“Jill, Jill, Jill, Jill, Jill! Look at those fast-moving thing–ys!”

  “S–Stop shaking me, Tim. Roger, stop straying. We have to stay close!”

  Roger gazed at the clothes behind the glass, mumbling to himself. Both of his palms pressed against the glass along with his nose. The clothes were beyond luxurious—a bright blue dress that sparkled with the light’s reflection, and a clean jacket over a white shirt.

  “Even the mannequins look surreal.”

  “Alright, Roger.” Jill pulled him away from the glass. “That’s enough. I know we’re all excited. Let’s just take it slow.”

  Let’s take it slow.

  I didn’t know whether I was speaking to Roger or myself. In truth, I wanted to dash around the city, screaming and jumping around in pure joy. I forced my feet to stay on the ground. Excitement traveled through my veins, ready to burst at any second.

  I was here.

  After all these years, I finally did it.

  I looked up at the sky, covering my forehead from the sun. The world seemed a little brighter than usual. Maybe that’s because it was just sunny, or because of the way I viewed my life. Regardless, I was happy.

  I clasped her hands.

  “Alright, we have to figure stuff out. Like, a place to stay, food, and other stuff. Anyone have any ideas?”

  “Hey, forget about that, look at Owen,” Tim said, pointing ahead.

  “Oh man, he wasted no time tryna get women. Admirable. Tim, let’s go infiltrate.”

  “Hey, that is exactly what I wanted to do.”

  The two marched towards Owen, leaving me speechless. I rubbed my head and groaned. I wanted to punch them all in the gut.

  I tailed Roger and Tim. What other choice did I have? I didn’t want to lose them.

  Owen was conversing with a young, blonde woman who leaned against a purple hunk of metal with four wheels that were stationary on the side of the road. I noticed various types of four-wheeled transportation units zooming through the city. They were much faster than a horse.

  “Hey, Owen, we haven’t been in Ionia for more than an hour, and you’re already trying to go after women. Man, that takes serious guts.”

  Owen leaned against the hunk of metal with his arm resting on the roof. “What—? Oh! No, no. You got it wrong. Cameron and I were conversing about the Outsider Event that takes place in the city today.”

  “Outsider event,” I said. “Do you have any information about this event?”

  “Ya,” Owen’s new friend said, “It's at the Hayes Convention Center. It’s a big event to celebrate the history of the outsiders. People cosplay as outsiders and just appreciate their existence. But you already knew that,” she pointed at our clothes.

  Sure, our clothes weren’t as clean as hers, but did she have to point us out? It’s not like hers were any better stylistically. She wore rigid–looking shorts with a black top that didn’t even cover her slightly bloated stomach.

  “History of the outsiders? Kinda like the Walisburg Event,” Roger said.

  I thought of that as well. Was it a coincidence that both events were celebrated close to each other? Maybe. I didn’t know, but I couldn’t ask.

  “The best part is,” Owen said, “Cameron is giving us a ride to the convention center.”

  “In that thing? Is it even safe?”

  “There’s no weight limit on it if that’s what you’re afraid of," Tim said without mercy.

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  Rogers slumped his shoulders. I tried to not crack a smile at that subtle insult.

  “Wait, wait. I assume there’s a fee. How in the world are we going to pay if we have no money?”

  Wow, Tim asking the tough questions for once.

  “Ah, yes. It’ll be forty Ions. I accept either cash or card.”

  Roger leaned down into my ear. “What is a card and what is cash?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Owen chimed in. “Cameron, Cameron. I’ll do you one better. I’ll take you on a coffee date and we’ll have plenty of fun. On me, of course. What do you say?”

  What the hell was he doing? Should I pop in and interrupt this madness, or let it play out? I didn’t know. I didn’t want him to accidentally mess something up and get us all in trouble.

  But judging by her body language, I could somewhat safely say that Owen knows what he’s doing.

  She smirked and got closer to Owen. “Did my coffee sticker on the back of my car give it away?”

  “Why would I take my eyes off you to look at a sticker?”

  I looked away and took a deep sigh. For some reason, this gave me secondhand embarrassment. I wanted to find a corner to puke the last thirty seconds out of my memory.

  “Tsk, you’re a cheesy one.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a rectangular–shaped thing. “C’mon, put your number in.”

  Owen froze. The only thing moving was his eyelids. He didn’t know what to do. I have to step in and do something. But what?

  What could I say?

  What number was she talking about?

  What should I do?

  “Sorry, but I have no idea what this number you speak of.”

  Owen told the truth. Was it a smart move? I didn’t know. Should I add something to it? Would this random woman think we are outsiders and inform SCAR?

  I didn’t know. A thousand scenarios ran through my mind. I didn’t know which one was realistic or out of this world.

  But I guess it didn’t matter since her response was something I didn’t think.

  Cameron started to laugh, but her laughter was interrupted by a loud snort, which made her burst out into even more laughter. She slapped the side of her thigh a couple of times until she composed herself.

  “Right, I forgot. You guys are cosplaying and are in character.” She pulled something from her back pocket. “This is my business card. I expect a call back within the next few days.”

  Owen smiled and took the card. “Of course.”

  She returned the smile and looked at the three of us that stood out Owen’s way. “Alright, get in the car.”

  “Uh, ok,” Tim said.

  He pulled the handle that opened the door and slid to the opposite side. Entering the metal vehicle for the first time was an experience I would never forget. The interior was a pristine white. A smooth black traced the front of the inside of the car where Owen and his new friend sat. The black was highlighted by a blue glow that had a life of its own. The fabric of the seat was soft for me to sink, and smelled like lavender. There was a big, square touch–thing that Cameron played around with, though I didn’t know what it did. It seemed far too complicated for me to even guess what she was doing.

  There were two seats on the front, one with a curvy rectangle with handles on both sides and the other with nothing. I was squished in the back with Roger, who took up the majority of the space, and Tim, who was squished by me and Roger.

  “So this is a car…” Roger gasped in amazement.

  “Don’t go stealing it.”

  He looked at me like I said something insane. “I will not. I might kindly ask to keep it, though.”

  I figured…

  “The convention center is like fifteen minutes away. Feel free to mess with the A/C if you want,” Cameron said as she played with the big square.

  Roger poked his head to the front. “What is that big square thing that you are touching?”

  She looked at us with amusement, her cheeks lifted and the corner of her lips curling upwards. “Are you guys actors? Like seriously, you guys are staying in character like crazy.”

  Roger still poked his head to the front. “So you’re not going to tell us?” He sounded pretty disappointed.

  “I’m setting up the GPS to get to the convention… and here we go. Look, that blue circle is us, and the gray lines that you see are roads. But I’m sure deep down you guys already know that.”

  “GPS? Great… pointing… system?”

  “C–Close. Global Positioning System. It uses the satellite in space to lay out the map.”

  “Space? Interesting…” Roger mumbled.

  He scratched his forehead like he discovered something groundbreaking. I should’ve seen this coming. All of this was new to all of us, so it was reasonable to get excited or draw curiosity in the advanced technology. Roger, though, was curious as ever. He was an Ionian item enthusiast and collector, so I wasn’t surprised by his curiosity.

  I pulled Roger back into his seat. “Stop questioning everything. Just let everything unfold on its own.”

  “Jill, they use space. Space. That’s insane.”

  “I know, I know. But we have bigger things to worry about. Let’s sort that stuff out first, then we’ll get to know the world better.”

  Roger agreed with a sigh and stayed quiet.