Cam squeezes my hand hard.
I squeeze back and hope he keeps his mouth shut.
Mr. Joe glances at all three of us. Then he shrugs. “Well then, whatever it was down there, that’s why we’re here right now. To protect the integrity of the Earthlight Space Academy testing.”
“Do you think it might get interrupted somehow?” I try for my very best innocent look. I’ve never caused any issues in school, but Kai is in Mr. Joe’s class too, so I’m sure he’s seen us talking.
Mr. Joe pierces me with a look I’ve never seen on him. He knows. I can feel my hands getting clammy under his gaze.
A loud noise behind us breaks the tension. Mr. Joe looks toward it, raising his weapon. My heart races as I turn in the same direction. But it’s only our old school truck backfiring as it pulls into the parking lot. It parks right next to one of the military rigs, all the kids staring at it with wide eyes.
Mr. Joe turns back to me. “We’re here to make sure nothing interrupts your testing. Also, to make sure the Space Command officers are safe. Now why don’t you guys get into first class. Mrs. Baird will start everyone off this morning.”
His weapon clanks as he walks away. I let out the breath I was holding.
“I think we’d better do as he says,” whispers Rand as he nudges me with his shoulder.
I walk numbly after him, in between the lines of guards. As we walk through, I glance back to see the black SUV with the Chinese students. I debate whether or not to wait for Kai. I hesitate just inside the doors. I know I need to keep a low profile, but I really miss Kai, and I wonder what he and his fellow students think about this show of our military force.
The SUV doors open and slowly the students step out, looking all around the parking lot at the military surrounding them. Most of them just move far enough away from the car to allow the others out. When they’re all out, including Kai, they just stand there.
I look down at Cam. He looks up with confusion on his face. “Why aren’t they coming in?”
“I think they weren’t told about the military being here today either. It is our military, not theirs. They’re probably not sure what to think about all this.”
I know what he’s going to do the instant I see his jaw grind.
Cam lets go and runs back out the door, through the lines of armed men and women, and toward the black SUV.
I look at Rand and shrug. “So much for laying low.” I hurry out the door after Cam.
Out of the corner of my eye I see the uniformed line shift to watch us. I smile as I get closer to Kai. The other students surround him like he’s their leader. He probably is. He’s got the charismatic personality and intelligence to lead.
Cam jumps up into Kai’s arms for a hug. Kai squeezes him, then puts him back on his feet. By the time I get to the group, Kai is introducing Cam to the others. I come up to quietly stand next to Cam. Then Kai introduces me in Chinese, forcing me to use the little language skills he’s taught me to say hello in his language. I grin as Kai finally steps up to me, his dark eyes shining but dark with worry.
“How are you?”
“Ready for testing today. You?”
He tilts his head, glancing at the lines of uniformed soldiers. “A little confused right now.” He shrugs. “How’s your mom?”
“Still feverish, but she’s hanging in there.” Hotness pricks in the corner of my eyes. I blink several times.
Kai looks around the parking lot. “And do you know what this is all about?” he whispers.
“They heard about the incident in our camp,” I whisper back.
Kai frowns. “This is all my fault.”
I shake my head. “No, it’s not. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine for not checking. I destroyed one this morning.” I look over at the other students. They’ve shuffled a bit away from us to give us privacy. “I wish I could hug you right now,” I say to Kai as I lean closer.
He nods. “You’re reading my mind.” A cheeky grin spreads across his face.
“Maybe later? When there aren’t a whole crowd of weapons trained on us?” I tease.
“Definitely. Not maybe.”
His words make my stomach flutter. I force my eyes from his and look around. Everyone is watching us, even the Space Command officers. I take a deep breath. “Let’s show them that you guys are part of this school and this testing site.” I grab Kai’s hand and walk toward the school. I look back and see Cam and the others following. Cam seems to already have made another friend as he chats with one of the girls.
I keep my chin up as we walk between the line of soldiers. My heart races, but I just concentrate on making it into the school. Kai squeezes my hand as we get past the line.
Rand is waiting for us. His expression is unreadable. But he walks next to us as we head toward our classroom.
“Thanks, Anja,” Kai whispers.
“Anything for you,” I whisper back. I let go of his hand so I can open the classroom door. We’re the first students here, but we’re not the first into the classroom.
Standing before us are The Seven.
I stop in my tracks, forcing several students to run into me.
“Wow,” is all I can think of to say.
“Who are they?” whispers Cam. He’s snuck up beside me.
I can’t take my eyes off them. “They’re the seven commanders of the seven space academies,” I hiss back at him.
The room is silent. One of The Seven breaks the tension. “Come on in, students. Take your seats.” It’s Commander Svell from the Starlight Space Academy. I recognize him from vids.
Rand is the first to move. He walks stiffly to his seat and sits down. I follow, then the rest do the same. Cam comes and leans against my desk. I bite the inside of my cheek as my pulse races. What am I going to do with Cam today? I didn’t realize there would be this many officers and military here. And I certainly didn’t expect to see The Seven at our border school.
One of the other commanders walks toward us. I stare at her pristine white dress uniform, my pulse doubling. The Jupiter Space Academy logo is embroidered in bright blue above all the medals she’s earned. I swallow as she stops in front of me. Cam slips onto my lap, his face white as a ghost.
“This young man isn’t part of your prep class.” It’s a statement, not a question, so I don’t know what to say. I glance over at the other six and they’re just standing there watching.
“No, ma’am,” says Cam. I could faint at the sound of his small voice.
Slowly, her face lights up into a smile. “Polite. Your parents have taught you well, young man.”
“Thank you, but my sister mostly raised me.” He leans back farther into my chest. I wrap my arm around him to calm his shaking. And to keep myself from shaking.
The commander turns her gaze to me, and I immediately start thinking about where the exits are. “And you must be Anja Toland?”
I nod. “Yes, ma’am.”
“So, this young man is your little brother. The first one to pass the new joint pilot program for exceptional children. One of your fellow students brought the project to our government. A Kai Tang?” She looks around the room, turning her attention away from Cam and me.
Kai slowly stands. “I’m Kai Tang.” He gives her a respectful bow and sits down.
The commander glances down at me and then moves back toward the front. I let out the breath I was holding and hug Cam closer. She stops right in front of Kai. “And you and Miss Toland know each other?”
Kai gives me a quick glance before he answers her. “Yes, we’re friends.”
“Friends? Not just classmates forced to work with each other?”
A shiver goes up my spine. What is she digging for?
I can see Kai’s Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallows. “Yes, we’ve become good friends as well as classmates.”
“Despite the fact that the treaty between our countries only allows us to combine border students for academic reasons?”
“
It doesn’t specifically say we can’t be friends, ma’am,” Kai says quietly, his eyes downcast.
The room is so silent I can’t even hear anyone breathing. Every New Chinese and New American Republic citizen knows the unstated demand is for our countrys’ citizens not to intermingle with each other. Kai’s technically correct in that it’s not stated in the treaty, but it has been emphasized as a social mandate.
17
Testing
My pulse races on as we wait for one of The Seven to respond to Kai’s statement.
The silence is broken again by Commander Svell, who walks over to Kai and slaps his back. “Well said, son. You and your friend will make excellent space academy students. In the academies and out in space, it doesn’t matter where you’re from or how you were raised. It only matters that we all get along to work together to survive and to provide better lives for those on planet and off.”
Kai just nods, speechless.
I grin. The academies don’t play childish planetary politics.
The other students start filing in, whispered exclamations filling the air as each one notices The Seven at the head of our classroom. Mrs. Baird comes in after everyone else is seated. She does an official introduction of the Seven, and then each commander takes a turn explaining which academy they come from, and what the academic focus of each one is.
Once we graduate from Earthlight, we need to pick a specialty. Starlight Space Academy focuses on working in the Sol system. They teach several languages and prepare us for space station life. We’ll do at least one year there.
Jupiter Station Academy is for pilots. I sit up straight as she explains the rigors of spaceship training.
Then there is the Deep Space Academy, which is for those taking research ships on long-term missions. The Space Voyager Academy specializes in science missions, and the Space Intelligence Academy trains for security and stealth careers.
I fidget in my seat. I always thought I’d just work on one of the space stations, but the Jupiter Station Academy has piqued my interest. I hang on every word each commander says. There are more choices and possibilities than I ever imagined.
One step at a time. I’ve got to get into the Earthlight Space Academy first. I picture the trailers and all the testing machines in them outside.
The Seven leave, and the whole room tangibly relaxes. When the door finally shuts behind them, the entire class erupts in chaos as everyone tries to ask questions of Mrs. Baird. It takes her several attempts before she gets us under control.
“I know you have a lot of questions. All I’m authorized to say is that the military are here to protect your testing day from any kind of interruption.” She has to hold up her hand to keep everyone quiet again. “And since the timeline of your testing was moved up, the commanders thought it would be inspiring to show up in person as they watch the first border school academy testing.”
Several students clap and cheer.
I stay quiet as I study Mrs. Baird. She looks more tired than usual. I narrow my eyes at her as she talks to us, wondering what she isn’t telling us.
“Those of you who haven’t changed yet, please do so now.” She looks over at Rand and me, and we both shrink into our chairs. “Everyone meet out back for warmups.”
The rest of the class hurries to the locker rooms, except Kai. He comes over to where Cam still sits on my lap and leans against my desk. “You all right?”
I know he’s talking about outing our friendship in front of everyone and The Seven, but I’m not going to let him off easy.
I shrug. “Why not? We’re just friends, I guess.” I bite my tongue to keep from smiling.
A look of hurt crosses his face. “You know I couldn’t say what you really mean to me,” he whispers.
Cam looks between us and makes a face. “I’m going to warm up with Rand,” he says as he runs out the door.
I can’t stop from grinning this time. I stand up so that I’m inches from Kai. We’re alone in the classroom. “You mean I’m more than just your friend?”
Kai narrows his eyes at me. “You’re teasing, right?”
I laugh. “Of course, I am.”
He grabs me up in a hug, surprising me. I relax into him, wishing this could be the way things were all the time.
We separate, and he grabs my hand as we walk down the corridor in silence. When we get close to the locker rooms, we can hear everyone’s excitement over the Academy workout clothes. I grin and squeeze Kai’s hand. “You’d better get dressed.”
He lets go of my hand. Instead of turning toward the locker rooms, he leans in and kisses me. He pulls away, grinning. My lips tingling, I wave him toward the locker room.
I watch him walk through the doors, and my heart aches as I think about what might happen if we both don’t pass these tests. My whole body trembles, and I have to turn and head toward the back door.
We will both pass these tests. I repeat that mantra all the way out of the school.
Outside I join Rand and the others in warmups. Mr. Joe comes out in his uniform and puts us all through the obstacle courses, our martial arts moves, and then makes us jog the whole fifteen-mile course.
We come back, breathing hard. The whole class sprawls out on the grass under the row of trees.
“All right. Now I think you’re all ready,” says Mr. Joe. He stands with his arms crossed, his rifle no longer in his hands. He walks the length of the orchard, making sure all of us hear him. “We’ll start with the timed physical tests. You’ll need strength and endurance in order to work up in space. Most shifts in space are twelve-hour shifts. Space stations do not take care of themselves. And if you end up in a job in the outer planets or farther, every single crew member is relied upon for the survival of all.” He stops beside another officer who has joined him. “Do you all understand that?”
“Yes, sir,” we all say as one.
The other officer steps forward, his white dress uniform a sharp contrast to Mr. Joe’s sand fatigues. “These tests build upon each other. So, if you don’t pass these first physical tests, you won’t be moved on to the simulators. And if you don’t pass the simulators, you won’t get to the final test. The spacewalk.”
Murmurs can be heard to my left and right. We thought we’d be put through them all, then given a score. I frown. I want to ask why they’ve changed everything we’ve trained for, but I keep quiet. We’re so used to being treated differently in the Borderlands this really shouldn’t surprise me.
The physical tests go by fast, eliminating only two students. Next comes the hand-to-hand combat and firearms qualifications, which are scored by technique and accuracy. Kai, Rand, and I come out the top three in each section. Rand, of course, is first in the strength tests, and Kai in the running and speed tests. I beat both of them in the accuracy tests, scoring the highest in hand-to-hand combat, thanks to my previous Kajukenbo training.
I’m lying on my stomach on the grass waiting for the officers to deliver our scores when I’m tackled. I roll with my attacker and flip him off me. As I hear the “oof” when he hits the ground, I realize it’s Cam.
“Seriously, Cam?” I help him to his feet.
He’s grinning, even as he dabs his bleeding lip. “I can’t wait to be old enough to take these tests. You were amazing when you did that new Qin Na move to win your combat rounds.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “So, after watching me get put through my paces and get bruised and battered, you thought you’d give me more?”
He shrugs. “Got to keep you on your toes, right?” He steps back away from me quickly before I can grab him.
“Fine. You did surprise me but looks like you got the worst of it.” I point to his face.
He sucks the blood coming out of his lip.
I cringe. “Gross.”
He grins and runs off toward the gym door. I plop back down on the grass, tucking myself into the shade. I lean my chin onto my crossed arms and watch my classmates. All the Chinese students are sitting in a gr
oup far from the others. I scan the crowd and don’t see Kai.
I sit up just as someone places a hand on my shoulder. I grab it and move to twist him over my shoulder when I realize it’s Kai. I let go. “Sorry. I thought it was Cam again.”
He sits down next to me. “I saw that. Is he all right?”
I laugh. “Cam? He’s fine. We’ve done worse to each other.”
Kai shakes his head and places his hand over mine in the grass. “He must be taking it easy on me when we wrestle then.”
“Probably.” I grin.
“I’ll have to remember that next time.”
I look over my shoulder. “What’s wrong with our classmates? Other than Rand, we’ve never separated ourselves like this.”
“The military outside has everyone on edge.”
“But this isn’t how it’s supposed to be.” A frown pinches my forehead.
Kai squeezes my hand. “I know. But once we’re up in the stations, it will be different.”
I look at Kai. “But right now, they’re watching us. They want to know if this border school idea will work. Combining students.”
“There have been Chinese students in the Academies and up in the stations for decades.”
“Yes, but ours is the first class together since the treaty.”
Kai nods. “True.” He looks over at his fellow Chinese students. “What can we do?”
I grasp his hand and pull us up to our feet. “Remind them of who we are and why we’re all here.” I walk with Kai, hand in hand to stand in front of our classmates. I put us right in between the two groups.
“All right, everyone, listen up.” I point toward the school. “Space Command, our teachers, and The Seven are all watching us. While we go through our tests and while we’re socializing or just sitting here separately. Do you really think by hiding the friendships we’ve formed over the years that they’ll judge you on your tests?” I make eye contact with each and every classmate as I talk.
No one says anything. “Really? You think any of us is powerful enough to warrant this much military attention?” I pause, concentrating hard on not making eye contact with Kai, who knows the truth. “Once again, our governments have some issue and we’re caught in the middle.” I point to the two groups sitting separately. “Right now, we need to show them that we can all get along, no matter what kind of political games they play. Once we get up in space, we’ll be under Galactic Space Law and won’t have to worry about this kind of stuff.”
Earthlight Space Academy Boxset Page 12
