“I’m going to go get the mail!” Mia yelled. No one responded, but that wasn’t unusual. All the members in the Rivera family were usually preoccupied with something. Mia sighed, walked out her front door, and took a breath of the air. The light wind combed through her long light brown hair. Chicago air wasn’t necessarily fresh, but just being outside always made Mia feel a little better. As she walked across the street to the mailbox, she looked around at the sunny day. Mia loved summer and always wished it wouldn’t end. After she grabbed the stack of mail from the mailbox, she started walking back to her house. 

As she was walking, she began flipping through the envelopes. 

“Hmm, nothing much. Wait! Is that what I think it is?” Mia exclaimed, “A letter from NASA?!” She rushed inside and yelled to her family, “Everyone! Come here! I have big news!” 

Unsurprisingly, no one appeared. Mia ran down the hall to her mom’s office and said, ”Mom! We got a letter from NASA! Meet in the living room for a family meeting in five minutes! I’m going to go get Miles!”

She ran out of her mom’s office, scrambled up the stairs, and started pounding on her twelve-year-old brother, Miles’, door. After a few seconds, the door slowly opened and Miles appeared. His light brown hair was flattened on one side and he was missing his usual glasses. 

“Um… were you sleeping?” Mia asked.

“Uh no! I was making my bed,” Miles sheepishly responded with a giant grin, avoiding eye contact with Mia. Mia and Miles had a good relationship for the most of the time, being three years apart. 

Mia rolled her eyes and told him, ”Anyway, guess what? A letter from NASA arrived. Meet in the living room in a few minutes so we can see if we got accepted for the mission to Mars. And by the way, Mom thinks you were cleaning your room, so fix your hair and put on your glasses. I’m trying to help you out here!”

“What? Okay! I’ll be down quick! And… thanks for your help,” Miles begrudgingly responded. 

About five minutes later, Mia’s family was gathered in the living room. Camila, Mia and Miles’ mom, stood in the middle, crossing her arms. Her beautiful rich brown hair was swept into a side braid. Camila was from Nicaragua. She traveled to the United States to get an education, and that was where she met James. Her tall figure contrasted Miles’ 4-foot, 11 inch form. Miles’ hair was now tamer, and his signature glasses were on. While Mia was getting Miles, Camila called their dad, James. He was still dressed in his suit and tie. James was a lawyer. It was actually his idea to send in the form to go on the trip to Mars. He was all about family bonding, but the rest of the family, not so much. 

“All right, family! Let’s open the letter and see what it says!” James said energetically. The rest of the family gathered around James while he slowly opened the envelope. He stared at the envelope for a few seconds. He then pulled out a paper with a letter written on it.

Rivera family,

We are so happy to inform you that your family was specially selected to join our “Mission to Mars” trip. Twelve other families will be joining us on this Mars experimental mission. Please reply within one week to be accepted on this incredible once-in-a-lifetime experience.      

NASA,

Mission to Mars

All was silent in the Rivera living room. All of a sudden, Miles let out a loud whoop of delight. The rest of the family started chattering with excitement as they discussed what it was going to be like.

“Maybe this will turn things around for us,” Mia thought. 

II

One week later, they got the final information for the trip. In one month, they would travel to Florida and arrive at the Kennedy Space Center to begin their training. A week after that, they would be off to Mars! The Rivera family was in a rush to pack and make arrangements for when they were gone. Finally, after a long month of getting ready and anxiously waiting, the day finally arrived for when they would be off on their grand adventure.

“Mia! Miles! The wheels are rolling in half an hour! I need your bags down here!” James yelled up the stairs. In Mia’s room, she was kneeling on her suitcase to try to close it.

“Whew! Finally,” Mia said in relief as she sealed the suitcase. The last few weeks had been a buzz of excitement, packing, and saying goodbye to her friends. While Mia would miss some of her friends, she was excited to go somewhere where no one would know her, and she could have a brand new start. She was also passionate about space, so this trip was like a dream to Mia.

 She looked in her mirror, assessing her oversized t-shirt and jean shorts. She looked at her freckles and her wavy brown hair and wondered if people would like her at the Mars mission. “It doesn’t really matter.” Mia tried to convince herself, although she knew that it did matter, at least to her. After taking one last look at her mirror, twin bed, band posters, and collage of photos on the wall, she grabbed her backpack and suitcase and walked out her door. Miles was on his way out of his room as well.

“Mia! I am so excited! Do you think there will be aliens on Mars?” Miles proposed as he used his full weight to haul his suitcase down the hall.

“Sorry dude, no,” Mia replied with a smile as she clumsily bumped her way down the stairs. Eventually, after a little bit of figuring out how to get the suitcase down the steps, Mia arrived at the front door. James loaded the last of the suitcases into the minivan. After shoes were on and the door was locked, the family gathered in front of the house. 

“Let’s make the most of this trip together,” Camila said. 

“Group hug!” shouted James. The rest of the family groaned but leaned in for a family bear hug. 

After that, they were off! The drive to Florida went smoothly, and after a couple days of travel, the Riveras arrived at the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island. After they unloaded their suitcases and dropped them off at the directed space, they started exploring the Space Center. NASA gave them two days at the center to have fun with their families before the extensive training began. 

“That was so much fun!” Miles exclaimed. Mia and Miles had been doing the space simulator over and over again. Turns out, even a giant space center can get boring after a while, but they still had fun doing this.

Mia smiled widely and said, “This time we should do the Venus one!”

“Mia?” said a voice from behind her.

As Mia turned around, her smile disappeared from her face. “Kyle? Wh-what are you doing here?” 

“My family is on the Mars mission! Why are you here?” 

Mia’s heart dropped. This would change everything. “I’m here for the Mars mission too,” she said dully. Kyle had always been so mean to Mia at school. Back in elementary school, it was the normal bullying. He would call her names, stick his tongue out at her, and steal her food. In middle school and her first two years of high school, he started getting worse, making fun of her Hispanic heritage and shaming her on how she looked. He had always been mean to Mia, and they had never gotten along. This normally wouldn’t have bothered Mia that he came along, but she was so excited to get away from the people she knew. What are the odds that someone would come from her school, not to mention someone from her grade?

“Wow, I can’t believe we are here together. That’s so crazy; we will totally have to hang out!” Kyle said.

“Right,” Mia said flatly. 

“Well, I’ll catch you later!” Kyle said.

As Kyle walked away, Mia looked at his blonde curly hair and sighed. She wished he was nicer and she didn’t know how she was going to deal with him this trip. 

“Uhh… Mia? MIA!” Miles' voice broke into Mia’s thoughts. “Was that the kid you always talk about who is mean to you? Want me to go beat him up?” Miles said enthusiastically, shaking his fists in what he thought was an intimidating manner. 

Mia assessed his short frame and shook her head. “Come on, buddy. Let’s go get some ice cream.” 

As the two siblings walked, Miles chattered about how cool the space center was. Mia was lost in her thoughts. “Maybe Kyle changed, he seemed nice when I talked to him. No, he wouldn’t have changed that quickly.”

III

The two days quickly passed by, and soon enough, the Rivera family was launched into the training. The training wasn't too bad because the base they would be staying at would have all the necessities, and there was a very low chance they would have to survive outside of the base. Everyone was still taught basic survival skills though. The main part of training was simply learning about Mars and the rules they would have to strictly follow. Mia was incredibly eager to learn about space, so none of this was too hard for her. She enjoyed the training more than the rest of her family. On the last day of training, Kyle walked up to Mia. 

“Hey, today’s the last day on Earth. To be honest, I can’t believe this is happening right now.”

“Me neither,” Mia smiled. Wait. Why was she being nice to him?

“So, I know things between us have been rough. I really want to start over. Can this trip be a redo for me? I am so sorry for how I have been acting. I just want a friend, and I know I haven’t been one to you. So I can understand if you say no. But can you just give me another chance?”

Mia was shocked. There was no way he could ever randomly want to be friends with her. “You’re crazy,” she said as she shook her head and walked away. 

When she looked back, he was looking down with a sorrowful look on his face. Mia’s heart panged with hurt, but she pushed it away and walked toward the lunch area. She sat down at the bench where her family was eating lunch and told her mom what had just happened with Kyle.

“I think you should give him a chance, Mia. His family life is rough, and it would be good for him to have a friend. Maybe he really has changed.”

Mia thought about what her mom said and decided that once they were on Mars, she would tell him she was sorry and would try to be friends with him. She definitely wasn’t excited to do this, but she concluded that it would be nice to have someone around her age to hang out with. 

IV

“Prepare for liftoff,” a voice crackled over the loudspeakers.

Mia looked over at Miles with exhilaration. “You ready?”

Miles’ knuckles were white as he tightly gripped the armrests. “Is it too late to back out?” 

“Hey. You got this,” Mia encouraged him. She was amazed at how far space technology had come. Normally a trip to Mars would take about seven months, but with NASA’s new rocket ‘Ares,’ designed specifically for this mission to Mars, the flight to the red planet would take much shorter. NASA also planned for the exact time when Mars would be closest to Earth. If everything went according to plan, they would get to Mars in a week.

The rocket wasn’t the most comfortable ride in the world, but it was exceedingly more comfortable than most rockets. The passengers could actually sit down and didn’t have to stand the whole time. There was an hour a day when everyone could use the bathroom or go stretch their legs, as long as they were bound in a safety harness, of course. 

After a long week, ‘Ares’ finally arrived on Mars. Mia looked out the window at the dusty brick-colored ground with excitement. She was now millions and millions of miles away from the Earth. 

The process to unload all of the luggage and the people took a long time, but after a few hours, everyone was on the base. The base was unlike anything Mia had ever seen. The floor space was the size of 6 football fields. Everything looked so modern. All the ceilings, floors, and walls were white. On the far side of the base, the side looking out at Earth had a giant window. A group of people was gathered there, entranced by looking out at space. Mia walked over there with Miles.

“WOW!” Miles' eyes were huge as he pressed his palms against the glass. Mia silently stared out the window, knowing that she would spend a lot of her time there. There was something just so amazing about looking out the huge window. It made Mia feel so small, but in a way, that was a comforting feeling. 

Mia looked over and saw Kyle looking out the window a little farther down. She walked over to him.

“Hey Kyle?” 

“Um, hi,” Kyle didn’t really look like he wanted to talk again, but Mia pressed forward.

“About what I said earlier. I really didn’t mean it. I mean, it is crazy that you want to be friends with me after how you have treated me.” Mia paused and kicked herself for saying that. She continued, ”Sorry. I just wanted to let you know that I would really appreciate it if we could try to be friends on this trip.”

Kyle ran his fingers through his wavy hair, “Really?” he said in a hopeful tone.

“Really,” Mia smiled. 

Kyle smiled widely. Mia noticed that Kyle had dimples, which made her realize she had never even seen Kyle smile before. 

“Hey! Mia! We have to go unpack! Mom said!” Miles shouted from the other side of the window.

“Oh, well, I have to go, I guess,” Mia said. “I guess I’ll see you later then?”

“Yeah, see you,” Kyle said, “Oh, and Mia? Thanks again for agreeing to be friends with me.”

V

The next few weeks were a blur! Most of the day was just free time in which the families could use all of the facilities NASA had provided on the base. There was laser tag, a gym, a movie theater, an arcade, a library, and even more things to do. Surprisingly, Mia and Kyle hung out most of the time. Mia was shocked at how kind Kyle had been to her. She hoped it wasn’t all just a hoax that would burn out once they got home.

 The only things that were scheduled besides free time was the instruction time. The families got instructed for 2 hours each day about Mars. They were also told about any new discoveries the scientists who lived on the base had made. 

One day, about a week before the end of the trip, Kyle and Mia were walking around. 

“Everyone at school is going to be so surprised that we are friends now!” Kyle said. 

“Haha! That is so true. So, we are still going to be friends at home too, right?” Mia asked. 

“I hope so!” Kyle said with a smile. 

As the two walked along, they saw a giant steel door that said "Mars tours in progress: do not enter.” 

“Huh. I wonder what that’s about,” Kyle commented. 

“We should go check it out!” Mia said excitedly. 

“But it says don’t enter, so we really shouldn't,” Kyle said as he stood in front of the heavy door to block Mia from going in. 

“Kyle! It doesn’t matter. Just let me try the handle! If it’s unlocked, then we can at least check it out.”

Reluctantly, Kyle moved out of the way. Mia jiggled the handle a little, discovering it was unlocked. Past the door was pitch black. Kyle peeked his head around the doorframe. 

“Um, this looks really suspicious. Let’s turn around.”

“Suit yourself. I’m going in!” Mia said. 

Kyle sighed. “Well, I am not letting you go in by yourself, that’s for sure.”

The two of them ventured in a little farther when all of a sudden the hefty door slammed shut with a clonk. 

Mia gripped Kyle’s shoulder. Both their faces turned white as ghosts. 

“Oh no. Oh no, no, no,” Mia breathed. 

“You should have listened to me!” Kyle said, trying to call someone on his phone. “Ugh. No service.”

“You know what?! I’m sorry, okay? Do you think I want to be stuck in here?” Mia yelled.

They both turned around and walked away from each other. 

“This isn’t going to work, Mia. We have to work together if we want to get out of here! I’m sorry for getting mad at you. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

As if on cue, a giant red timer flickered on on the wall. There was one hour on it and it was ticking down. 

“Wait. I know where we are. In one of the instruction hours a week or so ago, one of the teachers was talking about how they are experimenting on a Mars enclosed tour. Basically, there is a clear dome where you are actually walking on Mars, but it is safer because the air is filtered,” Mia said. 

“Whew! That’s a relief! So I guess we just chill in here until someone finds us then, right?” Kyle asked.

“Well, there is one problem… They haven’t totally worked out all of the kinks, so the air is only safe for an hour, and then it becomes toxic.”

“WHAT?” 

“Kyle. We have to find our way out of here,” Mia said.

“Really?” Kyle said sarcastically, “Okay, let’s look for a light switch. We need to try to find a key or something else to get out of here.” 

Kyle and Mia started groping around in the dark. 

“I can’t believe I am standing on literal Mars dirt,” Kyle said with unbelief. 

“I found a switch!” Mia said, “Should I flip it? Who knows, it could be for something other than the lights.” 

“I say go for it,” Kyle said. He crossed his fingers and squeezed his eyes closed. 

“Here goes nothing,” Mia whispered

A click sounded, and then slowly the lights glimmered on. 

“Wow!” Kyle yelled. “This is crazy!” 

Mia was silent as she slowly spun around, taking in everything she was seeing. 

Kyle and Mia stood in a clear dome about the size of three quarters of a football field. In the center, there was a little pond or puddle of boiling water. Or something that looked like water, Mia wasn’t sure. Rust-colored sand covered the ground. In one corner, there were a couple ATVs and some experimental equipment. 

“This is crazy!” Kyle whipped out his phone and started snapping pictures. “This is going on my story for sure. Come on, Mia! Take a picture with me!”

Mia rolled her eyes, smiled, and posed with him. Mia laughed infectiously, which caused Kyle to laugh too. Mia was surprised they were getting along in the middle of such a stressful situation. 

“We should not be doing this right now,” Kyle said. “We only have 50 minutes left.”

Mia’s face was somber. She looked around to find something they could use to open the door. “How will we open the door if it’s that heavy? We would have to, like, drive something into it or…” Mia trailed off as both she and Kyle made eye contact. 

VI

A few minutes later, they were sitting on one of the ATVs. 

“I feel like this is dangerous,” Mia said, her arms wrapped tightly around Kyle’s middle. 

“It’s okay, we got this. I’ve driven plenty of times by myself,” Kyle said. 

“Wait, didn’t you just turn 16 on this trip?” 

“Let’s just say my dad isn’t very strict, and, well, he doesn’t always have my best interest at heart.” Kyle tried to laugh it off, but Mia could see the internal conflict in his sea-green eyes. She thought about her family and how, sure, she sometimes got annoyed with them, but they never would put her in harm’s way. Mia realized how much she took for granted and was determined that once they got out of this situation, she would be more intentional in telling them she loved them. 

“All right. Wait! I have an idea,” Mia said frantically. “How about we tie something on the throttle and then we send it full speed at the door so that we aren’t on it.” 

“Hmm, I guess that’s a better idea,” Kyle said sheepishly. 

Both of them began looking around the dome for a string or something else to tie the throttle down. 

Kyle walked over to a pile of scientific-looking equipment on the table next to the ATVs. He held up a plastic baggie tied shut with a zip tie.

  “You think it’s okay to use this?” Kyle asked.

Mia nodded. She figured that NASA would prefer two humans to survive than one of their soil samples to be opened. 

Kyle shimmied the zip tie open and started up the all-terrain vehicle.

“Okay, I am going to full throttle it toward the door and while it's going, I’ll tie this zip tie to the rack on the seat.”

Mia anxiously twisted her fingers together. “Good luck.”

Kyle sat on the ATV and got the zip tie on the thumb throttle. He revved the engine and shot forward towards the door. His fingers moved quickly as he tied the other end of the zip tie to the rack. After he finished, he jumped off, doing a somersault on the ground and running toward Mia. He reached her, and she grabbed his hand and squeezed his fingers as they watched the machine speeding toward the giant door. 

A few seconds later, it slammed into the steel door with a loud BANG! Kyle and Mia rushed over to check how bad the damage was. There was a giant dent and the hinges looked a little loose, but the door wasn’t open. Kyle rammed his shoulder into the door, but it didn’t budge. 

“Dang it!” Kyle said, frustrated and rubbing his arm.

“It’s okay. Can’t we just try to do it again?” 

“Yeah, but I think we’ll have to use a different ATV because this one isn’t going to start again.” 

Mia took one look at the vehicle and agreed with Kyle. She also looked at the timer and saw they only had fifteen minutes left.

Within a minute, Kyle was ready with the next ATV. He also found another zip tie to use, this one coming from a baggie containing some liquid. Soon, he was ready to have another go. 

“You got this,” encouraged Mia. 

Once again, Kyle straightened up the vehicle so it would smash into the door, started the engine and tied the zip tie on the rack. He jumped off and ran toward Mia. Well, more like limped toward Mia.

“Are you okay?” Mia panicked. 

“I’m fine, I think I just twisted my ankle or something,” Kyle said, shaking it off. 

They turned toward the door and watched the ATV hit it. This time, it was successful! The door ripped off its hinges and slowly teetered over into the hallway behind it. Unfortunately, that meant that the ATV crashed into the hallway wall too.

“We have to go get help so that they can seal up the doorway before the toxic air gets into the whole base!” Mia said frantically.

“Mia. I can barely walk.”

Mia looked at Kyle’s ankle and gasped. His tennis shoe was ripped up and the skin underneath was bloody. His ankle itself was twisted at a weird angle. Tears sprang into Mia’s eyes. 

“You gotta get out of here,” Kyle said. 

“No, we go together,” Mia said. She put Kyle’s arm around her shoulder and helped him hobble his way back into the base. Luckily for them, two scientists were walking towards them. 

“Are you kids okay? We heard a commotion down here!” 

“Wellll? Um… it might just be better if you keep going, and go fast! We sort of got stuck in the experimental Mars tour, and now there are only two or so minutes left until the air turns toxic.”

The scientists both drew in a breath, looked at each other and started sprinting down the hall toward the Mars dome. 

VII

Kyle and Mia continued to make their way down the hall. The progress was slow, but eventually they made it to Mia’s room. Mia walked in to find her family playing a game. 

“We told you to be back by–” James looked up and saw her covered in sand and her hair a mess and jumped up. “What happened to you?! Are you okay, honey?”

James, Camila, and Miles all gathered around Mia as she told them her and Kyle’s unbelievable story. 

“Where’s Kyle now?” Camila questioned. 

“He’s just outside,” Mia responded. 

“What? Let’s go out there. I need to see this kid who helped save my daughter’s life!”

They walked outside to find Kyle slumped against the wall squeezing his eyes shut. He struggled to stand up, and Mia held his arm to help steady him. 

Camila wrapped Kyle in a huge hug and whispered to him, “Thanks for saving my daughter’s life.”

James patted Kyle’s shoulders and gave him a firm nod. 

Miles stood there with his arms crossed. “Yeah, thanks, I guess.” 

Mia pinched him.

“Thank you so much ,Kyle. I will love you foreverrrr!!” Miles said enthusiastically and sarcastically as Mia rolled her eyes.

Although he wasn’t smiling, Kyle’s eyes were bright with joy. Mia wondered if anyone had ever uplifted him like this. Camila finally released him, and Kyle looked over-the-top happy.
“Well, I am going to go find my dad. I’ll see you guys later, okay?” Kyle said. 

“Ohhh no. You are going to the doctor,” Camila said firmly.

Kyle grimaced but followed Camila down the hall. Mia went with them. At the mini hospital on the base, they told him he had a broken ankle and a mix of second and third-degree burns from the radiator on the ATV. It would take a little time to heal, and he would have few scars, but he would be okay. After the hospital, they dropped Kyle off at his room. 

Kyle knocked and his dad opened up the door. 

“What do you want?” Kyle’s dad said at first. Then he noticed the cast on Kyle’s ankle and the multiple steri-strips on his face. His face turned white. He grabbed Kyle’s arms, “Are you okay? What happened?” 

Kyle gave him a brief summary of the story. Throughout the retelling, Kyle’s dad’s face was the same expression. After Kyle finished talking, his dad pulled him in for a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Over his dad’s shoulders, Mia could see that Kyle’s sea green eyes were glassy with unshed tears. 

“I love you, Kyle.”

“I love you too, Dad.” 

Camila and Mia made a quiet exit from the scene and walked quietly back to their own room. 

“Mom, I really appreciate you telling me to give Kyle another chance. If you wouldn’t have tried to change my mind, I never would have gotten to know him. So thank you!” 

Camila just smiled and hugged her daughter. 

VIII

The next few days, Mia didn’t see Kyle. She understood and wasn’t too sad because she spent some fun time with her family.

The last day of the trip, the Rivera family was playing laser tag. 

“You’re out, Dad!” Miles shouted as he did his signature victory dance of waddling as he waved his hands above his head. 

James slumped as he faked a dramatic death. Mia and Camila sighed, looked at each other, and laughed. 

“Let’s go!” Miles cheered. “I’m the winner!! Winner gets ice cream, right?”

“We can all get ice cream,” Camila smiled. 

As the Rivera family was walking toward the food court area, Mia saw Kyle sitting at a table and waving at her over by the indoor garden. Mia waved back and almost started walking toward him, but she decided she should stick with her family. James and Camila noticed her look at Kyle and gave her a little shove toward him. 

“Go hang out with Kyle, hon,” Camila said. 

“Really?! Thanks Mom! Thanks Dad!” 

“Just be back in a couple hours,” James said. 

“Alright!”

Mia walked toward where Kyle was sitting. Kyle tried to stand up to meet her.

“Hey! How’s your ankle? How have things been with your dad?” 

“Whoa, slow down,” Kyle said, the corners of his mouth turning up. “Things have been good. They have been really, really good. My ankle is healing well, but I’ve just been kind of sitting around and not walking too much. And my dad? It’s been crazy. I don’t know why he has been so nice to me. It’s like he actually wants to hang out with me!”

“I’m really happy for you, Kyle.” 

Mia sat down next to Kyle and then stood up again right away. “Do you want to go for a walk or something?” 

“Sure,” Kyle laughed. 

Mia grabbed Kyle’s hand and draped his arm over her shoulder.  

“Do you think you can walk if I’m helping you?” 

“Probably. Where are we going?” 

“We could just go over to the window,” Mia suggested.

So Kyle and Mia slowly made their way over to the giant window where a few other people were gathered. Mia helped Kyle sit down, and then she sat down next to him. 

“I don’t want to go home,” Mia whispered. 

Kyle looked at her. 

“I really can’t go home. My family is finally getting along.” Mia said with a broken voice. “I don’t want to deal with worrying about what other people think about me. I want to hang out with you every day. It’s crazy how calming it is just to look out this window. Just to know that you are millions of miles away from home is a comfort in itself, and I don’t know why.”

Mia sighed and tucked her knees into her chest. 

Kyle looked ahead and said, “That’s how I feel too. This is the first time I’ve been happy in forever. Having a complete restart with everyone here, even with you, has been unbelievable. When I get back to Chicago, I’m just going to go back to how I was. I know I will.”

As they both stared out at the vast space sadly, they realized they had more in common than they would ever have thought. 

Suddenly, Mia stood up. “I am not letting our last night be like this. Come on! Let’s go have some fun!”

Kyle smiled. “Could you at least give me a hand up?”

Mia helped him up and they headed toward the activity center. The next hour was spent eating ice cream, playing mini golf, and just walking, or more like hobbling around. 

After about an hour, Mia said,”I should be getting back. I don’t want to get in trouble.”

“Okay,” Kyle said, “And Mia? That was really fun, Thanks for making the last day a blast!”

“Do you want to meet in front of the window tomorrow– one last time before we go home?”

Kyle asked.

Mia nodded, and they parted ways. 

IX

The next morning…

“Mom, I’m just going to go out there for a bit,” Miles said as he tried to inch his way past his mom toward the door.

“Hey. Not so fast, buddy,” Camila said. 

Miles' shoulders slumped, and he backtracked his way back to his mom. His idea of getting out of packing and cleaning up clearly didn’t work.

“Please go clean the bathroom.”

“WHAT?!” Miles shouted. “Me?! Clean the bathroom?” 

“Um, yes. You,” Camila said as she packed up her belongings.

Miles sighed a sigh that could be heard from a mile away and stomped away. 

“If you keep this attitude up, you’ll be cleaning the floors too,” James, who was packing his suitcase, said. 

Miles snapped to attention, straightened his back, and made a salute. “Yes, sir! Yes, ma’am!”

Camila rolled her eyes. “Mia! Can you come here for a minute?” 

Mia walked out of the bedroom rolling her suitcase. “I just finished packing up my stuff! Can I help you with anything?” 

“Did you clean the room and check if there’s anything underneath the bed or anything?”

“Yep! I did all of that, and I also checked the living room. So, are you okay if I go say goodbye to Kyle? We leave in an hour, right?”

“Honey, you do know you can still hang out with him once we are back in Chicago, right?” 

“I know, it’s just that this is where we met, so this base is really special, if that makes sense.”

“All right. I understand. It should be fine for you to go. We board the rocket in an hour. Is it okay with you if she goes, James?”

“Hmm… I suppose it’s fine with me. He seems like a nice enough kid. Go say bye to him, but be back here in about 45 minutes so that you can grab your suitcase.”

“Thanks! I will!”

Mia headed out the room and started walking down the bright white hallway to the giant window. She could see Kyle there already.

She walked up and bumped her shoulder against him. 

“Hey.” 

“Hi Mia,” Kyle said quietly.

“Are you okay?” Mia asked.

“I’m fine. I just don’t want to leave Mars.”

“Hey. I said it last night, and I’ll say it again now. I am not ending this once-in-a-lifetime trip on a bad note. Kyle, It’ll be okay.” 

So Kyle and Mia sat down next to each other and looked out at the sparkling stars spotting the dark inky sky. 

Mia thought back to her adventures, and she reflected about how this trip brought her so much closer to her family and Kyle. As she pondered those things, she realized that it shouldn’t matter if she were at Mars or in Chicago. She should have been kind to Kyle at school, and she should have been more meaningful in the time she spent with her family at home. 

Meanwhile, Kyle was thinking about how he had finally gotten close with his dad. He concluded that once he got home, he was going to try to spend time with him and that he was going to love him no matter what. He also thought about Mia. He had grown to love spending time with her, which he never did in Chicago. He made a decision right then to never make fun of her again and to try to hang out with her often because she was a good influence on him, and she brightened up his life.

Suddenly, Mia said, “We don’t have to be a million miles away to experience what we felt on this trip.”

Kyle contemplated what Mia told him and he said, “You’re right. It doesn’t matter whether we are here or home. We can stay friends. It shouldn’t matter who we are around. That shouldn’t affect how we act. Like you said, we don’t have to be a million miles away from home to be able to make a difference in our life.”

And so Kyle and Mia sat together looking out at Earth, content with going home, knowing that they would have each other and their families by their side.