"You are quite helpful," Terri said.

"Um, thank you," Rose said.

"In exchange, maybe I'll see if we can go to Venus over break," said Kinexa.

"That would be very good, thank you," Terri said.

"You want to see it too, Terri?" said Kinexa.  "I'm happy to bring others if I can do it, of course.  The floating gardens are beautiful, if temporary."

"I would like to see it as well," Taia said.

"I think everyone would," Amber added.

"Well, we can definitely try," said Kinexa.  "...Mars and Mercury are also well worth visiting, incidentally.  Mercury's plants are less interesting, but still might be worth looking at.  Mars has fewer, but some are impressively large."

"I'd like to see a lot of them," Rose said.

"Well, I wouldn't mind showing you," said Kinexa.  "...I can actually travel in the solar system with the gear that I have, but it takes me a very, very long time to get out of a planet's gravity well if I can at all, and it's just me.  We'd really need access to the Belinda Mae.  But maybe dad will do that for me."

"I'm sure you can convince him," Amber said.

"I hope so," said Kinexa.  "As long as I stay in school, I might have a chance of that."

"Then I guess we won't be breaking out then?" Amber asked.

"...well," said Kinexa, "breaking out in what sense?  Sneaking off campus might not be too bad to do now and then."

"Okay, good," Amber said. "I hear there's a good seafood restaurant on the east side."

"Ah, interesting," said Kinexa.  "I do like seafood... we should go."

"Right now?" Amber asked.

"It's a little early in the day," Kinexa pointed out.  "And if it's a nice place, we should make plans to dress up for it, or something like that."

"Right, I guess we wait," Amber said, with a laugh.

"Now, the question is, who's going later on?" Kinexa asked.  "...and is it some kind of date?"

Amber shrugged.

"If you want it to be."

"I'm not opposed at all," said Kinexa.  Many possibilities here...

"I'm fine either way," Amber said. "It's up to you."

"That sounds nice," said Kinexa.  "As a warning, though-- I'm not sure that I can commit to a one-person relationship right now, with my cultural upbringing and powers."

"I'm okay with it not being the most serious thing," Amber said.

"We can see where it goes," said Kinexa.  "It might just be difficult to be exclusive... and that goes both ways, of course.  I don't demand commitment."

"It's fine. I mentioned how I'm still figuring things out," Amber said.