Stardust

Chapter Four

As Thomas parked, he saw dozens of people packed at the doctor's place. This was where he always went to get his Stardust counted, and he booked it the night before, so he had no choice but to go in.

Since it was the "end of the world", it figured that people would be lined up everywhere.

Grabbing his orange coat, keys and doctor's paper to confirm he had his already appointed his Stardust check, he walked on the curb towards the small mahogany door surrounded with white brick, all while putting his orange coat back on. Opening, he couldn't believe what he saw.

Yelling mothers, screaming children, crazy men with ruffled clothing. The scene was packed with a mass of crazy and deformed people.

It was never this packed any other time he went here.

Walking up to the counter, tripping and squeezing past the others, he noticed the flustered man at the computer, trying to calm everyone down by yelling. The sound blasted Thomas's ears. But as soon as he walked up to the counter, the man noticed him and sat down.

In his rich English accent, "Appointment?" he said, louder than the rest so he could be heard. Thomas nodded, handing him the doctor's paper.

"Yes. My birthday is today, so-"

"Stardust check?"

"Yes, sir."

The man looked over the papers, then nodding in affirmation. Thomas felt calmer, but the sound of screaming and helpless crying still flooded his ears.

"You heard about the departure?" he inquired. Thomas nodded. The man at the counter swept his hand over the crowd of people in the room. "That is exactly why these people are here. They want to get checked and go on that ship, but for most, it's already too late. Name?" the man asked, signing onto his computer.

"Thomas Thomson." The man looked at Thomas with a strangely funny look, but typed something into the computer, the keys clacking.

"Birthday?"

"Um, April first," he replied, trying to avoid his year as no one believed his age.

He clacked his keyboard again.

"Year of birth?"

Thomas hesitated, voice cracking, "2015?"

The man looked at him slowly, standing back up to observe him.

"2015, eh?"

Thomas nodded, knowing exactly what the man was doing. He was making sure he was the age he said he was, happened every time.

"You sure you aren't seventeen, lad?"

Thomas nodded, "Yes. I am twenty-five. I promise."

The man shrugged and sat back down, clacking on his keyboard again, "Alright, mate. No need to promise, I believe ye'. Says here you booked your appointment Tuesday evening. Your doctor is waiting for you. Back there, room 13."

Thomas sighed in relief, "Thank you, sir."

He brushed passed the various people crowding and blocking the hallway while the receptionist looked at him with a strange look.

"Welcome back Thomas. This would be your last ever Stardust count, you excited?"

Thomas sat on a swivel chair in a small, secluded room with his doctor, the same one he has had since he and Oliver were five years.

Thomas nodded, "I guess. I just finished college yesterday. And the departure won't do much for me."

"Yeah. It was sudden, but we need as much Stardust data as we can get." The doctor looked Thomas in the eye. "How did college work out for ya'?"

"I don't know. I'm afraid I failed my final exam; it was a hard course."

"What did you study again? Science?"

"Physics with Space Science. We learn everything space and science really. Mainly Stardust theories."

His doctor lowered clipboard and looked at Thomas with a serious look, "As the well-respected American politician Eleanor Roosevelt said, "Do one thing every day that scares you." And you know, I think you achieved that by sticking it out in college even though think you might fail, right? Even after your mother left?"

Thomas nodded, almost frowning, "Yeah."

The doctor cleared his throat and motioned his hand towards the door and out the hall, "Well, let's go and get your average Stardust counted for the final time, yeah?"