Congratulations, You've Been Accepted!

Sai read the email again. Her big, slanted eyes reflecting the words from the email. An icon bounced up and down at the bottom right of her screen, telling her that she has 7, 9, 12, and now 27 unread messages. She swiped her finger down to preview the messages, not ready to go into the app just yet. Her friends were talking about the email as well, but theirs were different from hers.

               They sent in their applications together. Scanned their fingerprints and clicked the button on a countdown. Just a week ago, they were looking at pictures and searching for good restaurants near the university they were supposed to go as one.

               The messages flooded in as they expressed their excitement over their acceptance to University of Reia. She could barely read the messages on the preview screen, they were going too fast. She swiped the icon away. They can wait a while. Her thoughts poured into her like the messages on her phone. Would they still be close friends? How would she, a Dalaii, fit in with the Humans? What if she can’t find any friends? Who is she going to have lunch with?

               In the email, there was a line that congratulated her for being one of the only ones who were selected to study on Earth. There was a short list of the names, but Sai knew none of them. University of Reia was her dream. It was her one chance to visit the beloved planet Niburu where people defied gravity and small islands floated across the lands – a paradise. Earth was the complete opposite. They had a stronger gravity than her home planet, a Sun that was too hot and bright, people who spoke too fast, and an atmosphere that was so full of junk that they had to clean up for two months before implementing the Stations.

               Her phone buzzed. It was Neer calling. She probably wondered why she wasn’t reading any of the group messages. She sighed and answered.

               “Hey, Sai! Where are you?” Neer’s face appeared as a hologram, wearing her usual giant hoop earrings.

               “I’m at home.”

               “Get ready, I’m coming to pick you up then we’ll get the rest!”

               “What?”

               “I want to do all the shopping today. I know none of you guys have any plans. Go get ready!”

               “I think I’ll pass,” Sai said softly and shifted her eyes away from her. She couldn’t look at Neer in her eyes and tell her the news.

               “Sai, you didn’t get accepted to Reia did you?”

               Sai shook her head as the knot in her throat tightened. “No, I’m sorry. I- I know we had plans and all but-“

               “Hey, it’s okay. I’m still coming, we can still help you shop for Earthling stuff.”

               “I guess. See you in a bit then.”

               After that trip, the days seemed to fly by. Pretty soon, it was time for her orientation at Gaia University. She stood with her friends in the middle of the Station surrounded by beings weaving in and out of the crowds, heading towards the row of arches that lined the walls. Her friends had their low-grav shoes on, she clutched her sun visors tighter, wishing it would disappear.

               “Hey, I’m sure it won’t be too bad. Meet at the corner store later?” Neer said as she squeezed Sai’s arms. "We should get going now."

               She hugged each of her friends and turned to her right as her friends headed left. She walked straight into the ship and prepared herself for a two and a half hours trip to Earth. Her phone was charged, her Surface charged too, and there was a novel in her bag. But she just stared out into the dark space as her ship moved forward. Something unpleasant was coiling and swimming in her guts, making her feel like throwing up. She lowered her body temperature to slow down her heart rate, thinking about how often she would have to keep herself cool on Earth.

               Time passed too slow but finally she arrived. She exited the Station and scanned the crowd. The university told her that she was assigned a mentor to help her settle in. In this crowd, there was no way Sai would know who it was supposed to be. Then she saw a hologram of her name blinking in different colours. It was hovering over a girl who was much shorter than everyone else. She had dark hair tied into two braids. Her head spinning around as she stood on her toes to look into the crowd.

               The trees swayed with the gentle breeze as rays of sunlight reached their leaves. Their rustling lost in the mumbling of the crowd. There were too many people, too many unfamiliar faces and species. She was too tall, too pale, her limbs too long, and she felt like she was moving in slow motion compared to the Humans. The girl spotted her almost immediately. Her lips pulled back into a grin and she turned off the blinking hologram. She had to squeeze between people to get to Sai.

               “Hi! Sai, right? I hope I pronounced it right, I’m terrible with names. I’m Kiyoha but you can call me Kiki. If you like. Or just Ki, maybe that’s better. I read that Dalaiis have very short names,” she reached out her hand.

               Sai knew this – a handshake.

               She took Kiki’s hand in hers, her silvery blue palm with blue veins stretching across them looked alien around Kiki’s unblemished skin. But the way Kiki’s eyes brightened and the way she smiled at her had eased the tension in her. And maybe, just maybe, Sai could see Earth as a paradise.