space camp

A 20-year-old girl goes to space camp to study astrology, despite her mother's skepticism. Rumors circulate about people disappearing in outer space. The girl and her crew prepare for their mission, unsure of what awaits them. They reach outer space and the girl starts observing her crew members. She finds her co-pilot arrogant and her captain annoying. She continues her studies, curious about what lies beyond. No one can hear the screams of a person in the vacuum of space, or so they say. I wouldn't know. I've never been to space. I was merely walking from the exit to the entrance of building nine when the announcement came over the loudspeaker informing us that we would be practicing our drills for the next round. Space camp was my mother's idea. Something to get me out of the house instead of being a 20-year-old teenage girl. I know. Typically, it's the boys, but my case is different. Living in the basement of her mom's house, I was studying astrology that summer alone inside my thoughts, preparing for an upcoming exam that would take me to the next level of human-space interaction. Mom came down the stairs just as I was finishing up my practice exam to tell me all about the space camp that is being advertised in the papers and how I should look into it. She didn't think astrology was a real career and only wanted the best for you, honey. Sigh. Mom. What can you do? Just to humor her, I looked into the idea and told her I would think about it. It was something to do for the summer and maybe I could get more insight on how astrology works. No matter how disappointing it might be to my mother, so I went to space camp. Chapter 2. It was the first week at space camp when I started to hear the rumors of individuals who had attempted to reach outer space but had never returned and no one could explain why. They just disappeared. I was to be among the next crew to escape the camp. We said escape for the simple but accurate fact that none of us were entirely too excited to be there. So anyway, out of this place was basically an escape for us. With my summer being interrupted already, I was anticipating being amongst the stars to study more about the astrological beings I was soon to be surrounded by. Well, the rumors going around camp were that it was mind-controlling alien spiders that could bend your mind with their many psychic eyes to do their will and then BOOM! I was literally blown away. It was a ridiculous rumor, of course, but the unspoken theories were far more disturbing. The spacecraft's engines failed and the spacecrafts were merely floating somewhere in outer space and the passengers all suffocated due to the lack of oxygen. The spacecraft's engines blew and caught fire along with the passengers inside of them. An asteroid hit the spacecraft and disintegrated them. All of them serious and were more plausible, but to keep the rest of us from disobliging from the experiment, the camp directors all tried to maintain a positive attitude, acting as if nothing had gone wrong and disappearing campers simply finished their duties and were sent home. Nevertheless, we were curious as to what was in the great beyond outside of Earth, so we agreed to partake in this experiment any either way. There were five of us in each of our makeshift astronaut crews. One was to be the pilot, one was to be the co-pilot, one was to be the astrobiologist, one was to play housekeeper, and I, of course, was offered the job of researching the outer areas surrounding our spacecraft since there was to be among the theoretical chosen field of study. Mom wasn't going to be too happy about it, but I could surely add to my resume about how I was allowed to explore the constellations outside of the aircraft while I was tethered to a hose attached from the air clock, from the airlock. Chapter three, it had been several years before anyone from space camp had ventured on a journey such as we were about to take, with the last crew having disappeared, so the whole camp was abuzz with nervous energy, crew members taunting each other on whether or not the speculations were true. I don't know why you all want to do this. You know you're not going to return, and besides, we make for a better crew anyway. Another one was using, is it spiders, do you think? Imagine getting to see giant brains eating spiders. Speculating murmurs were head all throughout lunchtime, a cackle here and there, a nervous giggle from another teammate about the absurdness of the whole situation. Others excited to be traveling to outer space, believing the whole situation to be made up. Sue Ann, a fellow crew member of mine, walked up to me inquiring about my own thoughts as I was more or less lost in a dream world. Oh, nothing, I replied, not trying to give away how anxious I was to go out there and return quickly. I'm just thinking about how excited I am to be amongst the stars, I said to her. Well, don't dwell on it too long, was Sue Ann's reply. We have much work to do, come along and let's get started on our breathing exercises. We were to be the first crew to go up and she was my captain, also my bunkmate, so I did as I was told and followed her back to our barracks. Chapter Four As Sue Ann and I were practicing our breathing exercises, my thoughts soon returned elsewhere. Did those people disappear or was there something more sinister going on than we were being told? Is there life on other planets? What were the possibilities of encountering members of a third kind? My thoughts drifted aimlessly towards the unknown. Sue Ann coaching me away from the breathing exercises towards meditation techniques. After the class was over, I phoned my mother once last time to let her know that we were taking off on our expedition and would return before school started back up in the fall. Remember, darling, astrology is a myth. Stars are merely gases burning in the atmosphere. Yes, mother, I said. She went on to ramble some more about the scientific facts surrounding the universe and would have kept rambling if I hadn't shut her up by telling her I had to go now. We are about to board the craft, mother. You won't hear from me for some time, so please take care of yourself. I love you. I hung up the phone and finished preparing myself for my flight into outer space, not knowing if that would be my last phone call to my mother, but excited all the same that I was to be boarding my first ever spacecraft for my first ever journey into the unknown universe. My stomach was doing its nervous flip-flops and I felt like I was going to be sick from anticipation, but nonetheless proceeding towards the boarding area. Chapter 6. It took us six days to reach outer space to float in the areas we were assigned to study. All around us was empty space with a few nebulae surrounding our spaceship, perfect for my studies as astrology. My plan was to study the behavior of the human beings I was teamed with, along with a few animals on board, to determine if the readings were, indeed, among the stars. My first subject was Sue Ann. She was the most annoying of the whole crew and I wanted to find out what made her quirk. I quickly and quietly set up a hidden camera alongside her dressing room door, not to peep in on her, but to notify me of when she left the room so that I could follow her actions. Every morning she would do her workout routine, 20 crunches, 20 squats, 20 push-ups. I later found out in my studies that she talked to herself a lot about random things, like who might be the next president of the United States, or who the best basketball player of the current year was. Sue Ann would finish her squats and then go to the chow room to have her breakfast by herself, before any of the rest of us even woke up. When she returned to her dressing room, she would undress and stare at her naked body in the mirror, supple breasts high upon her chest, her perky nipples sparkling in light. She would turn to the side and stare at her ass, grab it, and then slap it. It was then that I turned the camera off, not wanting to embarrass myself or watch the rest of whatever episode she had playing in her mind. Chapter 7. My next subject of study was our co-pilot. I didn't have any necessary use for cameras with him. He was so arrogant, he thought I was following him around over some puppy love. I didn't want to shatter his delusions, so I went along with it and disguised my intentions when he asked me if I thought he was too good looking. No sir, I sighed in extravaganza. That's good, that's good, can't have you women fawning over me too hard, now can we? He replied as he waltzed away, oblivious of my feigned ignorance. As I followed him around the ship, he explained to me this morning's routine and had motivated this daily ritual. Chapter 7. My next subject of study was our co-pilot. I didn't have any necessary use for cameras with him. He was so arrogant. He thought I was following him around over some puppy love. I didn't want to shatter his delusional image, so I went along with him and disguised my intentions when he asked me if I thought he was too good looking. No sir, I sighed in extravaganza. That's good, that's good, can't have you women fawning over me too hard, now can we? He replied as he waltzed away, oblivious of my feigned arrogance. As I followed him around the ship, he explained to me this morning's routine and had motivated this daily ritual. He said that in the morning he would wake up and motivate himself with a little pep talk and some breathing exercises to start his day off right, mentioning how positivity will get you in the right state of mind to deter any negative thoughts one might have of oneself, especially someone with as refined looks as he. He droned on about how he needed to look extra buff and sharp in case a member of the crew, such as my young self, needed a mentor in self-love. You have to love yourself. What was your name again? Lily, I replied robotically. Ah yes, Lily, like the flower. Well as I was saying, Lily, like the flower, you have to love yourself. You have to wake up every morning and prepare yourself for a new day. You have to prepare yourself for the loved six stares and attentions you may get from the beautiful women, or in your case, the gorgeous hunks such as myself, and blow them off a bit to keep them from thinking too hard about you. Can't please them all, you know. Yes, sir, I said. Can't you tell me what you do to keep your body in such good shape, sir? I asked our co-pilot when he started to drift away in his own thoughts of stardom and love Yes, yes, my body. Glad you asked, my friend. Yes, I do a morning breathing exercise first thing, then I move on to push-ups and squats. As soon as that is finished, I head to the weight room of whatever building I'm staying in and do some pull-ups, crunches, and bars to keep my muscles toned and big to make the lady on my arm look like a trophy. You see, it is imperative that you look your best at all times. If you don't, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I quit listening soon after he said at all times, bored with his monotonous dialogue. Thank you, sir, I interrupted him. But I must be going now. It was nice chatting with you. Yes, yes, any time, he replied. He was droning on to himself the rest of his one-sided conversation when I walked towards the back of the ship to search for another crew member.