The Milky Way Express- Chapter I. The Universe Freaks.

It was 9 p.m. in Milwaukee, USA. Lexi Aden, a fifteen-year-old girl, seated on her soft bed between her best friends, Kristie (her seventeen-year-old sister) and George Warner (her schoolmate staying in the same neighborhood) glanced up at the beautiful night sky. Kristie and George too were lost in the sight of the millions of stars, planets, and the beautiful moon.

Those three were the right people to be called 'Universe Freaks'. Lexi wanted to be an astrophysicist, Kristie an astronaut, and George a space journalist. The three of them loved astronomy and physics.

A shout of, "Lex, Kristie, George!" broke through them, landing them back in reality. That was Daniel's voice, who was Lexi and Kristie's elder brother! Twenty-five-year-old Daniel (ten years elder to Lexi) was an astrophysicist, the three's biggest inspiration. 

They scurried to his room and found him there, tired but enthusiastic. He asked them, "What's up, buddies?" Kristie joked, "The sky?" Daniel frowned, and Lexi and George laughed. Lexi said, sitting on the bed, "Okay stop. What were you researching today, Dan? You said it was a new project before leaving."

"Oh yes. It is a very complex project, they chose skilled people for it", Dan said proudly, "The project is about the possibility of portalization, which is-"

"The art of creating portals to travel from one place to the other in the multiverse, I know," Lexi finished for him.

Dan looked at her in pride (and a little jealousy), "Wow, Lex, at your age, even I didn't know so much. I think you'll be a great astrophysicist," and Lexi seriously glowed. 

Just then, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!", Lexi said and ran to the lounge. When she opened the door, she saw Irica Warner (George's elder sister) and Allan Illies (Daniel's best friend), both of them the same age as Daniel. Lexi happily said, "Hi Irica, Allan! What're you guys doing here?"

Irica said, "Well, baby boy, AKA George, is here, isn't he?"

"Err… yeah… "

Allan said, "Cool. We have a surprise for y'all."

Lexi heard Daniel shout, "Lex, who is it?" Lexi shouted back, "Irica and Allan!"

A few minutes later, Kristie served everyone hot coffee. 

Lexi said, "So what is it?"

Irica said, "Hey, Dan, did you know the Milky Way Express is coming to Earth on the 2nd of next month?"

Dan was puzzled, "What do you mean coming to Earth?"

Allan and Irica looked like Dan had got them bankrupt. Allan shrieked, "YOU DON'T KNOW THE MILKY WAY EXPRESS?!" Dan widened his eyes, "Uhh… yeah, right, I don't."

Irica said, "Fine, fine, we'll tell you about it! It's driven by the people of planet Gabriel-"

Lexi was amazed and shocked, "There's a planet called Gabriel? And it has inhabitants?!" Allan said, "Yeah, 'course it does. Anyway, going ahead, it comes to a different planet every decade. And for this decade, Earth's been chosen! And, only the people of SSO and their friends and families can board it."

Kristie asked, "What is the SSO?"

Allan lowered his voice, "My elder brother Solus is a member, so I know about it. It stands for Secret Space Organisation."

George said, "Ooooooh, but why do we board this train?"

Irica said, "You see, baby brother-"

George shouted out, "I'm not a baby anymore! I'm fifteen!"

Irica giggled, "Alright, Georgie. You see, it takes you on a tour around the Milky Way!"

Lexi, George, Kristie, and Daniel said together, "NO WAYYYYYY!"

Lexi said, "Daniel, Kristie, can we please-please-please board it? It's a dream come true!"

George said, "Yeah, Irica, pleeease?"

Irica said in a smug tone, "We'll see, Georgie…"

George said, "I'll give you all my seashells!"

Irica said, "Only a few tiny seashells for a trip around the galaxy?"

George said, "Well, uhh… after we return, all my sweets and snacks are yours for… umm… a year?"

That was different. Irica turned to Allan, "Al, you said Solus is a member. Does that mean we can board it?"

Allan said in deep thought, "I don't know… I'll have to ask him. Solus told me it's almost 150 dollars per person…"

Dan said, "Woah, that means… well, we're… umm… seven people, so a total of 1,050 bucks!"

Lexi felt disappointed. "Oh. We can't afford that much."

Allan replied, "Actually, thinking about it, we can..."

Everyone was puzzled. George asked, "H-how? It's quite a huge amount… we're not the millionaire YouTubers we watch.."

Allan laughed and said, "I mean… Solus gets paid 600 bucks every month's 1st… for working in the SSO, and usually, every fifth month, we use it for our essential stuff… but this time, we can use that to pay for the tickets of the train, as we won't be here, anyway. We already have the January, February, March, and April's pay in our account, and the express arrives on 2nd May… so, I guess we can manage it… and don't worry about the time it'll take, won't be a long time."

Irica replied, "We can contribute, too."

Dan said, "Yeah, bro, we'll pay for it too."

Allan said, "No, no, no, no, no, it's been each one of your dreams… to go explore the universe. It'll be Solus and my treat for y'all… Well, if he agrees. But for now, good night, Universe Freaks!"

"Nighty-night, everyone!", Lexi said happily.

It would be huge deal if you'd get to ride that express once! Do you think Lexi will get to? Stay tuned for the next chapter!