Beyond the Stars

New Friends?

The pilots must have underestimated how many people would come up to them, soon over fifty people were asking them on where they should go. Mariah figured that since she was studying mechanical engineering, she ought to go to the center zone. Annie, on the other hand, wasn't sure where would best suit her. However, she knew that she preferred to stick by her friend's side, and she also didn't want to wait in a line for god knows how long just to ask a simple question.

They stood around waiting to see what would happen next. Then out of the blue – a voice as curious as an echo in a cave asks, "This is pretty crazy, huh?" They both looked to their right to see a chubby, blond guy standing with his hands in his pockets looking ahead at the growing line. Was he talking to them? He continues, "Never thought I'd ever be in this kind of situation. Chances are so scant." Mariah wasn't sure whether she should respond. She wasn't the type to engage in small talk with strangers, whenever they initiated, she always kept her response as brief as possible.

Annie was the opposite. She could get into full conversations with strangers. She had this wonderous ability to connect with anyone; it was something that Mariah admired about Annie. Annie responded to the guy with, "Me neither. I was playing chess with my friend when all the sudden... this happens."

He looks towards Annie's direction. "Yeah..., Hope we get found soon before things get possibly worse." He turns toward the two women, taking his hands out of his pockets and extending his right hand forward. "I'm Elwin by the way. What're your names?"

Annie gives him a firm handshake and looks him in the eye. "I'm Annie."

At this point, Mariah figured she should introduce herself. They were probably going to be in the crafting group with Elwin, and it's a good idea to get to know at least some of their teammates. She locks her eyes onto Elwin's and introduces herself as she shakes his hand.

Mariah decided to try to break the ice – at least a little. "I'm kind of wondering how this group thing is going to work. It's easier to work in smaller groups of five or ten. So, are the groups going to form little sub-groups? If so, how will they find members? Are they going to be formed by people in close proximity to each other or are people going to seek others out to join?"

Elwin was quiet for a moment, placing his chin between his thumb and index finger. Then he shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe a bit of both. But people tend to form cliques with people of similar interests, so maybe that'll happen here too? Guess we'll just have to wait and see."

Turns out they were both right. After the confused people in the line cleared away into suitable groups, everyone began to divide themselves into subgroups. Sometimes a person would initially be in one subgroup, but then break off to join another. That didn't happen with Mariah's little gathering. The members in it were all nearby and decided to group up together. Elwin looks around at the members in his group – scanning to see how many there were. Then in an orotund voice, "Well, since we're all in a group together, maybe we should play the name game to get to know each other a bit better. In the game you say your name, your occupation, where you were originally headed and a fact about yourself. This fact can be anything from your favorite video game to a skill you have. Then you pick someone else to go. Is everyone up for this?" Some people in the group, like Annie and Mariah, gave their approval. Others didn't say anything. Elwin, in a quavering voice, "Um... Okay..., I guess I'll go first. My name is Elwin Johnson. I study radio broadcasting at Townson University. I hope to one day have my own radio show where I talk about games, politics and shit that's going on in the world. I was originally going to Detroit for family business. I'm also really into anime. My favorite franchise ever is Ghost in the Shell. If I made a list of my favorite movies, Ghost in the Shell would sit at number one. But, Akira, Perfect Blue and Princess Mononoke would be in my top five somewhere. Annie, I choose you."