"Anri! You in there?"
The sorcerer had fallen asleep on the sofa while channel surfing and ruminating about his new life. Gina's loud banging on the door woke him out of sleep. Yawning, he checked what time it was by looking out of his window. It was already dark out.
"Were you sleeping?" Gina asked when he let her into his room.
"Yes."
The doctor was wearing a loose-fitting yellow dress and a black jacket that matched her work boots. After seeing her constantly in a white lab coat, the change was refreshing.
"Are you tired? Because I have a surprise for you and if-"
"Not tired," Anri cut her off. He loved surprises. The dark-haired young man expectantly waited for Gina to produce her surprise.
"You're kinda adorable, kid," Gina poked a finger to his forehead and grinned.
For God's sake, Gina, the sorcerer thought to himself. He was actually a few months shy of turning nineteen. His new body though was only fifteen years old. He knew that because a choice had been presented to him when he triggered the spell that had sucked his soul into the portal. A dying fifteen-year-old body or a strong seventy year old - the choice had been obvious.
"Surprise. Where?" He demanded arrogantly.
"You won't get it if you use that tone with me, Anri," Gina replied, still jesting.
The sorcerer turned around and flopped back on the sofa. He had two more packets of snacks to get through. "Close the door when you leave, Gina."
"Wow, I wonder how you'll ever woo a girl with that attitude," Gina wagged a finger at him. His sudden eloquence hadn't escaped her notice.
The teen noisily opened a packet of chips in response. An untouched cup of strawberry flavoured yoghurt sat on the table enticing him with its delightful packaging and his memories of the deliciousness that had spread across his tastebuds. He was saving it for later because there wasn't any more yoghurt to be found in the basket of food he had received.
"God damn, Anri," Gina stated with surprise as she observed the several empty packets of chips he had dumped inside the recycling bin. "Let's get you something healthier to eat."
"Thank you. I refuse," he blandly replied as he recalled the food Gina had fed him on the ship.
"You obstinate brat. Here I am offering to buy you a full course meal at the best restaurant in the city and-"
"Best- restaurant?" He enquired. The sorcerer's interest was piqued. "The Silver Tree?"
Gina smiled, a little bit of confusion furrowing her brow. "How do you know that?"
"Television," Anri pointed to the large screen mounted on the wall. He had seen a mouth-watering ad that had kept him glued to the tv.
"Ah, of course. So do you have anything else to wear?" Gina eyed the slight dusting of powder on his shirt, no doubt produced by the copious amounts of junk food he had been eating.
Anri looked down at himself and dusted off the white powder. "Ready."
Gina slapped a hand to his back. "I guess we're adding new clothing to the list of things we're shopping for today."
_______
The shopping trip was a revelation to Anri. All he had seen so far was the interior of the compound where he had woken up. Now he was in a transport vehicle that sped past buildings as tall as mountains. The bright neon city lights flashed in colours that blinded the wide-eyed sorcerer.
"So beautiful," he whispered in awe. Seeing it on television couldn't do justice to the beauty of reality.
"Hey, wanna try ice cream?" Gina asked the young man.
"Ice- cream?"
____
One hour later - Anri was carrying several bags filled with clothing, shoes, food, medicines, books, and a communicator that he was supposed to wear around his wrist. Right after buying it, Gina opened the box and taught him how to operate the device by interacting with it verbally.
"Gina, why?" He asked the doctor who had gone out of her way to do so much for him.
"Because I owe you, Anri. You took one for the team and survived to tell the tale," she answered. The commander had initially handed Gina his credit card for this purpose but the doctor had returned it. She wasn't sure if Anri had parents or even family left alive. Whatever it was, Gina was going to be family to him from here on. She had always wanted a younger brother.
Anri felt a bit guilty. He hadn't saved Gina out of selflessness. Dark eyes looked at her, grateful and honest.
"Thank you, Gina." Anri smiled. It was only the second time that the doctor had seen him smiling.
"Don't thank me. Become someone amazing, Anri. I'm rooting for you, and so are the others. Isa and Dom wanted to come with us but they're on another planet right now."
Anri was silent. He realised how lucky he was to have met some really nice people.
"You know, I heard that the commander plans to recommend you to Starfield Academy," Gina said to Anri. They were both seated on a bench atop the roof of The Silver Tree. Above them twinkled hundreds of stars - bright pinpricks of light peeping at them through a fabric of black.
Anri continued to remain silent. Gina had a way of making him forget that he wasn't supposed to interact so freely in a language he was pretending ignorance of.
"Starfield doesn't just accept anyone. You don't know how lucky you are for them to even consider looking at your application. I guess it's for the best."
Starfield Academy produced Officers, never grunts. Admission into the school was nigh impossible without a recommendation if one didn't possess the grades and the qualifications that were stringently demanded of the applicants. This was only the first step that eliminated most hopefuls. The Academy also held a notoriously difficult exam that had to be cleared before admission was truly granted.
"Good luck, Anri," Gina told the teenager. Seven months from now, the teenager would have to sit for the exam. The doctor refused to think about how capable Anri was of getting through. The commander saw something special in the young man and that was enough for her.
"Gina?"
She turned to look at the teen.
"I had fun. Very much. Thank you."
The doctor was touched. Anri was cold and standoffish most of the time but for heartwarming moments like this, she would continue to spend her hard-earned money on the brat.
"You're most welcome, Anri."