He grins. I realize then that he hasn’t said much this whole day. “Yes, I’ve come up here in the evenings a few times.”
I blink. “After we went to the dorms for the night?”
He nods, eyeing Josh’s crowd.
“You didn’t get in trouble?”
“No, I just did one each night. I made it back to the dorms before lights out.”
“That didn’t give you much time in the actual sims.”
He looks back at me and holds up his tablet. “All the specs and parameters are in our tablets. I would study those after lights out, then the next night do the sim.”
I roll my eyes. “Another thing I need to start studying on my tablet. Thanks for the tip.”
He gives me a nod and saunters off toward the sim.
Kai and I sit down next to the sim Philip is in and pull out our tablets.
“That should help you get caught up as well,” I say to Kai. We slide back so we’re side by side, our backs up against the warm sim machine.
“Yes.” He grins. “Would’ve been nice to know on my first day.”
I make a face at him. “I was kind of distracted. Sorry.”
He plants a kiss on my forehead. “I’ve been kind of distracted too,” he says huskily.
My stomach flutters as I gaze into his deep brown eyes. “It really is good seeing you every day.”
“And studying together.” He holds up his tablet.
“All right, all right.” I unlock my tablet and start flipping through the menus. My tablet pings as I open up the sim study files. I frown.
“I warned you not to ignore me.”
“Trust that the commander will keep them safe,” says Kai softly beside me. He’s leaning so close his breath tickles the hair around my face.
“I do. It’s just I haven’t decided how to tell him I know who he is, and how to deal with him after that.” I bite my lip as I stare at the green glowing words.
“Are you two not doing the sims?”
I look up to find Katrina smiling down on us. My mind slowly changes gear as I swipe the message shut on my tablet.
“We are. Just taking turns.”
She frowns, her face still picture perfect. “What do you mean?”
I look past her to where Josh is still with his group. He spots Katrina standing over Kai and me and goes still. Without looking away from him I ask Katrina, “What are you doing here?”
She glances over her shoulder. “I just wanted to say hi. Really.” Her expression is serious.
“Just hard to believe that when he’s staring right at us.” Josh’s face has hardened and he’s ignoring the groupies trying to get his attention.
“He doesn’t approve of me talking to you, but I don’t care.” She sighs. “I honestly thought he would drop this whole act of his once we got here.”
“Act?” I’m still not sure I can trust her, but my gut tells me to at least give her the benefit of trying.
She plops down on the floor in front of us. “Like I told you before, he’s not like this when he’s alone.”
I snort. “Of course not. He feeds off the attention of others.” The sim behind me stills. “And their pain,” I add as my pulse quickens.
15
Cam
The door to the sim opens and Philip pokes his head out, grinning. He goes white as soon as he sees Katrina.
“It’s all right, she’s friendly.” I give him a small smile, hoping I’m not wrong about her.
Philip slowly steps out and leans back against the machine. He holds his tablet tightly to his chest.
“How did you do?” I nod to the sim.
He looks between Katrina and I. “Good. Studying the parameters ahead of time made it go quickly.”
I scrunch up my face. “Everyone knows about the sim study materials, don’t they?”
Katrina laughs. Her voice and laugh are melodious, and I catch Philip staring at her. “Yes. You must not have?”
“With all the weird things happening since school started, I avoided my tablet most of the time.”
Kai stands and helps me up. Philip, although glancing curiously at Katrina still looks nervous. I can’t make him trust her, especially since I have my own reservations.
“Let’s head to the next one.”
Katrina catches my arm and pulls me toward her. “Josh isn’t going to be happy Philip is up here.”
I frown. “He has no say where Philip goes,” I answer fiercely but quietly.
“He’s always been intimidated by how smart Philip is. Made Philip’s life miserable at our prep school.”
“I know.” I pull back far enough so she can see that I’m telling the truth. “And here, too.”
She sighs. “Just be careful.”
I don’t have time to reply before she turns, her short hair bouncing as she heads back to her group.
“I don’t think we can trust her,” says Philip quietly.
“I’m not exactly sure yet,” I say. “But I’d like to think she’s honestly trying to be friends with us.”
We head to the next sim and I have Kai get in and start. Philip and I spot Rand coming back. His face is lit up as he joins us.
“That was amazing. The Mars mission sims are hard but satisfying.”
I grin. “That’s my next one too. I read that the Mars sims are so important because we have a few missions coming up to colonize new planets.”
Rand nods. “That’s exactly what I’d like to do. New planet, new survival protocol. And to be the first to step foot on a new world. That sounds amazing, doesn’t it?”
“I think that would suit you. I’m not sure yet where I want to go.”
He grins down at me. “You go do the sim now. I’ll hang out with Philip until Kai is done.” He pulls out his tablet.
“Thanks.” I turn to Philip. “You’ll be all right?”
He nods. “Josh is actually quite scared of you, Rand.” He grins. “He talks tough, but he doesn’t have all the fighting experience he says he does.”
“Really? Like all the years he says he trained in judo?” I ask, remembering him boasting about it right before I took him to the ground.
Philip shakes his head. “He took a few years, but his dad made him quit to work with him. He never finished any of the self-defense classes he started.”
I glance over at Josh. “He’s just a big, hurting kid.”
Philip actually snorts then. “Yeah, but one that is mean and can figure out a hundred other ways to hurt you.”
“He’s got to grow out of it sometime, right?” I try to give him an encouraging smile, but the truth is I don’t know what it would be like to be bullied like Philip. My school was filled with hard working immigrants who appreciated what little we had. I glance sideways at Rand. Rand is the only one I worry about from our school. The darkness I sensed in him when I first met him is starting to creep out here at the academy. Thanks to Josh.
I shrug and head over to the sim Rand just vacated. With a look back to make sure Philip and Rand are still by Kai’s sim, I climb in and tighten the harness.
For a while I completely forget about Josh and my father. I immerse myself completely in the Mars mission, enjoying every minute of it. In the mission I’m driving a rover bouncing over red hills that I secretly hope I get to see in real life one day. Spaceships fly overhead and domes scatter the landscape all around me.
I finish the sim, grinning and watch as my score of one hundred percent scrolls across the vid screen and then a double ping on my tablet alerts me that it’s been recorded in my student jacket.
The handle is warm as I lift the hatch and climb out of the sim. The scent of grease and sweat envelopes me, and just like that I find myself back in reality.
Kai is standing there, a frown on his face.
My heart sinks. “What’s wrong?” I close the distance between us. Philip and Rand stand next to Kai. I study their faces. “Well?”
“He found your brother,” Philip says.
Kai holds a hand up. “Technically only his tablet. He doesn’t know where he’s living.”
A cold sweat creeps over me as all the implications of this hits me. “Does Cam know who he is?”
Kai shakes his head. “No.”
“What did he say?”
Kai checks his tablet. “He did it anonymously again and told Cam that he needed to tell him where he was, or he would get you kicked out of the academy.”
I place a hand over my mouth as I hold back a few choice swear words. I grind my teeth before I answer. “Did Cam answer back? Have you talked to him?”
Kai shakes his head. “He immediately pinged my tablet, knowing it was the secure one. He wants to talk to us.”
I nod and look around the room. Josh and his friends are a few sims farther, but they don’t seem to be paying any attention to us. I look at my tablet and notice it’s almost dinner time. As if reading my mind, lights glow red twice to alert us our time is done here. “Let’s go,” I say and make my way toward the nearest lift.
Once on the lift I realize Philip is still with us. I mentally kick myself. “Maybe you and Rand can start dinner without us? We’ll call Cam and meet you at our table.”
Philip looks questioningly at Rand. Rand nods and smiles. Among all this stress, it gives me a bit of happiness to see Rand so accepting of Philip. He was very judgmental when he first came to our prep school. Especially of Kai.
I smile but a nervous energy inside me has my attention divided between Cam and the conversation the others are having.
Finally, the lift stops at the dining level and we all pour out. Kai and I take a right, while Rand and Philip go left toward the cafeteria. There aren’t very many people down here yet, so they should be able to get to their table before Josh comes down.
We find a quiet cubby and sit down side by side. Kai unlocks his tablet and calls Cam. Cam’s face soon fills the tablet vid.
“Hey.”
His expression is serious, no hint of his usual energetic hyper-bunny self remaining. “Hey,” he returns.
I glance at Kai. “I hear you got a strange message.”
“Yes. Why would someone want to threaten you?” He puts emphasis on the “you” and I have to laugh.
“You sound like I’m not worth threatening.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “You know what I mean.”
If we were in person having this conversation, I’d ruffle his hair to irritate him further. “Yes. Because I’m a nobody.” I grin.
His expression finally softens until it becomes a hint of a smile. “You do have an amazing little brother though. Maybe they’re really after me instead.”
My face is numb as I force myself to keep smiling. My pulse quickens and I glance at Kai. His expression mirrors what I’m experiencing inside.
“What?” Cam urges, looking between us.
I take a deep breath and close my eyes. I picture the face on the page of officers. I open my eyes back up. “Cam, we have a problem.”
He frowns but stays quiet. He knows my tone and what it means.
“I’m going to have security block all your incoming messages except those from Kai and me.” I hand Kai my tablet so he can send the commander a message.
“All right. Does this mean you know who this is?”
I nod. “You’re right about one thing. I think he’s really after you.” My heart feels as though it’s going to race out of my chest. My brother has been my whole life and the thought of someone taking him from me makes me want to vomit.
Kai finishes sending the message and wraps his arm around me.
Cam’s scowling now, his ever-moving body absolutely still.
“It’s our father, Cam. He’s been sending me threatening messages for weeks now.”
“What? I thought he was dead?”
“Mom and I thought he might’ve been. We hadn’t heard anything from him since he left. We thought he got caught up in the same Migration rush we did.”
“Where is he now?”
I bite the inside of my cheek, tasting the metallic liquid as thoughts race through my head.
“He’s an officer up on one of the moon bases.”
I let that sink in. Kai holds up my tablet so I can see the message from the commander. He says he’ll not only block Anonymous, but block Cam’s access to any space net information.
That won’t go over well.
“What does he want?”
“I’m guessing he wants you. But he’s been so threatening with his messages, it doesn’t feel like he wants to make up for lost time or get to know us.”
Cam looks to the side.
Mr. Chao comes to sit next to him. He bows to Kai, who respectfully bows back. “Kai, my son. I think this all may be my fault.”
I stare at Kai, who looks as confused as I feel. Kai tightens his grip on my hand. “Why do you say that?”
Mr. Chao takes his glasses off and pinches the bridge of his nose. When he puts his glasses back on, I think I can see the shine of tears threatening to fall.
“Because I’ve had young Mr. Cam working with me on my new project. He’s helped us make great breakthroughs in rewriting our software to adapt it better to our genetic research.”
“That doesn’t sound like a bad thing,” says Kai.
I frown, a hint of what might be coming next sitting in the pit of my stomach like a rock.
“We put his name on our research.”
A shiver goes down my spine.
Kai’s mouth drops open. “But he’s just a kid.”
Cam looks a bit hurt by Kai’s comment but covers it fast.
“Yes, but he’s been a major part of our project and I thought he deserved the credit. I never imagined someone would come after him. And I too, thought his father was deceased.” He puts an arm around Cam.
Kai and I look at each other.
The terrible pain in my stomach won’t go away. I have to know. “Cam? Do you want to talk to our father?” I ask quietly.
He looks away briefly. “I don’t know. This is all so sudden.”
“I know. But if you do decide you want to talk to him, wait until we figure out what he wants, and why he’s threatening us.”
Cam’s head swivels back. “What has he been saying to you?”
I hesitate for a heartbeat. “He doesn’t know that we know who he is, yet. As Anonymous he’s been threatening to find you,” I swallow back the emotions bubbling up, “and he’s even taken over the academy computer on a few occasions.”
Cam narrows his bright blue eyes at me. “How?”
“He caused a fire alarm one time. The Seven were here, and they ended up locked down in a safe room for several hours.”
Cam’s face looks horrified.
I continue, “And he’s been able to evade detection by our security and the SIA.”
“What? Seriously?”
“Yes. It was a friend of ours that finally figured out who it was.”
“When the SIA couldn’t?” Cam’s more animated now, almost his old self.
I grin. “Yes. His name is Philip. He’s smart with computers like you. When the commander discovered he’d helped us figure out who was threatening us, he bumped him up to Year Two computer science classes.”
“That’s what I’ll do,” Cam says confidently.
Kai laughs next to me. “Yes, I bet you will. You might even skip straight to Year Two classes the way you’re going.”
I look sideways at Kai.
He shrugs. “Father has sent Cam’s grades to me. He’s already finished several classes just in the last few weeks.”
My mouth drops open. “I know you’re smart, but they let you do that?” I ask Cam.
He smiles and nods. Mr. Chao beams next to him.
A tingle at the back of my neck gets me back on track. “Cam, you need to promise me not to reply to him or hack into the space net. Not until I figure out what he really wants and what we’re going to do about it.”
&nbs
p; Kai leans in. “Actually, it’s best if you power off your tablet. Father can get you a new one registered to a new name and location. Right?”
Mr. Chao nods. “Good idea. If he was able to hack through our security and SIA’s security, it’s best if we remove that option.”
Cam looks devastated. “You really don’t think he just wants to get to know us?”
“I’ve always been straight with you, right?”
He nods, his expression crestfallen.
“Then, no, I don’t think right now he just wants to suddenly be part of our lives. If he did, he would’ve talked to me as himself, not hide behind this anonymous persona. And he wouldn’t threaten us if his only motives were to have a relationship with us.”
Cam folds his hands in front of him. “You’re right. I don’t want to know him if it means he’s that way.”
“I’m sorry, Cam. I know you’ve never really known him. I’m sure both of us would love to have our father back in our lives. But not like this. He’s up to something, I just don’t know what.”
“Mom always said she couldn’t believe she ever trusted him,” says Cam quietly.
My heart seems to break a fraction as I look at my brother’s sad face. “I know they had their issues. And maybe we might never be able to trust him. But he didn’t leave because of you or me. You know that, right?”
“Yes. Mom and I had many conversations about it during the last few years.”
My heart squeezes as grief tries to overcome me. It’s apparent in Cam’s eyes that he’s missing her. A lot.
“We both miss her, Cam. But we have good friends now.” I smile at Mr. Chao.
Cam wipes away a tear. “Yes. I know.” He leans toward Mr. Chao, who embraces him. I wish I could be there to hug Cam too.
Kai squeezes my hand and I’m suddenly aware that the sound levels have gone up as students stream past our alcove and head to the cafeteria.
“Cam, we have to go. Don’t hesitate to keep pinging us on Kai’s tablet. I need to think over what our next step will be with our father.”
He nods. “Thank you for telling me. I was worried he might actually do something to you.”
“Me too. You stay with Mr. and Mrs. Chao at all times, all right?”
Earthlight Space Academy Boxset Page 31
