Page 28 of The Bully Alien

"It's also a word that basically means spot on."

"Well, then, bingo."

I close my eyes. "I can understand why you were so disappointed when you came to college and looked over the syllabus of our classes."

"Yeah, it's pathetic. In general. Not you."

"Yeah, well, it's like I said before. I can't make a difference. I'm just one person, and I'm not smart enough to change the world, to change our knowledge of the stars."

"Getting into the space program here isn't easy."

"No."

"So you are smart."

I snort. "Now he admits it."

"I was an ass."

"You still are."

"Why? Because I got your hopes up?"

"Basically."

He rolls his eyes.

I want to apologize. I want to admit that I was wrong, but my heart hurts too much. I can't say anything.

There's pain shining in his eyes. It's echoed in my heart. I don't know if I can handle any more disappointment. All I want is to leave.

That's all he wants too.

And if he ever does manage to figure out how to get this ship up and running again, I'll probably be dee and gone. He probably will live a lot longer than I will. Or, if he does fix it before I die, he won't invite me along for the ride, and why should he? I basically bullied him into this. I'm no better thane is.

we deserve to be stuck intros hellhole.

Fuck. I'm crying again.

"Don't do that," he says.

"Don't fucking tell me what to do," I say angrily as I wipe my tears away, infuriated that I'm crying, that he's seeing me like this.

"There's no reason to cry."

"How the fuck do you know whether or not I have a good reason to cry?" I demand.

"Crying doesn't help any."

"Releasing your emotions can be good for the soul," I snap. "Do you even believe in souls?"

"I do."

"Well? You've never cared? Maybe you wouldn't have such a stick up your ass if you would just cry already. Our dreams are both dead," I say. "Maybe if we're lucky, we'll make it to the moon. How does that sound? Shitty, right? We're stuck here forever. Isn't that great? It's fucking wonderful. Just dandy. Terrific. It's spectacular."

"Life's just grand, ain't it?" he asks.

I snort a laugh. "Yes. Yes, it is, and then you die."