DIARY OF A SPACE-DWELLER

A short story I'm entering in a competition soon. All feedback is appreciated as I want to improve the piece if I can :)

DIARY OF A SPACE-DWELLER

            I like space. There are no problems in space. No misunderstandings, no chaos, no anger, no grief. In space, there are no feelings, because there is nothing. Not even particles, or sound. At this moment, I am the only person, and I am in the only liveable structure, and I am breathing the only air and eating the only food. It is the purest form of solitude and it is everything I will ever need.
            I have been on the Deep Space Research Station, or Desrus, for fifteen years now, orbiting Earth and collecting the nothing that surrounds me. It has been fifteen years since I saw a tree, a dog, pavement, or a building. I have only seen people when they arrive to give me more food and water.
            I do not miss the pavement or the dogs or the trees, and in this way I am other to those who come to Desrus, which is why we are incompatible.
            There are five computer systems on Desrus, each with a specific purpose. The smallest of the five is alarms and it chimes when important things are about to happen, like when Desrus enters the Aurora Australis and suddenly, the inside of the station is flooded with shades of green and red. Alarms also chimes when the Data Team are arriving.
            The Data Team consists of two men and three women: David, Alex, Martha, Jane and Dani, and they come to see what I have learnt while they were on Earth. David is tall and all muscle, whereas Alex is skinny and very blonde. Martha and Jane are twins, and have long brown hair and the faces of librarians. Dani is the only one I like being around, because she is very quiet and very honest.
            The chime for the Data Team sounds, and I peer out the window and see their shuttle docking onto Desrus like a parasite. I stay waiting in the corridor for the five to come inside.
            Alex glides in, grinning loudly. “Hey there, Grey!” he yells in his overly American voice. They call me by my last name because they wish to maintain some separation from me, as it is always easier for humans to separate themselves from things they do not understand. That is why I have been on Desrus for so long, and not on Earth.
            David enters next and merely nods and grunts at me. I almost like David, because I think I have only heard him speak three times since he became part of the Data Team, but he leaves rubbish floating across the station and I like things to be tidy. In this regard we do not get along.
            Martha and Jane enter at the same time, operating as always like a single person instead of two, gliding in the same way and looking like clones. They ignore me. Dani is last, and I give her what I hope is a smile, and she smiles back.
            “Hey, uh, Grey?” Alex calls from behind me. “We had a slight technical issue on the way here. It’s nothing the twins can’t fix, but we’re gonna have to stay for bit longer this time.”
            I say nothing, but I don’t like having the Data Team on Desrus. They disrupt my routines, and Alex is always making noise. I float past the now closed air lock to my room, where I turn on entertainment and listen to the sounds of whales, with the volume up very loud.
            It is dinner time when I emerge from my room. The Data Team have attempted to plate our food, and now they are floating across the kitchen while the team swan dive with open mouths. I am reminded of my whales.
            “Hey Grey, come have some dinner!” Alex calls. Martha and Jane laugh raucously as the American successfully swallows four floating peas in one sweep. I enter slowly, stopping opposite Dani, who is on the other side of the kitchen. She sees me and looks deep into my eyes, a small laugh on her face as she launches a packet across the room, which ploughs its way through the air born vegetables. This is day one of having guests, and already the food is in the air.
            Soon, it is day three of having guests. I wake up to find Dani in my room. She smiles at me, and I wonder if she has never not been smiling. I can only picture her not smiling if I picture her crying, and I don’t want to picture that.
            “Alex put a movie on in the living room,” she whispers, like it’s a secret. She floats towards my door and beckons to me, holding out her hand. I take it go with her. It is the first time someone has touched me since I boarded Desrus, and her skin is very soft and warm.
            Dani floats next to me for the whole of the movie. She says nothing, but she is so close that if I happened to float in the wrong way, we would be touching again. I realise I would like that to happen. I have never wanted to touch another person, and it is an odd feeling, but one that I miss when the movie is finished.
            It is day seven of having guests. Today the Data Team is leaving. The other four are on board their shuttle, but Dani is with me in my room again, saying goodbye. She has never done this before. Alex calls, and she gets up, but takes my hand and kisses my fingers.
            “I’ll see you again, Grey,” she whispers, and then she leaves. As I watch them detach from Desrus, alarms chimes. We have entered the Aurora Australis.
            

Author's Note

Also, is the main character a boy or a girl?