APH: There's Got To Be Somewhere

Alfred squints up at the sky, watching the billions of little stars twinkle and sparkle with glowing lights. He inhales sharply as a little star travels across the sky, and he smiles. Looking at the night sky always calmed him down. It always made him see that maybe there was a reason to live. Maybe there was a future for him, and maybe there was something he could dream about. But mostly, he wondered…was there somewhere out there with no worries? Somewhere where he could be free, for real? Somewhere where he could be carefree, where he could live his life, where he could be happy? It would be a beautiful place. A place shimmering in all sorts of colors, but mostly gold, with long fields stretching forever. The sky would be a brilliant blue, and he could watch the Earth beneath him. It would be a place like the places in the fairy tale books he read when he was little. And looking up at the stars, he could almost imagine that he was there.

"Beautiful."

He murmurs to himself, honestly not giving a damn. Not a damn about homework, or school, or the gang that was determined to pull him down. But he was a hero…right? At least, he thought he was. But he knew, deep in his heart, that he was just another student who had a detention record and loads of bad grades. How could a person who did that be a hero? He looks up at the stars, biting his lip. No heroes for now. Just a kid. A kid who had dreams, dreams that were impossible to reach. He reaches out, trying to catch the stars, but of course, they’re too far away. Too far, like his dreams.

"Miles and miles and miles..."

Alfred smiles. He loved to quote some of his sayings from his favorite astronauts, but no one really gave it much thought. During Science, he would quip all sorts of things, but people would just shrug it off. After all, he was Alfred F. Jones, the famous troublemaker who everyone liked and hated. He had the longest detention record in school history, and everyone knew his name. He made okay grades, but had a passion for space history. He was loud and nutty, and kinda famous, with his bomber jacket, cowlick, and record. He defied every teacher and even the principal, and students would admire his spunk and gusto. He kept trying to persuade the staff to get an American football team in the school, but they were all soccer fans. That’s the Alfred everyone knew. Not the Alfred who stayed up until midnight looking at the night sky and dreaming. Everyone knew he had big dreams, they just didn’t know how committed he was to them. They didn’t know his parents had died, and he had a little brother to take care of as well. They didn’t know the history behind that old bomber jacket he always wore. They didn’t know how many times he had been rejected, used, and betrayed. They didn’t know anything. Maybe there was somewhere where you didn’t have to worry about anything.

And he was determined to get there.