The confusion I felt when waking the next day lingered for several seconds until my memories caught up. I had fallen asleep without even realizing it, on a ship, in space, on a voyage to a distant planet. Right. I glanced at the screen to my right, checking the dimly lit time.

                Not that it mattered, I was too well rested to lay my head down again. I sat up and stared in comfortable silence at the curtain in front of me. My vision still a bit out of focus, breathing deeply. I closed my eyes and inhaled until my lungs could expand no further, stretching my arms out and letting out a yawn that was nearly primal. I relaxed, but could still feel my body almost buzzing. Was 4am too early for going to the gym?

                I swung my legs out of the pod and hopped up. I felt good. I pulled open the large drawer below the pod to grab a change of clothes. Changing quickly before I changed my mind, bouncing my shoulders in a circle and stretching from side to side as if it was a proper warm up for exercise. I pushed back the curtain and started to walk to the gym.

                I could see lights on from down the hall, reassuring me that I wasn't crazy to be awake this early. I walked through the entrance and was reassured again, this time by the number of people working out. Almost like January 1st after New Years resolutions. The optimism in the air bleeding into every aspect of our lives made sense, and getting sweaty was a great outlet for that energy. And we were on a journey to another planet, what was an additional fitness journey in comparison? I was more than happy to join in, and had absolute confidence that I would be back in the gym every morning at 4am. Or maybe a little later like 6am. Possibly after dinner if I missed the morning routine...

                I wandered from exercise equipment to exercise equipment, no specific goal in mind. That was part of the appeal in a way. I settled into a mindless routine for half an hour, then quickly stretched and went to look for some showers. My search didn't take long. Although the ship's layout was cramped, it was also well designed and easy to navigate with signs strategically placed throughout the ship.

                The showers themselves would take some getting used to unfortunately, with a blast of chilling water hitting me before a slower stream of warm water. I turned the lever up all the way, but it never reached the heat that I had wanted.  That disappointing temperature was only the second obvious indication we weren't in some modern resort, right after the cramped rooms of course. Still, I left the shower with a smile only half as wide as when I entered.

Walking through the hallway, I thought back to the hours I had sat through in a classroom and the hands-on learning activities to prepare for what could be a rough environment. We all had to prepare mentally for being pioneers and the difficulties that could come with building a new settlement. My mind wandered, imagining a version of me in a rugged future yearning for the luxury I was now enjoying.

                I found myself back at my room, walking in and shutting my curtain just a little bit faster than I meant. I rolled into bed and excitedly pulled out a book. I was still wide awake and had plenty of time until there were any expectations of being social, which meant getting lost in a fantasy world for several hours. I rested my head on my hands and started to read.

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                I put down the book an hour before lunch. I had been so comfortable and focused that I had skipped breakfast entirely. And I was at a good part too. I rolled out of bed and looked at the clock for a minute. There was really nothing I'd rather be doing, but it felt like the right moment to stretch my legs and change my scenery.

                The walk to the cafeteria took almost twice as it did to the gym, since the cafe was in a more central area and served all three levels. And it was the biggest room so far, with several different vendors for more variety. I was reminded of a food court at a mall. The plentiful seating was being well utilized by the crowd of people hanging around, some eating while many more were just chatting.

                I noticed each vendor was staffed by a fellow passenger. Despite the high-tech environment, the culinary machines still needed help from time to time. They had told us that there would be random drawings for who would be on cafeteria duty that day, along with janitorial duty.

                I glanced at the different options, eyeing the 'Fresh Pizza Planet' sign. At least they tried to be creative with the names. The 'Gelato Galaxy' dessert station was a close second, and the one I prayed I would work at if my name was drawn. I found the line for pizza and shuffled up behind. Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I turned to find Lunëne with a familiar grin.

                "Is this lunch pizza or breakfast pizza? I didn’t see you at breakfast, unless I just missed you." They inquired, left eyebrow raising just a hair.

                "Yeah, this is a both pizza. Don't tell my mom. Actually, she was the one on a Saturday morning at 10am hitting me with a pillow and telling me breakfast is getting cold because I got stuck in a book and didn't hear her the first two hundred times," I rambled for a moment before turning my attention back to them, "...it was a good book."

                "Sounds like it!" They chimed back.

                "So... where are you sitting? And are there any extra seats?" I asked casually, while a list of better ways to ask that passed through my mind.

                "Oh yeah totally, I'll save one for you. I wasn't actually standing in line for pizza. I'll see you over there!" They sauntered off, headed for a table in the corner. I watched as they sat down and made eye contact. I flashed an instinctive half smile and a head nod before walking up to the counter to order my school lunch style tray.

                The side of lightly seasoned black beans and rice, a slice of wheat bread with a separate slab of butter on the side, and a cup of ice water didn't really inspire confidence. I stopped looking over my food and focused on walking over to the right table. Lunëne had kept their word, despite almost every other seat being occupied. The conversation going around the table trailed off to make way for introductions.

                "Ok so this is Soelli, who did a really bang-up job of waking up yesterday." Lunëne began.

                "That wonderful first impression is going to stick around I see..." I mumbled with a dose of joviality.

                "And I've already introduced myself, Lunëne." They continued.

                "Um, I'll go next. My name is Garland; I'm from the lower floor. Let's see... a fun fact about me is that I really love ice skating. And I'm really going to miss it." She lamented. She was short, as was her undercut hair. She had several piercings and a symmetrical tattoo, one either side of her head.

                "Oh yeah, not gonna be much ice skating on a barren grey planet covered in dust. So... I'm Elissa. And I didn't know we were doing fun facts. Um... fun fact is I don't like ice skating because I fall over immediately every time. But I do love backpacking, just exploring different places, not knowing where I'm sleeping that night, learning from new people." She explained, her piercing green eyes set in my direction until she started talking about her hobby, "I'm guessing that's one reason they picked me for this trip."

                Valentin to my left spoke up, "Adventurous, funny, good looking, they made the right choice picking you. I'm Valentin by the way."  He looked at me with his impish grin.

                "Right, are we interrupting something? Do you need some privacy?" Garland interjected in a playful tone with just the hint of exasperation.

                "No, no this is just who I am." He rolled his eyes, grin still firmly on his face. Elissa casually waved it away.

                "I'm Silas," added the last member of the table after a moment of silence. "Fun facts, fun facts... my favorite color is cerulean, I am really bad at cooking... and I'm studying electrical engineering." He glanced at me and back down at his food sheepishly.

                "The only top sider, coming down to this level to hang with us peasants." Elissa joked. Valentin mockingly bowed while Silas laughed gleefully.

                The conversation continued for almost an hour. We filled the air with most of the same joking, the occasional personal tidbit, a hint of flirting here and there. And every meal after that, I ended up at the same table with almost the exact same people there every time. I had found friendship in the food court.

                The next five days were much of the same, getting into the habit of trying different food, talking for hours with all the people I had grown close to in the short time on the ship, occasionally struggling at the gym.

                I found other spots to hang out at too. There was a small library that was always packed, both with books and people. The room was only large enough for four rows of shelves and one small table tucked away to the right side.

                There was also a room with a sign outside reading "Solarium", which was packed with plants in every corner and grass on the floor, several stone paths throughout, two small benches, and the only window to the outside I had seen so far. The ceiling was covered in panels that clearly were meant to imitate sunlight. The atmosphere didn't quite feel like home, but it was cozy and quiet enough to read in for hours at a time.

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