The hustle and bustle and noise of the Starport was no more or less than usual, but today it fell on a pair of pointed deaf ears. Hauling her luggage out of the tram and neatly tripping on her over-embroidered dress hem, Besney was far too excited to care about trivial matters such as decibel levels. Today her wishes and dreams came true. Today she left her home, her 27 sisters and 5 mothers, and her planet, for the most elite college in all of the Alliance: the Star Academy. Provided, of course, she could find her gate in the chaos that was Starport terminals.
�Bes-ki! This way!� A disembodied voice called from the throng, and was soon joined by the sight of Lisson Marxon. �Hurry up, or you�ll miss the flight.� Noticing her sister sprawled on the concrete, an over-packed bag threatening to crush her, Lisson�s pink eyes flashed sympathetically, and she seized the largest suitcase. �Try to keep up, all right?�
Nodding, Besney picked herself and her bags up from the sidewalk and trudged after her sibling. She kept her amethyst eyes to the ground, painstakingly watching every step to avoid more stumbling. It didn�t really help, though, and she had to apologize to all three of the people she knocked over with her accidents.
Much later and with well-hidden bruises, the girls arrived at their terminal. �Here we go, B-5,� Lisson sighed, dropping her burden on the conveyer belt. Besney did the same with the other bags, and stepped back, brushing the non-existent wrinkles from her dress.
�Thanks for coming with me, Lis-ta,� Besney said as she straightened her hair band. �I would never have found the gate without you.�
Lisson wrinkled her nose as she smiled. �Don�t you think for a minute Heth-mere and the others would let you come down here alone. She nearly begged me to come. Besides,� she giggled, �I had to give you this.� With that she produced a small box from a hidden pocket and/or sleeve and tossed it to Besney, who dove for it, missed it, and banged her head on a wall.
�Ow and thank you.� Opting to stay on the floor for a moment, the younger of the two brunettes snatched the box up and eagerly opened it. Embedded comfortably within was a glimmering silver band with a glittering violet gem. On second glance, it became obvious that the piece of jewelry was two pieces, a pair of ear-clips. �Oh! Oh, thank you. Oh wow. Oh how the heck could you afford this?�
Lisson grinned. �I couldn�t. All the girls and meres chipped in a little. Figured the only sister to get in to THE Academy deserved a little going away present.� A speaker overhead chirped twice, then crackled with an announcement: �B-5 TO LEAVE IN 15 MINUTES, ALL PASSENGERS PLEASE BOARD.� �That�s you, sis,� Lisson said once her ears stopped ringing. �Better get you on your ship. Hug first?�
Blinking back a tear, Besney sniffled, stood, and hugged her elder sister with all her might, ignoring any possible wrinkles. �Tell all the others thank you for the present. I�m going to miss everyone so much. You�ll write? I�ll write. I can�t wait to get to the academy and I hope I can come home for holidays and do you think they have Kamithan holidays and I�m babbling aren�t I?�
Lisson chuckled. �I�ll write. We�ll all write. Now get.� She released Besney and made shooing gestures. �It�s not like this is the last time we�ll see each other. You�re only going to college, not another galaxy.�