Chapter Text
Cassie didn't sleep at all last night. She was too busy thinking about what just happened and what was going to happen. She looked around the attic, curious about the objects in it. She found paraphernalia related to some guy with a big hat named "Lone Star," who bore a striking resemblance to Bergs. She found decorations for Earthie holidays like "Halloween" and "Christmas." She found camping gear. She found a lot of things. But the most interesting thing she found was a scrapbook with old photos of Bergs in it. In them, he was pictured with a girl with brown hair, freckles, and pink glasses. They seemed to be great friends. There was even a photo of them together at some kind of dance - but it was ripped. Next to the girl was another guy. A few pages later, Cassie found an image of what seemed to be Bergs being the best man at a wedding. He stood next to the groom with a clearly forced smile. "Wait," she said to herself. "That must be the guy who he ripped out of the dance picture. Ohhhh, I get it now. Bergs is jealous 'cause the other guy stole his girl." She felt a little sad.
Soon, the sun shined through the window. It was time to start the day. Cassie walked downstairs, and surprise surprise, Bergs was already brewing coffee. "Good morning!" she said cheerfully. "Oh! Good morning, Cassie," replied Bergs. Cassie stared in awe at the coffee maker, as if it was the greatest thing she had ever seen. "Ooh, what's this?" she asked. "That's a coffee maker," said Bergs. "Fascinating. Earth is full of surprises!"
"Do you want some?" asked Bergs. "Sure!" replied Cassie. Bergs poured her a cup of coffee. She looked at it with big sparkly eyes. After she took her first sip of it, she said "Incredible. What will they come up with next."
"Cassie," began Bergs. "Do you know a lot about space?" "Of course I do! I'm from another planet after all," replied Cassie. "Really?" asked Bergs somewhat skeptically. "Name some of the moons of Jupiter." "Carpe, Euporie, Carme, Lysithea, Thelxinoe, Euanthe, Helike, Praxidike," she replied. "Good, good," said Bergs. "How many Earths can you fit into the sun?" "1,300,000!" answered Cassie quickly. Finally, Bergs asked, "Why is Neptune blue?" "Methane!" said Cassie excitedly. Bergs gasped. "I'm impressed," he said straightforwardly. "Cassie, since you know so much about space, I have an offer for you. How would you like to mentor an Earth kid"
"I would love that!" exclaimed Cassie. "I'm great with kids! I can see it now, I teach them about space, and in return, they teach me about Earth! I'm sure I won't expose my alien identity. I'll keep it on the up high." Bergs corrected her. "You mean the down low?" "Right, right, right," said Bergs. "Anyway, since you're willing to become a mentor, I'm going to take you to the Deep Space Array. Don't worry, everyone there is harmless." "That sounds great!" said Cassie. Bergs looked down at his watch. "Well, it's almost time to leave, so we better get going," he said.
Cassie followed Bergs out the door and into the car. As always, Bergs had a cup of coffee in his hand. Cassie finished hers already, though. As Bergs started driving to the DSA, he gave Cassie some instructions. "Now Cassie, I can't have anyone knowing I have an alien living in my attic, so I want you to pretend to be my niece, alright?" he asked. "Sure thing, uncle," replied Cassie. The duo finally arrived at the DSA. After parking the car in the parking lot, Bergs scanned his key card at the gate so he and Cassie could get in. He was greeted by Beep. "Hey Beep!" he said, patting the rover's head. "Oh, you have a rover here?" asked Cassie. "That is so cool!!!" Beep made her electronic beeping sounds. "Nice to meet you," said Cassie. "I'm Cassie Cosmos, and I'm definitely from around here, and I've always been Bergs' niece." Bergs winced. "We'll....work on that."
Cassie followed Bergs inside the building and into the mission control room. She stared in awe at all of the scientists in there, monitoring activity in the solar system. Bergs settled into his chair, at his computer station, and communicated with a spacecraft near Enceladus. "Woooow!" whispered Cassie. Suddenly, Dr. Rafferty walked by Bergs' computer station. "Good morning, Bergs!" she said. Bergs looked up and blushed just a little. "Oh, good morning, Rafferty," he said. Rafferty fixed her gaze on Cassie, who was staring right back at her. She thought back to the pictures she saw in the scrapbook. That must have been the girl in them! The one that got married to the guy that Bergs evidently doesn't like! "Oh, who's this you brought with you?" asked Rafferty. "Uh....this, is my niece, Cassie," answered Bergs. "Huh," replied Rafferty. "Since when do you have a niece?" "I've always been Bergs' niece!" said Cassie, raising her hand.
"Oh uh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Cassie, and I'm visiting because I want to mentor an Earth kid-- uh, I mean, a regular kid, we're all from Earth around here, hehehehe....." said Cassie awkwardly. Dr. Rafferty looked at her quizzically. "That's great to hear, Cassie! I can't believe we already have our first member of the Big BUDDY Program!" she exclaimed. "And I know just who I can pair you with. There is a kid who my son's best friends with and talks about ALL the time. He has a wonderful imagination. His name is Jet Propulsion."
Jet Propulsion. That name sounded familiar. It sounded like a Bortronian name. She remembered flying by the giant TVs that featured Jet on their screens, saying that he was a member of the Great Galacto's fan club. Is it the same guy? Nah, couldn't be.
"He sounds like a great kid," Cassie said finally. "I'm sure I'll have a lot of fun being his buddy."
MEANWHILE....at a university not too far from Boxwood Terrace
Rosa Rodriguez. A 20-year-old astronomy major who consistently got high grades. She was so good at astronomy, that the subjects her classes taught felt like "baby stuff" to her. She was smart, and everyone knew it. Towards the end of one of her classes, her professor made an announcement.
"The DSA is hosting a Big BUDDY Program, where young aspiring astronomers will get the chance to mentor children who want to grow up and make new space discoveries," he said, holding up a flyer advertising the program. "While doing this program is optional, you will get extra credit if you join it, so please consider joining. Have a great day, everyone!"
Rosa is the type of person who willingly does extra homework, so, despite her grades being very high, she took one of the flyers with her, intending to join the program. Definitely just for extra credit though. Rosa wasn't that good with kids. Boxwood Terrace was only 6 minutes away from campus, so Rosa decided to just walk there. When she got there, she stood at the gate. "Welcome to the Deep Space Array, where our curiosity is as endless as the universe. How may I help you?" the guy in the booth asked. "Uh," Rosa began, holding up the flyer. "I'm here to join the BUDDY Program." "Excellent!" said the man. He opened the gate for her, and she entered the main building.
When she walked in, she found the scientists standing around and chatting with Cassie. She approached them. "Excuse me," said Rosa in a deadpan way. "I'm here to join the BUDDY Program. Qualifications, uh, I'm majoring in astronomy, and I'm bilingual, so yeah." "Excellent!" said Dr. Skelley. "We have not one, but two people in the BUDDY Program already." Cassie turned around and smiled at Rosa. "Hi! I'm Cassie, and I'm from around here! What's your name?" she asked. Rosa's eyes widened. She was surprised that Cassie was so immediate to be open and friendly with her. And she was so pretty. "I-I'm Rosa Rodriguez. I study at the, the university here..." she said. "Coolsome!" exclaimed Cassie. "Let's be best friends!"
Rosa's eyes widened even more, and for the first time that day, she smiled. "Okay, sure," she replied. "You seem really nice. But girl, respectfully, WHAT is that fit?" Cassie looked down at her clothes. "Is something....wrong with it?" she asked. "It's a little tacky," said Rosa bluntly. "Hey, since we're besties and stuff now, why don't I take you shopping for some clothes?" "Sounds great!" said Cassie. She turned over to Bergs. "Hey....uncle....can I go shopping with my new friend Rosa?" she asked. "Sure," said Bergs. "But be home before dark."
Cassie and Rosa left the building. Rosa looked around. "Ah, sh*t," said Rosa. "I didn't bring my car. Well, the university isn't too far from here, so I'll just walk there and drive back here. Stay here, okay Cassie?" "Okay!" she beamed. Rosa walked back to the university while Cassie just stood there. Though it was just 7 minutes, 6 to walk there and 1 to drive back, it felt like an eternity. Cassie didn't particularly enjoy waiting, so she tried to entertain herself. By the time Rosa got back with the car, Cassie was doing handstands. Rosa resisted the urge to make a Mean Girls reference because it wouldn't be nice to call Cassie a loser, so she rolled down the windows and simply said "Hop in." Cassie buckled up and they drove to Old Navy.
Once they got there, they started looking at the clothes on sale. After searching for a bit, Rosa found a large, pinkish-orange hoodie. "I think you should try this. It seems orange is your favorite color," she said, holding it up to Cassie. "Ooh!" said Cassie. "And look, a skirt to match," Rosa said, holding up a skirt in the same color. "The dressing rooms are over there," she said, pointing towards them. "Why don't you go try them on?" "Okay!" said Cassie cheerfully, and she skipped towards the dressing rooms, Rosa following behind. Rosa stood outside while Cassie changed. "Dios mio," she thought to herself. "That girl is happy about everything. She didn't even seem too offended when I called her clothes tacky. I wish I could be more like her..." Cassie walked out, wearing the hoodie and skirt. "What do you think?" she asked. "Oh, girl, that is a look," said Rosa. "Thank you!" Cassie said, smiling. Rosa's eyes widened again. She smiled too. "Y-you're welcome," she replied. Cassie went back into the stall and changed back into her old clothes. Afterward, Rosa found a few clothes for herself, all in blue, her favorite color.
The two walked to the checkout lane. "Don't worry, Cassie, I'll pay for all this," said Rosa. She scanned her credit card to pay for all of the clothes, which were then put into a shopping bag. Cassie and Rosa walked back to the car, and drove off. "Hey, I, uh, have to get back to campus, so, where do you want me to drop you off?" asked Rosa. "At the DSA please!" replied Cassie. "So, you're that guy's niece, huh? So you're a nepotism baby," joked Rosa. Cassie looked confused. "........huh?"
Rosa glanced at her awkwardly. "Uh....forget I said anything," she said nervously. "Forgetting!" said Cassie. They got back to the DSA, and Rosa dropped off Cassie there. "See you soon, Rosa!" exclaimed Cassie as she walked off. "Yeah, see ya...." replied Rosa, giving a small smile. Rosa drove back to campus.
2 down, 2 to go.
