There are things NASA prepares you for—zero gravity, radiation, cosmic isolation.
We had none of that.
So Kairo improvised.
And by "improvised," I mean he duct-taped a snorkel to my face and threw a gallon of orange juice into the bathtub.
"THIS ISN'T WHAT ASTRONAUT TRAINING LOOKS LIKE!" I screamed, flailing.
"It's simulated G-force turbulence!" he yelled, wearing goggles and holding a fan.
"It's citrus waterboarding!"
"Same difference!"
The bathtub sloshed violently as he turned the fan to full blast. I slipped, the snorkel flipped sideways, and I inhaled a full shot of Tropicana through my nose.
Kairo paused. "Okay, maybe we scale it back."
"No kidding, Buzz Cutdrin!"
He helped me out of the tub, dripping wet and smelling like breakfast.
"I think my brain is sticky," I muttered.
"Perfect! That means you're thinking sweet thoughts."
"Do you want to die?"
"Only in space."
---
After the citrus disaster, we flopped onto the couch.
Kairo passed me a towel and a Pop-Tart. "Fuel."
I blinked at him. "Do you just… live like this?"
He shrugged. "Chaos is my cardio."
Before I could respond, my phone buzzed.
📩 **Message from: Unknown Number**
> "We saw your footage. Meet us at the park. Come alone. Or bring Kevin."
I stared at the message, blinking. "Who's Kevin?"
Kairo held up his wrench. "Kevin is family."
"…I worry about you."
---
We went anyway. Because of course we did.
We arrived at the park at midnight, only to find a group of people in foil hats sitting around a picnic table covered in glow sticks.
One guy in a cape stood up. "You must be Luna."
I hesitated. "Yes?"
He nodded solemnly. "Welcome to the L.U.N.A. Initiative—Lunar Unification Nerd Association."
"…You made that up just now, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"Figures."
---
They showed us a box.
A weird, blinking, buzzing box.
"This," the cape-guy declared, "is a moon communicator."
Kairo leaned in. "Where did you get this?"
"A classified government dumpster."
"That tracks."
They handed us the box.
"We want you to test it. During your next launch attempt. If you can connect… we believe she—" he pointed to the sky "—will answer."
I opened my mouth to ask who "she" was, but Kairo was already nodding like a kid promised candy and a flamethrower.
---
We returned home carrying the moon communicator, a glowing rock, and a pamphlet titled *"How to Emotionally Prepare for Extraterrestrial Rejection."*
I flopped onto the floor. "What are we even doing with our lives?"
Kairo lay beside me. "Making history."
"Or embarrassing ourselves globally."
"Same thing."
He turned his head toward me. "You know, we're already farther than most people ever get."
I looked at him.
His ridiculous hair.
His ridiculous dreams.
His ridiculous Kevin the Wrench.
And somehow… I smiled.
"Yeah," I said softly. "But I'm not wearing that foil hat."
"Too late," he said, plopping it on my head.
---
The next morning, I woke up with Kevin tucked beside me like a teddy bear.
I wasn't even surprised anymore.
---
**[TO BE CONTINUED]**