VISITORS OR ALIENS?

"I think this is run by batteries, don't you think?"

I take the gadget, taken apart halfway by Kookie, and squint at it. "Well, for sure it won't work without some energy source. I think batteries will do."

Kookie then turns to rummage through his bag for a battery. I look at the evenly spaced squares with letters on them in wonder. It looks like English to me. I poke at one of the squares, and it makes a satisfying 'click'.

We then put our heads close together and share the faint pulsing blue light from the hovering orb, whispering in the complete dark silence.

"I have this battery and this battery." Kookie shows me the two, one is a cylinder with an orange tip and black body, and the other is a dark smooth thin cube.

"Is there a part where we can insert the battery?"

"Mmm... maybe here?" He points to a pocket in the gadget that could fit the cylinder battery. Filled with excitement, I snatch the battery from his hands and jam it into the pocket.

It doesn't fit. I frown, and look at Kookie. He's staring at me, his mouth twitching the slightest. I've known him so long that I know he's holding back a smirk.

"What is it?" I snap.

Kookie coughs quietly. "Look, the computer came with this cube battery. I was just messing with you, dummy, of course it can't be the cylinder battery--"

I whack his shoulder and glare at him.

"Sorry, sorry. Alright, I already charged this battery, and I know where it fits." Kookie takes the gadget from me and inserts the smooth thin cube into a slot. Then he adds on the sleek metal covers around the squares with letters that he took apart earlier and pokes at the squares.

A faint whirring noise comes from the gadget. I forget Kookie's joke instantly and squeal into my fist, scooting closer to Kookie and staring at the gadget. It flickers to life, and what appears to be the screen which is attached to the squares of letters by hinges, blooms with light. I glance at Kookie, and his face is illuminated by the light and he's frowning. I look at the computer again, and it dawns to me.

"...We need a password."

Kookie suddenly grins. "Easy." He pokes at the squares of letters, and I watch his slow fingers tap P-A-S-S-W-O-R-D. Little white dots appear over a line on the screen with each tap.

Then he presses the 'enter' key. A small curved line goes around in a circle, as if considering the password. We hold our breaths, our stares just about to burn the screen like lasers.

SORRY, INCORRECT PASSWORD.

"Look who's the dummy," I hiss to Kookie.

He scratches the back of his neck. "It was worth a try... Look, the computer even has manners. It says 'sorry'. Isn't that so cool?"

I breathe in nervously. "How are we supposed to figure out the password? There's trillions of possibilities--"

My breath hitches and I tense up. Kookie beside me freezes. We both hear footsteps, and low grunts. Light dances in the crack under the door. I see in the corner of my eye Kookie tapping the hovering orb twice so it flickers out. Now we're thrown into complete darkness, and we wait for whoever's out there to go away, and hope we're not caught.

"I swear I could hear kids around here," a low male voice growls.

Someone sighs. A woman starts to talk. "It's probably the heaters malfunctioning again, they make a strange whirring sound when they're stressed out."

"You talk like the heaters have feelings."

"Oh, shut up. I don't know why you're still on patrol, your ears work half-way and you overreact about non-existent things--"

"Whatever. Let's move on. We need to be back in time to prep for our… new visitors."

"Right." They start to walk away, their voices becoming more distant. "I hope they don't put the whole ship on quarantine with any radioactive diseases, like what happened ten years ago with visitors on my old ship. That was terrible…"

A few minutes of silence and darkness pass until Kookie and I feel comfortable to breathe normally. I look at Kookie, only seeing a dark outline. "So… there's visitors?"

Kookie lets out a soft laugh. "Aliens?" I grin at that, and we pack up, store the computer safely into a box, and part ways to our dormitories.

The next day during meal time, Kookie and I are stuffing our faces hungrily when we both catch the word "guests". We look at each other, swallow, and lean towards the group of boys talking about guests.

One boy says, "I heard from my sister's best friend who heard it from her dad who works in the Security Department, so obviously that's reliable. Apparently there's a nearby spaceship that needs to emergency land, and we're going on the same route so they're gonna abort their ship and come to ours."

"But, but-- it's gonna be so crowded!"

"Nah, here we only have 2000, and this ship can fit 5000."

"Are the new guests... humans?"

Kookie and I strain our ears as hard as we can, staring at our plates but almost falling out of our seats.

"Honestly I don't care, as long as they don't kill us in our sleep."

The speakers overhead buzz slightly, indicating an announcement is coming up. A woman clears her throat and begins to speak through the speakers. "Everyone, meal time is over. But if you would please do so, gather around at the main lobby. Be professional, be polite, be proud. Thank you." There's a small 'crack' when the announcement is cut off.

"It's the aliens!" Kookie says excitingly. The meal room, usually loud with the laughter and talking echoing in every direction in the huge dome-like space, is even louder now. The air is filled with excitement. Or maybe it's just me, my eyes wide and my fingers tingling. Everyone moves in a huge crowd down to the main lobby, adults on the edges of the crowd, leading the way. In this ship, most of the people are kids or young adults. Since our last planet didn't work out, and there was a huge war and everyone was dying off, the children that were left were hauled onto this ship, and I was just a baby. I've been here all my fifteen years, and I'm dying to get out of this place.