Olivia walked down the long quiet hallway of her school, her best friend Victoria "Tori" walked beside her gabbing about how excited she was to start University.
Most students didn't bother to attend the last day of school but Tori had perfect attendance so of course her and Olivia decided to go to class to bid a fond farewell to their classmates and teachers.
Tori was very smart, and always got top grades in all of her classes. Which meant she got her pick from any of the top Universities she had applied to.
Olivia however was an average student. She passed all of her classes of course but didn't really strive for perfection like her friend.
"Via are you even listening to me?" Tori stopped walking to look over at Oliva who had continued walking a few steps until she realized Tori had stopped.
"Oh sorry.... I guess my mind was somewhere else." Olivia was worried about her future. With her parents gone on an extended work expedition she didn't have the backing she needed for a good school and her slightly above average grades would only get her so far. At this point she would be lucky to even get into the Mars academy so she could join the colonization project with her family.
"You know what you need?" Victoria smiled at her best friend.
"No....Tori don't!"
"A shopping spree!" Tori shouted as she bounced on her toes.
Olivia sighed and looked down at her data pad as she pulled it out of her bag. She winced as she noticed how many credits she had left for the month. Olivia was on a strict allowance while her parents were away for work. This didn't allow her to go out and splurge on cute clothes or even go out to eat.
"I'm sorry Tori but I'm flat broke. I have enough to get a few groceries but that's it. You are gonna have to do that shopping spree without me."
Tori waved her hand. "Let me at least treat you to lunch. Meet me at the transit hub tomorrow. I'll message you with a time." She walked over to the transit portal and scanned her data pad. The portal flickered to life and a beep was heard. "Oh here!" Tori handed Olivia her umbrella. "It's going to rain and I noticed you forgot your umbrella again. You can give it back to me tomorrow. See ya!"
With that Tori walked through the portal and was gone.
Olivia looked down at the umbrella in her hand before turning away from the transit portal with a smile. Tori was always looking out for her. Olivia didn't know what she was going to do without her best friend. Not that they wouldn't see each-other again, at least Olivia hoped this wasn't going to be the last time they got to see one another.
Olivia took another look at her data pad before shoving it back in her bag. Maybe she could get something cheap for dinner at the konbini near her apartment. She began her long walk home as the first drops of rain started to fall.
'Thanks again for the umbrella Tori.' She thought as she opened it and headed down the sidewalk.
Arcadia was a very clean and modern looking city. All of the buildings were made of metal and glass, and all the streets and sidewalks were made from a self healing substance that was white and shimmered slightly in the sunlight. Olivia thought it looked boring. There were no signs, no neon lights or advertising. Just the sprawling architecture of building after building. She also thought it was odd that a place with an artificial environment needed it to rain. There were very few plants and Olivia couldn't remember ever seeing any kind of wildlife scampering around outside of the one nature preserve on the moon which also had its own enclosed environment.
Olivia just shrugged at the thought and kept walking. 'I guess it's to help remind us of home.'
Arcadia was one of many colonies on Earth's moon. Lunaria was the capitol and Arcadia was the centre for learning. Most of the Universities, Colleges, and library branches were located in Arcadia. It was the main reason Olivia's parents had moved here before they left on their expedition to Mars. It was a 10 year journey to the planet with current technology and that included a stop for fuel and resources at Starbase Beta.
Olivia's parents left shortly after she started high school. Which meant she had already been alone for almost four years.
It wasn't too bad though. Olivia was still able to live in her family apartment and she got a message from her mom once every six months. She was also able to make anything she wanted for her meals and today she was hoping to score some leftover onigiri or even some day old buns.
After walking for what seemed like forever Olivia finally saw the familiar sight of her apartment building and the cute little konbini that was nestled beside it. She closed her borrowed umbrella and stuck it in the currently empty stand before she entered the store.
Most shops were self serve or had robots as waitstaff and cashiers. This little shop was no different but today the store's owner was in doing some maintenance and inventory.
"Oh! Good afternoon Mr. Kim. I wasn't expecting anyone to be here." Olivia greeted cheerfully as she headed over to the prepared meals section of the store.
"Well you know me. I can never seem to relax when the store needs to be stocked."
Mr. Kim lived in the same apartment complex as Olivia and was one of the few that welcomed her family to the neighborhood. He was older with silvered hair and a wrinkled face but he still had plenty of energy and a kind heart.
"I hear congratulations are in order." Mr Kim smiled as he headed to the checkout counter to give it a clean.
"They are?" Olivia asked as she grabbed the last tuna onigiri from the shelf.
"Of course. It's not every day you graduate from high school."
"Oh, it's not that big of a deal. I didn't graduate with honors or a scholarship or anything like that." Olivia mumbled.
"But you made it all the same. I'm sure your parents will be very proud of you. I know I am. Which is why dinner is on me tonight." Mr. Kim smiled and pulled out a bag full of an assortment of Olivia's favorite foods.
Olivia's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"
Mr.Kim laughed. "Of course. Someone needs to look out for you while your parents are away. Now go on home and relax. You can worry about what comes next later."
Olivia took the bag and thanked him before she headed out the door.
The rain had stopped while she was in the store so Olivia grabbed the umbrella from the stand and shook the water off it before she put it away and headed home.
Her apartment building was small, only three stories with 12 units. Her apartment was on the third floor right at the end.
Olivia walked up the three flights of stairs then fished her data pad out of her bag. She scanned the pad on the scanner beside her door and heard the lock disengage. As she opened the door to go in she noticed there was a package on the ground by her feet.
Upon further inspection she saw it was addressed to her. Who would be sending her a package Olivia thought.