by Brenda Hiatt
“I’m sure you’re both going to just love it here,” the woman gushes as we fill out our schedules. “This is an excellent school, and Jewel is such a friendly town, you’ll find it easy to get involved and meet people. Our sports teams have improved enormously over the past year, too.”
Mum thanks her profusely but I’m doubtful. Even Adina wouldn’t be challenged by the 12th grade classes I’ll be taking, while her subjects cover things she learned in her third or fourth year of school back on Mars. The only ones likely to be remotely demanding are U.S. Government, for me, and World History, for Adina. And compared to caidpel, their stupid Duchas sports will look like kid games. Which is exactly what basketball is back in Nuath, only we call it chas pell.
The rest of the day is spent shopping and prettying up our new apartment. When I wonder aloud if we can really afford all we’re buying, Dad waves my concern aside.
“It may be a bit of a stretch just now, but we’ll be fine. They’ve advanced us a nice sum for the work your mother and I will be doing at NuAgra, to help us get established. In another month or two we’ll be drawing good salaries there.”
By bedtime even I have to admit the apartment looks better than it did last night. I’m less pleased by the notice we all receive on our tablets about a mandatory meeting at NuAgra tomorrow night.
Mum, of course, thinks that’s great. “It says the Sovereign wants to personally welcome us all to Jewel. Isn’t that wonderful?”
To my secret relief, Mum and Dad offer to drive us to school the next morning, even though we learned yesterday that a school bus will stop right in front of our apartment complex. Once we’ve met a few Duchas, I probably won’t mind riding with dozens of them. But on our very first day…
“Can Jana come with us?” Adina asks. “She and her family live in Diamond View Terrace, too. She told me she’d have to take the bus today since her mum has to be at NuAgra super early, but I could tell she was a little nervous about it.”
They have no objection and a short time later Dad drops all three of us off in front of the school. “Make friends and pay attention in your classes,” Mum calls to us through the window.
“We will,” Adina calls back.
“Speak for yourself,” I mutter under my breath, but she and Jana are chatting excitedly as we go inside and don’t hear me.
We’re surrounded by Duchas students as we walk through the big central area with windows in the ceiling to let in sunlight. I try to ignore their curious stares.
“My locker and Adina’s are both down here.” I made a point of memorizing the map of the school last night so I wouldn’t look like an idiot trying to find my way around.
Jana pulls her map out and looks at it. “Mine’s the other way. See you in class, Adina.” With a wave she moves off, already smiling at every boy she passes.
Heads continue to turn as my sister and I head down the right-hand corridor. I refuse to be intimidated, telling myself it’s natural they’re curious about all these new students showing up a month after the start of school.
“You have World History first period, right?” I say to Adina, mostly to give me an excuse not to make eye contact with anyone else.
She nods. “With Jana. We have almost all the same classes, isn’t that great?”
“Um, yeah. Just don’t talk in class when you’re supposed to be paying attention—especially about you-know-what. Okay?”
But Adina isn’t listening. She’s staring down the hall ahead, her eyes widening.
Even as I follow her gaze, a familiar voice says, “Hey, welcome to Jewel. I’m Marsha Truitt, but most people call me M. And this is Rigel Stuart.”
It’s the Sovereign. Adina, clearly overwhelmed by the sudden meeting, starts to stammer. I elbow her before she blurts out anything she shouldn’t.
“Nice to meet you,” I reply automatically, grudgingly noticing the Sovereign is a little prettier up close. “And thanks. I’m Kira Morain and this is my sister, Adina.”
Rigel, the boy who’s caused so much trouble, says, “I hope you’ll both like it here. Let us know if we can help with anything while you’re still, y’know, getting used to the place.”
Like I’d ask either of them for help? I attempt something I hope looks like a smile. “I’m sure we’ll be fine, but thanks anyway.”
With a hand on Adina’s arm, I hurry her toward our lockers, silently cursing myself for handling the encounter so poorly.
“That was kind of rude, Kira.” Adina glances worriedly over her shoulder. “Mum wants us to make friends with the, er, with her.”
I shrug. “Sorry. I just…wanted to get away before you blurted anything out by accident.”
Now she looks sheepish. “Yeah, maybe you’re right. Next time I see her I won’t be so nervous. I just wasn’t expecting to see her so soon!”
“Neither was I.” But that’s no excuse for being caught so off-guard. Especially since I knew it was likely I’d see the Sovereign today. I just didn’t think she’d be the very first person at Jewel High to talk to me.
15
Rejected
Sean
“Did you see any of the new kids registering yesterday?” Pete Griffin asks as we get out of his truck in the school parking lot. Everyone at school is curious about them, though not for the same reasons I am.
“Not yet. You?”
“Nope, but Matt said one of the girls is a real looker. Hard to believe we’re getting eight at one time—getting three last year was a huge deal.”
Last year—when Rigel, then Molly and I, started attending Jewel High.
“Should be interesting.” I’m not sure if I’m looking forward to having so many more Echtrans here or dreading it. Guess I won’t know till I meet them.
The warning bell for first period has already rung before I feel my first twinge of brath—that vibe we all feel when another Martian is nearby. A second later I see a boy with dark blond hair, younger than me, heading my way.
“Hey, you’re new, aren’t you?” I smile and stick out my hand. “I’m Sean, Sean O’Gara.”
The boy swallows visibly, his eyes going wide. “Er…hi. Grady Quinlan.” He belatedly shakes my hand. “I just met your…I mean the, um—” He glances nervously over his shoulder, where I see M’s and Rigel’s retreating backs.
Mindful of all the other people—Duchas—around, I cut him off before he says anything dumb. “Yeah, it’s a friendly school. I imagine lots of people will be introducing themselves today.”
Swallowing again, he nods. “I won’t— I mean I’ll try—”
“You’ll be fine,” I quickly assure him. “Just be yourself.”
At his worried frown, I add, “Just try to think before you speak, okay?”
“O-okay. I will. Thanks. Um… See ya!” Still looking way more nervous than a new Duchas student ought to, he scampers off.
Sighing, I shake my head. M told us these kids got extra coaching before coming here. Maybe not enough?
When I reach Physics, I glance around the classroom before joining Paul Jackson at our lab table. No new Echtrans here yet, though yesterday the teacher said we’d be getting a couple.
“I was wondering, Sean, are you and Missy Gillespie like, a thing now?” Paul asks as I stuff my backpack under the lab table.
I shrug. “Not really. We just went out the once.”
Missy was voted Homecoming Queen and I was King, so it made sense to go to the dance with her. Especially since M and Rigel got back together, taking my preferred option off the table. And because I promised M I’d try to move on. Missy is pretty for a Duchas girl but I don’t see anything happening there.
“So…you’d be okay with it if I asked her out? Not that she’ll probably—”
“Sure, go for it.”
I barely notice what I’m saying because right at that moment the two new students walk in—a blond guy nearly as tall as I am and a gorgeous girl with dark auburn hair. Weirdly, they both look a little familiar. I swear
the girl looks almost like— Nah, must be a coincidence. M would have mentioned it if—
“Ah, you must be Alan and Kira.” The teacher confirms my startled guess. “Welcome to Jewel High. You can share that lab table if you’d like, or I can pair you each with an existing student who can help you catch up.”
Nearly every guy and girl in the classroom looks suddenly hopeful until Alan says, “We’ll share. Thanks.”
The two of them move to an empty table near the back of the room. I try not to stare but I’m privately geeking out over Kira Morain, the big caidpel star, joining my Physics class. I figured she was already out of school, but up close she looks younger than on the Nuathan sports feeds—and a lot more gorgeous. I didn’t know the elite coed league even took players less than eighteen years old! She must’ve been even better than I realized, to be accepted so young.
“Whoa,” Paul whispers as she slides into her seat without making eye contact with anyone. “Maybe you can have Missy after all.”
I stifle a snort. “Fickle, much?” I whisper back, forcing a grin. The idea of Paul asking out Kira Morain somehow bothers me more than the thought of him with Missy. Because she’s Echtran, of course. It could risk him finding out more than he should.
Grinning back, he just shrugs.
I’m too distracted to pay much attention in class, but I’m by no means the only one. Nor, I discover when the bell rings, am I the only one eager to introduce myself. Both newcomers are surrounded before they can get to their feet.
Not surprisingly, the guys seem more interested in meeting Kira, while the girls are practically shouldering each other out of the way to say hi to Alan. I wait until people are leaving for next period before stepping forward myself.
“Hey, welcome to Jewel, both of you.” I’m determined not to only pay attention to Kira, like most of the other guys did. “Let me know if I can, y’know, answer any questions or help out while you get used to the place.”
They both clearly catch the added meaning behind my words but only Alan seems appreciative.
“Hey, thanks, man. You probably don’t— Er, we’ll talk later, okay?”
I nod. I still haven’t placed where I’ve seen him before, but it sounds like he remembers me, too. Maybe one of those village visits in Nuath, when I was still accompanying M everywhere?
“Yeah, thanks,” Kira echoes without enthusiasm. Then, with barely a glance at me, she gathers up her books and heads for the door.
To cover my disappointment, I turn back to Alan. “So, um, you know where you’re going next?”
He pulls out a sheet of paper and glances at it. “AP Calculus. Next hallway over?”
“Yeah, I’m in there, too. I’ll show you.”
As we walk, we’re careful to limit our conversation to things like his first impressions of Jewel—nothing anyone overhearing us would find suspicious. Unlike that younger kid I met earlier, Alan seems well-prepared, even makes offhand comments about upstate New York, where he supposedly lived before moving here.
We reach the classroom and find another newcomer already there. Lucas, a junior, seems only slightly startled when I introduce myself.
“Hey, nice to meet you. I’ll have to introduce you to my brother, Liam, when we get a chance. He’s all about sports. I know he’ll want to talk basketball with you.”
Which suddenly reminds me where I know Alan from. “Hey, did you play any, um, basketball when you were younger?”
“I did, actually.” His knowing look says I’m right. “Though it’s been a few years.”
At least four—before my family had to flee Nuath, at the start of the previous launch window. I grin to let him know I remember now, too. “You should try out for our Jewel team next month. They always need good players. And it’s fun.”
“I’ll, ah, think about it.”
I go to my desk satisfied I’m doing my part to make the new Echtrans feel welcome. Grady and Alan, anyway. With luck, I’ll get another chance with Kira Morain…as well as all the others.
* * *
Turns out Kira’s also in my AP Lit class. Like in Physics, all the boys and some of the girls are eager to meet her. She again seems a little stand-offish, saying barely enough to avoid being outright rude, so at least it’s not just me she doesn’t want to talk to.
Maybe, as big a deal as she was back in Nuath, she’s used to keeping people at a distance? Hope she can get over that. No one here knows she’s a star, so they might assume she’s just stuck up.
After class, I try again to talk to her.
“So, what do you think of Jewel so far?” A totally innocuous question. I want to ask about her caidpel career and how she feels about giving it up, but can’t very well do that here.
“It’s…okay.” Her voice is lower than M’s, but pleasant. “I haven’t seen much of it yet.”
“I’d be happy to show you around sometime, if you want.”
She quirks an eyebrow and I immediately feel like an idiot. Back on Mars, even in Dun Cloch, people probably cornered her all the time to talk caidpel and gush. I don’t want her to think I’m just another starstruck fan. Even if I am.
“Or not.” I shrug, like I don’t care either way. “Up to you.”
For another long moment she just looks at me, her expression unreadable. I notice, irrelevantly, what interesting eyes she has, brown with flecks of gold, like little sparks. Never noticed that on the feeds.
She finally gives me a slight smile, though it seems to cost her an effort. “Sure. That’d be great.”
Then she’s gone, leaving me to wonder what she’s really like under that frosty exterior. Hope I get to find out.
16
Unsportsmanlike conduct
I walk quickly toward the school cafeteria, silently cursing myself. I’ve nearly sabotaged my mission from the outset because I suck so badly at hiding my feelings! First the Sovereign, and now this.
Most Martian girls would be so honored the illustrious Sean O’Gara noticed them, they’d fall all over themselves. Instead, I nearly shot him down, so revolted by the idea of being shown around Jewel by His High and Mightiness, I temporarily forgot I’m supposed to cultivate him to the Populist cause.
If he follows through on his offer, it’ll be a perfect opportunity—though, arrogant as he is, I doubt he will. If he does, though, I’ll have to play nice. Much as I hate pretending to be something I’m not, I need to get a whole lot better at it, and fast, if I want to become an effective operative.
All eight of us newcomers get a table together at lunch, eager to share our first impressions of Jewel High, but we’re immediately surrounded by curious Duchas students, just like in every one of my classes so far.
“Hi, everyone!” A blonde girl, a little prettier than the average Duchas and clearly not lacking in confidence, encompasses our table with a wide smile. “I’m Trina Squires. My fellow cheerleaders and I want to officially welcome you to Jewel High. Amber, Donna, everyone, introduce yourselves.”
The other girls obediently do so, then Trina takes over again. “We’re the ones to ask if you need any help finding your way around or have questions about anything at all!” Another bright smile that reminds me of Moya from the Nuathan News Network back home—like she’s on camera or something.
The cheerleaders hang around for half the lunch period giving unsolicited advice on everything from the best places in Jewel to shop to which students we should get to know and which ones we should avoid. Interestingly, Trina repeatedly mentions Marsha Truitt among the latter.
“She’s a total player, so you can bet she’ll start chatting up you new guys. That innocent girl-next-door act she puts on works with some boys, but you all look too smart to fall for it.”
Though Trina doesn’t strike me as someone to trust too far, I make a mental note to have a private talk with her soon. Maybe I can make use of her antipathy toward the Sovereign.
Several students pepper us with questions about NuAgra. We’re careful to onl
y say what we’ve been told to, but some of them clearly aren’t satisfied, especially when it comes to NuAgra’s hiring plans. Not until the lunch period is nearly over do they finally leave us to our now-cold lunches.
“They seriously want us to act like these Duchas?” Alan whispers as soon as we’re alone. “That’s going to be harder than I thought.”
Most of us agree, though Liam is pumped at the idea of getting involved in sports here. “Bummer that it’s too late to try for the football team. There’s basketball, though, then baseball and track in the spring.”
Jana brings up the story in last week’s Echtran Enquirer. “I have to admit, Rigel Stuart is awfully good looking. But my parents say he’s a total traitor and ought to be locked up before he can cause any more damage.”
“I figured it was just gossip, but apparently not.” Erin glances over at the table where he and the Sovereign are sitting together.
“I dunno,” Lucas says. “I had him—had them both—in two of my classes this morning and he seems like a nice enough guy. Whatever the real story is between him and the Sovereign, I can’t believe he’s a Faxon sympathizer.”
Alan shakes his head. “Maybe not, but he’s still way crossing the line. Look at him, sitting right next to her over there. You’d think O’Gara would have something to say about it, wouldn’t you? I used to play chas pell, um, basketball with him when we were kids, before his family left Nuath. He didn’t seem like the type who’d just roll over without a fight.”
“Yeah, poor Sean.” Slanting a look at where he’s sitting several tables away, Jana heaves a dramatic sigh. “Maybe one of us should console him, you think?” She, Adina and Erin all giggle together.
The bell for next period rings, startling us. Hurriedly, we gather up our trays like the Duchas students are doing, then drop them off before heading to our afternoon classes.
