A younger person, who is heavy-set and was mistreated on their homeworld due to their appearance, has very poor self-esteem. Upon finding their way to Alliance space, they make friends that help them realize that they are, in fact, quite beautiful, in body, mind, and spirit. -- Anon Guest
They made fun of hir, even as Adina was leaving them forever. All the usual bon mots like, "Better pack light so they can compensate for hauling you," and, "Sure the ship will be able to take off once your on board?" or, "I didn't know they let pigs ride as passengers." And those were the people ze cared about enough to tell that ze was leaving.
The rest of them would find out when ze was no longer around to hear what they had to say.
Galactic ships were not like the vessels ze knew, with narrow seats and creaking springs. These launch seats were made with a multitude of species in mind. Some of them much larger than the Terran Colony Hale was used to. For the first time in a lifetime, Adina didn't feel hemmed in. Today, hir homeworld of Hale was losing two hundred pounds of human being.
They'd all likely throw a party.
Adina tried not to cry, and wound up with leaking eyes anyway. Hale had been horrible to hir and yet, it was the only home ze had known. The only way of living. But the Galactics were hiring and taking anyone who could do the work. They were paying for transit, healthy weight or not.
The first shock came in the transit lounge, as ze was waiting for a connecting flight to the next station. A very lovely-looking fellow human just invited themself next to hir and said, "Hey, gorgeous. Did you come from the heliosphere because you are looking stellar."
Adina instinctively looked for the group of friends laughing in a corner. "I'm... sorry... When is the punchline?"
Confusion. "Wait. What? Oh! You're not from downside are you? That planet of quote-unquote fitness maniacs would ruin anyone's mind. Please excuse me." They swapped to a slightly more distant seat. "Didn't mean to barge in like a rude person. I thought you were another fly-through."
This particular fashion-plate's friends were a long time in showing up. Adina tried to spot the hidden camera. "I know what the joke is, you don't need to keep stringing me along."
"No joke. No punchline, I promise. Though you only have my word for that. Hi. My name's Phren. Phren the friendly if you want to think of it that way. If you don't, I don't mind. I'm on my way to Hitizzy by way of Amalgam for a job as a Ship's Human. You?"
"...job interview," Adina mumbled, trying to make hirself smaller and knowing ze failed.
Phren scooted their chair back an inch. "Sounds like you're on a path to freedom. I'd wish you luck, but you don't need it." A conspiratorial wink, "The system's rigged to help anyone who needs it."
Adina would learn so much on hir way to Amalgam. Such as how the Galactic beauty standards were in the eye of the beholder. Or just how many cogniscents across the known universe found hir very cute indeed.
Adina would spend an entire year just getting used to the concept. By then, hir actual health had improved by vast measures.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / Pikaso]
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