: in an explosion with the others, in the coma, at Adrian, on the way to Erid. But I didn't. It hurt to ask why me and not the others--why not Yao or Ilyukhina, why not Shapiro or DuBois? What made me so special?
I may be a little dramatic. Ennui was the word. I had to look it up on the laptop: I’m indulging in my ennui.
I’m laying on the couch-like-thing in my living room, some random movie playing in the background. The library of media had an autoplay function, and sometimes I just let it run. It made me miss commercials.
Rocky and Adrian are coming by later, and I’m just wasting time until then. They said something about a walk on the beach and it sounded nice. It was one of my main activities: walks on the beach, swimming, watching movies, science with Eridians, science alone, and staring endlessly into the void worrying about everything.
The Eridian space thrum was busy finalizing their next mission details. The crew they were sending, some of them related to Rocky’s previous crew, had come by and met both of us a few days ago.
They were excited, of course, and a little starstruck by Rocky—even the ones that had been working on and off with him were seeing him in a new light. I smile at the memory of nervous chattering, everyone calling him Savior Rocky or his full title which was something like Savior-of-Erid-Engineer-Astronaut-Explorer-First-Eridian-to-meet-aliens-Rocky. Which would be a mouthful, if they had mouths to speak out of. Instead they used their multi-tonal language to say it all at once, making Rocky’s name deeper and more complex.
Rocky stuck to his usual name when introducing himself to a group, I’d noticed.
Anyway, the Eridian astronauts were busy, the scientists were busy, and I was watching—I glance at the TV to check—I was watching Miss Congeniality.
Not a bad life. Just not a very exciting one, either. Though, I have to acknowledge: I’ve had more than my fair share of excitement in my life, and nearly none of it was my choice.
That’s what I have to do. I have to choose. I have to make this my choice. It’s like I told Adrian—I would always choose to end up here.
I sit up.
It’s my choice to watch Miss Congeniality at 10am on a Thursday. Sandra Bullock is an intergalactic treasure.
It’s my choice to eat Eridian-style bean soup. It’s my choice to wear three-day-old pants because even lightyears away I still avoid doing laundry because laundry sucks.
I can choose to be content. I can. I have to, or I’m going to be miserable and then the Eridians will hate me and then I will hate myself and then everything will be bad.
I can choose to be happy. Right?
Before that thought can spiral, Rocky and Adrian appear at the door.
“Why Grace leave door open, question?” Rocky demands.
“Hi Rock,” I say. I get up and stretch. “Hi Adrian.”
“Hello Grace,” greets Adrian.
“Door is supposed to close when not being used, statement!” Rocky pointedly closes the door as they walk in.
“Just letting a nice breeze in,” I say. I also just didn’t close the door last night, or was it the day before?
Rocky starts poking at the stuff I have around, on the floor. I maybe haven’t picked up after myself if a little while.
“Breeze blew inside and made mess, question? Dirty, dirty, dirty!”
Well at least Rocky is excitable today. “Okay, chill out. You don’t see me comin’ to your house and insulting your housekeeping skills.”
Rocky pauses, a sock held aloft in one claw. “Rocky Adrian house is clean. We are civilized. Not like Grace, leave door open, throw dirty clothes. All humans this way, question?”
I roll my eyes affectionately. Adrian and I make pseudo-eye contact and they shrug.
“Time go for beach walk, question?” Adrian taps, and I nod.
I shrug on my cardigan and my shoes, then pointedly open the door for my guests, shutting it carefully and with reverence behind us, bowing to Rocky.
He claps two classes together sarcastically. “Grace never learn.”
I huff a smile and we follow the stairs down to the beach. “Beautiful day,” I say.
“Is nice.” Adrian makes pretty good small talk. “Sunny for Grace, made sure control room was set nice today.”
“Thanks, Adrian.”
Rocky walks more quickly than we do, zig-zagging from the beach into the waves, tumbling through the surf.
“He’s got a lot of energy today,” I comment.
“Rocky very excite for Grace.”
I stop walking a second, then keep going. “He’s excited for me? For what?”
“Surprise for Grace!”
My eyes widen. Rocky surprises were… interesting to say the least. Sometimes they were amazing! When he brought me new food from the scientists, or a model he made just for me. He surprised me with Eridian fabrics, with the thin and huggable xenosuits, with a short trip into the Eridian city my dome was based in.
He also surprised me with how he ate, and how many doctor visits he had be scheduled for, and, briefly, an Eridian housekeeper that always messed up how I sorted my kitchen.
Rocky started his Eridian zoomies again, or maybe just his Rocky zoomies since I have never seen another alien do it quite like him. We got closer to the large meeting room built in the rock and Rocky finally turns and comes back toward us.
“Grace close eyes! No can see for surprise!”
I raise my eyebrows. Eridians didn’t have the whole blindfold-for-surprise concept—they can’t easily turn off their echolocation exactly—but this was another thing that he’d no doubt picked up from watching movies with me.
Rocky came close and held out a claw to guide me, and I dutifully closed my eyes, free hand over them and glasses dangling from my ears. Whatever my surprise is, it’s probably on the other side of the xenonite in the meeting room. I can’t begin to guess.
“Careful Grace. Humans very dumb when no can see.”
I don’t have a comeback as I stumble slightly on the uneven sand. He’s not wrong. I can hear Adrian walk slowly behind us.
“Fifteen more steps!”
I count them silently, and Rocky tugs me to a stop on fifteen.
“Can I open my eyes now?”
“Not yet!” Rocky trills over my question.
His claw leaves my hand, and I stand there with one hand over my eyes like an idiot.
“Grace remember when told me about purpose? Human retirement? And how Grace too young to be retired?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Rocky say Rocky fix so Rocky fix! Grace has new purpose on Erid. Open eyes!”
I open my eyes to see—an empty room. That is kinda blurry—my glasses! I put them on and step closer. It’s... it’s still an empty room, but it looks different.
Instead of a huge meeting area with a few low tables for Eridian scientists, the room has these rocky risers. There’s a new row of lights to brighten the space and two separate transfer boxes that go through the xenonite.
“What—“
“Is classroom! Grace can teach pebbles science! Grace is teacher here too, can talk about Earth and humans and everything Grace know!”
I’m crying, I’ve been crying even before I knew that this room was a classroom, and I cry even harder now. I turn and collapse to my knees and Rocky catches the hug I was aiming at him. “Rock! This—really? I can be a teacher again?”
“Grace teach many pebbles!” Rocky vibrates with excitement in my arms. “Built tools for teaching, many ideas from thinking machine and things from Mary.”
I look up over Rocky and see all the things I’d walked by with my eyes closed. A whiteboard and some sort of texturized board, a keyboard I recognize from practicing my Eridian, a few spare laptops, cameras, a desk—it’s perfect. I tell Rocky as much.
“Thank. Is amaze! Adrian help design.”
“Classroom fun challenge,” Adrian speaks up. “Accommodate many pebbles, have to let Grace see all, hear all. Many improvements made!”
“It’s amazing, you guys. I can’t—thank you so much. I can’t believe… they’re just going to let me teach? I’m not qualified in this solar system!” I stand up, my mind already racing, thinking of lesson plans and curriculum review. I don’t know how to talk to pebbles! What do they know? How old are they? Older than me, probably, but still kids.
“Grace very qualified. Most qualified human on planet!” Rocky jokes.
“He’s the only human on the planet,” Adrian chimes in. “Is joke! Very funny!”
“Seriously, though, the schooling system you guys have, they’re allowing this? Do I get a set of things to teach? Do I need a certificate or something? Or—“
“Grace worry too much,” says Rocky. “Dumb dumb dumb. Rocky Adrian already work all this out! Pebbles special chosen for science interest. Come to Grace class to learn extra and special space and human science.”
Probably the equivalent to a gifted program. I could deal with that—those kids are always fun to teach and challenge, and they’ll probably be interested enough to listen to a weird alien bumble his way through explaining things.
“Grace start in two human weeks. Enough time to plan, question?” Adrian asks, tapping twice.
I take a deep breath, turning to see all of the things my best friends, my family, have set up for me. My classroom, my equipment, my beach and my home.
Rocky saved my life over and over. He helped save Erid and Earth. And now he gave me a purpose to keep going.
How did I get so lucky?
As an answer, I hug Rocky again and motion for Adrian to join us. They do, and we spend a good chunk of time just holding each other.
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
-
I can barely take myself away from my classroom. I’ve spent the last week and a half practically camped out here, taking food and naps as I try to lesson plan for a group of rock aliens. I’ve moved the setup around a dozen times, testing the equipment and practicing my Eridian vocabulary on the organ. Let’s just say I’m glad they’re going have a translation device on their side of the wall too.
I’m losing my mind about it, but I’ve never felt more excited in my life. And that’s saying something.
“What Grace doing? Is movie night!” Rocky crashes through the waves and then lopes to the classroom.
“I know buddy, I’m almost done!”
“Grace say that often and Grace never done.” Rocky picks up a marker and starts drawing random shapes on the board, watching the texture board pick up his designs. I can only assume he’s writing Rocky was here or something on there. Lord knows I’ve had to wrestle my fair share of expo markers away from preteens who think they’re funny and, oh god.
These Eridians are going to be the equivalent of preteens. From a literal alien culture. And I’m not going to get any of their humor.
“Rocky, what’s cool with the kids these days? Any memes I need to know?” Memes, as I’ve explained to Rocky in the past, seem to be a fairly universal constant.
“How would Rocky know? Been in space since before this generation ever hatched.”
“Oh no. They’re gonna think I’m so unc. I won’t be able to 6-7 my way out of an awkward joke.” I cover my face again, partly in despair at those particular memories returning to me when I still can’t recall most of my childhood.
“Adrian knows better, watches clutchmates pebbles. Will explain to Grace. What 6-7, question?”
I groan, out loud. Absolutely no way on Erid am I going to teach that to Rocky.
-
Three days of panicking later, I wake up to knocking at my door.
Rocky and Adrian let themselves in, chattering as I run around getting dressed and eating a quick breakfast. I gratefully take my Eridian coffee equivalent from Armando and down half of it in one gulp.
“Grace ready, question?”
“Pebbles coming soon!”
It’s hard to drink coffee with a giant smile on my face, but I manage. “Ready!”
Adrian opens the door and we walk through, heading toward a classroom full of tiny aliens waiting for me to teach them. It’s a beautiful, sunny day. The waves crash. The breeze blows. The sand crunches under our steps. My life on Erid, supported by Rocky and Adrian, stretches out before me, and I smile.