"Even if given another year, I don't see how you could be any more prepared for this than you are now," Bulot told Indi confidently. "There's no good reason for you to be so nervous. Listen to J.T., for he's not just spewing out meaningless words to give you false confidence. And he's right, you have a month to mentally prepare.”
Indi was pacing in her small, one-bed room, occasionally sitting on her bed or opening a book and reading a bit. Finally, she sighed and laid back spread-eagled on her bed.
“Lilli,” she said under her breath, took a few steps to the other side of the room, and pulled a small white device off the wall. It lit up and and as she hooked it up to a device in the wall. A large screen in the wall turned on and it displayed what was on the smaller device: a list of names and faces. Indi tapped a name that said ‘Lilliana Hunt’ and a picture of a smiling woman with dark hair came up on the screen, accompanied by a happy tone. After a couple of minutes, a voice started coming through a pair of speakers in the room.
“Hey, D!” called a friendly, female voice. “What’s new up there?”
“What’s newest and most prominent on my mind right now is this,” Indi started. “I’ve been chosen to go on the annual deep space mission this year.”
“That’s exciting!” There was a pause on the other end and Indi sat at the end of her bed, pulling her legs up and wrapping her arms around them. “And yet you don’t sound excited.”
“Yeah, that would be because I’m not.,” Indi told Lilliana. “Lilli, I never wanted to do this in the first place. I’m not ready and… I’m frightened.”
There was a sigh. “Look, sis. I know that new things can be frightening, trust me, I do. But you’re never going to do anything if you’re too frightened to do something new. You have to be brave, and I know you have that bravery in you.” You could hear a smile in the other woman’s voice as she talked.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Lilliana. It is appreciated, truly, but...” she trailed off. “I kinda just want to hand off my opportunity to someone else.”
“I won’t blame you if you go with that decision, Indi,” Lilli said. “And I wish I could go with you; it could be like one of those adventures we always had when we were younger.”
“You would definitely make everything ten times better,” Indi said with a small smile.
“Yeah, unfortunately, I’m just a bit out of reach and don’t even attend Jeokot. You know what you can do, though?”
“What?” Indi asked.
“Pray, Indi. This is basic, you really had to ask?” Lilli said teasingly.
“Maybe I did!” Indi said, relaxing more and taking on a less serious tone. “But seriously, thank you, Lilliana. Especially in stressful times like these, when I need it most, I always forget that.”
“Of course,” Lilli said. “I love you, Indi. You *can* do this. Have you talked to Mom and Dad about this?”
“No…. I wanted to talk to you first. You’re my best friend, and although I love our parents, you’re still always the one I go to first.”
“Aw, that’s sweet of you,” Lilli said. “But you should really talk to them. They’ve always been supportive, and I’m sure talking to them would help. I know you, Indi. You’ve probably been worrying ever since it was announced, but I promise, worrying is unnecessary, and Mom and Dad *will* help.”
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