Time Traveler’s Wife by … some lady I don’t know. [rustling] It’s on my bed, I uh … I don’t have a head for names, but anyway. If I remember I’ll tell you. It’s real good though.
I have a couple of new friends. Zhang Yong’s pretty swell—and way funnier than you’d assume. She’s got that kind of dry humor where she keeps her face completely blank and says just about the craziest things you’ve heard in your whole life, and the combination of the face and the words makes it even funnier. Anyway, Zhang Yong went to school with Fimi for a year. I don’t know if you remember her, but she’s the girl from the Congo—real smart. But yeah, they kind of knew each other already and we got to talking and, well. At least I don’t have to eat alone anymore.
This is getting kind of long, but I figured I owed you one since my first was so short.
Love you and love Alex and don’t forget to tell your ma I’m sorry.
To the moon and back.
Effie
389 DAYS
Hey, Raleigh,
Thank you for the birthday message! I didn’t think you could get something like that out here without SCOUT’s help, but you did it. [whistles] Roland must be heated. There ain’t a minute that goes by that I’m not impressed with you.
Anyway, things are going … interestingly. Astrid and Gita hate each other now, so they’re constantly fighting. Georgina—that English girl—has decided to give everyone the silent treatment because we made fun of how she says the word “been” like the word “bean.” Then it caught on like a nickname and then her feelings got hurt and even though I didn’t even start it AND I said sorry she still won’t talk to me.
Maritza has a crush on Zhang now and she’s being weird about it. She snuck her guitar on board and keeps playing songs whenever Zhang is nearby, and it’s bad because I’ve known Zhang for a year and I’m pretty sure she doesn’t like girls.
I mean anything could happen because we’re trapped up here for eternity alone only with one another, but from the look on Zhang’s face as I’m telling you this—What? No, I’m not going to—she doesn’t even—ugh, okay, fine. Zhang says she wouldn’t date Maritza if she was the last person on Earth—which, like I said, is strikingly similar to the scenario we currently find ourselves in. [sounds of struggle]
Ow! Quit hitting me, you know I’m right! You know I’m—we’re not even on Earth so who cares what you do, with—Ow! Fimi! Fimi! Zhang keeps hi—
415 DAYS
Hey, Raleigh, it’s me, Eff.
Sorry about that last message. It’s … well, you know how it is.
How’s Alex? I wish I could hold her, you know? I miss her. We barely had any time. I got that picture you sent and I printed it out and stuck it above my bed. It helps and stuff, but …
I really miss you.
I miss the way your hair smells and that thing you do where you smile with one corner of your mouth higher than the other. I miss the way you pop your gum and the way you look when you get so wrapped up in studying you poke out your tongue a little. I miss walking to 7-Eleven at one a.m. and getting Slurpees and stargazing on the roof of my car. I miss sneaking in your window at night and sneaking out in the morning. I miss getting to talk to you when I’m sad or happy or upset and knowing you care what happens. I miss hearing your dreams and talking to you about what you wanna be when you grow up.
I miss thinking we could grow up together. Because it didn’t really occur to me until I was up here that this isn’t growing up together, no matter how many messages we send or pictures I get. And we both know that when I get too far, your signal will be too weak and I’ll get back nothing but silence from you, no matter how loud you’ll be yellin’.
At the end of the day, I’m just up here and you’re just down there and there’s nothing we can do about it.
I … [sigh] I’m not trying to sound ungrateful. I’m still, I mean, the opportunity was one you just don’t turn down … I just—Sometimes when everyone else has already gone to bed, I start feeling selfish and start thinking it would have been better to work