Chapter Text
August, 2032
Pulling dark hair up into a high ponytail, Abby looked at herself in the mirror.
Yesterday, she began her senior year of college. Today, she started her internship with NASA. It was something she had dreamed about since middle school, and now that it was here, she couldn’t really believe it. Splashing some cold water on her face, she inhaled deeply, trying to settle her nerves. She looked at the old hackysack sitting by her faucet and reached forward to snatch it, shoving it into her purse.
She turned away from the sink and sped down the stairs, hoping to get out of the house before her parents could make a big deal.
“Not even a hug goodbye, beta?”
The familiar accented voice stopped her in her tracks. Her father was sitting in the armchair by the door, his large round glasses perched across his nose, a rather proud and teary smile on his aged face. He stood up, striding toward her to take her hands in his own. His, calloused from years of working, and hers, untouched and slender.
“My girl, all grown up,” he continued, reaching up to cup her cheek. “I cannot believe you are finally working for the American astronauts.”
“NASA,” she corrected, wondering if she’d ever be old enough to not be embarrassed by her parents. Even so, she smiled. “And I’m not technically working for them yet, Baba. Just an internship.”
Before he could respond, her mother emerged from the kitchen with a plated piece of toast. “Which will become a job, if you work hard enough,” she added, handing it over. Once Abby plucked the toast from the plate, the older woman shook her head. “You are sure you want to do this?”
Abby sighed softly. She’d had this conversation with them multiple times. She supposed she just ought to be lucky they let her pursue this at all, even with the constant attempts to change her mind. “I’m sure, Ammi. I really have to go now. Thanks for breakfast.”
As she turned toward the door, her mother said, “Make decisions for yourself, jaan. You will not be successful if you continue to obsess about your old teacher.”
Abby paused in the doorway, her back to her parents. “Love you.”
She stepped out the door without looking back.
***
March, 2021
While the room buzzed around her with talk of which boy would be their homecoming date and new video games played over the weekend, Abby kept to herself, smoothing out her notebook paper. She glanced up at the clock above the door, wondering if they would have a substitute again today. This wasn’t like Dr. Grace. He’d been absent for nearly two weeks now, and she was beginning to get worried.
The bell rang, loud and familiar, but the chatter didn’t stop. She craned her neck, trying to peek out into the hallway from where she sat. There had been a couple of teachers talking in hushed voices, but they stopped whenever they thought students were nearby. They knew middle schoolers were never above a little eavesdropping.
The teacher who taught history across the hall poked her head into the room. Her face was pale white, like she’d seen a ghost. It was so striking that it was able to get twenty-five thirteen year olds to be quiet, which was a feat that most adults thought impossible.
“Ah, good morning, kids,” she murmured, looking like she could hurl at any moment. “Hold tight. Mr. Whitt is coming in to talk to you in a minute.”
A quiet murmur rose across the students. Abby frowned, glancing toward Jeff, who was already looking at her with the same confused look on his face.
As promised, their principal strode into the room a moment later, that same pale, sick look on his face that didn’t really suit the man. He was easily six feet tall, mid-forties, and often had a commanding presence. His voice alone could break up a fight without any physicality, which was an important trait for a middle school principal. Right now, however, he stood with his shoulders slightly hunched, like he’d been replaced by his more mild-natured doppelgänger.
“Good morning, class,” he began, drawing himself up, perhaps hoping the kids hadn’t noticed his demeanor in the few seconds he’d been standing there. When he got some half-hearted responses back, his gaze swept across each of their faces. “I’m here today to deliver some…news.”
Jeff raised his hand, but didn’t wait to be called on. “Is Dr. Grace sick?”
“Uh, no. Not sick.” Whitt leaned back against the desk, a thin sheen of sweat appearing on his forehead. While he seemed to wonder how to continue, the room was eerily quiet. “Has Dr. Grace talked to you all about the Petrova Line?”
The kids exchanged some looks. Abby raised her hand. When Whitt gestured to her, she said, “He told us it’s damaging the sun, but we won’t see much change for another thirty years.”
Whitt nodded, and Abby noticed that one of his hands was shaking. She forced herself to look up at his face. “Right you are. Now, you all know that Dr. Grace was a pretty respected scientist before he started teaching here. It seems that some very important people have taken an interest in his work, and…well, he’s been helping them come up with some solutions to save the sun.”
The chatter around the room became a bit more animated. “That’s awesome!” Larry shouted. “How come he didn’t tell us?”
Whitt held up a hand, and the chatter died down. “Kids, there’s…no easy way to say this, but I wanted you to hear it from me before you saw it at home.” His breath caught in his throat, and he bit down on his bottom lip. “Dr. Grace is...going to space, to save the sun. He won’t be coming back.”
The silence that followed was pierced a second later by a loud cacophony of protest.
***
August, 2032
As the bus came to a somewhat unceremonious stop, Abby shook herself out of her thoughts and stood up, adjusting her coat and scarf. Psyching herself up, she strode down the sidewalk and pushed open the door.
Her morning was a whirlwind. She met a dozen new people in the span of a few minutes and forgot nearly all of their names. Really, there was only one person who truly interested her, but she knew their paths would most likely not cross any time soon. She would have to focus on her actual job, which, despite everything, she was pretty excited for.
Abby was shown to her desk alongside other interns, whom she made small talk with while she took off her coat. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a small hackysack and placed it right beside the computer monitor.
The woman beside her seemed rather charmed by it. “Oh! It looks like Earth!”.
“I stole it from my eighth grade science teacher,” Abby replied, pressing a finger to her lips with a coy smile. “He had a bunch. Never even knew it was missing.” The woman laughed, promising her secret was safe with her, and commented on how impressive it was that she’d kept track of it after all these years. Abby shrugged.
To the stranger’s credit, she didn’t ask her to elaborate.
***
March, 2021
Long after the rest of the students had filed out of the room, even though Trang, Regina, and Jeff had begged her to go with them, Abby still sat at her desk. Minutes ago, she had joined her classmates in their outbursts, but now, she sat in silence, tears rolling down her cheeks. Only she and Whitt remained, and he looked at her with some pity.
“If it were up to me, he’d still be here,” he said finally, bringing the box of tissues over to her desk. She didn’t move. “Dr. Grace is very brave for what he’s doing for us.”
Abby sniffled, slowly moving her gaze up to the principal. “He’s going to die, isn’t he?”
Clearly taken aback by this, Whitt stumbled over his words before finally settling on, “Where did you hear that?”
“That spaceship is being sent out of our solar system. There’s no way it could travel such a distance and have enough fuel to return.”
She’d never seen Whitt look so at a loss for words. He cleared his throat, his eyes darting back and forth, and then sighed in defeat. “You’re right, sweetheart. Seems Dr. Grace taught you well. It’s a one-way trip. But he is…aware of that fact.”
Abby’s chair groaned as she slid it back, hopping to her feet. “That’s not fair!” she shouted, her tears making it hard to see. “How could he leave us? That’s so stupid! It’s stupid of him! He’s going to die!”
“Maybe it is stupid,” Whitt agreed, holding out the tissue box to her again, “but he’s leaving our school to save all of us. Not just you and me, but the entire world. I can guarantee he’s thinking about you all right now. If he loved anything in this world, it was his students. I’ll bet he’s gladly giving up his life to save yours.”
Out of breath somehow, feeling as though she’d just run a marathon, she sunk back into her chair in defeat. Quietly, she plucked a tissue from the box, hastily wiping her face with it. “…How come he didn’t say goodbye?”
Carefully walking back toward the teacher’s desk, Whitt placed the box back down, running a hand through his hair. “From what I understand, it was last minute. I’m sure he would have if he had time, but NASA has to launch the ship tomorrow.” Glancing up at the clock on the wall, the principal sighed. “I really have to run. When you’re ready, how about you stop by the guidance office?”
Abby gave a sort of noncommittal nod, watching him walk out of the room. When she was alone, fresh tears began streaming down her face. It was one thing for her favorite teacher to be leaving mid-school year. It was another thing to know that he faced certain death in the cosmos.
He wasn’t an astronaut. He belonged here, with them.
When she collected herself, she slowly rose to her feet and stepped up to the teacher’s desk. It was mostly empty, as if someone had come in and completely cleaned it off before the students walked in this morning. Now that she thought about it, that was probably exactly what happened; though if it was Whitt or someone else, she wasn’t sure.
Her gaze fell upon a single hackysack left hiding beneath an unused school calendar. Whoever had cleared things off his desk had seemed to miss it. Without really thinking, Abby picked up the hackysack, its familiar knit pattern making her feel just a little better.
When the bell rang, she stuck it in her backpack before anyone could see, and stepped out into the hallway.
***
June, 2034
“Don’t be a dick, Jeff, pass the ketchup,” Abby laughed, reaching over her old friend as he held the bottle high above his head. He grinned widely, his eyes sparkling with mischief as he spoke in a singsong voice.
“Only if you admit you’re wrong.”
Huffing, she shook her head. “I will not admit that cereal counts as soup. That’s insane.” She glanced at the booth across from her. “Trang, Regina, back me up on this.”
“I dunno. He makes a good point,” Trang replied, smiling. While Jeff was distracted, Regina stood up and plucked the bottle from his hand, handing it over to Abby.
“How about, this is stupid and we should drop it?” she suggested, while Abby gave her a grateful laugh and shook up the bottle. “Come on, we haven’t seen each other in forever. Surely we have more interesting things to talk about than cereal.” She turned to Jeff. “How’s teaching going?”
Running a hand through dirty blond hair, Jeff sighed, picking up a french fry. “I’m glad it’s summer. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love my kids, but man, some of them are a pain in the ass.” As he popped the fry in his mouth, he looked at Trang. “What about you, Mr. Pediatrician?”
His cheeks flushing slightly, Trang shrugged a shoulder. “Residency is fine. I’m ready for it to be done. I’m exhausted all the time.” He looked back at Abby. “You finished your internship, didn’t you? Did they ask you to come back?”
“Yep,” she answered, waving a fry absentmindedly. “Now my parents can get off my case about getting a job.”
“That’s seriously so cool, Abby,” Regina said, genuinely. “I can’t believe you’re working at NASA!”
Abby shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s what I’ve wanted since I was twelve. No big deal.” She smiled as she watched Jeff roll his eyes, then turned to Regina. “How’s the salon?”
“It’s great,” she gushed, leaning forward a bit. “I still think you should stop by. I promise I won’t give you terrible bangs like I did in high school.”
“You may have graduated beauty school, but I’m not sure I can trust you with my hair after that,” Abby replied through a laugh. “My mom was beside herself.”
Jeff shoved her lightly. “When is she not?”
They all shared a laugh then, which led to comfortable quiet, a sort of comfort that Abby hadn’t realized she’d missed. She knew how lucky she was that she still had friends from childhood - many people she’d met at her internship didn’t have that.
As she was pondering this, Trang suddenly looked somewhat pensive. “Whoa, I just…I got some crazy déjà vu.” His gaze fell on Abby, and it felt like it was sort of boring into her. “You remember, after we found out…where Dr. Grace went?” Suddenly the room seemed to get a whole lot colder. Regina shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “You told us at the lunch table that you’d be a scientist at NASA someday and be there when he managed to save Earth.”
Abby remembered that, too. She’d always loved science, had dreamed of being an astronaut as a toddler, which evolved into just becoming a regular scientist instead. This dream had only been solidified after Dr. Grace’s disappearance. Feeling her mouth go dry, feeling all three of them staring at her, she cleared her throat. “Yeah, well, you know how I was back then. I thought I could fix everything.”
“You still do,” Jeff pointed out. “I mean, I’m happy for you, Abby, but you know you can’t bring him back.”
“I know,” she insisted defensively, dropping her gaze to the floor. “But I…ever since the launch, it’s bugged me. I mean, you all saw it. I just thought, maybe, I could get some closure.” The rest of them fell silent, and she continued. “Look, guys, you don’t have to worry about me. I’ve always wanted to work at NASA. One teacher didn’t influence a huge life decision.”
When Regina spoke again, her voice was quiet, in the shy way she spoke when she was thirteen. “But he wasn’t just any teacher.”
The rest of lunch was somewhat somber.