“I can’t sleep with the lights on.”
DJ dimmed the lights, leaving the room lit by only the soft glow of the viewport and our consoles. “Do you want me to stay with you?”
“Would you?”
“Of course.”
FOUR
THE TIMER I’D SET BEGAN to blare as I reached for the oven door. A smile slowly spread across my face.
NINE
I FLIPPED HEAD OVER FEET, landed against the bulkhead, bent my knees, and pushed off toward the center of the cargo bay, crowing as I soared through the air. This was nothing like being in space because in the cargo bay I didn’t have to wear the suit and there was plenty of oxygen to breathe. Here, I could fly.
“Why have we never done this before?” DJ asked, shouting from overhead where he was holding on to the ceiling crossbeams. He dove and pulled his knees to his chest, spinning like a pinwheel.
“This is amazing!” Jenny wasn’t doing tricks. She was content to float in the currents created by the air recyclers.
“Because I only recently discovered that I could shut off the RealGrav plating here without shutting it down throughout the rest of the ship.”
DJ caught the ladder and turned to look at me. “When did you become an expert on the artificial gravity system?”
“Today.”
“You are so weird,” DJ said.
I shrugged like this was old news. “Nice suit, by the way.” I didn’t always tell DJ and Jenny that I was stuck in a loop. Each time the day reset, so did they. Explaining the situation when all I wanted to do was have fun was a waste of time. DJ usually seemed a little annoyed when I spoiled his secret plans, but he never mentioned the date, so neither did I.
“Just trying something new,” he said.
“It suits you.” I winked at him. “Pun intended.”
“It’s too bad about your soufflé,” Jenny said from behind me. “That would’ve made this day absolutely perfect.”
DJ landed on the deck and pushed off toward me. He was red-faced and panting, but he was grinning like a fool, wearing his dimples loud and proud. “Nah. Today’s perfect just the way it is. I don’t think anything could make it better.”
A grin slowly spread across my face. “Well, now, that sounds like a challenge.”
SEVENTEEN
I DRAMATICALLY PULLED THE CLOTH away to reveal the spread I’d prepared. “Popcorn, of course. Individual lemon cakes, pretzel bites and cheese to dip them in, nachos—”
“What is all this?” DJ asked. He and Jenny were standing beside me in the cargo bay that I’d transformed into a movie theater. It had been easy to convince Jenny to give up her plans for the day, but convincing DJ to come along, without letting on that I knew he’d been planning a surprise date in the garden, had been more challenging.
“How on earth did you get the couch in here?” Jenny had targeted the snacks and was moving in for the attack. I loved that about her.
“I thought we could use a movie day,” I said, answering DJ. “As for the couch, I lowered the gravity between the rec room and the cargo bay.”
DJ eyed me suspiciously. He’d been giving me similar looks ever since I’d convinced him to abandon his surprise. “What brought this on?”
“Who cares?” Jenny asked through a mouthful of pretzel bites.
“Exactly,” I said. “Can’t I do something nice for literally the only two people in my life?” I stood with my hands on my hips, smiling at DJ. These past few days had been more fun than I’d had in a long time, even if I was the only one who remembered them.
“I guess,” DJ said, but I wasn’t sure I’d convinced him.
“Well, I hope you like movies starring Jenny Perez, because that’s all we’ve got.”
DJ climbed over the back of the couch to settle in. “Just as long as it’s not a scary movie.”
EIGHTEEN
“I HOPE YOU LIKE MOVIES starring Jenny Perez,” I said, “because that’s all we’ve got. I thought we’d go with a movie from her short-lived phase as an action hero since I know you don’t like horror flicks.”
DJ climbed over the back of the couch to sit. “Just as long as nobody’s dog dies,” he said. “I refuse to watch movies where dogs die.”
NINETEEN
“I HOPE YOU LIKE MOVIES starring Jenny Perez.” Before DJ could open his mouth, I added, “I chose one of her comedies since I know you hate horror films and movies where dogs die.”
DJ climbed over the back of the couch to sit on the opposite side from Jenny. He glanced at me and smiled. “How’d you know that?”
“Because I’m stuck in a time loop and this is the third time we’ve had this conversation.”
“What?” DJ said at the same time as Jenny said, “Huh?”
“Just kidding,” I said. “Anyway, don’t get your hopes up about the movie. It’s a romantic comedy in which Jenny Perez plays a cat named Snowball who’s been transferred into the body of a human woman. She then proceeds to fall in love with a man who’s had the consciousness of a dog named Biscuits transferred into him. It’s called Purrfect Ten.”
Jenny clapped her hands. “I love this film!”
“Of course you do.” I lowered the lights and started the show, wriggling into the open seat between DJ and Jenny.
The movie was objectively terrible. Worse than terrible. It was quite possibly the worst movie that had ever been made. If hell had a movie theater, Purrfect Ten would’ve been on the marquee every day. Despite how bad it was, DJ, Jenny, and I spent nearly two hours laughing, though not at the parts we were meant to find funny, and, for a while, life felt nearly normal.
During the scene where Jenny Perez’s character crashed a funeral while wearing a cat costume, DJ scooted closer to me—so close I could feel the heat from his lips as he whispered into my ear, “This was a really great idea, Noa. Thank you.”
When he pulled away and retreated to his side of the couch, I found myself wishing that he hadn’t.
THIRTY-FOUR
I WAS SITTING IN OPS with my feet propped on the console, eating the remnants of my failed soufflé while alarm Klaxons blared in the background and the computer issued dire warnings.
“Warning! Qriosity will self-destruct in one minute. Warning!”
“What’re you doing, Noa? Shut it off!” DJ slammed his fist on the screen. His entire body shook and his face was splotchy and red, but he really did look good in that suit.
“No can do,” I said. “And don’t even think about trying to override it. You need my authorization code, and I’m not giving that up. Honestly, I thought activating the self-destruct would be a lot more difficult.”
“Why?” DJ begged. “Why are you doing this?”
“Warning! Qriosity will self-destruct in thirty seconds. Warning!”
I licked the back of the spoon, trying to get every bit of chocolate. “You know what? I don’t even think I like soufflés.”