Page 156 of Every Almost

So Charlie played it again. And again. And by the third listen, Orion was pausing her to ask questions. "Who is Marilyn Monroe?" and "What was the Space Race?" and "Why does he keep saying they didn't start the fire?" Charlie was answering them as she could, and then the answers became stories she could tell Orion about her experiences specifically with the events in history from the song. It was those stories that prompted Orion to ask Charlie a very important question.

"Charlie," Orion said, somewhere around the fourth play-through. "Our friend Tavi here is proof but, have you considered that the rest of the crew might want to hear these stories?"

Charlie stood still.

"Earth is such an anomaly in our existence. And you don't just have the data on it, you have storytelling - real, factual, and filled with life recollections of this data lived by real species. I can imagine that much of this very ship would want to hear all of what you can tell and so much more."

Charlie'd been so focused on Engineering, on keeping her head down and proving herself useful, and even now on this music system development, that she'd never really considered what the rest of the crew could see in her besides the human. But now that Orion voiced his opinion, she could see that the crew had already been interested in Earth and all that came with it since the day she arrived. How Borran asked her about Indiana every time she came in for a meal. Or Tavi, who wanted to know the story behind every single song she had in her nineteen cassettes. Even Selowen, who she figured was one of the wisest beings on the ship, had spent an entire tea date listening to Charlie talk about being from Indiana and California, and listened to Charlie's view of the crew and the world of the Emberkind with a look of pure fascination.

"So, you're saying, you want me to present on Earth to members of the crew? Like, in a group thing?" Charlie asked.

"Like an evening thing," Orion answered. "It can be just you, members of the crew that want to be there, and your stories about Earth. We can even include the music. Your picks, the ones you want to share with people who want to learn."

Charlie was quiet.

"If you don't think you're up for something like that, though, I completely understand and empathize. You'll have to forgiveme, I can sometimes get carried away with something when I get excited about something new?—"

"Let's do it," Charlie interrupted. Orion's smile shone on his face like a beacon of hope. And it caused Charlie to smile right back.

"Marvelous!" Orion clapped his hands together.

"Earth Night."

Orion tilted his head. "Earth Night?"

"Let's call it that. An Earth Night. Where we can just... come together. Listen to things about Earth."

"Earth Night," Orion repeated. Then he smiled, the warmth in his voice matching the warmth in his face. "And so it shall be."

"Charlie!" Tavi shouted from across the Engineering Bay again.

Charlie chuckled. "Yeah, Tav?" she shouted back.

"You wanna be my date to Earth Night?!"

After an eventful day,one that Charlie felt had been a turning point in her time here on the Emberkind, she made her way back to her quarters to settle in for the evening. She showered and listened to music on her datapad, trying it out for the first time somewhere outside of the Engineering Bay. She, Tavi, and Maren were all going to give it a run in their quarters tonight. So far, Charlie had great luck getting it to play in her lounge, bathroom, and bedroom. But, since they hadn't transferred all of her music yet, there were only so many times one could listen to "Don't Stop Me Now" before she felt a bit stir crazy.

She turned out all her lights, settled into the soft bed with the port window to look out through, and called the day a success before turning on her side to sleep.

But late that night, she stopped trying. No matter what position she was in, whether the covers were on her or not, or which direction she faced, Charlie couldn't sleep.

It had been happening more often lately. Her days were full of time in the Engineering Bay, having meals with the crew in the mess hall, spending her free time with Tavi and Maren and other crew members when available. Even after a day such as today, she should feel exhausted, clinging to sleep and letting it overtake her as soon as she laid down.

But over the past few weeks, there were nights when her brain woke up in that infuriating way when your thoughts decide two in the morning is actually the perfect time to reorganize the last thirty years of your life.

Tonight, she was tired of trying to force sleep to claim her.

So, instead, she got up from her bed and decided to go for a walk.

She walked all around the corridors of the quarters ward, through the echoey silence of the animal habitats, and even passed the Bridge. Eventually, she made it to the mess hall, and decided to see if Borran had left out any snacks for late night crawlers like herself in the kitchen.

At this hour, Borran's kitchen was dark and quiet, with the counters wiped clean and the ovens cold. But the smell of his cooking remained. Warm bread and something sweet layered underneath engulfed the room in a heavenly scent, baked into the walls from years of creation.

She found a stool at the counter and sat down. Sitting in front of the stoves and sinks reminded her of the nights when she was young and she couldn't sleep. So she always went downstairs to find Helen at the table with a cup of tea, as if she'd known Charlie was coming.

But nobody was at this table tonight.

Charlie put her elbows on the counter and let her thoughts run. They began to circle around Katie - where she could be, what she was doing, was she okay, did she have support. All these worries and uncertainties began to chip away at any ease Charlie had been seeking, instead overwhelming her with anxiety.