Let the sunlight show your face… Julia…No one knows you in this place…Julia…I see there's a distance in your eyes…Julia…Can I even reach you if I try, or is this goodbye?
Three: Road to Destruction
"I don't understand why you just didn't come here. Wouldn't that have been easier?" Julia sighed at the hurt look Cat was giving her. Julia finished explaining the situation with the cop to her a moment before. The truth was, Julia hadn't even considered going to Jupiter; Mars had been the first planet to pop into her head. She had always read stories and saw TV shows glamorizing the planet and its inhabitants. And as she looked around at the beautiful scenery, she knew it wasn't a mistake that she chose the paradise as her new residence. "You haven't come over in four years."
"I know, Cat, but Mars is amazing!" Julia held out the comm. so her friend could see the view of the ocean she was looking at. "Besides, your mother would have called mine, and I would be on my way home as we speak. And the point was to go somewhere I've never been."
"Mars is big."
"Jupiter is bigger."
"You're going to be all alone."
"I can handle it." Cat sighed, knowing there was no way Julia would change her mind. The two of them had known each other for almost their whole lives. Catalina used to live on Ganymede, right down the street from Julia, up until Cat's father died. Her mother didn't want to stay on Ganymede, where the only source of income was basically fishing, which is that was what her father had done, so she packed them up and shuttled them to Jupiter, hoping the enormous planet would have far more opportunities, and far less memories of her late husband. The two friends saw each other once in a while, given that, although Ganymede was a satellite of Jupiter, and thus not ridiculously far away, neither Julia's parents nor Cat's mother had enough money to transport the girls back and forth frequently. So they were forced to continue their friendships over the phone and through letters, staying as close as two people on two different celestial bodies could be.
"Fine. At least call me from time to time so that I know you're all right. How are you going to survive out there?" Cat asked, sounding disdainful. "I heard Mars is expensive."
"All I need to do is find a job and a place to stay. It can't be that hard." Those words could have been her doom, however it seemed to Julia that she had a pretty full supply of luck. That wasn't a problem for her at the moment, but she felt as though she was being cheated out of the hardships that everyone was supposed to live through. Life could not have possibly been as easy as it was for her. Maybe I shouldn't complain about it now, considering I'm thousands of miles from home with no money and nowhere to live.
As soon as she stepped out of the spaceport and onto Martian soil, she felt like she was home. Mars was a spectacularly gorgeous planet. She instantly knew why she Mars was the first thing to pop into her head; it had been calling her. She gazed around in awe at what a sign told her was Tharsis City, wondering why she hadn't heard Mars' call sooner.
Julia walked confidently down the street, trying to blend into the crowd of mingling Martians. She had already gotten this far, she wasn't going to try and get herself caught by looking like an overexcited kid skipping school. This was her chance to finally do something with her existence, instead of wasting away amidst the smell of rotting fish and seawater.
"Hey! Hey, you! Stop!" Julia froze. I hardly took three steps on this planet! No one can work that fast— Just as she was pondering whether or not it was a good plan to run, a tall, lanky boy blew past her, sardonic smile on his face.
"Excuse me," he said casually as he jogged by. Julia looked back and found a shop owner waving angrily at the boy, though making no move to chase him. After a minute or two, the man grunted in frustration and walked back into his shop. When Julia looked back to see the boy, he was long gone.
"Well, it looks like I just witnessed my first robbery on Mars," she muttered to herself and continued to walk. She had no idea where she was going, she was just hoping that circumstances would still be on her side and something would occur that would be favorable to her. Finding a job, for one, would be entirely convenient right about then.
"Ran away from home, eh?" A voice addressed her before she saw the owner. She looked around and found the fluffy haired boy, standing in an alley, leaning against a wall with a cigarette dangling precariously from his between his lips. She frowned slightly; smoking was a disgusting habit.
"What makes you think that?" She snapped lightly.
"Hm. Bulging backpack, lost and suspicious look in your eyes, the fact that you froze when that guy was shouting at me to stop. A lot of little things lead me to that conclusion, you see."
"Yeah, you were awfully observant for a person trying not to get caught for stealing." This boy had nerve, analyzing her like she was some sort of closet case and he was her shrink. Especially since she had just witnessed him commit a crime.
"You should make it a little less obvious. You're gonna get caught yourself," he advised calmly, as though he didn't notice the bitterness in her tone. He either didn't notice, or didn't care, either way it irked her.
"Well, thanks for the advice," Julia said sarcastically, and turned to walk away.
"Where are you from?"
"Is it any of your business?"
"No," he answered truthfully, blowing smoke out of the corner of his mouth. He shoved his free hand into his pocket and let the other hold the cigarette while he spoke. He is so damned arrogant. Be that as it may, she felt compelled to answer his simple question anyway.
"Ganymede."
"Hm."
"Feel enlightened now that you know?"
"Not really. Am I supposed to?"
"Not really." They stood in silence for a moment, Julia contemplating what exactly was keeping her there, talking to this hooligan. Something about him, though, indicated that he wasn't a hooligan. He was something more. Maybe a delinquent. But it was even more than that. This rusty eyed kid seemed to have far more experience under his belt than any kid his age should. Experience that Julia liked completely.
"Do you need somewhere to stay?" Julia narrowed her eyes at the invitation, wondering where he was going to suggest she go. Then again, there was a good chance it was her luck, coming up at the opportune moment. Sometimes she wondered if all this good karma was going to come back in reverse one day.
"Maybe. Why?"
"There's this woman I know, real nice, she's got a room for rent above her shop. Maybe you could stay there, maybe work for your rent." He paused, taking another puff from his cigarette. "That is, if you need a place."
"Why are you helping me?"
"I didn't know I needed a reason to be a nice person nowadays."
"What's this woman's name?"
"Annie. I can take you to her place if you want." Julia thought for a second. There was really nothing wrong with the boy, it was just a matter of if she wanted to trust some random stranger she just observed stealing. There's no honor among thieves. However, he had no real reason to steer her wrong, aside from perhaps getting his kicks by tormenting a foreign girl. She really had nothing to lose, and if it turned out that this kid was a delinquent, then she would chalk it up to bad karma and learn from her mistake.
"All right. What's your name anyway?"
"They call me Spike."
"Who's they?"
"If I like you enough, maybe you'll find out." Julia snorted derisively, making Spike smirk. "And you are?"
"Julia."
"Well, Julia, welcome to Mars."
Thank you to my reviewer.
P
Lyrics from "Julia" by Fefe Dobson