21 NOT-SO-FOND FAREWELL

21 NOT-SO-FOND FAREWELL The very last lunar day Evacuation time We didn't even see the rockets land. We were too busy suiting up in the staging area, and there were no windows aimed toward the launchpad, save for the small one in the air-lock door. Since there was no atmosphere on the moon, we couldn't hear the landing either. The only way we knew it had happened was when Nina announced it. "Touchdown is complete," she said. "Prepare for evacuation."

Despite her flat, emotionless monotone, the words were still among the most wonderful I had ever heard. Our suiting up went much less chaotically than it had the day before. Partly this was because we had just done it and partly it was because there was no emergency this time. Since only half of us were leaving, the others were available to help us get our suits on. The Sjobergs were nowhere to be seen. Lars and Lily had a decent excuse—both were locked up—but Sonja and Patton had simply wanted nothing to do with us. Of course, it wasn't like any of us really wanted to see them, either. Dad and Chang had spent the past few hours stacking all the gear that was being returned to earth outside the base, making repeated trips back and forth through the air lock. Now they were back inside. Dad was helping Mom suit up while Chang assisted me. Meanwhile, Daphne worked with Violet. Daphne was obviously trying to hold back tears. "I'm going to miss you so much," she told my sister. "You've been like a little ray of sunshine around here."

"We'll still get to see each other back on earth," Violet told her. This wasn't really true. Once we returned, there would be a two-week quarantine period at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, followed by a few weeks of rehab while we rebuilt the strength in our bodies to handle earth gravity. But after that we would all be returning to our real homes, which were scattered all over the world. My family would be going back to Hawaii, while Daphne would be going to NASA Mission Control in Houston. Chances were, we'd barely see her again, if ever. Violet hadn't put this together yet. Even though we'd only been on the moon for eight months, that was still a significant portion of her young life; she was only six and a half years old. After spending so much time in a cramped space with everyone close by, she seemed to have forgotten just how big the earth was. And no one wanted to burst her bubble by telling her the truth yet. "Maybe we can have a slumber party!" Violet said excitedly. "I'd like that," Daphne told her. "It's a date." She tousled Violet's hair one last time, then placed the helmet on over her head and locked it into place.

"Daphne's right," Chang told me. "Things are going to be pretty dull here without all you guys around." "Oh, there'll still be plenty of fun things to do," I teased. "You'll have all the Sjobergs to play with. And there's always the danger of asphyxiation to keep you on your toes." "You know what I'm not gonna miss?" Chang asked. "That attitude." He smiled to let me know he was joking, then leaned in close and whispered, "You've got a good head on your shoulders, Dash. Keep in touch with me when we're back on earth. NASA could use a brain like yours." I was so stunned by this, I wasn't sure what to say. Having a supergenius like Chang tell me that I was smart was one of the most amazing things that had ever happened to me. All I could manage was, "Okay." "Good." Chang held up my helmet. "Take one last good breath of Moon Base Alpha air, and then I'm closing you up." "Wait!" Kira bounded over. She had her entire suit on except for her helmet. "We're not going to see each other on the ride back." "I know," I said. "But we'll see each other in

quarantine." "Still, it's going to be a few days, so..." Kira gave me a hug. Or the closest you could get to a hug while wearing a space suit, which wasn't much of a hug at all. We were more like two sumo wrestlers bumping bellies. "Thanks for being my friend up here. It's been wild." "It has," I agreed. To my surprise, Kira gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "Have a safe ride," she said, then turned to Violet. "You too," she said, then gave her another sumo hug and, since Violet's helmet was already on, a kiss on the face plate. "Bye, Kira! See you on earth!" Violet yelled to be heard through her helmet. "Yeah. See you down there." Kira bounded back over to Dr. Alvarez, who helped her put her helmet on. "Y'know," Chang said to me thoughtfully, "if I liked girls, and I was your age, that's the kind of girl I'd like." I didn't know what to say to that, either. So I simply told Chang, "I'm ready to go." He put my helmet on and locked it into place. Nearby, my parents were wrapping up their safety

checks for each other. They came over and made sure that Violet and I were properly suited up as well, then said their good-byes to Chang and Daphne. There was lots more hugging. Nina emerged from her office, but she didn't make a move to say good-bye, or give anyone a hug, or do anything else remotely human. She didn't even wave to us. Instead she ordered, "Let's move it, people. You don't want to miss your liftoff window." So we headed for the air lock. The Howards and the Goldstein-Iwanyi family entered it first. While we waited for them, I took my last look around Moon Base Alpha. "What a dump, right?" Roddy Marquez asked. He was wheezing heavily under the weight of his suit. "It wasn't so bad," I said. "Please. This place sucked. The veeyar system was five years out of date. I couldn't even play the latest version of Warp War. Or Space Pirates of Xenon. Or anything. Which is exactly what I'm going to do when we get back to earth. The moment I get home, I'm jacking in for a week straight." "You're not going to go outside?" Roddy looked at me as if I was from another