As usual, I awoke inside the labyrinth. Shaking my head, I quickly stood and started walking. Now that people were inside here, I had motivation to search for things other than waste my time away thinking about other stuff.
I managed to locate Boingo fairly quickly. We were both walking in the same direction, so he could not see me approaching. "Hey Boingo," I called out.
Not even a word passed through my mouth and the alien was looking towards me. "Feste!" He bounded towards me.
My heartbeat skipped a beat as I realized that Boingo could potentially jump onto my shoulders once more. Instead, he simply sat. "So... how's the moon?"
The small critter's shoulder loosened and his expression deepened into a slight frown. "Pretty boring, actually." I prepared for him to describe his entire situation. "It was fun at first, with all the reduced gravity, but I get so dizzy all the time. I... don't know why."
Boingo shook himself out, somewhat relieved to be back inside the labyrinth where the gravity was normal. For me, that is. "And they have this obsession for exercise, too. They said that it's to build muscle mass since it would decrease as time went on, but almost everyone is carrying a weight or something!
"Oh, and everyone's really tall. Or... 'slender', as you'd probably call it. Their bodies are like noodles!" From then, Boingo went on and on about his assigned civilization. Out of everything, he only glossed over the main conflict that he was sent to the planet to study. "Oh, and everyone's apparently fighting over who should run the country. I think the two groups that're going at it with each other are the... the..." He paused, looking away from me. "I can't remember. So... How's your thing going?"
I sighed, trying to think about how to summarize it all. I first began with the start of the tour: my first thoughts about the surroundings, the people, and the harsh living conditions that they had to endure. From there, I began to transition into the conflict that I had to write the essay on. Running out of things to paraphrase from the guide, I turned back to what happened after the tour. This included the delicious meal that we were prepared and the grand hotel that we all had rooms in. From there, I began to develop a smile as I told Boingo about how I got a full room to myself.
As I concluded my part of the story, Boingo began to mirror my expression. "Yeah! Serves them right!" He was practically bouncing with newfound energy. Just a few moments before I could sense that he was debating whether or not he should force me to stop talking or take a nap right then. "I wish I could have my own room, though. I have to share mine with two other people."
I shrugged my shoulders. "Well, who knows. They'll probably get two other people to fill in their spots for tomorrow night. They would just let me get away with that."
"Hey, what did I miss?" A voice echoed across the hallway behind both of us. Turning around, we both saw Endora making her way to join the group.
"Oh, Endora!" I quickly coughed. That was louder than I expected.
"Oh, were you two talking about the civilization essay?" She stopped to catch her breath, which was quickly replenished due to the labyrinth's strange unknown mechanics. "Apparently everyone talks about it when a class goes."
"Yeah!" I enthusiastically replied. "Where did you go?"
"I..." Endora scratched the backside of her head. "I'm not in the same year as you are."
I tried to hide the fact that I was blushing, which failed tremendously. I also scratched myself, my rough skin suddenly itchy. "Yeah. I mean..." I took a deep breath, attempting to regain my composure. "Where did you go when you were in the same year as I was?"
Once again, Endora shifted her numerous eyes. "I only just got here. Sorry."
I vowed to myself to not talk recklessly from that point on. "Oh... You're a beginner. That would make sense."
A silence looked over all of us until we started to disappear a few minutes later. From there, I slapped myself slightly. I struggled to push aside the fresh memory and instead embraced the new sensation that was the hotel bed.