James--no, Jim, he had to start thinking of himself as Jim--couldn't believe  his luck.  The only other kid on Mars was a cute girl.  A cute, nice girl who was obviously excited about the idea of being his friend.  

No one had ever been excited to be his friend before.  He'd never had a nickname before, either, but Ronnie had one, and James--Jim--felt like he should too.  She'd already introduced him to everyone on the station as Jim.

Not only was he on a whole new world, but he had a whole new identity. 

And good riddance.  Good riddance to Earth, and good riddance to James. 

Ronnie was taking him to the greenhouses.  They were apparently off-limits, but Ronnie knew a way around all of the locked doors. 

"It's my favorite place in the whole station," she said, leading him through a series of twists and turns.  "When they first decided to start a colony here, they sent robots, and they built the first domes and planted the first trees.  They were little, stunted things, engineered to be able to live in the crappy atmosphere and terrible soil.  There are only a few of those left, since we're able to grow bigger trees now."  Ronnie opened a final door, and stepped into the alien forest. 

Red Martian soil crunched beneath Jim's feet, and branches arched overhead, obscuring the oddly-colored sky above the clear dome.  The air tasted odd, but it wasn't unpleasant or hard to breathe.  "Wow," he said, staring around.  "This is incredible."

 Ronnie grinned.  "There are other greenhouses, too, where we grow food, and most of the oxygen actually comes from the algae tubs, but this," she extended her arms and twirled around.  "This is where it all started." 

"Hey!" a distant voice shouted. 

Jim jumped at the unexpected yell, and Ronnie grimaced. 

"Crap," she hissed.  "We've been spotted.  That sounds like Dr. Eric." 

"Did I meet him?" Jim asked, edging toward the door.  He didn't want to get in trouble.  He'd only been here a day. 

 "Yeah.  He was the old guy with the glasses and the funny accent."  Ronnie glanced between the tree trunks.  "He's a ways off yet.  I bet we could outrun him.  And he wouldn't rat us out to my mom." 

"You want to run?  To where?"  She was crazy. 

Ronnie nodded.  "Deeper into the woods.  He won't follow us.  Come on, Jim!"  She took off, dodging around tree trunks.  Red dust puffed behind her. 

James wouldn't have followed.  He would have stayed, listened to a lecture, and then gone home. 

But James didn't exist on Mars.  Jim sprinted after his friend. 

Ronnie waited outside the new boy's cryosleep pod, barely keeping herself from bouncing up and down.  She wasn't supposed to be here--Mom had told her to let the new settlers get settled before she started pestering them.  But she couldn't wait.  She wanted to meet James P. Morgan. 

She traced the nameplate on his pod.  He was twelve, only two years older than her.  Maybe he'd be her friend.  She'd never had a friend before. 

The pod beeped.  Ronnie bit her fingertips.  This was it. 

The lid hissed open, and James sat up.  He was wearing the same gray jumpsuit that Ronnie had on.  His short dark hair stuck up in the back, and he was thin and pale from the cryosleep.  He blinked at her.  "Who are you?"

"I'm Ronnie." 

He wrinkled his nose.  "That's not a girl's name." 

"It's short for Veronica." 

"Oh," James said.  "I'm Jim." 

"I'm very pleased to meet you."  Ronnie extended her hand.  "Want me to help you out of there?" 

Jim's legs were wobbly, and he leaned on Ronnie's shoulder.  Joy curled in her belly. 

"Are there any other kids here?" Jim asked. 

Ronnie shook her head.  "Nope.  Just me.  Just us, now.  None of the other scientists have kids.  Dr. Marie is pregnant, though." 

Jim nodded.  "I knew someone was.  My dad's excited to deliver the first Martian baby."  He looked around the room.  "Where is everyone else?" 

 "All the pods are spread out so that people can get their bearings before they meet anyone."  Ronnie blushed and stared at her feet.  "I'm not supposed to be here." 

"Oh," said Jim.  "Well, I'm glad you are.  I'd have fallen on my face if not for you." 

Ronnie grinned.  Jim's balance was getting better, but she didn't want to rush him.  It was nice, having someone lean on her.  "There's a lot of cool stuff to see," she said.  "I know a secret way into the greenhouses." 

They reached the hall, and Ronnie's mom spotted them.  "There you are!  What do you think you're doing!  I can't believe you!  You've invaded this poor boy's privacy!  You're grounded for the next week, young lady."   

Ronnie wanted to melt into the floor.  Grounded!  But she wanted to show Jim around the station! 

"I don't mind," Jim said.  "Really.  I'm glad she was here." 

Mom's glare softened.  "She really shouldn't have bothered you right after you woke up from cryosleep." 

"Please don't ground her, ma'am," he said.  "She promised to show me around." 

"Well, if you really don't mind, then I suppose I won't ground her.  Come on, honey.  You've got chores." 

Ronnie was grinning so hard that her cheeks hurt.  She had a friend.