It was a text.
Eric: Hey. Just got back from dinner with my dad. Do you want to come by for a minute?
The mention of the commander made Yalena automatically think to the time she’d spent deciphering the signal. Even though she felt tempted to say “no” to Eric, the dull, white sound flashed in her memory, and she had to give in. No one ever had to know, but scribbling the sequence of circles and dashes hadn’t stopped. Deep down, she’d started to feel that the terrorizing signal symptoms would only subside once the riddle was solved.
Yalena quickly locked the device and went back into the bathroom.
“Was it from Eric?” Heidi inquired through the door after a moment’s pause.
“Yes,” Yalena replied in between gulps of water.
“Boyfriend wants to say goodnight?”
“Nope,” Yalena continued once back in the room. “But I’m going out for a minute.”
“OK, just be quick with lover boy. It’s twenty minutes till curfew.”
The curfew was something only the STAR Academy freshmen had to adhere to, but since they studied so much and were tired every evening, no one had broken it thus far. Yalena suspected it was in place just to wash the shame away for those deeply asleep at eleven P.M. It was, after all, freshman year at STAR Academy. The new students weren’t supposed to be going to bed so early of their own accord.
Yalena walked through the empty, brightly-lit, white corridor to Eric and Nico’s room and pressed the doorbell. Eric appeared at the door, but before letting her in, he lurked left and right so fast that his sandy hair turned into a blur. Yalena couldn’t believe she had never asked this question, either to him or to herself, but was it possible he was bothered by the rumors of them dating even more than she was?
Yalena stepped into the room. “What’s going on?”
“My dad’s angry at someone,” Eric said.
She watched him nod like that was supposed to make her gasp. “I’m not sure I have as much to go on as you think I do.”
He leaned in, somewhat entertained. “Well, he had his weekly meeting with the Board of Approvers. I think he tried to push for the First Contact mission to be ready faster.”
“So, why would your dad be mad?”
“As far as I understand, there isn’t enough support from the board. They’re afraid we might find Others out there, and they are blocked, trying to think of a way to even present the project to the broader public,” Eric explained. “If you could tell us anything more specific about the signal, it might be exactly the push they need to speed up the mission preparations.”
Yalena shook her head. “I don’t have anything.” She reveled at the thought of having this secret off her chest, yet the only times she’d envisioned fessing up had her sharing a mind-blowing discovery with the board, who would then rush to make the First Contact mission happen. Silly doodles wouldn’t have the same effect.
Then, something behind Yalena made Eric’s eyes dart in that direction.
“Fancy finding you here,” Nico said. “Got some important business to attend to?” His gaze moved from Yalena to Eric, and then he raised his eyebrows as if encouraging them to share.
“There’s no business,” Yalena said.
“Right. Of course.” She could feel that her answer only sparked the mystery, making it more alluring. “You know what, Jen is always so nice and honest, I think I’ll go find her while you finish up here. We’ll have time for a nice little chat.”
“No, stay—Yalena was just leaving,” Eric cut him off with harsh resolve.
Yalena’s mouth hung open for a second before she recovered. “It’s almost curfew. I’d better go.”
“So, someone still cares about curfew,” Nico mumbled to himself.
“I know my dad does.”
“Tell that to Alec and Dave.” It was remarkable how hunting for Yalena’s secret had transformed him. He was almost unrecognizable when he switched back to his normal self now. “They just went down to the Academy to practice flight simulations in some special room.”
“The hidden room?” Eric raised his voice in surprise. “They can’t be in there. They don’t even know how to enter.”
“What is this room?” Yalena asked, battling the odd feeling she’d heard about it from someone else before.
“It’s a hidden prep center for the yearly missions. We’re only allowed to use it once the mission is revealed,” Eric explained.
“But why is the room hidden?”
“It probably has tons of clues about future missions, and you know how my dad always says we need to cope with the unexpected. Which is why those two can never enter. They won’t even find the room, let alone get past the code protection. There’s no way.”
“I don’t know, Eric,” Nico countered slowly. “They said they had access.”
“Well, not unless an older student gave it to them,” Eric said, but his words triggered a memory in Yalena’s mind. It was unclear how she could even pluck it out of the sea of STAR Academy chronicles that Chris had been showing off with, but Cooper’s words swam up to the surface unexpectedly: “Did he tell you what he pulled off in the hidden room? Man, good thing it wasn’t after hours.”
Something fell into place in Yalena’s mind. “It’s a set-up! He gave them the code to get them in trouble...” she realized, searching for understanding from Eric and Nico, but they both looked confused.
“What do you mean?” Nico asked, but Yalena couldn’t find the words to explain. Her mind was working so fast, feverishly evaluating whether Chris was capable of such a despicable thing.
“We need to go ask Heidi. Hurry.” She stormed out of the boys’ room as the sharp feeling of alarm quickly built to a crescendo.
Heidi had fallen asleep, curled up on the desk over her tablet. She must have tried to study after Yalena had gone out.
“Heidi,” Yalena whispered and shook her shoulder. “Wake up. It’s important.”
“What?” Heidi could hardly open her eyes. “I’ll go to bed in a second, Yalena.”
“No, wake up. It’s about Dave,” Yalena insisted and looked back at Eric and Nico, who’d followed her into the room.
“What about him?” At the mention of Dave, her roommate perked up.
“He and Alec are out of their room, and it’s almost curfew.”
“Yeah, they needed to practice in that room,” Heidi said through a yawn.
“They can’t,” Eric said, his expression firm. “That room is hidden, and freshmen are not to set foot in it until the official preparation for our first-year mission has begun.”
Heidi’s mouth opened and closed a few times in dismay. Her eyes grew wary, and she turned to Yalena, panic in her voice. “They don’t know it’s forbidden. They said it’s a training spot for the most promising pilots of the class. He even gave them the code to enter.”
“Who did?” Yalena asked, but a powerful wave of anger was already rising inside her.
“Chris,” came out of Heidi’s trembling lips, and Yalena had to refrain from growling.
“Why would he do this?”
“Maybe because Alec is the best pilot ever!” Nico said, bitterness in his voice, and Yalena shot him a surprised look. The doubt sneaked into her mind that she’d somehow demonized his persistence, given that he was set on investigating what she and Eric were up to. Perhaps it was holding her back from seeing his better side.
Yalena turned to Eric. “What will happen if they get caught in the hidden room?”
“I don’t know. No freshman has ever done it. But my dad would be furious, I reckon. They work so hard on devising the mission scenarios and keeping them a secret,” Eric said.
“We have to warn them.”
“I’m already on it,” Heidi said, her fingers typing on the extendable Berry screen.
“Don’t bother. They said they left their Berries in the dorm,” Nico said.
“How stupid are they?” Heidi fumed, no trace of sleepiness left. “It’s A
lec and his draconian ‘no distractions’ rule!”
Nico raised a finger at her. “In his defense, studies show that focused training improves performance drastically.”
Heidi only growled back at him.
“There’s no time,” Eric said. “We need to go get them.” Yalena knew Eric wasn’t close to the Martian guys, and it made her smile to see how ready he was to help them. “We’re taking the service elevator. It’s quicker, and I know the code.”
“Cover for us?” Nico asked Yalena and Heidi with a quick look before he and Eric ran off to the service elevator at the opposite end of the corridor. Unable to keep still, Yalena strode off after them.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Heidi protested. “They’ll go warn them.”
“That lowly, air-headed son-of-a...” Yalena gave into her anger. “He must be in his room, hiding away and letting someone else catch them. Cover for me.”
“Katya will be doing tonight’s check soon,” Heidi hollered, but it was too late.
Yalena didn’t look back as she almost ran to the elevator, disregarding her roommate’s protests.
The second-years’ rooms were on the other floor, but it only took Yalena a minute to get there. She didn’t even have to search for Chris’ room, as his face appeared in front of her when the elevator doors opened.
“Fancy seeing you here,” he said at the sight of her, stepping into the elevator with her. Despite the casual tone he’d been keeping up during any run-ins, the pretense came crashing down. “I assume you’re heading down to the freshman floor. Remember to be in before curfew. Breaking rules is bad for your future at STAR Academy.” His tone was cynical, pretending to care for her.
“You’ve given it quite some thought, haven’t you?” Yalena spat out, unable to control her anger any longer.
“Despite some rather charming stunts I may have pulled off in the past, I don’t know what you mean.” He had the audacity to stand there and talk like a model student, like a charming prankster.
The elevator stopped at Yalena’s floor, but she didn’t leave. “Oh, yes, you do!” Her eyes glinted with fury as she scowled at Chris. “I can’t believe you—to feel so threatened by freshman pilots that you have to bait them into breaking the rules.” She realized her words were harsh, even venomous, but she couldn’t let him get away with this.
“I’m not baiting anyone. Rado decides if he’s man enough to compete with the best,” Chris said hurriedly, perhaps even hoping she wouldn’t hear it.
“So, what? You’re headed to the hidden room to catch him in the act?” Yalena almost screamed at him. It was surreal how unfairly he’d abused his position. Second-years were looked up to by the freshmen. They were seen as trustees, mentors. Chris was anything but right now.
“Well, now that you brought it to my attention, it would be very irresponsible of me not to go check for intruders in the hidden room.” He played considerate, even though it was obvious how pleased he was with the way Yalena almost shook with anger. “Now, I suggest you take that elevator back to the freshman dorms,” Chris added after getting out on the Academy floor. “You have about a minute before you’re in trouble.” And his face disappeared behind the closing doors, leaving Yalena as mad as she had ever been on Unifier.
The worst part was that he was right. It was curfew, and she would probably run straight into Katya on the next floor. Hopefully, she’d delayed Chris long enough for Eric and Nico to warn the Martians. If so, then it would have been worth it.
The elevator doors opened, and Yalena blessed them for not bleeping as they did. Katarzyna was at the entrance to Jen and Natalia’s room, her back to Yalena.
“Hello, girls. It’s curfew check,” she said, and Yalena saw Jen’s face appear by the door. She made a shush sign at her, but Jen was distracted, looking at Yalena, and stuttered.
“Are you OK?” the second-year asked Jen.
“Yes, it’s just...oh, well...it’s very awkward. Could you...hmm...come inside for a second?” Jen invited her in, while Yalena moved her lips as to say, “Thank you.”
As soon as Katya walked into Jen’s room, Yalena ran back to her own room and entered the unlock pin as quickly as she could.
“Holy stars! You’re back in time!” Heidi’s relief welcomed her. Yalena heard running water from the bathroom.
“Thanks for the cover.” She nodded gratefully.
“What happened?” Heidi demanded, but Yalena couldn’t answer, interrupted by the doorbell.
She opened the door for Katya, and as she did, she could hear her Berry buzzing more than once. Katya quickly marked that both Yalena and Heidi were in their room and moved on to the next one. As soon as the automatic door closed behind her, Yalena unlocked her Berry to find three new messages.
The oldest one was from Heidi: Are you in a black hole somewhere? Get back here!!! It’s curfew!; followed by a recent one from Jen: What on Earth are you doing out after curfew? I had to ask Katya for tampons to save your butt! The newest one was from Nico, saying: Plan failed. They were already inside the hidden room. Going back to the dorms now.
Yalena turned the Berry’s screen in Heidi’s direction so she could read Nico’s message, and her roommate chewed on her lip as she read it.
“I guess there’s nothing more we can...” But before Heidi could finish her sentence, they heard raised voices coming from the corridor.
“Shall we check?” Heidi asked, but Yalena was already opening the door. They leaned into the corridor just enough to see Katarzyna arguing with Eric, who seemed nothing like the humble guy Yalena had come to know. The girls stepped out of their room, ready to support Eric’s claim.
“I’m telling you, he sent them there. And my dad will hear all about this!” His face had turned red.
“I can promise you what the commander will surely hear about—his own son breaking curfew,” Katya said.
“It’s true,” Heidi said, pulling Katya by the arm so she had to turn to face her.
“What the...?” The second-year raised her voice even higher. “You’ve got to be kidding me! Do none of you freshmen grasp the concept of curfew?”
Right then, her Berry buzzed, and Katya answered it. “Chris, hey, you won’t believe this.” But then she paused, no doubt listening to his made-up story of how he had stumbled upon Alec and Dave in the hidden room. “Holy stars! I have four more up here. I’ll come meet you.” Then she hung up and glared at the four freshmen in front of her.
“Not another word. You’re all coming with me, and you’ll explain yourselves to the commander.”
Chapter 16. After Curfew
YALENA LOOKED AT HER friends as they walked down the Academy corridor. Heidi was taken aback, but a certain rebellious look had settled on her face. Eric’s cheeks remained crimson, although Yalena suspected that had a little less to do with the injustice against the Martian guys and a little more to do with Katarzyna disregarding his words. Nico was the only one looking a little intimidated. He walked at the back behind the rest of them, his nose pointed at the shiny floor.
None of those reactions reflected even half of Yalena’s feelings. She was seething. But she waited, knowing they would see the commander soon. Surely, he would know they were right, and he would tell Chris off. That guy had it coming, and the commander would never allow his handpicked and supposedly remarkable students to behave like this.
The teachers’ chamber was at the end of the corridor, and Katarzyna stopped in front of it, pressing the microphone bell button.
“Come on in, Katya,” O’Donnell’s calm voice came from the speaker.
Katarzyna walked in the room, signaling to the freshmen to follow her in without even looking back at them. “Good evening, sir,”
Commander O’Donnell was sitting at the far end of a round table with about a dozen seats. Alec and Dave were at the opposite side of the table, while Chris paced around the room. He seemed nervous, Yalena gloated as she observed.
“My, my, looks like
we have the whole crowd out tonight.” The commander watched the students entering, their numbers growing. But it was Alec and Dave who shifted in their seats upon seeing everyone that came in. “Please, take a seat,” he invited them all, his voice still calm.
“Rado and Whitehorse were just telling me how they came to enter the hidden room tonight,” O’Donnell summarized while Yalena and the others followed his request promptly. “Now, let us give our two hidden room explorers a chance to finish their fascinating story.” Even though his words were soft, his voice stayed serious and his eyes moved around the room, throwing piercing looks at the freshmen.
“We entered the password key and went in. The key that he gave us,” Alec said with a brave attempt to sound professional, but his tone showed the fiery temper underneath. Whether voluntarily or not, his muscular arm trembled, as if impatient to serve some justice in its own way.
“I didn’t give them anything,” Chris hurried to counter. It was just then Yalena noticed his lip was cut and bleeding, no doubt after meeting Alec’s fist.
“I see,” the commander said, sounding unconvinced. “And what brings the rest of you down here?”
“We know he set them up,” Eric said, provoking a sound of irritation from Katarzyna’s side—she had opened her mouth to speak first.
“How do you know that?” Chris asked, but then looked uncomfortably at the commander. Lips thinning, O’Donnell probably didn’t approve of him jumping in all the time.
“Heidi heard them,” Yalena interjected. She was afraid she would explode if she kept quiet a second longer.
“Yes, but I didn’t know the room was forbidden,” Heidi said in a small voice.
“I told Yalena the hidden room was forbidden, and then she somehow knew it was a set-up,” Eric added, but it didn’t sound as convincing as he might have hoped.
“She somehow knew?” Chris feigned great disbelief. “Commander, I am so sorry we are keeping you from your business on such ridiculous grounds. They are obviously prepared to lie for their friends, but I’m afraid as well-patched a story as they can come up with, they have no proof. It’s just pointless to continue...”
The Unsound Theory (STAR Academy Book 1) Page 13
