"Beau, my darling, have I ever told you a story where mommy comes from?"
Isabeau stared up at her mother expectantly, frankly she really did not know where her mother came from, she never spoke about it and waved Isabeau away when she tried to inquire. Even when she tried eavesdropping on her conversations with Grams, which is why Isabeau stared raptly at her mother now. Her mind spiraling and sugar high on the home baked cake pops that were designed based on the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.
"Tell me! Tell me!" squealed Isabeau, suckling on a snowflake cake pop. Her mother picked Isabeau up, tucking her hair behind her ear and placing her on her lap, "Have you ever heard of a white hole, my dear?" Isabeau shook her head, she was seven. She could only count all the planets in the solar system if she counted on her fingers.
"Well, mommy came out of a white hole, but most people are not aware that they even exist," her mother winked and placed a finger against her lips, just like Isabeau's sister does when she sees her sneaking a cookie from the jar in the middle of the night, "there are many theories, my darling, but no evidence. Of course, we are not allowed to speak about it, it could wreak havoc."
"So, why are you telling me mommy?" Isabeau tilted her head, properly confused and mostly focused on finishing her cake pop.
"Because my darling, you're apart of a long lost lineage from mommy's home. Your eyes say it all, that's why you always have to wear your glasses, okay? You can never, ever take them off." Her mother's voice sounded like a scornful teacher all of a sudden, hard and stern. Serious. This was a serious talk. Isabeau licked the last of her cake pop and focused once more on her mother's story.
Her mother pointed at her eyes and then her own, "You have mommy's eyes. Your sister doesn't, she has daddy's, you can't even tell your sister this, okay?" Isabeau reluctantly nodded her head, she didn't want to keep secrets from her sister, but she had to. And she especially had to after their mother had disappeared, and all her secrets with her.
17 years later...
"Beau open up! I need to use the damn bathroom!" Evie was banging her fist against the door, shrieking incredulously at Isabeau and using a few profanities that the neighbors probably would rather not hear at 8:30 in the morning.
Isabeau, on the other hand, was scrambling like a frantic dog after a hidden bone. "Give me a minute, sis! I'm going number two!" She really wasn't, but either way the neighbors probably didn't want to hear that either. She couldn't find her glasses, where were her damn glasses? Only these stupid glasses had concealed her eyes, she relentlessly tried other alternatives like contacts but to no avail.
The pink of her irises snaked through and gleamed like freshly blossomed tulips on a summer's day. Only these very physical and very easy to lose glasses hid her biggest secret. "Oh come on, you've been in there for over 40 minutes you son of a---" Evie's voice and rapt banging on the door faded away as Isabeau had finally found her prized possession, her glasses.
She kissed them like she's never kissed anything or anyone ever before, "Never leave me again." The relief that washed away the mounds of stress she had piled in her shoulders when she saw her silver star-rimmed glasses was insurmountable.
With an exasperated huff, Isabeau pivoted, unlocking the door and realization hit her like a semi-truck once she saw her sister's hand snaking on the door handle. Oh, shit.
Sprinting like never before, she flushed the very not used and clean toilet, almost slipping on her ass and grinning once her sister walked in, trying not to let the fear paint her face red.
Evie looked her up and down, raising a brow and shaking her head, "Ew. Did you not wash your hands before you opened the door?" She scowled, wiping the door handle with a wet wipe. Isabeau shuggred, "Oopsies. See you later, sis." She gave Evie a kiss on the cheek and ran, seizing her tote bag on the way out of the apartment and sprinting towards her car. Solar System Astrophysics and Interstellar Medium waited for nobody.
Professor Lochlan also did not wait for anybody, he had a telescope engineered to dispatch and project slime at you as soon as you strode in 1 minute late. And Isabeau had no intentions of ruining her perfectly adorable outfit and styled hair that was a beast to wrangle.
With seconds to spare, and very crooked parking, Isabeau sprinted like an Olympic gold medalist and barged in the door like a detective ram-battering a crack house. "I'm here, I'm here!" Pride snaked up her spine and relief settled in her stomach.
"Affirmative, Miss Amorette, I and the rest of the class clearly see your corporeal form here with us. Now sitdown." Professor Loch chastised her with a raised brow, his glasses slipping down his bulbous nose.
Pink colored Isabeau's cheeks, sheepishly climbing up the stairs and squirming in a middle seat in a random middle row. She often preferred the front, it made her feel like she was actively engaging and involved, but time was not a luxury she had today. Damn glasses.
"Today, we shall delve into a world of theoretical conspiracies, I repeat, theoretical conspiracies," urged Professor Loch, at the same moment a feather-light tickled grazed Isabeau's knee. "Close call, eh? You missed your chance signing up for the track team this semester, maybe even a gold medal," quipped a grinning Ambrose, who was a row below her.
"Haha, my stomach hurts from laughing," deadpanned Isabeau, sometimes she remained puzzled at how she became friends with this jester, "did you speak with Ani?" With all the rush and stress, Isabeau forgot how imperative tonight was.
"Yeah, she said th--" Ambrose hardly got a few words out before a miniature Jupiter decked him on the side of the head, its thrower snickering at his pain, "As I was teaching before Mr. Varone took the liberty to converse, a white hole has been a theoretical concept conjured by Einstein himself as a means for time travel. However, it is all conjecture, but imperative to recognize when being in this field..." Professor Lochlan's voice trailed on and Isabeau was brought back to her mother's secret, scribbling notes she knew were not true and would prove tonight.
12 Hours Later
"Are you absolutely sure you are ready for this, Beau boo?" inquired Ani, worry dripped off her voice but she was aiding Isabeau in her mission nonetheless. Worry didn't only infect Ani, it infected Ambrose, Zane, and Mariposa as well. They all ogled her with worry dripping out of their eyes and sinking into the wrinkles in their skin.
Isabeau nodded, she couldn't tell them the whole truth of why she was doing this, but only that she had to. She was lucky to have friends that aided her in this, Ani and Ambrose who engineered the spaceship, Mariposa who designed it, and Zane who calculated and pirated the path to the infamous TON-618 black hole that Isabeau was determined to scout for clues.
"I have no choice, my mother disappeared with this last task for me. I haven't a clue why-" Lie. "-but all I know is that I must, and truly, I thank all of you for this, but rest assured I'll make it back safely." Isabeau trusted her friends, and she trusted society today, they were the most advanced. Engineers and astrophysicists have been able to harness the speed of light and speeds unfathomable to society thousands of years ago.
"With this path and design, theoretically, you can cross the event horizon long enough to gather data and escape the insatiable and horrendous gravity of 618," informed Zane, ruffling his hair as a telltale sign of his nervousness, "you also have the emergency plan embedded in the software and as a manual lever pull, should you need it" He huffed, his voice stuttering a little on the word emergency.
Mariposa kissed Isabeau's cheek, "I swear I'll beat you if you don't make it back, okay? I'll bring you back from some grave in space." She leveled her eyes at Isabeau even though she was shorter than her, but it still had the same threatening effect.
Ambrose and Ani, the twins, tackled Isabeau in bear hug, both promising they would never forgive her and also beat her if she didn't come back.
With a slightly nervous induced giggle, Isabeau reluctantly pulled away from her closest friends, "Please tell my father and Evie I love them and give them their letters I secured in the bloodline system, in case I don't make it." Reality had slightly hit her in that moment, she was so driven by her mother's final request before she disappeared, she hadn't realized she was following in her footsteps straight on the path of her own potential disappearance.
Isabeau took a deep breath, and ripped her gaze away from her dear friends, stepping into the spaceship. After prepping and preparing, Isabeau swiveled around one last time, expecting four people, but there were only two, "Where's Ani and Ambrose?" she mouthed to Mari and Zane, who both shrugged their shoulders at her.
Before she could fully compute the situation, Ani and Ambrose slammed down on the take off button at the same time, "Hiyah!" they eerily squealed at the same time, "We snuck in a hidden trapdoor in the blueprint, we couldn't let you go alone, now could we?" They had the same damn smirk, mischievous bastards.
Isabeau shook her head, "You idiots, we might not all make it back now."
"Well, that's a future problem then."
14 Hours Later
Isabeau yawned, Ani and Ambrose still sleeping in the cabins. She was regretfully and selfishly grateful they chose to come with her, but she could never voice that out loud. They were about to reach the event horizon, but until then, a coffee and an everything bagel were waiting to be devoured by a famished Isabeau. After breakfast and a warm shower, the twins had finally awoken and chaos along with them. Ambrose was whining about how Ani's curls took up about half of the cabin itself, making his "possibly last chance at beauty sleep" before certain death unattainable.
It was then Isabeau heard the beeping alert. They were nearing the crossing of the event horizon.
With a sprint, Isabeau took in all the calculations that were processing and transmitting on all the devices from TON-618, Ani and Ambrose rushing up behind her and taking in the sight of the monstrosity they were nearing, "Hey, are we actually supposed to be this close?" chuckled a nervous Ani, chewing on her curls.
"I don't think so..." added Ambrose, who got smacked on the head by Ani.
"You're not supposed to say that, damn it!"
Isabeau began typing on all devices frantically, signaling to Zane and Mari to release the bloodline locked letters in the system. Then she swiped the screen, screening over the analytics, "Guys, we might die."
Ambrose ran to the kitchen, screaming about needing breakfast before death, and Ani ran to the right side of Isabeau, "You take the left screens, I take the right, we can code the emergency system and use the nitro boosters to get the fuck out of here, okay?"
But Isabeau wasn't listening, she was awfully entranced by the gleaming light inside the black hole. It was like nothing she had ever seen before, it felt familiar. Like she knew she had to come here, it was all she was meant for.
Ani shook her uncontrollanly, the beeping alerts reaching an ultimatum in a frenzy, but Isabeau was in a gripping trance, unable to move.
Muffled screams and shakes and a glowing light was all Isabeau could see before they got sucked in by the beast of TON-618.