If I had known mentorship involved waking up at 6 A.M. and being handed a real lab coat by someone named Dr. Vega with no visible eyebrows, I might've rethought everything.
"Kairo," I whispered, still clutching my coffee, "what if this is a secret government program to recruit weird teenagers for space espionage?"
He adjusted his goggles. "Then we've finally made it."
We stood in the lobby of the NovaTech Innovation Center—a glass-walled paradise of tech and judgmental security guards. Our trashcan rocket sat awkwardly beside sleek, aerodynamic models that looked like they belonged to Elon Musk's wet dreams.
I tried not to panic.
Keyword: tried.
---
They led us to a workshop filled with 3D printers, robotic arms, and a vending machine that dispensed soldering wire instead of snacks.
Dr. Vega clapped their hands. "Welcome to the program. You'll each be partnered with an engineering mentor. You'll have five weeks to upgrade your prototype. And at the end… the winning team gets launched to the actual ISS."
Kairo raised his hand. "Like… space space?"
"Yes."
"Like orbiting-earth-and-drinking-from-sippy-pouches space?"
"Yes."
I dropped my coffee. "Holy. Rocket."
---
Then it happened.
The door slid open and in walked *her*.
Long black hair, combat boots, a smirk that could melt titanium.
Dr. Vega smiled. "This is Cass Nova. She won last year. She's back to observe and maybe… compete again."
Cass looked us up and down. Her gaze landed on our duct-taped "Lunatic Mark III" and she raised one perfect eyebrow.
"Adorable," she said.
Kairo immediately straightened. "It may look like garbage, but it runs on dreams and aggressive optimism."
Cass smirked. "So does my hairdryer."
I hated her.
So much.
---
Kairo, naturally, was enchanted.
"She's kind of cool," he whispered as we followed our mentor into Lab Bay 3.
"She's a threat," I hissed back.
"She's literally built her own satellite."
"I literally want to slap her with a blueprint."
He grinned. "You're jealous."
"I'm focused."
"You're red."
"I'm passionate!"
---
Our mentor was a guy named Ravi who wore a hoodie with binary code and smelled like melted circuit boards.
"You're the glitter rocket kids?" he asked, sipping something that might've been battery acid.
"That's us," I said. "Team Moon Idiots."
Ravi nodded. "Cool. First rule: no actual glitter in the propulsion system."
Kairo looked devastated.
"But," Ravi added, "you can put it in the fuel tank. It just might explode more colorfully."
"I love this place," Kairo whispered, eyes wide.
---
We spent the next few days working nonstop.
We upgraded the engine from "slightly dangerous" to "legally questionable."
We added real insulation, real circuits, and a guidance system that no longer involved Kairo yelling "LEFT!" while I panicked.
Cass walked by often. Always smirking. Always smug.
Once she even winked at Kairo.
I almost dropped a wrench on my own foot.
Kairo, of course, blushed so hard he looked sunburned.
---
"Are you in love with our rival?" I snapped as we soldered a piece of the stabilizer.
He blinked. "What? No!"
"She winked at you."
"She winks at fire alarms."
"That's not reassuring!"
He sighed, setting down his tools.
Then he looked at me.
Really looked.
"You're the one I want to build rockets with, Luna. Not her. You."
My brain rebooted.
"Oh," I said.
"Yeah."
"Okay."
Then we kissed.
Right there, next to a toolbox and a half-eaten burrito.
It was greasy, nerdy, and perfect.
---
[TO BE CONTINUED]