A/N: Okay, Lokaia, you don't have to endure a cliffy ending for long. I won't keep you guessing. Here comes the next chapter. I'm hoping for a review. :D Or two. :D From you.
Rosie couldn't believe her luck. At the moment, she was witnessing the most beautiful site. And to think, if she hadn't had ComPost duty, she might not have been the first one to see it.
"Look, Bova!" She pointed to the screen, proud to be the first to spot the magnificent planet that was still a long distance away. Right now, the planet looked tiny, but it was probably quite big. Even miles away, it produced a brilliant gleam. A miniature dot in the sky, as beautiful as Mercury herself.
"Hm?" Bova stretched and yawned, his eyes unwilling to open. "What is it, now?"
"Little Mercury!" Rosie couldn't resist giving her new planet a nickname.
"Huh?" Bova opened his eyes. "Mercury? We're back in the Sol System?"
"No, silly," Rosie rolled her eyes. "But we did come across a new planet. A tiny, little Mercury!"
"A fake-out," Bova narrowed his eyes. "I should have known that. We still have five years, four months, and twenty-seven days left on this trip. Of course, we'll probably stumble upon another white circle and end up seven more years away from home. But who really wanted to go home in the first place? Who's to say we'd be better off at home? We were flunking out. We'll probably get into trouble because Catalina is stuck in the wrong dimension. When we do get back, they'll fire Commander Goddard and Ms. Davenport right away. You see, we're doomed either way."
Rosie sighed. "Bova, c'mon. Don't spoil my fun."
"Okay, okay," Biting back pessimistic comebacks, Bova took a look at the planet on the screen. It really was bright. Almost as bright as Mercury, like Rosie had said. I bet we'll all burn to the crisp once we get close to that place. All but Rosie, I guess.
But instead of voicing his thoughts, Bova said: "Yeah, that's... um, a very... nice planet. Appears to be, anyway. For all we know, it could be... uhh, I mean, it could be... fun to take a closer look. We'd have to alter our course to do it, though."
"Do you think Commander Goddard would agree to that?"
"No..." Again, Bova changed his mind mid-sentence. "No... way to tell. Let's find out. Why don't you just call everyone to the ComPost?"
"Of course!" Rosie beamed, leaning towards the intercom. "I should have done it before."
Radu was grinning as another chunk of his hair fell into the sink.
He continued cutting, nearly finished with the job now. The result was going to be shocking... and if I do say so myself, quite stunning.
With one side finished, he was preparing to work on the other side when the familiar whir of the jumptubes interrupted him. He lowered the scissors and turned to face Harlan coming out of the tube.
"Harlan, h-hi," Radu stammered, hiding the scissors behind his back and turning his head to the right, trying to hide the short hair on his right side. "I thought you and Suzee were playing minbar chess."
"Can you believe I beat her so fast?" Harlan said, laughing. "I wish you would've been there to see the look on her face. What have you been up to, anyway? I haven't seen you since lunch."
Turning his head to display his shortened locks, Radu smiled coyly.
Harlan gasped. "What the -- what are you doing? I thought you, w-wait, you can't..."
"Can't cut my hair?" Radu supplied, still smiling. "Usually that's the case. But right now is one of the few times in my life that I actually can cut my hair without much difficulty. Since my hair follicles have been temporarily weakened, I can..."
"Your hair follicles have -- " Harlan narrowed his eyes. "Been temporarily weakened? Along with the rest of your body! All this trouble for two or three more spirals in your ears?"
"More like three or four or five more spirals," Radu hastily corrected. "Two would be pretty pathetic."
"Whatever," Harlan shook his head, now smiling at his friend's appearance. It would take some time to get used to a short-haired Radu. "I guess once you hack off the other half, I can't call you Hair-Do anymore."
"Oh, it'll grow back," Radu assured him, turning to the mirror and getting ready to finish the job. He caught a glimpse of his ears in the mirror. They were slightly tender, but for a good reason. Already, the first new spiral had begun to develop in each ear. He was that much closer to being an adult.
"Hey everyone," Rosie's voice came over the intercom. "Could you report to the Command Post, please? And hurry!" A hint of urgency was in her voice.
Radu lowered the scissors again. "Sounds like trouble."
"Wouldn't be a good day without it!" Harlan agreed. "Come on!"
"But what about my hair?"
"Forget your hair!" Harlan insisted. "Rosie said to hurry. C'mon!"
A/N: REVIEWS. REVIEWS REVIEWS REVIEWS. (please?)
