CHAPTER ONE “Owww…” I rubbed my head, which probably had a bump the size of Jupiter on it. And then I heard a slight meow, and then a hiss. I looked around and saw where it came from. “Rover?!” I exclaimed in shock. My cat, Rover, had somehow snuck onto my ship and crashed into the Earth with me. “You little stinker!” I hugged her and scolded myself for never checking my ship for mischievous kittens. “Uhh,” I heard a voice. “What’s going on?” I looked up and was surprised to see a human. STANDING IN FRONT OF ME!!!! “Wow! Are you… really a human? Like, an actual human?! Wow! I’ve never seen one before, except in movies! I expected you’d look different though. Like, metallic gray-green with long limbs and a pointy chin, and big black eyes! I-” The human cut me off. “That’s… actually how I imagined Martians would be. Speaking of, are you really a martian? ‘Cause you look a lot like a human, but with a strange taste in clothes.” she added, holding up my choker, which had a little Saturn on it. “M-My choker!” I felt my neck, but then scolded myself for being so stupid. She had my choker! Which reminded me. “What’s… your name? I’m Astrea.” The human held out her hand. “Juniper. And if you're going to be seen with me, you have to at least look presentable.” I looked down at my clothes, not surprised to see them torn, with one of my sleeves completely missing. I took her hand. “What’s that? Is that your house?” I asked, pointing to the large building in front of us. “Do humans name their houses? Why does it say ‘mall’? What is Mall? Is that a kind of food?” Juniper rolled her eyes. “No, you moron. The mall is where you go to buy things.” I looked at her. “I thought that was a store?” She rolled her eyes again. “A mall is like a really big store.” “Ohhhhhh,” I said. “So… are there stores inside malls?” Juniper glared at me. “Yessss,” she sighed, exasperated. “Come on, we’re going inside.” The mall was huge. In fact, it looked even bigger on the inside. “Wowwwww,” I breathed. “How-how do you find your way around this place?” Juniper flashed a grin. “Years and years of shopping here.” We turned a corner, and I pointed at a store that said ‘American Eagle’ “Ooo can we go there? Can we? Please?” I begged, jumping up and down. Juniper glared at me. “Jeez, what are you, an eight-year-old?” I looked at her confused. “Actually, I am.” Juniper looked confused. “Wha- oh. Right. You’re from Mars. A mars year is about twice as long as an Earth year, so you’d be fifteen on earth. And that would make me…about eight and a half years old, since I’m sixteen.” I stared at her in awe. “Wow you’re smart!” She blushed a bit. “Thanks!” Suddenly, my communication device buzzed, making Juniper jump. “What was that?” She asked. “Oh, that? My communication device! It can call people and it shows their face while they're talking. It's really cool!” Juniper shrugged. “Sounds like a phone,” she remarked, pulling out a rectangular device. I clicked the “accept call” button on my device. “Hello?” And then I froze. “ASTREA MARCELLA STARLA! YOU EXPLAIN WHERE YOU ARE THIS INSTANT! AND- IS THAT A HUMAN?! GET BACK HOME THIS INSTANT! YOU KNOW HUMANS ARE BAD NEWS!” Mother’s voice thundered out of the device. “Mom! Relax! I’m on Earth! I crashed here, but I’m okay! I’ll get my ship and come back to Mars as soon as I can!” Mother practically had fire in her eyes. “Fine, but stay away from humans. You never know if they're dangerous or not.” I sighed. “Yes, Mother.” I hung up.
all by me
