Annica: Starseed Ambassador

Chapter 1: A Universe With Pie

Annica awoke to the delectable scent of fresh apple pie wafting into her bedroom. The fragrance of baked goods had become common since her mother started a small baking business from their kitchen, but still, Annica doubted she would ever tire of it.

She yawned and stretched, then kicked off a light blanket. The late summer air was warm enough that she hardly needed the blanket at all. She groggily sat up and pushed her long blond hair through an elastic hair tie. She would take the time to neatly braid it later, but for now the prospect of breakfast pie took priority.

Annica was 14 years old. She was tall for her age, but she otherwise looked a few years younger. She never wore makeup, and her sense of fashion never developed beyond jeans and plain T-shirts. She had large, pale blue eyes that focused so intensely that others sometimes found direct eye contact uncomfortable. Regardless, few other kids found her presence intimidating – she smiled easily, with a genuine warmth that naturally calmed those around her.

Still in her pajamas, she left her bedroom and hurried toward the kitchen.

"Ah, so that's what it takes to wake you up!" Annica's mother Mavis proclaimed with a knowing smile.

It was still a bit before nine o'clock – really not very late at all, Annica thought. She would be starting ninth grade next week, and she was still savoring her last few opportunities to sleep in. The transition to high school would be particularly significant; her last school enrolled kindergartners through eighth graders, and middle school had essentially been an extension of elementary school.

"Here, try this," Mavis said, handing Annica a spoonful of extra apple pie filling from a large mixing bowl. "This part is ready, but you'll have to wait for the full presentation."

Mavis was a plump woman no taller than Annica. She had round, prominent facial features that were often exaggerated by a broad smile that left creases around the corners of her eyes. Her hair was dark, but even if it weren't, it would still be apparent to most that Annica was adopted.

Annica grasped the spoon and shoved it into her mouth. "Mmmm," she said, her eyes closing in contentment.

"Good?"

Annica removed the spoon from her mouth and opened her eyes wide. "We're going to be rich!"

"Three more orders this morning!" Mavis said in a sing-songy voice.

Annica looked at the spoon. "There's brown sugar in this, right?"

"Yes! I'm trying something a little different. What else do you notice?"

"Hmmm, I think I'm going to need another spoonful to answer that," Annica bargained.

"Ah, of course you will," Mavis replied with a sly wink. She grabbed a clean spoon, dipped it into the bowl of filling, and offered it to Annica.

Annica took a slower bite and concentrated. "Maybe some honey, and... bits of rosemary?"

Mavis lightly clapped her hands. "That's right!"

"It's really good," Annica affirmed with a nod. "Is there anything you didn't put in here?"

"Well," Mavis said, resting one hand on her hip and pointing with the other, "you know what Carl Sagan used to say: 'If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.'"

Annica laughed. "The whole universe? Is that what's in this?"

"In a way, yes."

Annica furrowed her brow and tilted her head.

Mavis busily turned her attention back to her baking process as she continued talking. "Think about it, Annica. Where do apples come from?"

"An apple tree?"

"And where do apple trees grow?"

"The Earth?"

"And where did the Earth come from?"

Annica blinked several times in rapid succession. "It's too early in the morning for this, Mom."

Mavis laughed heartily, enough to jiggle her belly a bit. "You can't create an apple pie without creating the whole universe first! Even if some things seem unrelated to each other, nothing can exist independently from the whole."

Annica rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'll be sure to write this down in my journal. In the meantime, can I have some more pie filling?"

"One more spoonful, but wash one of those spoons first!" Mavis commanded, pointing a large wooden mixing spoon at Annica.

Annica hastily washed a spoon with the kitchen sponge, then used it to scoop up the biggest glob of pie filling she could possibly balance.

Mavis shook her head and sighed. "Okay, that's on me, but now I'm cutting you off." She yanked the bowl away from Annica. "There are some leftover muffins in the fridge if you're still hungry."

Annica jammed the spoonful of pie filling into her mouth. Without removing the spoon, she opened the refrigerator door and took out two muffins from a sealed plastic container.

"Honey, come look at this!" Annica's father Daryl bellowed at Mavis from down the hall.

"Daryl, I'm busy! You'll have to come out here if you want to show me something!"

Daryl trotted into the kitchen holding an oversized laptop. As with Mavis, few would reasonably mistake Daryl for Annica's biological parent. He was a squirrely man with sparse, wiry dark hair. He was usually slouching, and his small, circular glasses were always a little crooked. His nose was angular, and his beady eyes were frequently darting around.

He carelessly brushed aside an assortment of baking supplies and set his laptop on the kitchen counter.

"Oh yes, just make yourself at home," Mavis grumbled.

"This is important! Look!"

Daryl's laptop had a video of the night sky from their home security camera loaded up. He angled the screen in Annica's and Mavis's direction, hit the "play" button and stepped back.

After about five seconds he burst out, "There! Did you see it?"

Mavis released an exasperated sigh. "See what, exactly?"

"Watch!"

Daryl excitedly rewound the video and played it again. After the first five seconds, he thrust his finger at the screen. "There! Right there! You saw it that time, right?"

Annica absentmindedly dropped both dirty spoons into the dishwasher and took a bite from one of her muffins while walking over to the laptop. "I didn't see anything," she said through a mouthful.

"Okay, I'm going to play it back at one tenth speed," Daryl said, rewinding the video again and adjusting the speed downward. He hit "play" one more time and dramatically stood back.

Annica squinted at the video showing the night sky over their house. Near the upper-right corner was a small white orb moving left, then right, then left again before zipping out of view. It was barely perceptible, and Annica figured it could be anything.

"That light?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes! You saw it, right?"

"Sure, I guess," Annica replied with a shrug while taking another bite of her muffin. "What do you think it is?" she asked through another mouthful.

"Oh, don't get him started," Mavis groaned while opening the oven door to check on her pie.

Daryl clapped the lid shut and picked the laptop up off the counter. "I can tell you what it's not," he said emphatically. "It's not a satellite. It's not an insect. It's not a plane. It could possibly be a drone, but for that to be the case–"

"Daryl, honey," Mavis interrupted, "how's your job search going?"

Daryl pursed his lips. "I have another interview next week," he said with an index finger raised in the air.

"Oh, that's great!" Mavis exclaimed, making a point to exaggerate her enthusiasm. "Do you need anything to prepare? Maybe a new tie? We could go shopping later today – Annica still needs school supplies..."

Annica and Daryl loudly groaned in unison. Mavis folded her arms and rolled her eyes while Annica and Daryl flashed smirks at each other.

"I know, I know," Mavis mockingly conceded. "Being an adult is hard. Starting high school is hard. But we're all big boys and girls here, right?"

Annica took the final bite of her first muffin. "If aliens land and take over the planet, do I still have to go to school?" she asked with deadpan facetiousness.

"Yes," Mavis said, matching Annica's tone of feigned sincerity. "In fact, going to school will be even more important. The aliens are only going to want smart people running their new society. The rest will be sent to the salt mines."

"Well, at least I'll have a job!" Daryl said chipperly.

Annica chuckled as she took the first bite of her second muffin. Mavis shook her head and giggled under her breath.