Jocelyn stirred her coffee and watched Mia on a glitchy FaceTime call.

  "I can't believe they made us get up at five am, and we're not launching until this afternoon. What difference does it make if I exercise today? This could be my last day on Earth!"

  Mia's phone was propped against a small lamp, allowing her to move freely around the room. The bedroom resembled her room at home, an explosion of clothes, tech gear, and empty soda cans. Milani bailing on the M6 mission had afforded her extra space, and Mia was currently using every inch to spread out her sea of belongings.

  "Please stop saying that, sweetheart. I know you're joking, but you're giving your poor mother a heart attack."

  "It's healthy to say how I feel, Mom. Last night, we met with the crew to discuss the possibility of something going wrong today, what that would feel like, AND how to process the realization that a failed launch may mean loss of life. The chances are slim, but it's possible."

  Jocelyn brought her fingers up to her throat and blinked, her eyes swollen from crying so much over the past two weeks.

  "What will it feel like if it goes right? I mean, when it goes, right?" Jocelyn asked, correcting herself.

  "Like a bunch of vile shaking and bumping. We've practiced multiple times a day this week, but they say there's no way to prepare for the G-forces. No one throws up anymore, but several of us blackout."

  Mia was one of the blackout kids. Jocelyn knew this.

  "Well, lots of people pass out on rollercoasters. It takes approximately 8 minutes to reach orbit. I'm sure you'll be fine. You won't miss anything but a bunch of scary noise. Think of it that way."

  Mia looked at her mom and smirked. It was true she wouldn't miss anything exciting. It was just the hell everyone gave her afterward that she longed to avoid. Alex teased her mercilessly after each blackout. Sloan suggested that she think of Alex as the boy who popped all the girls' bras back in 5th grade. Mary Jane had called him an ass to his face, and Trevor had shoved him yesterday, which would only make Alex taunt her harder from here on out.

  "I'd better go, Mom. They want us to pack our stuff a certain way, and we have to be on the shuttle two hours before launch."

  "I know. I don't want to say goodbye. Can you wait 10 hours? I'll pick you up."

  "Don't tempt me. I hope I black out all 8 minutes."

  "Love you, baby girl, always and forever."

  "Love you too, Mom. Talk soon," and then Mia hung up.

  Her eyes were wet and tired. She looked around the room, wondering how she'd made such a colossal mess in 13 days. Sloan had packed her room the night before, stepping around Mia and Mary Jane, who were lying on the floor, discussing the seating arrangement. They'd each be seated close to their male counterparts and one other person in rows of three. Of course, Mary Jane was sitting next to Edward, who'd turned out to be awesome. They were probably the best-suited pair on the mission. Presley was on Mary Jane's right side. Sloan, Max, and Camden were seated in the second row, followed by Mia, Trevor, and Kai in the third. The row closest to the exit housed Alex, Lilly, and Ms. Lawrence.

  The seating arrangement was a minor detail, but somehow it calmed Mia to know Trevor would be nearby. The strong bonds she'd made with Sloan, Mary Jane, and Presley over the past two weeks had been unexpected. She felt bad for Presley, who'd admittedly grown tired of Lilly and taken to spending the last few days of quarantine either with Camden or alone since Lilly didn't care for any of the girls outside of Presley. Mia had asked Presley to sit with her at dinner last night, but she'd sat with Alex and Camden instead.

  In two short weeks, Alex had managed to piss everyone off and reverted back to Lilly, who seemed to tolerate him. Who knew how his eating dinner with Presley had gone? No one had seen Lilly last night. Maybe she'd eaten alone in her room. Perhaps she was losing her shit over the fact that she was getting ready to launch to Mars. To say they were all on edge was a ludicrous understatement. Trevor was, in fact, the one thing keeping her from falling apart. Whatever Trevor was or wasn't in her life, she depended on him. If something did go wrong today, he'd unbuckle his seat belt and hold her until it was over.

  A hard knock at the door caused Mia to trip over her Red Rock-issued tennis shoes as she turned to answer it. The knocking was coming from Ms. Lawrence.

  "Morning, Mia," she said, smoothing out pants, which were already wrinkle-free. "Can I come in and talk for a minute?"

  Mia wondered what would happen if she said no but stood back from the door, letting her step inside. Ms. Lawrence scanned the messy room and then looked back at Mia.

  "I'll get it done," Mia said, then sat hard on her bed.

  "I know you will. I wanted to check in with you and Trevor before the launch. Communication is essential, and I'd like us to model that for the kids who don't know me as well and might not feel comfortable coming to me with issues."

  Mia shuffled her feet, feeling awkward and unlikely to discuss anything with Ms. Lawrence.

  "Trevor told me Alex has been teasing you, and that's going to stop. Being in a confined space for six months will be challenging, and my job, among other things, is to ensure that everyone gets along. There's no room for drama on this mission."

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Everyone's absolutely not going to get along," Mia said before realizing it had spilled out of her mouth. "I mean, I don't think that's realistic."

  Peyton said nothing and then sat beside Mia, clasping her fingers together while staring at the floor.

  "The thing is, I'm scared," Peyton said, turning to look at Mia. "I'm scared of the launch, the trip, the living on Mars- but mostly, I'm terrified of letting you guys down. I know we don't have the best connection, you and me, but we need it to survive up there. I need to forge that with all of you, and I have no idea how to do it. I've always wanted to go to space. But I never imagined I'd be responsible for anyone but myself. This is a very different version of that dream."

  Mia thought about this and stared at Peyton's folded fingers. Her skin began to itch, and she wanted to stand up and move away. This seemed inappropriate somehow. Had Trevor heard this same story, or was she the first of their teacher's two stops?

  "I don't think we're going to make those connections in two weeks or even months," Mia said. "It's a trust thing. You can't decide if you trust people until you go through stuff together. Make sure we can trust you, and the rest will come."

  Peyton shook her head and smiled as she stood.

  "You can trust me. Now get this room packed up so we can launch on time, seriously. Trevor's already in pre-launch."

  So she'd gone to see Trevor first, big shocker. Mia smiled, and then Ms. Lawrence left, leaving her to organize and pack her belongings.

  By the time Mia arrived at pre-launch, she was mentally spent and ill-prepared to deal with a snappy physician, who began scanning her immediately with numerous machines and devices. Mia watched numbers pop up on screens for what felt like hours, unsure if her body was passing the tests. He charted the pressure in her eyes, reminding her that her head might swell significantly for the first few days. She watched him type information into a machine that stored her data in a digital health file.

  "I'm going to be injecting microbots into your body. They're preloaded with antibiotics, adrenaline, insulin, glucose, and other things. Were you aware of this protocol?"

  Mia thought back on the mandatory microbot training they'd attended earlier that week. She and her parents had both signed consent forms for this procedure.

  "Yes. It's so I can give myself medicine if I get separated from the group or in an emergency."

  "That's correct, and we can administer remotely if we lose contact with you. They help provide your vitals continuously. They also release birth control. Do you have any questions?"

  Mia hadn't remembered anything about birth control, but she nodded her head agreeably and watched as he placed an IV in her arm, attaching it to a bag of dark-colored liquid. The solution burned going in, and she tried not to think of tiny bots floating around her bloodstream. While she sat getting the infusion, she'd noticed Sloan seated in a room across from hers. Was she freaking out, too? But, before she could get Sloan's attention, the doctor announced Mia was cleared, ushering her towards someone in a flight suit who gestured for her to follow.

  Mia wondered where everyone was. The idea that Trevor quit and was on his way home raced through her mind as she followed a woman down a sterile-looking hallway.

  "Your suit is hanging in there. Come out when you're ready, and I'll escort you to the launch pad."

  Mia opened the door to what appeared to be a locker room and glanced up to see Mary Jane and Presley, half-dressed, standing close to the restroom stalls. Tears filled Mia's eyes, and she broke down, covering her face to hide.

  "I know," Presley said, crossing the room to hug Mia. "I know."

  Mia pulled her wet fingers away and stared at the girls. Her mouth tried to open, but there were no words. Presley led her to sit beside Mary Jane, who squeezed her leg.

  "What the fuck are we doing?" Mia said. "This is the worst thing I've ever agreed to."

  "Same," said Mary Jane, looking down at her space boots.

  Mia stood, pulled off her tennis shoes, and placed them in the nearest locker.

  "Remember, they said it would be like this today. Like we wouldn't want to go," Presley reminded them. "It's fear talking. We can manage it. What did they tell us to do?"

  Mia slid on the bottom half of her suit and tried to recall what they'd said about managing fear.

  "They said visualize yourself unharmed and feeling safe in space."

  "Oh, it's instantly better," Mary Jane retorted, disgusted. "Should we just quit? I mean, who would choose to do this to themselves?"

  "Nobody's quitting," Sloan said, emerging from a bathroom stall, smacking Mary Jane's head.

  "Get your suits on bitches. Today, we ride!"

  Presley half laughed and half cried while Mary Jane rubbed the back of her head. Mia forced a smile, but only one person could make this better.

  "What about our stuff?" Presley asked, glancing at her Apple watch before shutting the door to her locker.

  "Your stuff will be fine, Pres. I'll buy you a new watch when we get home. You know we're all getting filthy rich off this. They'll make a movie, and people will beg us to promote their brands. We'll have it made after this. Let's get Mia to Trevor. She looks green," Sloan said, winking at Mia.

  And when the girls arrived, he was already on the launch pad, helmet tucked under his arm. General Stone was also there, making everything feel ominous. Mia stood, one of eleven kids, waiting compliantly for what would happen next.

  "You ok?" Trevor asked, leaning in and knocking her off balance.

  "No."

  "Yeah, I get that," he said, brushing the hair from her eyes.

  "It's going to be ok, 8 minutes, and then the worst part is over."

  "What if?" Mia started, but Trevor interrupted, taking her hands.

  "It's not," he said. "Nothing bad is gonna happen. You're stuck with me for the whole thing. I'm keeping that promise."

  Mia looked at Trevor, his blonde hair and green eyes popping against the white spacesuit. He was always smiling, drawing her in. This guy wasn't anything like Brian. Trevor Bell was a catch. How had she missed it? She'd been a total bitch, but he'd forgiven her, even encouraged her. And she trusted him explicitly. When had THAT happened? When had she let herself need him? Her philosophy on connection and trust was right. You couldn't have one without the other. Was she falling in love with him? Everything was happening so fast.

  "Cadets, begin assent," General Stone commanded.

  Mia looked past the black tarmac at trees and grass as she climbed the stairs. She'd miss this and the clouds rolling soundlessly above.

  "See you later," she whispered and ducked inside the spacecraft.

  They sat for almost two hours before the shaking began. Finally, General Stone's voice roared through hidden speakers, instructing them to prepare for launch.

  "M6 cadets, this is a go. T-minus four minutes to liftoff."

  Alex screamed, "Let's go!" to which Sloan replied, "No one likes you!" Laughter rippling all around them.

  Mia reached for Trevor and was relieved to see he was crying, too.

  "Eight minutes from now, Mia Roberts, I can tell you just how big a crush I have on you."

  Mia smiled and squeezed his hand as her tears fell, hot and hurried, her body relinquishing control as unimaginable forces graciously knocked her out. She'd never know Trevor spent the next eight minutes praying aloud that God wouldn't take her from him while Sloan repeated Michael's name endlessly, a one-word prayer.