The Other Earth (8 page)

Brandon laughed, "I was never dorky. You were the dorky one, always carrying around that damn microscope kit."

"Can we go back to just Brandon and Randi, best friends forever?" I asked him.

"Yes we can, for no
w. You see, I am leaving. But, I'm coming back. I don't want you to be some failed attempt at a one night stand, because you deserve more than that. You deserve all of me, and I deserve all of you, no matter how fucked in the head you are."

My heart starte
d to pound, "Look, let's not think about the coming back part. There is a lot that can happen in two years, why don't we just work on getting you safely to this new planet, okay?"

Brandon was silent for a few seconds, "Okay, look I have a few things to do
in the office. I'll talk to you tomorrow okay?"

I nodded, and then realizing that I was still on the phone hit
myself in the forehead, "Yeah okay" I finally replied.

I hung up the phone and stared at it for a few seconds before I heard someone clear their
throat from behind me. I turned quickly and saw that it was Stacey standing at the door with her arms crossed in front of her.

I clutched at my chest, "Oh my god Stacey, you scared the crap out of me."

She walked toward me with a stern look on her face, "What exactly did you mean when you said your parents were together for a publicity stunt?" she asked.

I felt my face go red, "Um, I was just joking" I said quickly. "Wait, what were you doing listening to my phone call?"

"Don't change the subject Randi. I came in here to check on you and that was the first thing I heard. Were your parents famous?" she asked.

I lowered my head and sighed, "Yes." I said.

Her mouth dropped open, "What the hell Randi. You never want to talk about celebrities with me because you say that they live superficial lives. You know how obsessed with them I am and here I have an actual celebrity's kid under my roof and I know nothing about it. Spill the beans, who are they?"

I looked up at
her, "Well my mom is Starla Monroe" I started.

S
he screamed so loudly I had to cover my ears for a few seconds, "Your mother is the actress Starla Monroe, who has acted in five out of six of my favorite movies?" She asked slowly.

I nodded, "Yes."

"Oh my god. I should seriously kill you. All the times I made you watch her movies with me and you never once mentioned that you even knew her, much less that you were once inside of her body!" she screamed at me.

I nodded, "Once again, yes. I didn't want you to know. I don't know her as the beautiful talented woman that you see on screen. The woman I grew up with was a depressed, sad alcoholic who never loved me or my father."

"Your father huh. So I'm going to take a guess and say your dad was Nathan Rose. Of course, I never even put two and two together with the name." She said sadly.

"He was never around. He was always on tour with his band, and like I said, their marriage was just for publicity. They got divorced
when I was thirteen, and I have only seen him about four times since then" I explained.

I looked up as someone knocked on the door, "That's Vickie. Look, let's forget about this for right now. You just got through telling Brandon that you aren't going to
sleep with him, and that had to be hard. Come out with us, we are going to a new place that we found, so there is no chance that Brandon will be there. Have a couple of drinks and forget about your worries for a while. What do you say?" she asked.

I nodded
, "Yeah, I could use the distraction. Thanks for not pushing me for more details about growing up with celebrities" I told her, standing up and looking around for my shoes.

She put her finger up, "Oh, believe me, this isn't over. I am going to get every si
ngle detail of every celebrity you have ever met, so get ready for it" she said with a smile.

I laughed and rolled my eyes, "Good luck with that" I told her.

She slapped me on the arm and ran away toward the living room to let Vickie in.

Chapter Eight

I woke up the next morning confused as to why I was up. I looked over at my window and saw that the sun hadn't yet come up and wondered what woke me. I heard a buzzing sound and realized that my phone was still set on silent and someone was
calling me.

I reached over and answered it without looking at the screen, "Hello" I said, groggy.

"Good Morning Randi, I am sorry to wake you. This is Jessica and I needed to see if you could come into work an hour early for a special meeting."

I sat up in
bed, my boss had never called me before so it must be something important to the company.

"Yes of course. I will be there one hour early" I said.

"See you then" she said, hanging up the phone.

I
laid back down and looked up at my ceiling, they only called special sessions for big reasons, and there was only one reason I could think of. They have found the person that was going to be going with Brandon to the new planet.

I sighed, hoping for the sake of my emotions that they had picked a man to go with him.
I knew that Brandon would keep his professionalism, but it helped to think that it would be someone that he would not be attracted to in the least. Six months with one person alone was enough time to start to look at them through beer goggles.

***

I walked into work and looked down at my watch to see if I would have time to stop for a coffee. I sighed as I realized that I was already running late and would have to wait until after the meeting to get that cup of Joe.

I walked through the hallway noticing ha
s quiet it was, I wasn't used to the office being so quiet. Even though I was an hour early, I figured everyone would already be there for the special meeting. I shrugged my shoulders, figuring that they were all already in the meeting room waiting to get started.

I turned the corner and walked into the large room and saw that only Jessica and Brandon were standing there down in front. I walked slowly up to them and when they turned and smiled at me, I looked behind me quickly.

"Am I early?" I asked, confused.

Jessica smiled, her perfect white teeth a contrast from her dark chocolate skin, "No, you are right on time" she said.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked.

"Well, there is no reason to beat around the bush about this. We have called you into a special me
eting for a very good reason" she said.

My heart started to pound as I realized that I was the only person invited to this meeting. The only thing I could think of is that someone had found out about the kiss with me and Brandon and that they were going to
fire me for distracting him from the mission. I braced myself for the words that would kill me inside.

"After all the testing was complete, we have concluded that you are the perfect candidate to go on this mission to the new planet with Brandon here. Eve
n though you are still quite fresh with the company, your scores far exceeded those of more veteran engineers."

I stood completely still, not quite registering the words that she was saying. "What?" I said, stupidly.

"Randi, you are going on the mission to study this new planet with me!" Brandon yelled at me.

I looked from Brandon, with a silly grin on his face back to Jessica, who was also smiling.

"Wow, this is such an honor Jessica. Thank you so much" I said, my eyes burning with tears that were begging to be shed.

"Okay, good. There is some paperwork that you will need to sign, and then we can send out the memo and let everyone know that the team
has been chosen." Jessica said.

I nodded, "Okay" was all I could say without crying in happiness.

"The blast off is in exactly two weeks from today and there is quite a bit to get you two ready for. Brandon we have already discussed your work. Randi, we have chosen a few people to absorb your work into their own until we can get a replacement for your position. I have sent you an email with the names, and you are to take anything outstanding or any notes they may need to these people today. You are to clean out your desk today as well and your computer and anything else essential will be moved to a new location" She said, pulling out a folder from her briefcase.

"What about when I get back?" I asked her.

She looked up at me, "What do you mean?" she asked.

"W
ell, if you find someone to replace my position what will happen when I come back?" I asked.

She smiled and patted me on the back, "Oh dear. You will not be going back to an entry position after going on a mission. You have just basically taken a huge prom
otion here. You will be a senior engineer with new duties upon your return."

I shook my head, overwhelmed by the news. "Wow, this is so much to take in" I said.

She nodded, "Yes, and the next few weeks, hell the next two years will be a lot to take in. Go ahead and take this and once everything is read and signed, bring it back to me in my office and then you can begin to get started on your desk" she said, handing me the folder and walking out of the meeting room.

I took the folder and looked over at Brand
on who was holding out his arms to me, "Congratulations Randi, come here" he said.

I jumped into his arms and felt the tears finally break free from their prison as he held me tight. He stood very still, holding me in his arms and letting me get out the te
ars that he knew I wouldn't be able to stop.

After a few minutes they started to slow down and I pulled away only slightly, never leaving his arms and looked into his eyes.

"Is this real or am I dreaming?" I asked him.

"Oh this is real, and it's happening
fast. Hold on tight" he said.

I gave a little squeal of joy as he twisted me around, lifting me up off of the ground slightly.

***

I sighed as I looked at my desk, once a mess of papers now completely clean except for my phone and my computer. The IT guy
would be here soon to move my computer, but I still had no idea where I would be moved to.

"Congrats Randi!" a man I recognized from the accounting department yelled to me as he walked by on his way to the break room.

"Thanks" I yelled back, not quite remembering what he name was.

That was one thing I don't think that I'll miss about this desk, it was right on the way to the break room for nearly every employee.

The reaction when the memo had gone out about me being chosen as the other person to go on the mission had been very mixed. Those people who had actually worked with me and knew me on a personal level understood how I felt about it and were happy for me. Then, there were the nosy ones who thought that I had only been chosen because of Brandon. I had decided to just ignore those people. Besides, would they matter after I was blasted into outer space and pushed through a black hole? Nope.

"Randi Rose?" I heard a voice behind me. I turned in my chair and saw Paul, the IT guy standing there with a slip o
f paper in his hand and a small cart they used to move computers.

"Yeah that's me" I said, never actually having had to speak with him before.

"Okay, you ready to move?" he asked.

I nodded, "Yes, I have everything packed and ready to go" I said, sliding the small box of my personal belongings off of the desk and into my hands.

"Great. Congrats by the way, exciting news" he said.

I smiled, "Thanks."

I looked past Paul and saw Brandon coming out of the break room toward me. I smiled as he got closer. "Do you know where they are moving me to?" I asked him.

He nodded, "Yeah follow me, you can drop your box there, and then Jessica is taking us out to lunch" he said.

I clapped, "Wow, I am loving this already" I said with a laugh.

I followed him down through the break room and out of the door to the other side of the building. I had never actually been on this side of the building as it was mostly reserved for upper management and people hig
her in the company.

"I'm over on this side?" I asked, my eyes lighting up.

He nodded, "Yeah, they already moved me over here and they have an office right next to mine for you" he said.

I stopped him, "Office?
As in an office with four walls, a window, and a door?" I asked.

He laughed, "Yes an actual office. No more cubicles for you young lady" he said.

I poked him in the ribs as we continued down the hall, "Watch who you are calling a young lady, I am still three weeks older than you." I said.

We turned th
e corner and came to a large open area that had a few glass desks with people working in front of a line of offices. I looked into the offices as we passed and saw that they were mostly filled with people that I hadn't actually ever talked to before.

"Who
are these people?" I asked Brandon.

"These are executive engineers. They spend most of their time out on missions. They are all here now, only because they were also being tested to go too" he said.

My mouth dropped open, "I beat out all of these people to go?" I said, completely flabbergasted at that news.

He nodded, "Yep. Okay, here are our offices. We are right down at the end next to Jessica, she has the cushy corner office" he said, pointing to three doors at the end of the hallway.

I looked into the door of the office that was first and saw that they had already had my name put onto the door, and a plaque on the large desk as well. I looked around and saw that there was a chair in front of my desk that was white with large cushions. I put my box down on that as I laid my hand onto the large glass desk.

The desk was made from completely clear glass, showing the marble floor beneath it. I looked around the room and saw a tall white cabinet on the opposite wall that had drawers for filing as well as spaces
to put pictures or books or whatever was needed. I turned and saw that not only did I have a window, but the back was was nothing but windows. I looked down and saw the street beneath me, as we were only on the second floor. I looked to the right and I could see my apartment building in the distance, through the fog.

"My office is right next to you here and is an exact match" Brandon said.

I looked over at him and for the first time in my life that I could remember, I was rendered speechless.

"Come on, let
's get lunch guys" Jessica said from the doorway.

***

I stood outside my front door and took a deep breath. This was going to be one of the hardest things I would probably ever have to do in my lifetime. I had to tell Stacey that I was going to be leaving.

I slowly opened my front door and looked around, a tiny ray of hope crossing my mind as I started to think that maybe she wasn't home yet. My heart dropped when I saw her standing in the kitchen, cutting up veggies for dinner.

I closed the front door behind me and she looked up from the cutting board, "Welcome home Randi, dinner is nearly done." She said.

I nodded and walked over to her, wondering if I should wait to tell her when she doesn't have a huge knife in her hand.

"Stacey, we need to talk" I said slowly.

She looked at me and tilted her head, "Are you going to break up with me? Because darling, we aren't dating" she said with a smile.

"They have chosen me and Brandon to go on the mission to the new planet. We leave in two weeks and will be gone for two years" I said quickly, needing to get the news out fast.

Stacey dropped the knife she was holding, "What?" she asked.

I stood very still watching her closely, "I've been chosen for the mission" I said.

She blinked her eyes quick
ly and when she looked over at me I saw tears glistening there, "I knew it, you aren't coming back" she said.

I walked around the kitchen island and put my hands on her shoulders, turning her to face me. "Now you listen here, I promise you that I will come
back. I have already promised you that, and I mean it" I said, shaking her slightly.

She closed her eyes as tears started to stream down her face, "I don't want you to go" she said.

I sighed and pulled her into a hug, her head resting on my chest, "I know, but this is something I have to do. You don't understand how much good I can do for you, and for the whole planet" I said into her hair, smelling her apple shampoo.

She sniffed, "I know you Randi, and I know there is no stopping something that is this im
portant to you, I just really don't want to lose you" she said.