The doctor looked confused. Cal said it again. "My
blood
. It's gone bad."
The doctor pushed his glasses up against the bridge of his nose. Then lied. "We'll do some tests. I'll get back to you."
It would've been Cal's third day off if the doctor gave him the note. But now it was back to work. Cal dragged his feet over to his station. Keith was waiting for him. Asshole could just sit there since he wasn't working while Cal had to stare at his person down on earth. Funny that staring at the people on earth used to be so exciting. Keith and him had even been so motivated to write a script that monitored the subjects and sent them food and fake text messages from their friends. Where had all that gusto gone?
How many years did he have until his enlistment was up? Damn he had only beenup here for five months now. He'd be here another three and a half years. This reminded Cal of that scene from
The Sopranos
. Vito in that small town. Waiting for lunch. Counting down the time. Not looking at his watch. The first time he thinks "10:30. Gotta be." Time passes. It seems like it's finally lunch time. But when he looks at the time it's not even 10:30.
"Did you not get a note then?"
"No."
"Don't get so hung up on that. You have your
health
. That's what's important."
"But Keith. I don't want to work! I want to be like you."
A furrowed eye brow looked down at him. Took a drink of coffee. "You know I put in many years before you even arrived?"
Cal sighed. "Yeah. But now I just want to hang out. Like you."
"Well that's too bad. You should've never come up to
Spacecity
then."
There was no reply. Cal thought of his brother Shawn. He would be calling him an idiot right now.
"Say. Why did you come up here in anyway?"
"Why does anyone come up here? to escape their life. Right?"
Keith took a long sip of coffee. Cal could use a cup right now. But he didn't want to get up from his chair.
"I always wanted to come up to space." Keith said. "Once I found out they would let you live here and even pay you for it. I took it."
"What's so great about space?"
A grin cast across the face behind the coffee mug. "It's beautiful. Don't you know?"
Cal did think space was beautiful. However he missed his life down on earth. The culture. The weather. That heat. He was sick of feeling cool 24/7. He wanted that summer, thick air. That same humidity he used to loathe. Now he wanted it. Late afternoon, early evening heat. Friends waiting for him at the bar. Loud, horrible music playing live. A drum kick and a snare. Life up here was too sterile. It wasn't what he would call life at all.