**Date: 13.06.1029 PNT // Thursday**

**Time: 18:21 // 6:21 PM**

**Location: Ecosystem Mika // Habitat Melissa // District 4 // Sector 1 // Azuria Haven 6**

**Blue Skiies Bar**

A blue sky stretched seemingly into the endless, clouds moving and dancing within it. Creating a multitude of shapes and forms. Different animals, plants, food, and even the faces of some celebrities. The Blue Skiies Bar was a spherical construct. The tables and chairs were floating and had the shapes of clouds.

Izbell had been sitting in one of those for the last fifteen minutes, by herself. Her date had not arrived yet. She got more and more anxious. With every minute passing, it felt like the people were watching her more closely and judging her. "What a loser," and "Does she not have any friends?" is what they probably thought.

Izbell thought this time it would be different. The text exchanges were fun, and there were no signs that her date might lose interest. But that is how it ended up most of the time. "I talk too much," she thought. The waiter came around and asked if she was ready to order. Izbell wanted to wait for her date. Another five minutes had passed before she stood up and was about to leave.

"Oh shit, I am so sorry." Rey appeared right next to her. "I was studying and lost track of time. I was about to text but…" She held up her phone; it was dead.

Izbell's eyes wandered to the floor and a light smile appeared on her face. "It's alright." She looked back at Rey. "They have outlets in the tables."

They sat down; shortly after, the waiter came around again. They made their orders. Izbell had a steak tartare with a whiskey cola. Rey ordered a roast chicken with some vegetables and some white wine.

Izbell's hands shook a little bit as she tried to pick up her fork. With a little stutter in her voice she began, "So, what do you do for work?"

"Nothing, I am still studying engineering and hopefully I am done soon." Rey smiled at her. "No need to be so nervous." She took a bite of the chicken.

"Why hopefully?" Izbell's eyes shifted to Rey.

"Well, I really just want to work. Make money. You know?" Another big bite from the chicken. "So, are you doing bartending as like a side hustle or?"

"No, it's my main job." Izbell said with a soft voice. She looked at Rey. Her face seemed confused, but she could not tell if it was judgement or genuine surprise. Her eyes went back to her own plate.

"Oh dude, that is not how I meant it, I am sorry." Another big bite. "It is just that I am so used to hanging around with other students and nothing else. So most of them just have part-time jobs and stuff. But you are an actual adult."

Izbell laughed. "Well, I used to study, but…" She hesitated.

"But what?"

"I kind of had a nervous breakdown." She lightly tapped her fork on the plate. "And honestly, I wanted to focus on other things."

"Like what?"

"Ehm, I paint and stuff."

"That sounds cool." She was now finished with her whole meal. "What kind of stuff do you paint, like portraits, landscapes?"

"Well, I used to paint traditional stuff, but I really wanted to do something else." She looked back up at Rey. "I'm working on a graphic novel." Her eyes sparked, but there was also a light wetness to them. Like she was about to cry.

"That sounds really cool." Rey took a sip of her wine. "Can I see?"

"Maybe one day." Izbell smiled. "So what do you wanna do after school?"

"Well, I mostly just want to get a job." She looked at Izbell's plate. "But I really hope robotics. Maybe Richter & Sons or Farlow." Rey smiled and looked back at Izbell. "Are you not hungry?"

"Oh, yeah, I am, I just…" She blushed. "Sorry, it's been a while since I have been on a date." She smiled. "To be fair, it is unnatural how fast you eat. How do you do that?" They both started laughing. The waiter came around again. This time Rey ordered another glass of wine. Izbell slowly finished her food and they went to the bar. After two more drinks, Izbell opened up more. She had been drawing and painting all her life. She used to study biology, but other than drawing the cells, animals, insects, and whatnot, she had no fun. Her grades got worse and the pressure from her parents was unbearable. She left and freed herself from the dependence of her parents. They were at first not happy about that, but learned to live with it.

Rey was about to order another drink when suddenly the blue sky got swallowed by an unnatural red, the clouds dissolved, and the music came to a halt. A voice echoed through the sphere repeating:

Attention!

This is not a drill. All civilians must evacuate immediately. An active threat has been detected. Proceed to designated Evac-Shuttles now. Repeat—evacuate immediately. Stay away from transit hubs and open plazas.

**Date: 14.06.1029 PNT // Friday**

**Time: 16:33 // 4:33 PM**

**Location: Ecosystem Mika // Habitat Melissa // District 3 // Sector 1 // Miles Road 12**

 

 

The room was comfortably sterile. White walls with pictures of nature. At least of what was nature in the old world. The Grand Canyon, Mount Everest, Milford Sons, and even the Pyramids in Egypt. A desk with a name plate, "Dr. Johnson." Behind it, a shelf. Marie skimmed over some of the titles. "Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: A Practical Guide," "Attachment and Relationships," "Trauma and Recovery," and so many more. In the middle of the room was a brown couch set. She sat on her usual spot. On the big couch.

 

The door opened, a tall bald man with glasses walked in. For a doctor he was dressed very casually. Just some jeans and a red sweater.

 

"I am sorry for being so late, Marie." Dr. Johnson sat on the sofa opposite of her. "My son is sick and…" He looked into her eyes. "I am sorry, we are not here to talk about me. So go on, tell me. How was your week?"

 

"Honestly, kinda shit." Marie laid down and stared towards the ceiling. "Everyone is stressed the fuck out, including me. Finals are coming up and I have not studied one bit."

 

"Yeah, finals time is the worst. I hated it." The doctor laid back into his seat. "What are you studying again?"

 

She hesitated and stuttered as if she did not know herself. "Literature. Well, studying is a strong word, to be honest."

 

"Why do you say that?"

 

"I haven't been to a single lecture this whole semester." She turned towards Johnson and took a fetal posture. He did not say anything. "Sometimes I don't know if I still want to study, you know?"

 

"Then why are you?"

 

She played with her fingernails and kept chewing on her hair. Silence for a couple minutes until the therapist pressed further. "I don't know…"

 

"What would you rather do?"

 

Marie put both of her hands on her face and wiped it. "I don't know." She turned back towards the ceiling. "I don't feel like I have any interests or a passion for anything. I have tried a couple things before, but it never really led to anything."

 

"What did you do before?"

 

"All kinds of shit, really." She closed her eyes. "First I studied economics. That shit was hell. And the people there the worst. I got fucking depressed during that time. So I took a gap year. I travelled through the different habitats. Did some volunteering. Met people, went to parties, did a bunch of drugs. You know. The usual stuff." Johnson nodded slowly. "After that I came back, I tried sociology but that got boring really quickly. I switched to psychology." She opened her eyes and smiled at him. But the smile faded quickly. "But switched again to literature."

 

"I get the switch from sociology to psychology. But economics and literature are kind of outliers."

 

"Well, I did economics because I hoped I would learn more about money, get rich. Stuff you think about when you are young. The idea for sociology came after working with more lesser-privileged people. But during that time I realized, yeah, I could help people, but being a sociologist wasn't very lucrative. I switched to psychology, because the money was good and you know, you can help people. It was fun for a while, but I got bored quickly."

 

"And why the switch to literature?"

 

"I like reading. Always did. Wanted to write my own novel too at some point."

 

"What happened?"

 

"What always happens. I quit before I even start. I do that with everything."

 

"What other things did you want to do?"

 

"So many fucking things. I wanted to make music, be an actress, write a movie or the pilot for a TV show. And so many more."

 

"Do you still want to do all those things?"

 

"Kinda."

 

"To me it doesn't seem like you have no interest or passion for anything." Marie stood up. "It seems more like you like a great many things. But you struggle to finish." She fiddled with her nails. "Maybe start with something small. You just need one small win. Maybe write the novel, but write a short one."

 

"Yeah, maybe."

 

"And about the finals. You still have the parties to look forward to." Marie rolled her eyes and laid back into the couch. "What, what was that?" The therapist smiled.

 

"It is always the fucking same. I get wasted out of my mind. Think I met a guy who is nice and everything, and it turns out he is an asshole. Like last weekend. Dude fucked me and it turns out he has a girlfriend. People keep telling me just stick with the nice guys. The problem is, they all seem nice at the beginning."

 

"Yeah, that does not sound nice." He tilted his head lightly. "But what do you expect from these encounters?"

 

"I don't know." She got quiet.

 

"Do you hope one of them sticks?"

 

"Maybe." Her voice started to tremble.

 

"You feel like there will be a guy who actually sees you? Not just some random fun, but actually sees you?"

 

"Yeah, I guess." A single tear rolled down her cheek.

 

"Maybe you should shift your perspective." He stood up and gave her a tissue. "Maybe next time you go to one of these parties, don't engage with these men. Just focus on you and your friends. Enjoy your drinks and the dancing." He went back to his seat. "And during the day, you work on your novel. Just purely focus on yourself. You don't need outside validation. You just need yourself."

 

Marie looked across the room and the pictures again. "I really wish I could have seen all that. Travelled that world."

 

"You shouldn't think about stuff like that. It's pointless; nothing out there to see anymore."

 

"Yeah, I guess."