Take to the Sky: Day Seven

     As Indi struggled up the stairs with all the luggage she could carry, she met J.T. on his back down.
     “Whoa,” he said, seeing her vast load. “Do you need any help with that?”
     “Yeah,” she admitted, “that would be helpful.”
     J.T. took the heavier bags out of her arms and started back up again. “Are you doing all right?” he asked her cautiously. “I’ve been worried about you since you said you were going through something.”
     “Yes, I’m all right,” she replied. She paused. “I’m sorry for the way I’ve been treating you. I suppose it’s not entirely fair of me.”
     “‘It’s not entirely fair of you,’” J.T. repeated. “How hard was it to say that?” He turned back to her with a grin to let her know he was teasing.
     “Oi,” she said, returning the playful manner. “You shush.”
     “Nice to have you back,” J.T. commented. “I missed your polite manner. About your apology, it was really no problem. I’m just glad you’re doing all right again.” They reached the second floor. “Where are you located?”
     “I’m over here,” Indi said, leading the way to hers and Vex’s quarters. When they reached the small room connecting the three quarters, J.T. set the baggage he was carrying outside the door to Indi’s bedroom.
     “See you around the ship,” J.T. said in farewell.

     By the end of the day, each crewmember was wearing a deep blue uniform with full length trousers and a shirt with white strips on the sides, along with an optional, light, zip-up coat that matched the trousers. On the back of the shirt and jacket was a large symbol representing the Jeokot Intergalactic Academy. They had started toward Hoten and had settled in. After piloting for quite some time, Indi, ready to sleep, switched with Lan and headed back to her quarters. It wasn’t until she was on her bed writing in her journal on her tablet that Vex entered. She glanced at Indi, but didn’t acknowledge her beyond that, and collapsed on her bed, letting out a huge sigh.
     “Between astronomy and botany, I’ve had a tiresome day,” she told Indi wearily. “At least they’re on the same floor.”
     “Try sitting all day,” Indi said with a small smile. “It has its own form of wearing someone out. You don’t have to switch between both all day, do you?”
     “No,” Vex replied, staring at the ceiling. “So long as I do each somewhat evenly and not just blow one off the whole time. But I couldn’t entirely decide which one was less exciting.” Indi nodded and went back to writing. Soon, she switched to reading a physical book. After a little while, Vex sat up and faced Indi. “We should talk about something each night,” she suggested. “I’ve experienced sharing a room with someone who I never talked to. It was awkward. So, each night, we ask each other at least one question. We can learn about each other that way.”
     Indi looked up. “Okay,” she agreed. “That sounds good. But why not just have a conversation?”
     “Conversations can be difficult to keep going,” she explained. “My best method is a series of questions until we find common interests. Then we can have a conversation without it ending in an awkward silence.” Indi nodded. “Do you want to go first?” she asked.
     After a moment of consideration, Indi replied, “No, you can.”
     “All right,” Vex said, moving forward on her bed a little. “I’ll start simple. How old are you?”
     “I’m nineteen,” Indi replied. “Actually, it’s odd for me. I’ll be twenty soon.”
     Vex nodded. “Bit older than you look, then,” she stated matter-of-factly.
     “Yeah.” Indi bit her lip a bit. “This question might seem a bit intrusive,” she said, “but I was wondering, why is it that at times you can act so friendly, but the way you talk is so closed, like you don’t want people to see what you’re actually like? And like, now, you’re not acting like nothing matters. You almost seem excited to have a roommate, whereas earlier, you only seemed to want to be in here with me because you felt you had to be.”
     Vex tilted her head a bit and looked more at the corner of the room than at Indi. “To be honest, I haven’t thought much about why I act like that,” she said in a ponderous way. “I purposely act like that around boys because it seems that no matter what I do, they are always wanting to talk to me or attempting to lock eyes with me for just a second, or to get me to smile. Maybe I do that around everyone else now out of habit, but I can be rather outgoing. I’m just quiet.” She paused and looked back to Indi. “I know, I’m a strange one. Can I ask, kind of relevant to what you said earlier, when is your birthday?”
     “Yeah, but it counts as one of your questions,” Indi said with a smile. “My birthday’s the 15th this month. Mum and Dad will want to call: do you think they’ll allow that?”
     “Most likely, and Lan might appreciate the extra flight time,” Vex replied. “Though the internet might not be very good. Just because the ship has generators that gives us internet, it doesn’t guarantee good connection.”