Priya blew out the candles.

“I made it to 30!”

“I wasn’t sure you would,” Nisha said.

“I wasn’t sure if any of us would,” Sophie said.

“60 million people didn’t survive,” Priya said. “I thought by the time I was 30, technology would make the world such a wonderful place that the old problems would go away.”

“Me too,” Nisha said. “I’m 64 and I’m still waiting. I hope you guys can save us.”

“I don’t know about that,” Raven said. “I read this morning about that new species kid in Belgium. Did you hear about that?”

“No,” Priya said.

“The kid is nine years old, but he looks like an old species kid that’s about six. That’s normal for our species. He’s a biology prodigy. He developed a hormone stimulant to make himself look older. He gave it to a bunch of new species friends at his school.”

“What happened?” Nisha said.

“The stimulant triggered hormone production in their pituitary glands, and they started growing quickly. Some of them are over 6 feet tall. It took months to figure out how to stop them from growing.”

“Some of these new species kids will be trouble,” Nisha said. “I’m reading stories like that every day. Sometimes, their intellect grows faster than their maturity. Anyone, new or old species, with access to technology could accidentally or intentionally ruin everything. We know about the Omanji. The pandemic might force them to make laws, finally.”

“People are trying to blame us for everything,” Priya said. “A lot of this would’ve happened without us, but human nature likes a scapegoat to shift blame. They tried to blame us for the pandemic.”

“They’re still trying,” Sophie said. “The guys responsible for that mutated H1N1 pandemic virus are not being charged with bioterrorism with a weapon of mass destruction. They’re being charged with a simple violation of the genetic modification act. Their defense lawyers claim they were acting in defense of the human species. So, they were convicted of modifying an organism without a license and an approved GMO modification plan.”

“60 million people are dead and all they get is a slap on the wrist?” Priya said.

“Yes,” Pablo said. “Their excuse is the virus mutated after they modified it. They didn’t directly create the virus that killed those millions of old species people.”

“What about the 2000 of us abducted by the Omanji and the 750,000 new species kids who died by the virus they did create?” Priya said.

“We still don’t have human rights since they don’t consider us to be human,” Pablo said. “Also, they’re claiming it was an accident.”

“No way,” Priya said. “It took thousands of careful modifications to that H1N1 genome to get it to target us so specifically.”

“Yeah,” Pablo said. “That’s a weakness in their argument we can exploit.”

“This is outrageous,” Priya said.

“Eventually we’ll get our rights back, you’ll see,” Pablo said.

“Every time somebody tries to wipe out an invasive species by using other species, it backfires,” Amy said. “Like when they introduced the mongoose to Hawaii and other sugar cane growing islands to get rid of the rats that like sugar cane. It backfired. The mongoose made other animals go extinct, and there are still rats on the islands.”

“They tried to exterminate us like rats, and it backfired,” Priya said.

“Are we an invasive species?” Sophie said.

“We are to them,” Priya said. “At least to those who don’t want change. They think change is subversive to the status quo. There are 190 million new species kids now. It’s an invisible invasion.”

“Yes, walking down the street, you’d never know anything was changing,” Amy said.

“Hi Oyuun,” Priya said as she opened the front door. “Come on in. I was hoping you could make it.”

“Are you ready to launch the Proxima Centauri b probe?” Sophie said.

“Yes, tomorrow is the day. Everything looks good. The antimatter pods are already in orbit awaiting the join to the ion drives.”

“Why did you put the antimatter pods into orbit first?” Priya said.

“To avoid an antimatter explosion,” Amy said. “They used a high-altitude jet/rocket aircraft to gradually lift the pods into orbit. That’s less risky than including them in the rocket liftoff, which could explode. Those little pods contain more energy than 100 large nuclear weapons. We don’t have the fail-safe antimatter containment matrix like the Omanji, so we have to be careful. The probe needs all that energy to travel the 4.2 light years to Proxima in only 25 years. That includes deceleration.”

Oyuun agreed with a nod of his head.

“You still know everything,” Priya said.

“I don’t know about that, but you’re still a super genius,” Amy said.

“Or dead like me,” Priya said. “I don’t know if I’ll live to be 31”

“You’ll live to be 300 no problem,” Amy said. “I’ll be long gone by then. Unless you fix me with a new genome! Oyuun, what do you think you’ll find on Proxima b? It’s larger than Earth, but it’s orbiting that small red star. It probably gets blasted with radiation, right? It’s a flare star.”

“Yeah, if there’s no magnetic field, it gets blasted. It may be like a larger, slightly warmer version of Mars. It seems to have more water than Mars, so it may have life, but it’s tidally locked, so one side is completely frozen, and the other side gets baked. There may be locations on the sunny side where life might survive. It may be an eyeball Earth. That happens when the one spot on the planet where Proxima is shining straight down, is warm but not too hot, and the rest of the planet is frozen. Or it’s a doughnut Earth, where the eyeball is too hot, but twilight around the edges is exactly right.

“Maybe it’s a good fixer upper for Bok.” Priya said.

“Yeah, and it’s in a good neighborhood,” Amy said. “It’s quiet, yet only four light years from the nearest Hyperloop.”

They laughed.

“Better than Venus,” Raven said.

“What was Bok thinking?” Sophie said.

“He’s young,” Nisha said. “People, I mean when you’re young, you do impetuous things. Right Pree and Raven?”

“Um,” Priya said.

“Nice weather today, don’t you think?” Raven said to Priya.

“Oh yes, not a cloud in the sky. The forecast looks good too. We could use some rain though.”

Nisha shook her head.

“Yeah, whatever. Just go light on the global mass extinctions. Okay? I want to live long enough to see my grandchildren.”

“Neesh don’t bug her,” Quinn said.

“Okay. Okay”

“Mom, I’m too young! I’ll be ready in 20 or 30 years.”

“20 or 30?”

“Okay 15, but that’s young for us. Right Raven?”

“Oh yeah, I’m not having kids until I’m at least 50 or 60.”

“Then we also need to find someone,” Priya said. “We have limited choices. Fortunately, the Omanji abducted the same number of girls as boys.”

“Um,” Warren said. “Yeah, the weather is perfect for a barbi, don’t you think Pablo?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

“Don’t worry guys, you have nothing to worry about.” Priya said.

Sophie gave a high-five to Sophie. Amy stared at the floor.

“Sorry Amy. I know it’s different for you,” Priya said.

“It’s okay,” Amy said. “It’s not your fault I’m old species. My clock is ticking. I’m 30. I only have a few years left to have kids. You could still be having kids at 90 when I’m a great grandmother, assuming I’m still alive.”

“I hadn’t thought of it in such graphic terms,” Priya said.

“Look at us,” Amy said. “You guys look 18 and I look 30. Being around you guys makes me realize life is short. I’ll get over it. Comparison is the killer of joy.”

“Sorry,” Priya said.

Sophie put her hand on Amy’s shoulder. Amy patted her hand.

“It’s okay. Let’s get the barbecue going,” Amy said. “I shouldn’t be whining. I have great friends and a distinguished career.”

“Okay,” Priya said. “Now, who’s that guy I saw you walking with the other day?”

“Oh, just a friend,” Amy said.

“Hmm, a friend you seem to like,” Priya said.

“A lot.” Sophie said.

“I thought you two didn’t care about guys.”

“Not much,” Sophie said.

“Maybe a little,” Priya said.

“Oh, a little? This is new,” Amy said.

“Well, I am 30, which feels emotionally like 16 for the old species, but anyway back to you. You remember 16? Tell me about this guy.”

“Hold on,” Amy said. “This is a momentous change. You’ve had little interest in guys in the 14 years since you were abducted.”

Priya glanced at Warren across the room and back to Amy.

“Oh,” Amy said. “Anyway, he’s just a guy I know. I’ll explain later.”

Warren heard part of the conversation and raised his eyebrows at Pablo and Oyuun.

“Let’s get the barbi going.”

“Good idea. I’m getting hungry,” Pablo said.

“Me too,” Oyuun said.

They walked outside into the shade under one of Priya’s mature live oak trees. The scar from the broken branch remained. Warren opened the barbecue grill lid to start auto clean.

“What was going on in there?” Pablo said.

“I think she likes me,” Warren said.

“Duh. What are you going to do about it?” Pablo said.

“I don’t know. I don’t want to wreck our friendship.”

“We’re supposed to be smart,” Oyuun said. “But I don’t know what I’d do in this situation.”

“It appears the Omanji didn’t give us smarts in all areas of life,” Pablo said. “Are you going to sit there and do nothing? You know, I just may have to ask her out myself.”

“Okay. Okay!” Warren said. “I’ll do something.”

“What?” Pablo said.

“Fine, I’ll ask her out.”

“It sounds like you don’t want to. Do you?” Pablo said.

“Yes. I’ve always loved her.”

“Really? I’ve seen no evidence.”

“Lawyers. Anyway, I do. I didn’t feel ready.”

“Do you now?” Oyuun said.

“Well, I am 30, but I feel mixed up. We were old species until we were 16. We liked girls, but then after the abduction, the interest went away,” Warren said.

“Yeah, we all felt that reverse aging thing,” Pablo said. ‘But now I guess the 23,000 of us survivors are aging normally for a 300-year lifespan. Hopefully, the new species kids won’t go through this. Anyway, so you’ll ask her out?”

“Yeah, but I’m nervous. I’m used to joking around or being professional around her. Here she comes.”

Priya opened the patio sliding door. The hot dry air made her close it behind her.

“What are you guys talking about?” Priya said.

“Nothing much,” Warren said.

“If it’s nothing, why haven’t you started the barbecue?”

“Oh, let me go get the veggies ready,” Warren said.

“It’s okay, we’ll do it,” Pablo said, patting Warren on the back as he and Oyuun walked inside. Priya waited for the sliding door to close.

“Okay, what is it?” Priya said.

“It’s nothing. We were just talking.”

“I can tell it was something by your body language.”

Warren smiled.

“Nothing gets by you, does it?”

“No. Now let’s have it. You guys are up to something.”

Warren gulped.

“Well.”

“Well what?” Priya said, crossing her arms.

“Pablo thinks I should ask you out.”

“What do you think?”

“I told him I would.”

“That doesn’t sound convincing. Do you want to ask me out?”

“You sound like Pablo. Um, Yes I do.”

“Well then.”

Warren took a deep breath.

“Okay. Priya, would you like to go to Drake’s Beach and have dinner tomorrow? I know a great Mexican place in Marin. Just you and me?”

Priya scrunched her face and held it.

“Hmm, I’ll think about it.”

Warren diverted his eyes towards the pool.

“Okay, take your time. I didn’t mean to—”

“Warren? I’m kidding.”

Warren smiled.

“I knew that.”

Priya put one hand on his shoulder.

“This is hard on all of us. It’s like we’re 30-year-olds stuck in teenager bodies, but we’ve been through a lifetime of experiences already. We run these adult companies and people try to kill us. We’ll be okay, you’ll see.”

“I hope you’re right. So um, is that a yes?”

“Duh.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that to me?”

She smiled and studied the oak tree branch.

“I can’t imagine why.”

This did not escape the attention of those inside.

“What’s going on out there?” Nisha said.

“They’re not getting the barbi going,” Quinn said.

“No. I mean what are they talking about?”

“Oh, he’s asking her on a date.”

“How do you know that, Mr. oblivious to this sort of thing?”

“I can tell. He’s feeling like I did when I asked you out the first time.”

“Oh, that’s right. In that art class I had to take to fulfill my arts requirement. We were doing that project together and you said you had a question. Then you spilled paint on me.”

“I was a little distracted.”

Nisha smiled.

“Really?”

“Okay, I was anxious. I didn’t know if you liked me.”

“That’s the Mr. Oblivious I know and love.”

“Anyway, that’s what’s going on out there,” Quinn said.

“I think you’re right,” Sophie said.

“Yeah,” Raven said. “He’s nervous. I’ve never seen him like that.”

“Except when we had our first classes together. Remember?” Sophie said.

“Yeah. You noticed he was nervous talking to Priya.”

“It’s good to see the new species has some of the same problems the old species has,” Nisha said.

“We do,” Sophie said. “We’re still human.”

“Yeah, just with a few upgrades,” Raven said.

They continued to watch Priya and Warren talking. Sophie noticed Pablo studying them outside.

“Pablo, you’re being quiet. You were talking to Warren.”

“I have no comment.”

“Me neither,” Oyuun said.

“Lawyers,” Nisha said.

“That’s my line.” Sophie said. “Those slick talking lawyers.”

“Um, I better get the veggies ready, it’s all manual,” Pablo said, as he walked out of the room, smiling.

They continued to watch Priya and Warren.

“I think she just said yes,” Amy said. “I used to bug her about dating, and she kept telling me she wasn’t interested, but look at her. I think that’s changed.”

“Shh, here they come,” Nisha said.

Priya opened the sliding door with Warren close behind. The group looked the other way, pretending to be talking. She crossed her arms, hiding her excitement. She noticed their odd behavior.

“What?”

Nisha turned around.

“Oh, hi Pree. Is the barbi ready?”

“I saw you guys in here.”

“Yes, technically we are here in this room,” Pablo said as he walked in from the kitchen with the veggies.

“Lawyers,” Priya said. “Anyway, I could see you guys in here gossiping.”

“We weren’t gossiping,” Sophie said.

“No? Then what were you doing?”

“We were talking about how things go, that’s all,” Nisha said.

“As in, ‘how are things going outside?’ I bet you were.”

“Well maybe,” Nisha said. “You were getting animated out there.”

“Yeah, and you put your hand on his shoulder,” Amy said.

“I have no comment,” Priya said, trying to keep a straight face. “How’s that Pablo?”

“That’s more like it.” Pablo said, “Guys, let’s get the barbi started.”

They walked outside, closing the sliding door behind them. Quinn stayed inside.

“So, what did she say?” Pablo said.

“She said ‘Duh’ like you.”

“Told ya!”

“I guess I didn’t have anything to worry about after all.”

“Before the abductions, think of all the things you ever worried about. How many of them did you actually have to worry about?” Pablo said.

“Few. I’ll have to learn to not worry about things as much. Unless they try to kill us again.”

“Yeah, that might raise a few red flags.”

Warren put the veggies on the grill.

Amy watched from the living room, making sure they didn’t come back in. She grabbed Priya’s hands.

“OK, so what happened?”

“Nothing.”

“Your dad said he asked you out.”

Priya glanced over at Quinn and raised an eyebrow.

“How did you know?”

Quinn smiled.

“We old species folks aren’t as dumb as we look.”

“Who would have guessed?” Nisha said.

Priya debated keeping quiet. She stared at the floor, but eventually gave in.

“OK fine. He asked me out.”

“It’s about time,” Amy said. “It took him over 10 years. And you too.”

“We weren’t ready,” Priya said.

“You look ready now.” Amy said.

“So do you. Now tell us more about that guy.”

Amy smiled.

“Oh. Um, on second thought, we shouldn’t be bugging Pree. We should be more considerate of her feelings.”

“I’ll tell if you tell.” Priya said.

Amy stood up and pointed outside.

“Warren is burning the corn on the cob. I better go help.”

“Good try. I’ll take care of it. They’re not the best cooks, but I’m not letting you off the hook.”

Priya opened the sliding door and closed it behind her. They continued watching the commotion outside.

“That was a close one,” Amy said.

“You could have taken one for the team,” Raven said.

“I guess so, but we can all tell what happened. Right Quinn?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Quinn said.

“Listen Mr. know it all,” Nisha said. “Your track record on this topic is not exactly spotless.”

Quinn smiled as he watched Priya douse the burned corn on the cob, and accidentally Warren, with water from the hose.

“All I know is I’m batting a thousand today.

Now will you look at that? You new-species people aren’t good at everything.”

“That might be true. At least for the guys,” Raven said.

They all laughed as they watched the comedy unfold outside. The rest of the evening passed quickly. Her friends left at midnight. Her family stayed in the guest rooms. Priya didn’t get to sleep until 2:30.