Molly, Star Ambassador?!
Chapter 1: An Offer She Can't Refuse
Disclaimer: Not mine, don't sue.
"We're going to get totally smashed," whispered Bill excitedly, between guilty glances at the librarian sitting not too far from their table.
Eva paused from her intense scrutiny of her textbook and focused on her friend, who was making sure the librarian—a severe looking woman with a temper to match—hadn't heard his idea for a "study" night. Bill looked like a six year old who was planning to steal the cookies from the cookie jar, which was quite the task to accomplish considering the fact that with his towering height (over six feet) and jet black hair shaved to an inch of its existence, Bill looked anything but a mischievous kid.
"Right, because coming into our end of term exams hung-over is a great idea!" she deadpanned, rolling her eyes.
"Come on Eve-y," Bill whined. "You know what they say, it's better to not cram the night before…and all work and no play makes—"
"Are you really that wound up?" Carla drawled.
The blonde bombshell was currently reclined back in her seat, turned away from the table and the towering pile of books she had set there, and was idly watching the T.V. which was tuned to the ENN (Earth News Network). Bill gasped in mock horror. "Carla, Girl Gone Wild, is actually refusing an opportunity to party!? Who are you and what have you done to my friend you alien body snatcher!"
Carla laughed, leaning back on her seat. "I never said that it was a bad idea…"
"Now that's the Carla we know and love!" Bill exclaimed.
Carla laughed again, turned around and chucked an eraser at him. Eva groaned and let her head fall on her Calculus textbook. "What kind of study technique is that?" Bill remarked with a smirk.
"I'm learning by osmosis." Eva muttered.
"Aw pobrecita, stop studying and come watch some TV with me. There's an interesting story developing about aliens." Carla cooed, patting the chair next to her.
Eva perked up at the word 'aliens'. "Hmm, really?"
"You're feeding into Eva's fetish again," Bill warned, flipping through his notes.
Eva scowled and lightly punched his shoulder. "It's not a fetish."
Eva knew she appeared to be more interested than the average person when it came to anything regarding people from outer space. 'It's almost as if she's waiting for someone' Carla once said.
Eva had always been waiting.
It had been four years since her unforgettable trip to the middle of the galaxy and even though she was back on Earth, a part of her was still in the stars, yearning for closure. Whatever, Eva thought, sighing inwardly. I can't keep waiting. That part of my life is over. I'm no longer Molly, Star Racer anymore. I'm Eva Wei, high school senior and soon to be high school failure if I don't somehow learn Calculus before Friday.
After the exams came the time when all seniors had to figure out where they were going after school. Whether it was to an elite college, the military or straight to the workforce, the decision that would define rest of her life was upon Eva and she wasn't ready for it. It was funny, bordering on pathetic, that she had seen the most fantastic and terrible things in space with an unfaltering resolve, but something as innocent as choosing her future career path practically immobilized her.
"Nevermind," Eva said, picking up her books and shoving them unceremoniously into her backpack. "Sorry guys, I think I might be able to study better at home."
"You okay Eva?" Bill asked.
"Yeah, I think I might just need to take a nap." Eva said, standing up and swinging the pack onto her shoulder.
Bill's eyes glinted mischievously. "Aren't you taking that studying by osmosis thing a little too—"
"Bye Bill. See you Carla." Eva said, grinning in spite of herself, before exiting the library.
Eva took a detour on her way home that led her to a park. Except for the occasional jogger, the park was empty. The upcoming months made her feel as if she was standing on a cliff, overlooking the deepest and widest of canyons. Somehow she had to sprout wings and fly away or else she would find herself falling forever.
Eva sat back on her rocket seat, let the wind breeze past her and she found herself at a fragile peace with herself. As long as she could focus on the crisp breeze, she was free. Free not to think about exams, free not to think about the future which she wasn't ready to face and free to forget about the past that turned her head skywards.
Another gust of wind blew through her, but this time it was so strong that Eva was knocked out of her trancelike state and almost knocked off her rocket seat. "What the?!" Eva turned around.
Right in front of her was a black, hovering limousine.
Two men in dark suits and sunglasses leaped out of the vehicle before Eva had time to react. "Miss Eva Wei?" one of them asked.
"Yeah?"
"The President would like to meet with you."
The limousine was well furnished, with plush tanned leather seats, a communications console right behind the driver's seat and a fridge, from which the President of Earth took a soft drink. "Thirsty?"
"Confused," Eva said brusquely. "Why am I here?"
The president blinked in surprise, but it only lasted for a split second before he smoothly recovered and opened up the can of soda, pouring himself a glass. "Come on, Miss Wei, we haven't seen each other in so long." He said conversationally. "Now, how are you? It's been…about four years hasn't it? Since we last talked?"
Eva nodded, wondering when the President would stop stalling and get to the point. Last time he met with her, and the rest of the Earth Team, it was the same way. First refreshments, then the big reveal. It never made anything he had told her go down any smoother.
"You've graduated already?"
Eva frowned. "I'm in high school. I had to repeat a year after I came back from the race."
"Ah yes, the race," the President nodded his head.
Suddenly, his face took on a cold, serious expression. "It was the first time in millennia that the sentient galaxy had come together…" he trailed off, his eyes glossing over in a daze.
Eva waited a couple of seconds until it seemed that the President's mind was elsewhere. "Mr. President?" she prodded.
The President cleared his throat. "Of course, the consequences of that meeting had a drastic effect on many, if not all of us."
"Miss Wei," the President sighed. "The galaxy is meeting again in Nourasia, and I would like you to attend as an ambassador."
Eva was dumbstruck. She should have expected something big, but somehow she didn't quite expect anything like this. If she accepted, she would go back to space. She would be able to see him again. "Why are you asking me? I'm just a student," Eva asked, still shocked.
"Eva, you won the Great Race of Oban. Thanks to you, the earth has gained considerable respect from our peers in the galaxy."
Eva wasn't too sure about that, but she decided it probably wouldn't do much to get into an argument with the President. "For all intents and purposes, you are the face the galaxy associates with the planet Earth."
The President leaned forward from his seat and clasped Eva's hands with his own. "Miss Wei, it would be an honor to have you serve as an ambassador of Earth."
"What about school? I have exams—"
"You will be excused from all school responsibilities until you return."
"What about my fa—?"
The President waved his hand dismissively. "My people are informing him of the situation as we speak."
"I—"
The President squeezed her hands. "Miss Wei, the planet needs your help again."
Eva and the President locked eyes. Eva found the whole thing bizarre, why was everyone meeting up again? Why on Nourasia? Why was the most powerful man on Earth begging her like this? Eva looked downwards, and shrugged.
"Can I sleep on it?"