The Apollo Academy

by Kimberly P. Chase

  Not wanting to make her uncomfortable by continuing to stare at her, Zane looked over at Akemi, who was watching them as well.

  “You ready?” he asked.

  Akemi glanced at Zane then back toward the girls. “Yeah.”

  Together they all solemnly filed out of the hypobaric chamber and slowly made their way down the hall. They had to scatter somewhat to get around all of the group two cadets who were heading into the chamber. It was obvious by their expressions that they all witnessed what had transpired because they were laughing and whispering to one another.

  Aurora’s shoulders slumped, and she bent her head down in what Zane assumed was an attempt to not draw attention to herself. It was cute that she thought that would help, but it was impossible not to see her, no matter how small she tried to be.

  Much to Zane’s dismay, he saw Hailen confidently striding down the hall. There was nothing he could do but watch the destruction play out before him.

  “Well, well, well. It looks to me like the name Titon didn’t do you much good in there, now did it?” Hailen flipped her long, blonde hair over her shoulder and laughed. It was a shrill, piercing sound that made Zane cringe. “Sky had to practically shove you back into your oxygen mask. What? Were you too busy making dreamy eyes at Zane?”

  Zane involuntarily stepped toward Aurora, and Hailen’s eyes snapped up to meet his. Hailen scooted over to him and threw her arm over his shoulders, which pressed her tightly against him.

  He felt every part of her body cozily push against his in an unwanted intimacy. Zane kept disapproval from showing on his face as he stood frozen against her. He carefully removed her arms from around his shoulder and bent to whisper in her ear, “You better get going before you’re late.”

  Just like he suspected, Hailen reveled in his attention. “Aw, you are such a sweetie,” she said. “Who would have known?” Hailen winked then sauntered off.

  His shoulders sagged. Zane had no clue what game she was playing, but with her exaggerated known question he knew the stakes would be high. Zane continued to watch Hailen walk away, making sure she didn’t return for one last snide comment. By the time he lost sight of her and turned back around, he found himself alone in the hallway with Akemi, and together they walked into the classroom to find their seats.

  Lieutenant Colonel Jackson strode to the front of the room and began punching the glass screen with his bulky fingers. A moment later a live image of the hypobaric chamber appeared. Everyone silently watched as group two made their way into the chamber and sat down.

  The Lieutenant Colonel moved in front of the display, blocking the view of the video screen, in order to divert everyone’s attention. “I want to quickly go over a few things that happened before we start group two’s testing. I think you all now realize how dire the circumstances are when a flight crewmember develops hypoxia, regardless of the circumstances. Whether it’s a rapid decompression, slow decompression, or whether you are a pilot or non-piloting member, there are serious consequences when dealing with oxygen deprivation.”

  Zane refused to give in to the urge to glance at Aurora. Without even having to look, he knew that her cheeks would be stained pink, and he didn’t want to further embarrass her, even though there was no reason for her to be embarrassed. Jean-Pierre couldn’t even come up with more than three zoo animals, and Brianna actually passed out.

  “There was nothing wrong with any of your individual reactions. Showing you these reactions was a part of the training’s purpose.” Lieutenant Colonel paused and looked at everyone. “Now I need to get back to the chamber. Please sit here and watch group two’s responses. Don’t laugh. Learn from it.”

  Lieutenant Colonel Jackson strode out of the room and quickly appeared on the live image on the front wall. Zane listened as he repeated the same rules and instructions that he had given in their session, and the exercise began again. He closely watched as the group was paired up to do the patty-cake routine. The longer the cadets were without oxygen the more bizarre they became. The groups playing patty cake began missing each other’s hands completely. A few of them laughed hysterically while others got mad at the situation. Zane could see how it would have been funny, if only he hadn’t just experienced the same thing firsthand.

  Nobody in group one made a sound as they watched the cadets make fools of themselves. No one in group two passed out, but Zane thought that had more to do with the fact that Sky and Dr. Stevenson were more proactive in helping with the masks. They were not taking as many chances with the second group.

  At the time he hadn’t felt any ill effects with the low oxygen but guessed it did help explain some of the things he experienced. He was happily engrossed in playing patty cake with Aurora and remembering the way Aurora had looked when playing. Zane realized that must have been one of their symptoms, euphoria. Her eyes had lit up every time their hands touched and she had even giggled. He had been too happy to notice why.

  Zane’s stomach twisted at the thought that the only reason they were so happy was due to their bodies failing them. Pushing away the idea that his body had been operating just fine, he decided the training exercise had been effective. From the looks around him, the entire class had learned a lesson.

  Group two’s training in the hypobaric chamber was quickly completed, and as they left, many wore grave expressions. Zane was happy to see their earlier moods replaced with a new sober mood. Only Hailen seemed oblivious to the trainings seriousness as she hung onto every word Sky seemed to be saying to her as they left the chamber together.

  “What does your family think about your lunar record?” Hailen placed a hand on Sky’s arm. “Are they as proud as we are?”

  As Hailen and Sky disappeared around a corner, Zane could see into the chamber once again. Dr. Stevenson stood over a Vid screen, rubbing his chin, as if trying to determine the answer to some unknown question. The doctor, sensing Zane’s gaze, looked up. The doctor cocked his head to the side, watching him with a curious expression.

  Dr. Stevenson looked like he wanted to say something, but Zane looked away. Whatever the doctor had just been contemplating, he wanted no part of it.

  “So that was informative.” Akemi shuffled to Zane’s side, giving him an excellent excuse to avoid the doctor. “It would have been hilarious if it wasn’t so deadly.”

  Zane shrugged. “Yeah, I think if we watch the recording again in a few weeks it’ll be hilarious. Vive la France! Jean-Pierre is a riot.”

  “What happened with you and Aurora? You two were playing patty cake forever.”

  Zane thought this over. “I don’t know. Obviously we should’ve put our masks on sooner. I thought she was just fine. I didn’t even realize the change in her behavior was something to be concerned about.”

  “Yeah, it did look like you were having fun. Even the Lieutenant Colonel seemed to be impressed with the length of your effective performance time.”

  “I guess so.” Zane didn’t know what to think of lasting longer than anyone else. He guessed he was just better able to cope with less oxygen for longer or something.

  “So what was with the whole whispering to Hailen?” Akemi asked.

  Zane shrugged, not wanting to get into his desire to protect Aurora.

  “Aurora didn’t look too happy when she saw Hailen all over you.”

  Zane remained silent and looked over at the walls that lined the hallway. Several postings for the Lunar Moon Festival Dance lit the beige walls with color, and Zane decided this was the perfect excuse to change topics. He pointed to the flickering advertisement for the dance. “Have you seen the posting about the Moon Festival Dance? What’s that all about?”

  Akemi nodded. “Yeah, it’s an end of semester celebration. But really it’s an excuse to raise more funding for the school. Are you going?”

  Zane hadn’t really thought about the dance. He was only trying to change the subject. “Probably not. Do you think you’ll go? Maybe you’ll ask Kaylana. I’ve seen the way you two look a
t each other.”

  Akemi actually blushed, but his darker skin helped to hide the evidence. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll ask Kaylana to go when you ask Aurora.” He smirked.

  It would have been Zane’s turn to blush, but he didn’t think he’d ever blushed in his life. He was purposefully avoiding Aurora and didn’t think anyone had noticed his interest in her, an interest he was desperate to be rid of. He didn’t need any extra attention.

  “Nah, I don’t think so. Aurora is beautiful and all, but I don’t think it’d be a good idea for us to get involved.”

  “Why not?” Akemi blinked.

  “Well, she’s the daughter of Collin Titon for one thing.”

  “So?” Akemi’s eyebrows raised, as if he thought that was a crazy reason not to ask someone out.

  Zane struggled to find the right words. He didn’t let himself examine his mixed emotions, let alone put them into sentences. All he did know was that they didn’t make any sense. One moment he was worried about what she thought of him, and the next moment he was trying to stay away from her. It was pathetic really. He never had trouble pushing his feelings away before.

  “You don’t understand. We’re two totally different people. She’s never had to struggle for anything in her life. Plus I don’t want the attention it would bring to me if I dated her. Haven’t you seen how people watch her everywhere she goes?”

  He had lived his whole life in the shadows, purposefully avoiding unwanted attention. Couldn’t Akemi see that dating Aurora would thrust him into the spotlight? He wouldn’t be free from of his unknown status until graduation.

  Akemi still looked a little confused by his reasons but only shrugged. “I guess so. You know if this has anything to do with that first day—”

  They were getting way too close to topics Zane didn’t want to discuss and said a little more strongly than he should have, “I just don’t think she’s someone I want to get involved with. She’s a spoiled, rotten Titon.” No matter how much his heart disagreed.

  Akemi just nodded, realizing the topic was closed.

  A familiar swirl of red hair, lit with gold streaks, went running past them.

  Zane slowly turned around to find Kaylana staring dumbfounded at them.

  “Haven’t you ever thought to make sure no one else was around before having a conversation like that?” Kaylana studied him. “For someone who is supposed to be so smart, you sure are dumb.” She threw her hands up in the air.

  Zane turned to Akemi for help, but he looked completely ashamed as he quietly apologized.

  Unfortunately, Akemi’s apology did not satisfy Kaylana. “You!” She glared at Zane. “Are an idiot! You’d be lucky if Aurora ever wanted to date you. She’s a wonderful person. And from the way you watch her, I thought you knew that too.”

  Zane obviously needed to do a better job of keeping his emotions in check; twice now someone had called him out about his feelings for Aurora.

  “She heard all of that?” He folded his arms nonchalantly across his chest.

  Kaylana returned his posture, crossing her arms, but also adding a cold stare. Maybe she was trying to look like him. Did his eyes really look that cold?

  She huffed. “Look, I get that dating Aurora would bring more attention to you just because of who she is, but you could at least be nice about it.”

  Shit. In his attempt to bottle up all of his unwanted and confusing feelings for Aurora, he’d spoken in frustration. In hindsight, he should have just told her that he was attracted to her, but he couldn’t date someone who garnered so much attention. He was certain Akemi already knew of his past, but Zane trusted him not to say anything.

  Aurora wouldn’t understand his reasons for not wanting to date her because she didn’t understand the secrets he had to keep. And even if he didn’t have secrets, he wasn’t sure he knew how to genuinely care for someone.

  It would be easier to just leave things as they were. But Zane already felt his mind racing ahead, trying to figure out where Aurora had run off to. As much as he wanted her to stay away from him, he couldn’t handle it if she hated him. He had to at least try to smooth things over with her.

  He turned to walk away in the same direction Aurora had just fled, not even saying goodbye to Akemi or Kaylana.

  ZANE

  The wide towering doors of the Apollo Academy stood open, and Zane pushed his way through the crowd of people coming in and out of the building, trying to get out as quickly as possible. A few people turned and looked at him as he ran by, but most moved out of his way. He shut his eyes as he ran through the Academy doors, not wanting a repeat of his first day here.

  Ms. Lovell had probably informed the guards of his status, but he wasn’t going to wait around and find out. Zane ran down the moving steps.

  When he reached the sidewalk, Zane came to a stop, trying to figure out where Aurora had run off to. The Apollo Academy’s building loomed over his head and cast its long gray shadow over him, blocking the bright Florida sun. Zane gazed out at the school grounds and set off down a random trail.

  Aurora could be anywhere: down one of the walkways, at the outdoor tennis courts, or anywhere around the abandoned launch sites. There was a lot of open property to sneak off to.

  Zane stopped walking altogether and methodically narrowed down where Aurora would choose to go. He already knew there was nowhere inside the Academy’s walls that would give her freedom from prying eyes, so it made sense that she ran outside. Even the walkways would be scattered with random people, and with her passion for aviation he knew that her only option was an abandoned launch pad. That’s it!

  Zane slowly jogged in the direction of the Apollo 1 launch pad, a site that was marked as a historic monument and would remain untouched throughout the rest of time. The Apollo 1 launch pad had not been used since the disaster that occurred there almost two hundred years ago, when a horrific accident took place, taking the first human lives in the name of space exploration.

  Zane remembered reading about the fatal mistakes that were made in the old shuttle’s design, mistakes that could have been avoided. It took three human lives, finally giving the NASA team motivation to investigate the shuttle’s poor design and the reason the fire started in the first place. The lethal design flaws were addressed, and the space program moved forward. The original shuttle hatch that would not open during the fire was redesigned, the use of one hundred percent oxygen ended, and emergency procedures were also changed. All for the better.

  The launch pad came into sight, and sure enough he saw in the distance Aurora’s red and gold hair shining in the sun. She was sitting in the middle of the square launch pad, under the old concrete support blocks that originally held up the Saturn IB rockets attached to the historic shuttles.

  The pad itself and the support beams were all that remained. Aurora’s head was pitched back, looking through the opening the beams created, at the sky above her. Zane could see some of the black and gray burn marks that had scarred the pad so long ago.

  Zane slowed to a walk, trying to keep himself from running directly to Aurora. As much as he wanted to, he needed to get a grip. He walked over to the plaque and holographic image that were left in memory of the three astronauts. Images of Command Pilot Virgil Grissom, Senior Pilot Edward H. White and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee wearing bulky spacesuits flickered in and out. Now the pad and the monument were the only things left of their remains.

  Zane read the fading memorial plaque, letting his fingers run over the monument.

  In Memory Of Those Who Made The Ultimate Sacrifice

  So Others Could Reach For The Stars

  Ad Astra Per Aspera, A rough road leads to the stars.

  It was fitting that this was where she would run when things became too much for her. The launch pad certainly gave him a better perspective on what was important in life. Even on his worst days, it still wasn’t nearly as bad as their last days had been.

  After a few moments, he decided he couldn’t avoid the situati
on any longer and made his way to Aurora.

  When he sat down next to her, she didn’t acknowledge him. They sat in silence until he couldn’t stand it anymore.

  He whispered, “I’m sorry.” Had he ever uttered those words before?

  Aurora finally looked at him and pierced him in place with her green eyes. They sparkled like emeralds as the tears that she would not allow to fall pooled in their depths. Zane had never seen her look more beautiful or strong. He wanted to reach out and pull her into his arms, but after what she overheard, he knew the gesture would not be wanted.

  “You’re sorry? Why? Because I wasn’t supposed to hear all of that?” Her voice was unusually low.

  Zane felt like he was torn in half, his heart and mind at odds. “What I said was . . . wrong.” He pushed a hand through his tangled hair. Shit, why did he have to be so drawn to her?

  Aurora stared at his face and eyes, probably trying to gauge his thoughts, but he knew she would get nothing from them.

  She whispered, “Is it Hailen?”

  “I’m not interested in her.” Zane shook his head, confused as to where this conversation was going.

  Aurora’s shoulders relaxed. “I don’t know what I thought about you, I guess. I felt such an instant connection to you that night at Beat. It felt like you saw me for, well, me.”

  It was as if she knew he was hiding his feelings for her and yet gave him another chance to set things right.

  “Can’t we at least be friends?” She scooted closer, her long hair brushing his arm.

  Zane shivered. He tried to say no, but the word wouldn’t leave his mouth. Maybe if he kissed her, he’d finally be able to get her out of his system. That was all it could be, attraction.

  Zane licked his lips and watched as Aurora’s eyes darkened. It looked like she wanted to look away, but Zane didn’t give her the chance. He leaned forward, until their faces were only inches apart.

  When Aurora’s breath hitched, Zane closed the remaining distance between them, lightly touching his lips with hers. Slowly, Aurora parted her lips to meet his. And when her tongue lightly caressed his, Zane groaned.