Brightly Burning(10)

“I’ll miss you, too,” I said honestly, drawing as many of the kids as I could into a big group hug. “Now you’ll have someone off-ship to talk to—?isn’t that exciting?” A murmur of consideration went around. It left the worst of the criers in slightly better spirits, enabling me to extricate myself from the hug and head for the door with a final wave. But Arden wasn’t ready to let me go.

“Stella!” She jogged after me, catching me halfway down the corridor. She grabbed hold of my hand. “I’ve been talking to the stars, like you said. I think my mom got my messages.”

“Good!” I said, crouching down and blowing out a steadying breath, willing myself not to cry. “I’ll miss you a lot, Arden. Just send me a message through the tabs instead of the stars. George can help you until you’re old enough for your own account.”

George. I sighed at the reminder, then put a smile back on for Arden. “And don’t stop drawing. Or give up on that plant.” I drew her into a hug before saying a final, solemn goodbye.

Luckily there was no risk of tears with Jatinder.

“You can officially count me as surprised and impressed, Stella,” he conceded, shaking my hand. “We’ll miss you here—?and those tiny hands—?but I wish you the best of luck.”

“I’m sad I won’t get to say goodbye to Navid.” Or get my new drawing tablet, I kept to myself. “And I’ll miss you, too.”

“I’ll be sure to pass on your best wishes to him,” he said. We shared an awkward embrace—?the kind where neither person really wants to touch, but a handshake would seem too formal—?then I turned to Karlson. Him, I offered my hand.

“Transferring off-ship just to get away from me, eh?” Karlson said. “Bold move, Ainsley.”

“It was that or do something drastic, like parachute down to Earth.”

I ignored how attractive he looked when he laughed at my joke.

I couldn’t find George. I wandered the ship for hours, and upon arriving at each successive location with no George to be found, I developed a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach. I had less than twelve hours left on board, and my best friend was making himself scarce. Avoiding me. Eventually, lights-out and curfew caught up with me, and I was forced to retreat to my quarters on Ward Z. I packed in the dark, my meager belongings fitting easily into the small carry bag I’d brought with me to the Stalwart all those years ago from the Empire.

My hand touched something fuzzy, tucked away in the back of my wardrobe—?worn to the point of no longer being soft. Even if I couldn’t see it properly, I knew what I had found. Earl Grey, my old stuffed elephant. When Aunt Reed handed me over to the orphan export board, I’d clung fast to him, even though I was far too old for stuffed animals. The other kids made fun of me—?Baby Stella needs her bestie, Mr. Elephant—?but not George. He’d stood up for me, told everyone he wished he still had his childhood stuffed toy, only his had been thrown away during quarantine, and that I was lucky to have a piece of home—?they were all just jealous. We’d been friends ever since.

And now we wouldn’t be anymore. The thought made me want to cry, so I forced myself to sleep. When the lights came on the next morning, I did one last sweep of the room, making sure I’d grabbed everything I needed, especially my drawing tablet and stylus, and my water and protein rations for the day. I would save them for the journey. Earl Grey went in last. Then I pulled on my gray overcoat, put on my regulation boots, and sat down on the bed.

This was it. Something flickered inside me, tickling up from the bottom of my spine. Hope. I wouldn’t die on the Stalwart, or plummet down to Earth against my wishes. Who knew what awaited me on the Rochester? But I knew this much: It was new. And it was mine.

With the spark heating the soles of my boots, I hefted my bag over my shoulder and stepped out into Ward Z for the last time. “Goodbye, dark, cold, sad place,” I whispered to no one but the stars in the sky.


The transport bay was cold and I was early, so I dropped my bag on the ground, fashioning it into a makeshift chair, and sat down to wait. I pulled out my drawing tab and clicked it on, finding my last work in progress staring up at me. George. Or half of him, at least. He was missing his jawline, hair, cheeks; his smile. A fresh wave of grief washed over me. I’d never see his smile again. I imagined I could hear him, calling my name.

“Stella! Stella!”

Wait, that wasn’t in my head. I turned around and there he was—?breaking his jog to skid to a stop in front of me, chest heaving. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” he said breathlessly.

“You?” I said, rising to my feet. “I searched the whole ship for you yesterday, but you were clearly avoiding me!”

“I . . .” George at least had the good sense to look ashamed. “Yeah, I kind of was. But I didn’t know you were leaving! Destiny told me this morning, who heard it from Joy, who heard it from Karlson. . . . What happened?”

“I got that last job. Totally unexpectedly. And they’re sending a private transport for me, so I couldn’t exactly change the date. I tried to find you. . . .”

“Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—” he stopped himself before he could rehash the details, for which I was thankful.

“I know,” I said. “All that matters is you’re still my friend. I’m going to miss you.”