1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-0

The lights black out at eleven at night, and I lay in my bunk, staring up at the blank ceiling. It's no problem staying awake for an hour, after Kookie and I have discovered the computer and after the people on Andromeda 83 came on board. But I'm struggling to keep my thoughts off of the boy that looked at me in the main lobby. Sure, it was like two seconds, but his gaze was so full of depth. And the way his lips parted slightly when he saw me again in the hall with Kookie, his dark marble eyes mysterious and yet so comforting...

Ahhh what the heck. I drag my hands down my face and turn onto my side. I'm not going to fall for a boy I've never even spoken to. He could be violent and abusive, merciless and cold, he could have some weird obsession or habit...

His name is Jimin, isn't it?

I smile like an idiot and then flip onto my stomach and silently scream into my pillow. What is wrong with me??

I spend the rest of the hour till midnight thinking about how to unlock the computer. What could be the password? What secrets did it hold?

Then, I decide it should be near midnight enough, and I climb down my bunk, throw on a cloak, and I'm walking ever so quietly to the door when I hear a soft, innocent whisper, "Emmalie?"

I freeze, and turn to the voice. My eyes adjust to the dark and I find Liesl peering at me from her lower bunk with big round brown eyes. I relax with relief. Liesl is quiet, trusting, and smart. She wouldn't tell on me. Most likely she's seen me leave before. Her soft brown hair is still in a loose side braid. Liesl is barely fifteen, the youngest person on this whole ship.

I crouch beside her bunk and smile warmly at her. To me, Liesl is the younger sister I never had. I bring up a finger to my lips, and she nods in understanding. I pat her head, hesitate slightly, then leave.

A couple minutes later I find Kookie in the old storage closet. He's already inspecting the computer, the glow from the computer screen and the hovering orb illuminating Kookie's focused face. His eyes widen, and he looks up at me. He opens his mouth, then shuts it and motions furiously for me to come closer.

Filled with curiosity, I sit down next to Kookie and stare at the computer. There is no longer a line in the center, asking for a password. Now there are several files and links scattered around.

"You--"

"The password was, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-0 !!"

"And you were foolish enough to try that out?"

Kookie huffed. "Well, it worked, so don't complain."

After several moments of staring at the computer screen in wonder, we figure out what all the files and links are. They're diaries. Some of them have video recordings.

A thought occurs to me. "Kookie... what if we could use this computer to communicate to others? Like a--like a satellite..."

Kookie beside me sucks in a sharp breath. "You're right-- this could be priceless to us."

"But shouldn't we at least show it to the adults?"

Kookie purses his lips in deep thinking. "No. First, we'd get in trouble, and they can communicate with anybody out there if they wanted to, with the technology they have access to. But we can do so much on our own, if we keep this a secret."

I nod in agreement. "Okay. That sounds good."

I jump with surprise when a loud male voice shrieks, "Kids! Out of bed!"

Kookie and I stare at each other in horror.

Someone swears so closely outside the storage closet door, and it's suddenly yanked open. I forgot to lock the door behind me, of all days. Kookie and I barely have time to scramble into the corner. Two teenage boys throw themselves in and press the lock button on the knob. For the first time, I wonder why there's even a lock in the inside of an old storage closet.

The two boys turn around and we stare at each other. It's Jimin and Taehyung, and they stand so still when they see us, I start to wonder if they're real. The air between us is so thick with tension and fear. Kookie lightly taps the hovering orb, and the light it gives is snuffed out. A feeling of deja vu sinks into my chest as I watch a light dance from the crack under the door.

The footsteps stop, and the curfew patrol stands still near the closet.

"Peter, dang it, with you screaming through the halls, you'll wake everyone up."

"But-- I swear, I could SEE them running--"

"Ay, now it's your eyes going crazy," a woman's voice says impatiently. "This is the North Wing, and the new visitors will be freaked out at all the commotion if you won't shut up. C'mon, Percy, let's move on."

"Will you get it right," the man grits out. "My name's Pedro--"

Their voices fade into the distance, and then while Kookie and I stare at the boys, they break out laughing.

I shift uncomfortably. Kookie continues to stare at them, in a mixture of awe and confusion.

"Hah, could they really not notice a closet door when it was right under their noses," Taehyung chokes out with laughter. "And the old man--he was so scared--"

Jimin bends down laughing, and watching them makes me smile too.

"Well," Kookie says shyly, "we meet again..."

"Oh yeah!" Taehyung says. He grins. "Jungkook, right?"

"Yeah... did you get lost on the way to the bathroom, or...?"

"Oh no," Jimin says. "We all took a long nap during the day, and the next thing we knew, everyone was... still sleeping. We couldn't resist the temptation of exploring the new ship."

Listening to Jimin talk, I feel pulled towards him, his every word sinking in and my eyes trying to memorize the smooth planes of his face.

"Do you," I say without realizing first, "wanna see something cool?"

I glance at Kookie, and he looks surprised. He shrugs and pulls out the computer. Jimin and Taehyung gape at it.

"What--what is it?"

We explain to them what we found out about it, from where Kookie found it to the mysterious diary files and videos. We also tell them our theory of using it to communicate with others.

"That's so cool!" Taehyung says, truly fascinated. He and Jimin take the computer into their hands and inspect it closely.

A few moments of silence passes, and we watch Jimin and Taehyung poke at the computer in wonder. Then, Jimin's eyes become unfocused. "You know," Jimin says softly, and again I'm hanging onto his every word, "this ship is very different from ours."

"How so?"

"Well," Taehyung says seriously, putting down the computer, "it's a lot more stricter at our old ship. You couldn't run around at night, you would get caught instantly. And punished badly," Taehyung adds. "We were kind of surprised at this new sense of freedom."

"Yeah," Jimin says, smiling. "We love it here. It's so nice, and also, you don't have to wear gas masks and worry about the ship falling apart any second."

I blink, instantly feeling bad. "That must've been horrible..." Here, we all took it for granted, and Kookie and I were bored enough to break the rules and keep the computer from the adults' knowledge.

"Well," Taehyung mutters awkwardly, "we should get going..."

They stand up and brush off dust. We stand up too. "Well," Kookie says, "you guys are really cool! Hope we have classes together."

Taehyung and Jimin grin, and step closer to Kookie and ruffle his hair affectionately. "With you around, eight months here won't be boring," Taehyung muses.

Jimin catches me awkwardly fidgeting with my cloak. "You're really cool, too," he says with a gentle smile. My heart soars. "I never got your name, have I?"

"Oh!" I blush furiously, glad that the dark covers it. "I'm Emmalie Minuet, you can call me Emma!"

Jimin grins. "See you, then." And then Taehyung and Jimin leave, slipping through the door like water. A moment later, Kookie and I part ways to our dormitories.

"See you tomorrow at midnight," Kookie tells me softly before leaving towards his dorm in the South Wing.

Of course, that night I go to bed still thinking about Jimin.