Out Of Orbit

Chapter 3

REBECCA

Rebecca sighed. Her feet were burning, her shoes rubbing blisters behind her heels. Jarryd showed no sign of slowing down. They'd been walking for at least two hours without a break and she didn't know how much longer she could keep going. The only thing pushing her on was the look she imagined she would see on Jarryd's face if she was the one to stop their progress.

Studying the plants around her, Rebecca tried to connect them to Earth plants that she'd read about. One bush had large heart shaped leaves in a bright purple colour, with bright yellow berry clusters emerging from each group of 5 leaves. It was like nothing she had ever seen. Looking up, she gazed at the streams of sunlight that made their way through the leaves of the trees above. Even the trees looked different. While they all had the same trunk, branches and leaves as Earth trees, they were as different as the sun from the moon. Most of the trunks were perfectly smooth and made from a hard, green substance. Peering closely, she saw something moving within the trunks. It looked almost like blood veins.

"Rebecca?"

Looking up, she saw that she had fallen a few metres behind the others. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to speed up to catch them, her feet crunching the dark red leaves that littered the green grass. While the perfectly round leaves were strange to see, at least the grass looked similar.

"Are you ok?"

Rebecca looked up and gave Michael a smile. There was no way she was going to be the first one to complain. Jarryd already looked at her like she was a 5 year old. She wouldn't give him any more reason to think poorly of her.

"I'm fine."

"We can stop if you need a break."

Rebecca shook her head quickly. "No. I'm fine. Really. Everything's just so...different here."

Michael nodded, glancing up at the canopy above them, then back at her with a grin. "I get the feeling Jarryd doesn't care much for the novelty aspect of being on an alien planet."

Rebecca let out a giggle and glanced at Jarryd's back. As she studied him, he turned back and caught her looking. She blushed and quickly looked away. Of all the people to be stuck with on an alien planet, it had to be Jarryd Denver. Rebecca could almost laugh at the irony of the situation. She'd had a crush on Jarryd since the first time she saw him, striding the halls of Hedgefield like some kind of warrior, his hair always perfectly in place. Despite the rarity of his smiles, just seeing one set her heart racing. She hadn't been alone.

Rebecca grimaced at the memories and studied the back of Jarryd's head again. He wasn't quite what she had expected. She'd spent so many hours wondering what it would be like to finally be noticed by Jarryd Denver. He would smile at her, maybe ask her how her day had been. In her imagination he was the perfect boyfriend. The kind who would carry her books to class and buy her flowers when she had a bad day.

Fantasy was always better than reality. Rebecca shook her head, trying to see things from his point of view. It wasn't exactly the easiest situation for any of them. But his forceful comments and insensitive behaviour still made her cringe. Yet there was something about him...A soft breeze rustled the leaves at her feet and brushed through his hair.

"There's a clearing up ahead. Maybe we're reaching the end of the forest."

Rebecca bit her lip. They were stuck on an alien planet full of strange and wonderful plants and, she assumed, creatures, and her mind was still obsessed with the cow lick in Jarryd's hair. You are ridiculous, she told herself. The only reason the guy even knows who you are is because you're stuck on an alien planet together. If that crash had never happened....