Deedee slowly walked into the airlock, arms crossed across her chest. Stray elbows and knees were bumped into everyone, all of them either apologizing or making uncomfortable noises. There were seven of them jammed into a small space. Six Astrocitizens, one captain.
It felt like an eternity before the other side opened up. Everyone spilled out, leaving Deedee nearly flattened. She pulled herself away from Astrocitizens and dusted herself off. Her hair had to stay a mess. The others recouped, glancing at each other.
The captain stepped forward. He’s not very attractive, with salt-and-pepper hair, a square face, and a gray space suit. “Welcome Astro cadets! This will be your new home, and these will be your neighbors. I’m your captain, Wilson. Let me give you a tour around this place.” He flashes a smile with pearly white teeth. Deedee rolls her eyes but follows him.
The first stop was the dining room, with dull red and yellow checkered floors, red walls, bar stools, booth chairs with no booth, a few pictures of pinup girls, cream colored counters, red cupboards, a stove, a small fridge, and a sink. Deedee’s eyes landed on the Coffee machine. The thought of a dark roast made her mouth water.
“This is the kitchen and dining room. You’ll eat everything in here, do not bring food anywhere else in the building. Water is fine in most rooms.” The captain walked over to a red door. It’s a wooden door, unlike the metal one behind her. “This is for the captain only, it’s our command.”
He walked across the hall, and the doors opened up for him as he walked by. Deedee made sure to let the men take the lead. The next was a place she could only assume was a lounge. There were two medium-sized couches, a push rug with a coffee table, two bookshelves halfway filled up with games and books, and a washing machine and dryer sat in the corner. A few decks of cards lay on the table. The place had too much room with items that it tried to fill. The metal floor was a deep purple and the walls were white. “This is the common room. You’ll hang out here, or do whatever you do in your free time. I don’t know, you can watch the dryer.”
The next door was closer to the first door. It’s a bathroom with lined up showers against the back, small lockers that blocked direct eye line with the showers, stalls, and sinks. The floor tiles and walls are off-white, leaning more toward the blue side.
“This is the bathroom, the ladies will shower in the morning, the men will shower at night.”
Next door was a workout room, with all kinds of exercise equipment. Deedee looked at it with awe, she’s never had time to go to a gym. The floor is the same purple metal. “Here is the gym. You guys should work out here. Since the artificial gravity is artificial your bones could atrophy.”
“Will they?” One of the men asks.
“We aren’t sure. Back there is the nurse's room.” He points to a white wooden door. “If you get hurt at all, there should be something back there should help.”
A familiar pain hits Deedee in her calf. Her eye twitches in annoyance. You’re supposed to be gone…
Everyone walks out of the lounge and down the hall. The center was carved out and held a large metal hatch. “This is where the escape pod is.” Everyone stopped breathing.
Deedee’s chest tightened, and her hands started shaking again. Oh the lies she could tell herself. Down the rest of the hall was a large bedroom with seven beds. Six of them are evenly spaced out, the last bed was jammed into the corner. There are medium-sized dressers along the wall. Deedee took a look at the white tape on top of the dresser.
“This is where you’ll go to sleep and stuff. All of you have a dresser with your name on top. I think that’s about it, if you need to do anything you can tell me.” The captain walks out, leaving everyone to just stand awkwardly.
One of the men takes this opportunity to leave, his motions quick and concise. Deedee left them too, her body moving towards the coffee machine. When she found the thing it was empty, unused. She opened up all of the cupboards and looked for the coffee.
She did find bottles of alcohol, all of which looked to be a different brand and type. When Deedee did find the coffee, a sigh escaped her. She took out the bag of grounds and started washing everything, the pot, her cup, and the machine. Deedee started to make her coffee. Nothing was needed for now, a simple black coffee would do fine.
An older Asian woman moves past her, searching around the kitchen. “What do you want for dinner?” She looks at Deeedee with a fiery determination.
“Uh….” Deedee averted her gaze.
“That’s not an answer. We’re all hungry, what do you want?”
“Pasta…” Her murmured. “I can cook it myself-“
“Nonsense.” The woman swatted her away from the stove. “I’m cooking.”
Deedee poured her coffee and enjoyed the bitterness. Her muscles relaxed, and her eyes shot open. “You shouldn’t be having coffee so late.”
“I drink coffee all the time.” Deedee was tempted to drink straight from the pot, but the others should enjoy some too.
The older woman poured pasta into a large pot, watching Deedee. “I’m Maegan Mann,” she holds out a milky pink glove. “I also go by Mom.”
“Deedee Dawkins.” She shakes her hand. Maegan looked back at the pasta. Deedee refilled her coffee cup, her lipstick leaving a stain on it. Meagan poured out tomato sauce and started to heat it.
“Do you have a boyfriend, Deedee?”
Deedee’s cheeks turned a little red. “Not even a little.” She looked away. Were there any men that she wanted to date? Other than a few cute ones that she’s seen at the diner, the women have been the most eye-catching.
Flowing dresses with all kinds of patterns. No matter what they wear she could always see the kind of person that was in that dress. Even the shape of the dress and the socks they wear said a lot.
Stop being weird, Deedee. She scolded herself. You’re just really into fashion. It’s not your fault that the women have prettier clothes.
Deedee poured herself another cup of coffee. “Slow down, you’re going to get yourself killed.” Maegan poured the noodles into a strainer.
“I’ll be fine.” Deedee brushed her off.
“Go sit down. Diner is ready.” The old woman strutted off. Deedee grabbed bowls and forks, setting them out nicely. She scooped herself a serving, adding some tomato sauce. She sat at a table with her coffee. The others walked in and sat apart from each other. Maegan tsked and shook her head.
Deedee and a man with very broad shoulders finished their food first. This is the first time Deedee has ever gotten a good look at him. He’s decently taller than her, white-skinned, with curly ginger hair, a unibrow, a muscular build, and a green space suit.
She smiles at her. Shoot, he noticed her staring. Deedee quickly scurried off. The astrocitizen walked to her room. She found her dresser and checked everything inside. There are tank tops, bras, underwear, and a small sewing kit.
Deedee picked up the sewing kit and opened it. There are a bunch of colorful threads, pins, and different-sized needles. Whenever she goes for inspiration she’ll definitely have to design these boring tank tops.
When she felt like she had waited long enough she went back for her coffee.
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Sorry I have posted in a while, I’ve been navigating a cornfield, making some crop circles, and the norm. I had just gotten back into one of my favorite games and felt like honoring it with a fan fic. This is just part one, I would love to post more.
@jayb1rb, for prereading my fan fiction, even if you had no idea what the game was.
@mr-story for just being supportive in all of my endeavors. You’re the best.
