I woke up the next morning, practically jumping out of bed. Today was the day I never thought would actually come: the day I could escape my parents, my school, my planet, and make a new life for myself on the stations. Slinging my guitar case on my back, I secured all three of the compact, Alpha-provided bags in my hand.

Grabbing a sandwich out of the fridge, I checked my hair in the mirror beside it, just like I did every morning. I poked my head into the living room to say goodbye to my parents, expecting to see them sitting there the way they did every day.

"Good morning, Rowan," said a voice from behind me. I wheeled around, almost colliding with my Mom in the process.

"Whoa, you scared me, Mom. Thought you'd be in the living room."

"Son, this might be the last time we ever see you." My Dad's voice came from behind my mother, his body invisible until he stepped to the side. "We wanted to make sure and give you a proper goodbye."

"You're coming to school to see me off?!" My jaw was getting ready to drop until I heard the next sentence.

"Well, no," started my mother.

"You know we have to work," said my father, not quite meeting my eyes.

"Okay...?" I trailed off, raising an eyebrow.

No one said anything for the next few moments, and the two of them just stared at me.

"Well," I started, backing away. "I have to go, so..."

"Of course," said my Mom. She quickly hugged me, then pulled away.

My Dad's hug lasted longer, although the gesture was kind of difficult to maintain around all my bags. "We love you, son. Remember that."

"I will."

He let go, and I opened the front door. I had already started walking out when I heard my Mom's voice calling out behind me.

"Send lots of letters! Be careful!"

My dad chimed in. "Stay safe!"

"Okay!"

I waved, giving them and my house one last look before I turned away and sprinted towards my school.

As I ran, I wondered about the last warnings they had given me. Stay safe? Be careful? They had never told me that before, not even as a little kid. It seemed like a weird time for those kinds of warnings, but, then again, it was my parents.

Passing a newsstand, I caught a glimpse of the latest tabloid headline: STATION CONSPIRACY.

Those kinds of headlines popped up every once in a while. Inside the magazine, they'd have an interview with an alleged former resident of one of the stations. Most people agreed that those magazines were annoying: it was common knowledge that, once you got to a station, you stayed there, except of course for the people that spent a few years on Alabaster. The general consensus was that the writers of those articles were mad because they didn't make it to the stations, so they kind of just launched a smear campaign.

Anyways, when I got to school, I completely forgot about both the tabloids and my parents' warnings. Instead of the usual influx of school buses in front of the doors to Manhattan Advanced, there were camera crews and newscasters galore. I tried to keep my head down and nonchalantly cart all of my luggage around, hoping they wouldn't single me out as the transfer kid.

"And we're here live at Manhattan Advanced High School, covering the transfer of Rowan Miles! Now, as I'm sure you've all heard, this guy has beat all odds and made it to -- yep, you got it -- Station Alpha!" A big arm, which I assumed belonged to the high-pitched male voice next to me, interrupted my walk and pulled me back to face a camera.

As I looked around, I realized there was a lot more than one camera. "Let's see what Rowan himself has to say about the situation."

An interview?

I looked around, trying to figure out which microphone to speak into, but there must have been at least fifty to choose from. Thankfully, the guy who had dragged me into this handed me one.

"Rowan, how does it feel to be on your way to Station Alpha?"

"Well, sir--"

"Where are my manners? Mike's the name. Mike Wells."

"Well, Mike," I said, again, trying to force out a smile, "I'm very excited. It's a huge privilege to be going, and I'm looking forward to experiencing the learning environment on Alpha. Now, if you'll excuse me, I can't be late--"

"Just one more question, Rowan," he said, giving me a smile that looked almost too bright. "What do you think of all these people that say you don't really belong on Alpha? Those who say you--" he dropped his voice really low, as if trying to hide our conversation from the millions of viewers we both knew could hear us, "--cheated?"

An astonished murmur rippled through the crowd of newscasters, but I couldn't see why. I'd seen that question coming from a mile away: hadn't they, too?

"I can assure you, Mike, I didn't cheat." I turned to the crowd, trying to put on an easy smile. "Those brain scans are foolproof."

The astonished murmurs shifted to laughs, and Mike joined right in. "That they are, kid, that they are. Okay, better let you get to the courtyard. Have a good trip, buddy! I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot about you!"

"I'm sure too," I said, dreading all the interviews I suddenly saw in my future. Media attention was something I hadn't considered in this whole plan, and apparently I had become famous overnight. Just the aftereffect of my first interview had me shaking.

I waved at the crowd, turned away, and began walking down the hallway.

"Nice hair, kid!" called Mike from behind me.

"Thanks," I yelled back, flashing a genuine grin over my shoulder. Even though I felt pretty out of my element talking in front of a crowd, Mike had found an easy way to loosen me up, and, judging by the grins of the other newscasters, my exit had made a decent impression.

I traveled the halls, listening to my sneakers' quick, quiet taps, as I made my way towards the courtyard in the center of the school where I knew they'd have a shuttle ready and waiting for departure. I was so focused on my goal that I forgot all about what waited by the lockers...

"Rowan!" squeaked a high-pitched voice. I saw a flash of blonde before three girls assaulted me in a group hug.

"Hi," I said uneasily, arms held out awkwardly at my sides.

They all pulled away at once, looking up at me with round cheeks and big, pouty eyes. "I can't believe you're leaving us," said one: Miranda, I think, with the short black hair.

"It's so sudden!" cried Deanna. Brianna, the really short one, was silent, wiping her eyes and sniffling.

"Well, girls, I, uh, appreciate it, but I don't really know you all that well, so I'm just gonna go over here..."

The three stared at me for a second before bursting into a fit of giggles. "Nice try, silly," said Deanna, punching my shoulder with a smirk.

"We'll miss you!" chirped Brianna. "Don't forget about us!"

"I'm sure I won't," I said, backing away slowly. "Bye, girls."

"Bye," they chorused in singsongy voices, turning the word into three syllables.

No, that was something I didn't forget: you tend to remember stuff when it's that weird. I ran my comb through my hair quickly, as the girls had gotten it all messy again.

As I leaned against one of the solid wood doors to the courtyard, pushing it open, I was immediately surprised at the sheer amount of people outside. Onlookers were jammed into the farthest corners of the courtyard, lining the walls and filling in any available space, to the point where there was no ground to be seen, just people, in motion so constant that they looked like waves across a lake. Velvet ropes held back most of them -- velvet? In school? -- but my class and Miss McKinney all waited along the red carpet -- a red carpet, yeah -- leading up to the ramp of my shuttle, which was labeled in big, sleek, red letters as ALPHA 27.8.

Ralph, the man who had explained the luggage procedures to me the day before, stepped in front of the crowd to meet me. "I'll take those," he said, shouldering my bags and hauling them away into the shuttle as I stood, stunned.

"Thanks," I murmured.

Turning around, I attempted to take in the innumerable amount of eyes that had fixated on me the moment I'd entered the courtyard. I could hardly even hear myself think over the roar, as the throng unitedly chanted out a single word: "Rowan! Rowan!" It was a surreal experience, having what seemed like millions of people calling my name and holding up posters with sayings like Rowan Miles: ALPHA OR BUST!

I clenched and unclenched my fists to try and relax, but my palms were so sweaty that I couldn't focus on the simple, repetitive motion. Shoving my hands into my pockets to try and wipe off some of the moisture, I began to walk down the red carpet as the drone of the crowd reached a crescendo.

Some of my class, like the gigglers (who had somehow arrived before me) and the punks were lining the walkway with bright smiles. "Way to go, man!" said one of the punks, giving me an enthusiastic fist bump as I walked past.

"Thanks, Ryan."

The nerds just sort of glared at me, completing the range of mixed reactions I'd expected from my class.

Looking back at the crimson carpet I'd just crossed, I scanned members of the crowd, hoping to find a familiar, more meaningful face. Now that I was really taking the time to search, I noticed just how many cameras and newscaster were scattered around the small area, waiting to capture my every word and movement.

As I finally looked ahead towards the shuttle, though, I saw the two most meaningful faces in the entire courtyard. Letting out a long breath and feeling myself starting to smile, I made it to Miss McKinney and hugged her.

"Thank you for everything," I said. "You've helped me so much."

She gave me a squeeze. "You've always been my favorite, Rowan. I know you'll be going places. Keep in touch."

"I will."

Giving my teacher one more glance, I turned around to say goodbye to Jenna. Her lips were smiling, but the cheerful expression didn't quite reach her eyes.

"I'm really going to miss you, Rowan. You're the only friend I have here."

I nodded. "Us loners are good at finding each other. Try to find another one."

Now even the forced smile fell off of her face. Her soft brown eyes met mine, and she wrapped her arms around my waist tightly.

The hug came as a surprise, but not an unpleasant one. I didn't think she was the hugging type: still, I didn't hesitate to put my arms around her.

She hugged me as the moments stretched on, for much longer than anyone else had hugged me. Then, she pulled away and leaned up on her tiptoes to press her lips against my cheek.

I felt my cheeks getting very warm, and I knew they were turning bright red. The crowd's applause and murmurings seemed to fade away as Jenna stared into my eyes with a soul-searchingly intense gaze. "Please don't forget about me," she said quietly in my ear.

"I promise I won't," I said. "I'll miss you too, Jenna."

I looked at her for a long moment before whispering "bye" and walking up the open shuttle ramp. As my steps echoed against the metal leading into the small spacecraft, I turned to take one last look -- down at Jenna, still staring at me; at Miss McKinney, smiling wide; at my class, most of which were trying to look good for the cameras "hidden" throughout the crowd; at the mob of fans, waving, cheering, screaming; at the courtyard, now-visible greenery waving gently in the breeze; at my school, comfortingly resolute, as always; at Manhattan, slightly grey, but still my city; at the sun, shining brightly; and lastly, at Earth, my planet.