The flight to Orlando was uneventful, and now Mia sat beside Trevor in a rental car with Samantha, their Red Rock host for the week. She was an attractive woman in her mid-thirties with heavy eye makeup and lots of questions.

  "So you two are from North Carolina, right? Welcome to Orlando! You're going to have an absolute blast here."

  "Yeah, that's us," Trevor replied enthusiastically while Mia stared out the window.

  There were palm trees everywhere. They grew side by side, like pine and oak trees back home. It was also extremely bright in Florida, almost blindingly bright for December. Mia pulled her sunglasses down as she watched Samantha park their vehicle in front of a Hampton Inn.

  Mia had been to Orlando before. The last trip had been with her parents- a magical Disney vacation when she was eight. They'd stayed in a condo near Epcot with a pool shaped like Mickey Mouse. She remembered them watching movies on an oversized L-shaped couch, piled in and happy with bowls of popcorn. You couldn't trust men to stay, Mia thought. Not men and, most certainly, not boys.

  "You guys stay here," Samantha chirped, turning around, her orange polo facing them.

  Mia watched Samantha, waiting for her to exit, but she just stayed turned around and smiling.

  "Got it," Mia finally said, smiling back tightly.

  The car door slammed, and Trevor clapped his hands together. Mia noticed he was vibrating. This joker was about to be on her nerves.

  "You need to get a grip. How is this level of hype even possible? We've been on an airplane since 5 am."

  "Because tomorrow, Mia Roberts, we'll be training to go to Mars!" said Trevor, unfazed by her lack of excitement.

  Mia watched the hotel lobby doors, willing Samantha to reappear with room keys. Hers, hopefully, unlocking a door several floors away from Trevor.

  "Yes, it's quite wonderful. New people, more stress, less sleep, all my favorites."

  Samantha eventually returned with keys, giving them a rundown of the evening's schedule. She planned to chauffeur them and a few other Red Rock employees to and from a nearby restaurant for dinner. Once that was over, they'd be on their own until morning. Of course, Samantha's room was only a quick trip away on the first floor. She'd do a lights-out room check at 11:00 pm, followed by a wake-up call at 6:30 am. Mia looked down at her key, room 211. She glanced over at Trevor's, which read 413. The anxiety in her stomach shrank, followed by gratitude for the much-needed space.

  "There's an indoor pool if you want to relax before dinner," Samantha said, turning and heading off.

  "Oh, I'm going to that pool," Trevor announced, waiting for Mia to protest and say pools were ridiculous.

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  Mia thought about the pool and how it would feel to swim with Trevor. She wasn't as self-conscious about her body now that she was running and lifting weights. They'd be in a pool during space camp; there was no getting around that. She had a cute suit and decided it was better to get it over with, the "it" being half-naked in front of Trevor.

  "Sure, I'll be down in a minute. And don't look at me like that. I can have fun, too, Trevor Bell."

  Mia slid her room key in the slot, hearing the hotel door unlock. She walked into the smell of heavy disinfectant and clean towels. Was she really going to do this go to Mars thing? She wondered how much money Samantha got paid to babysit them. Mia sat down on the bed, setting her bags on the floor. She googled Samantha's name and found her LinkedIn page easily. Samantha was a Guest Relations Specialist. What did she think about sending kids to Mars? She was probably too young to have kids. Jocelyn was really struggling with it.

  Christmas had distracted her mom from deep diving too hard. Although she was still concerned that Mia's childhood sleepwalking might lead her outside at night when temperatures dropped as low as -80°F. But Mia knew lack of oxygen would kill her faster than the cold if her stupid ass sleepwalked outside without a helmet.

  She should put on her bathing suit. Why had she agreed to go to the pool? Twenty minutes seemed like a lifetime ago now as her eyes blinked back fatigue. Surely Trevor could find a dumb girl to flirt with. Was it rude not to go after she said she would? Mia stood and walked to the bathroom. She'd go to the pool even if she didn't want to. It was just who she was.

  The elevator was half full when she stepped on, a t-shirt and sweatpants on top of her bathing suit.

  "Are you one of the kids going to Mars?" a middle-aged lady asked.

  "I am," Mia replied, confused. "May I ask you how you knew that?"

  "This," she said. And then the lady pushed her phone in Mia's face. Mia stepped back and peered at an image on Facebook. And there she was, dressed in clothes she didn't own, sitting on bleachers with all the other kids going to Mars, a brick school building behind them. Mia had never taken a picture like that.

  "Is it AI?" the lady asked.

  "I'm not sure," Mia said, happy to hear the ding of the elevator, which signaled this small hell had ended.

  "Bye," Mia said, stepping off the elevator and heading toward the pool. Three right turns from where she currently stood would get her there. So they were already putting them on social media to promote the launch. Had she given anyone permission to put her on social media?

  The entrance to the indoor pool was fogged, but once inside, the water looked warm and welcoming. Trevor was already there, of course, splashing about at the pool's far end, sneaking glances at Mia as she shed her top garments and dipped a toe in. Mia played it cool, but noticed his almost primal reaction to seeing her in a bikini. What a dork, she thought, trying not to smile.

  Mia watched Trevor, too, diving and attempting handstands. This was her Martian teammate, her best shot at staying alive in any life-or-death scenarios. Currently, he was pretending to be a dolphin. Eventually, Trevor swam over to where Mia sat on the pool's edge and rested his arms on the slick tile. His face was red but smiling, and Mia couldn't help but smile back.

  "Getting in? I mean, you said you know how to have fun. Sitting here alone looks un-fun."

  When she didn't answer, he grabbed her leg, and then Mia felt the warm rush of pool water surround her body. When she surfaced, Trevor stared at her wide-eyed as if he'd surprised himself making such a bold move. Mia bobbed in the water, expressionless.

  "Just remember, payback is hell."

  And then, she peppered him with relentless splashes. An outsider might have assumed they were a couple or possibly related. There was something between them, although it wasn't clear yet precisely what it was.

  "Ok, I'm sorry. You're fun. You're way fun. Please, Mia. I can't breathe!"

  What was crazy was there would come a day when Trevor really couldn't breathe, and that would be Mia's fault, too.