Chapter 10
I've been on the Eclector for a year and was now twelve. My stomach has been hurting and my appetite has been either huge or tiny. I go to see Doc and they look at me. "Hello, Rogue. How can I help you today?"
"Do you have anything on Terran biology? My stomach's been hurting lately and I've been either hungry or not at all, it keeps flip-flopping over the place, same with my mood. I don't have a fever or chills or anything that would mean I'm sick." They direct me to come into a private room and I go into it, sitting on the bed. They pull up a holoscreen and scroll through some things to show me.
"You're probably going through puberty right now. And it seems as though you might be near the start of your menstrual cycle."
"What's that?"
"It says that Terrans also call it a 'period'?" I tilt my head to the side, confused, and they sigh. "Did you not learn about this on Terra?"
"Nope. I was going to learn it the day after Captain picked me up, but that didn't happen." They nod a bit and rub their face. "So, what is puberty?"
"It's what teenagers and twelve-year-olds go through. Your body changes." They motion towards my chest and I nod a bit.
"So I get tits?"
"Where'd you learn that word?!"
"Captain, Kraglin, and the male crew." They sigh and roll their eyes.
"For lack of a better phrase, yes. You will get 'tits', however, I'll be calling them breasts."
"OK. What else happens during it?"
"Well, you start to get hair on your body. It'll be dark on your legs and underarms compared to the rest of your body. And you'll get hair in... That area." They motion towards my groin area and I nod a bit. "A menstrual cycle is when your uterus in your..." They rub their face, not in the mood for this, and sigh.
"I can ask Captain about it if you want." They laugh at that and I look at them, confused.
"No, no. It's alright. I'll explain it. Your uterus is in your vagina. That area." I nod and they nod back. "Your ovaries, higher up, will release hormones called estrogen and progesterone. The hormones cause the lining of your uterus, or womb, to build up and it will be ready for a fertilized egg to be attached and develop. An egg is what the female has when they get pregnant and sperm is what the male has."
"OK."
"OK. If a fertilized egg doesn't come, then the built-up lining will break down in the form of bleeding, which is your period. According to this, you have it..." They look at it and their eyes widen a bit. "Once every month for about a week-cycle... Now I understand why it says teenage Terrans aren't happy for them, according to this... It also affects your mood."
"So I bleed once every month without being injured?" They nod and I make a soft sound in thought. "Huh... Doesn't sound too bad. What do I do to keep my underwear clean, then?" They swipe through the holoscreen and show me what it says. "A pad, which goes on my underwear, or a tampon, which goes inside me? I think I'll stick with the pad, thanks..." They chuckle and pat my shoulder gently.
"Go tell Captain that you need to make a trip planetside to buy some supplies. You should also get some pain relievers for cramping pains. And Yondu and Kraglin have to be the ones to take you."
"OK. Thanks, Doc." I smile at them and leave to go find Yondu, hearing them laughing as I leave.
I find him in mess with Kraglin, Dad, and the rest of the Guardians and I get some food, kinda hungry before I sit next to them. "You gonna bite my head off anymore?" Dad glares at me and I smile at him as I take a bite of food, making him look at me in confusion. "OK, what the Hell is up with you?" He takes a bite of food and I swallow most of the food in my mouth.
"Hang on and I'll answer that." I look at Yondu and he looks at me, raising an eyebrow. "I need to make a stop planetside."
"Wha' fer?"
"I need supplies."
"Naw ya don'. Ya got plenty 'a supplies onboard."
"Not the ones I need." He puts his empty food containers down and looks at me, patience gone. The others were also done eating and put their containers down to watch, also curious.
"Girl, wha' are ya on 'bout now?" He grabs his mug of coffee and takes a drink.
"I need to make a stop planetside to get pain relievers for cramps and pads to catch menstrual cycle blood." He chokes on his coffee and coughs.
"Wha' now?!" I start to repeat myself and he cuts me off with a wave of his hand. "Ah heard wha'cha said!"
"Then why'd you act like you didn't?" He glares at me and I take a bite of my food, noticing Gamora was watching me.
"Girl, help her with tha'." He looks at Gamora and she nods.
"I will take her planetside and get her the things that she needs."
"Doc said you two had to take me." I point at Yondu and Kraglin and they gape at me.
"Yer fully serious?" I nod and they rub their faces. "'M gonna kill Doc..."
"No, you won't. Doc is a good Doc. And the only one on board the ship," I say reasonably and get hit in the head by Yondu. "Well, it's true!" I kinda huff and finish my food, hungrier than I thought I was before I put my tray on the cart. Gamora was chuckling softly and I sit back down at Yondu's insistence.
"Doc say if tha' mess with yer mood?" I nod and he raises an eyebrow at me.
"It affects my mood, yes." He rubs his face and stands, leaving.
"C'mon, then!" He barks and I quickly follow, Kraglin right behind me. "Ya too, girl!" Gamora follows and smiles down at me.
"This will be very entertaining." I smile and follow Yondu and Kraglin to the hangar. Yondu sits in the pilot seat with Kraglin in the co-pilot seat. Gamora and I sit in the other two seats and strap in before Yondu can say anything. He pilots out of the hangar and planetside to buy me the supplies.
Yondu and Kraglin walk stiffly beside me and Gamora into the store and Gamora has me talk to one of the Krylorian attendants at the counter. "Hello." They ignore me and I glare at them. "Hello! I need some assistance from you, pink lady!" I yell at her and she looks around then down at me.
"Excuse me?"
"You didn't answer me and I need help."
"Are you lost, little girl?" She smirks at me and I glare at her.
"I'll have you know, I'm twelve years old. And I need menstrual cycle supplies for Terrans." She looks me up and down, having to lean over the counter to do so because I wasn't very tall, and starts to type on her holoscreen to her right. I flip her off and smile innocently at her when she looks at me again.
"We have some supplies for Terrans in the back. I'll bring them out to you now." I smile and she goes to get them.
"Ya gotta at leas' act like ya like people, girl," Yondu scoffs and I look at him.
"I disagree, but OK." The Krylorian comes back and sets different sizes of supplies down.
"Git wha'cha think ya need, girl." I push pads in different sizes towards her and the lady looks at me.
"Just those?"
"Do you have pain relievers?" She nods and grabs a large bottle after seeing what was safe for me, starting to ring everything up.
"That will be two hundred and fifty-five units."
"Will those pills give me super strength and the pads turn to gold before I toss them? How the Hell is it that much?!" I can feel Yondu glaring and the lady gulps a bit, looking above my head at the three of them.
"My mistake... It seems as though I added it up too many times... One hundred units and the pain relievers are free with your first purchase with us along with complimentary chocolates... How silly of me to forget that..." She chuckles nervously and puts everything in a bag while Yondu pays, adding some chocolate. "Th-Thank you for shopping with us..." Yondu takes the bag and leads me out.
When we get back on the ship, I dig around in the bag for the chocolate and take a small piece out, eating it. "Thanks." I smile at them and Yondu and Kraglin just nod, piloting us back to the Eclector.
"You are welcome, Rogue." Gamora smiles at me and I hold the bag in my lap, remembering how much I loved chocolate on Terra as I slowly eat another piece. "May I have a piece?" I nod and give her a piece of chocolate. "Thank you." She eats it and smiles at me, glad to see me looking happy. "You are very happy about such small things." The guys were listening and I nibble on the chocolate, thinking.
"I guess... I like the little things... Especially stuff from Terra that I liked... I forgot how good chocolate was." I smile and she smiles gently at me as I kinda kick my legs absentmindedly. Kraglin glances back to see me with a wide smile as I eat chocolate, talking to Gamora about Terran things, and rolls his eyes as he turns back around.
"Ya miss Terra, girl?" Yondu asks and I look at the back of his head, thinking.
"Sometimes... I miss visiting my Mom's grave..." I finish the chocolate and look out the window into the deep. "But, I like being out here with you guys and the rest of the crew. I get regular meals, clean clothes, a comfortable bed, and Doc helps me out whenever I need it. Plus, I get to look at the stars whenever I want to. And I guess Dad being around is pretty cool, too. When he isn't being an asshat... And... Yeah... It's nicer out here than on Terra." I was going to say that they were like family but changed my mind and smile.
"Plus, I get awesome blaster boots and I get to steal shit! It's awesome!" They scoff and I smile brightly, holding the bag close to my chest. "And you guys may be crazy, annoying, bossy-"
"Git ta the point." Kraglin looks at me and I smile brightly at him.
"You guys are the same level of nice I think my Mom was." He blushes a little blue and just grunts in response, turning around again.
"You remind me of Peter when you smile like that." Gamora smiles and I smile back at her, not minding this time.
"You kinda remind me of Kat, who was kinda like my Mom, too." I look out into the deep again and my smile fades a little bit. "She would've loved to see all of this... She taught me a lot of the constellations on Terra..." I say softly and rest my chin on top of the bag, missing her and Mom a lot right now.
Yondu docks in the hangar and the other two get off. I unstrap from my seat and Yondu looks at me. "Girl." I look at him and he was holding a holopad. "Give it a smile." I smile brightly and he takes a picture.
"What's that for?" He just shrugs and puts it in his pocket, winking at me. "You're weird, Yondu." I smile and get off of the ship with him, going to my room to put the stuff in my bathroom.
I leave my room with a medium-sized pad on and get to work, after taking a pain reliever.