by Jacob Gowans
Jeffie rolled her eyes. She could practically see the light from her father’s face shining through the handset of the phone. A winner who can’t hold down a steady relationship and spends all his money on new shoes and bimbo girlfriends, according to Mom. Tobias, her oldest brother, had bought fully into their father’s philosophy that winning was the most important thing in life. As a professional basketball player in Australia, he made a good living—far better than her brothers who skied professionally— and Jeffie’s dad loved to tag along with him.
“So, anyway, I called to talk to you about—”
“I told you he had a triple double last month, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, you did. But I wanted to ask you—”
“—for some signed pictures, right? To give to your friends? I’m sure I can get him to sign those tonight and send them off.”
“No, Dad, I was joking when I asked you about that. This is kind of important!” Jeffie’s face grew hot and an edge crept into her voice. Being as tired as she was, her patience couldn’t bear any more strain.
“Sorry, champ, only giving you a hard time. It feels like forever since I last saw you. How long has it been? A year?”
Fifteen months, Jeffie answered silently. “Dad, I’m having—” Jeffie shook her head. I can’t believe I’m going to talk about this with him. “I’m having boy troubles. Can you give me a minute of time without interrupting me?”
“Are you sure I’m the person you want to talk to about this? Don’t you think you’re a little young to be worrying about boys? You’re—you’re fifteen. Fifteen, right? Relax, have fun, date around.”
“That’s your advice? That’s it?”
“Yeah, well, what else should I say? You’ll figure it out as you go along.” Now she heard something in his voice hinting that he wanted to hang up. He never liked dealing with girls’ issues. Once, when Jeffie’s mom had been away shooting a film, Jeffie had started her first menstrual cycle. Her dad had freaked out and called his own mother for help. He’d never bought her a doll, a make-up kit, or a dress. At age four: baseball bat. Age five: basketball shoes. Age twelve: tickets to the NWG World Series. And every question she’d asked about girly stuff, whether specific or general, had been rerouted to her mother. Age thirteen: she stopped asking him anything. “I’d better get going. I told Tobias I’d watch his practice and give him some pointers afterward.”
“You said he’s got coaches and trainers for that.”
“Yeah, true, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a thing or two to show him. Never too old to learn . . . or teach!”
Jeffie slammed down the phone and headed to her dorm, determined to go to bed where no one could bother her. Unfortunately, she wasn’t tired anymore. After laying with her eyes closed for five minutes and reliving the conversations she’d had with her parents, she reached to the small shelf behind her pillow and grabbed the holo-picture album her father had sent her on her last birthday.
Fifteen months, she thought as she opened the leather-bound cover to the book. I can’t believe I haven’t seen them in fifteen months.
Inside the album was a blank, gray screen. Jeffie flipped a switch and the device came alive, projecting a life-like, though much smaller image of herself holding a trophy. Her blonde hair was in braided pigtails and she wore a big grin that showed off five missing front teeth. Next to her stood her father/coach, also smiling. The next hologram was also of herself, this time frozen mid-stride as she ran down a football pitch with her finger in the air, her cheeks flushed, and a look of exuberance on her face. She remembered that shot, having kicked the game-winning goal for her team in the all-girls league.
The next picture was of the Tvedt family in a basketball gymnasium. Two of her brothers stood in the middle, each wearing a medal around his neck. Six-year-old Jeffie was off to the farthest right, looking up at her brothers. Her father beamed and her mother smiled politely. Her other two older brothers seemed bored.
Jeffie paused to gaze at several more images of herself, her father, and her brothers in various sports matches until she found a picture she’d taken of her mother on a film set looking into a film camera. The next twenty holograms were of more sporting events, only two of them had the whole family, and both of the family pictures displayed someone receiving a trophy or medal. Jeffie skipped through them faster. Sports, sports, sports. Basketball, football, swimming. She saw an occasional picture of herself taken by a friend, or an impromptu shot of a family member doing something stupid, but the vast majority of holograms celebrated a win or a great play.
She remembered a match when she was eleven and her team had finished second in an all-territorial football tournament. The second-place finish had been a very big deal to her, but she could find no hologram of her second-place team, despite searching through the entire memory database for it. The most recent photographs were of her gold medal ceremony at the Junior Olympics with her father and her team. It reminded her of how often her mother had missed games and other events for film shoots. Jeffie let that thought go and searched for a picture of herself in grade seven when she’d played the part of the evil queen in a performance of Snow White. Her father had protested that the play would interfere too much with practices, but Jeffie and her mom won the battle. She found no record of that moment, either.
Disgusted, she tossed the album back onto the shelf where it landed with a thud, then buried her face back into her pillow. About a minute later, someone knocked on her door. She had a five-second debate in her head over whether or not she should open it. The second knock pushed the vote in favor of opening.
The moment Jeffie answered the door, Natalia pushed her way in without invitation. “Brickert says you need someone to talk to. Is this true?”
“Uh. . . . ”
“I’ll take that as a yes. Especially since you look like you got hit in the face by a Thirteen.”
“Really? Wow, thanks. So sweet.”
Kawai stepped into the room behind Natalia smiling in a friendly, knowing way that made Jeffie feel a little less overwhelmed.
“Kawai and I think we need to have a girl chat. Just the three of us. Right here in this room. Tomorrow night sound good? Pizza. Fries. Chocolate. Caffeine.”
“Or salad,” Kawai added, “with some fruit, yogurt, and water if you’re in the mood for something that won’t make you feel worse.”
“Whatever.” Natalia waved her hand glibly. Her attention was fully on Jeffie. “You were a total zombie today! Have a girls’ night with us tomorrow. It’ll give you twenty-four hours before your date with Kobe. You can talk, unload, vent . . . whatever you need to do. I can invite Strawberry, too, if you want. Anyone else?”
“Uh. . . . ” Jeffie was still trying to take everything in that Natalia had said because she’d spoken so fast. “I don’t think—I mean—that might be good. The four of us.”
“You sure you’re okay?” Kawai asked.
“Yeah, I’m great,” Jeffie said.
Kawai raised an eyebrow.
“I mean, yes, I have a million things on my brain, but I’m good. Serious. Me. Good.”
Kawai laughed. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Can’t wait!” Natalia clapped like a giddy golf fan as she left the room.
Jeffie crawled back into bed, knowing she wasn’t going to sleep well for the second night in a row. She had nightmares about being stuck inside a maze of mirrors and doors, never quite sure of where she was or where she was going. Finally she got so frustrated that she screamed and shattered all the glass. The glass flew everywhere, cutting her arms, legs, and face. The wounds were worse than those Sammy had gotten from that awful encounter with the Thirteen.
Strawberry shook her forcefully awake at about 0315. “What’s wrong, Jeffie? Wake up!”
Jeffie woke up quaking. Her face was wet—not from sweat, but tears. “I’m—I’m—” She peered around the dark room and realized what happened. “Oh gosh. It was a nightmare. I’m sorry, Berry. Did I w
ake you up?”
“Me and everyone else in headquarters. You sure you’re fine?”
Still shaking and not knowing why, Jeffie pulled Strawberry’s arm until the younger, smaller girl was close enough to hug. Then Jeffie wrapped her arms around her friend and squeezed her until the shaking stopped.
“Thank you,” she whispered to Strawberry.
“You’re welcome.” Strawberry sounded exhausted and befuddled as she got back to her feet and climbed back into her own bed. Within seconds, her soft snores floated to Jeffie’s ears. Jeffie listened to her roommate with jealousy. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep after the nightmare.
Thursday brought with it the same feeling of drudgery as she slogged through her schedule. She tried to give Kobe affectionate attention while they chatted during meals and exercise, she pretended to care in her instructions, and she did her best in sims, but all she really wanted to do was get through the day so she could spend the evening with her girlfriends. She fervently hoped that their advice would be of some benefit.
As planned, Natalia, Kawai, and Strawberry brought food to the bedroom and chatted while they ate. Natalia, naturally, talked the most. She had recently dyed her hair a pink so bright it looked like a wig, and sometimes Jeffie caught herself staring at it while her brain wandered. Kawai, on the other hand, had adopted a less dramatic appearance. About a week ago, she’d stopped wearing feathers in her hair as she’d done for the last year, and the number of bracelets she wore dropped from about a dozen to two or three of her favorites. Jeffie had asked about the sudden change, and Kawai’s semi-awkward response had been that she wanted to fit in better so guys would notice her.
Tonight’s conversation began with Jeffie recounting her story of how she’d bumped into Sammy in the cafeteria, how they’d fought, and then of Commander Wrobel surprising and shooting her in the chest. She tried to describe for Natalia all the details of what it was like to black out from a tranquilizer dart to the chest.
“It’s scary, isn’t it?” Jeffie asked her friends. “Doesn’t it make you wonder how safe we really are? Brickert and I kinda talked about this, too. I just don’t know now.”
“It was Wrobel,” Kawai said. “And they got him. I don’t think we need to worry.”
“Plus, I heard from Li that Commander Byron wants the whole security system at headquarters revamped,” Natalia revealed. “Or maybe Li said replaced? Either way, he said Byron was pissed about the break-in.”
“I can’t imagine Byron getting pissed about anything,” Kawai answered.
“Really?” Jeffie asked. “Remember his face when he broke up that fight between Kobe and Sammy?”
“Speaking of which . . . ” Natalia chimed. Then, using her irresistible knack for getting information, she convinced Jeffie to open up about her dilemma, even though all three girls had guessed what was happening. Jeffie enjoyed talking without the girls interrupting her, like her mom had done. Nor did she feel like she was speaking to a brick wall, as with her father. After pouring her heart out to her friends, she ate a peach as she listened to their advice.
“If you’re having doubts about Kobe,” Natalia offered first, “you should break up with him.”
Strawberry agreed. “If you find yourself wanting to be with Sammy, or even curious about it, you’re not committed to Kobe. Look at it this way, what if Kobe were interested in another girl? Would you want to be in a relationship with him?”
Kawai, however, had a different perspective. “I think you should stick with Kobe until you have a reason to end it. You told me once that Sammy never made a move on you. Maybe it’s time you let him do that. Maybe Sammy isn’t even interested in you. Or maybe he isn’t ready. I mean, I heard he went through lots of terrible stuff. He might need time to normal out.”
“Normal out?” Jeffie asked.
“Yeah, you know . . . feel at home here again. Heal. Normal out.”
“It doesn’t bother me that he’s never initiated that stuff,” Jeffie explained. “It used to, but not anymore. I’ve spent a little time with him since he’s gotten back, I think he’s okay.”
“He was tortured, Jeffie,” Kawai said. “He was held captive and tortured for weeks.”
“Like months ago, Kawai,” Natalia offered. “It’s not even a big deal now.”
Kawai’s palm smacked her forehead. “Are you kidding me, Nat? Of course it’s a big deal! Some people never recover from those kinds of things. How can you even think that?”
Jeffie shook her head at both of them and looked to Strawberry.
“Stop thinking about Sammy and Kobe,” her roommate said. “Do what’s best for you.”
“Yeah, maybe you shouldn’t date anyone right now,” Kawai suggested. “Take a break and figure out what you want.”
Jeffie tossed the pit of her peach into the garbage with perfect aim. Neither. “Good idea. Pass the pizza.” Neither. “I’ll—I’ll tell Kobe tomorrow night that we need to break it off.”
The following evening, Jeffie went on her date as planned. Kobe had pulled out all the stops, even going so far as to dress in a dapper suit and tie to match her formal dress. Flowers waited for her in his hands. They ate at their spot in the small grove of pine trees outside the building. The balmy weather and setting sun served as icing on the cake. Jeffie did not fail to notice how much work Kobe had done to impress her.
“We look so ridiculous like this!” she said, laughing goofily.
“I know. Isn’t it great?”
They made small talk for the first few minutes, but she could tell he was working up the courage to tackle the elephant in the room.
They had barely finished their salads when he began. “So. . . . ”
“So,” she repeated. Her heartbeat picked up its pace, and she suddenly found it difficult to look him in the eye. Come on, Jeffie, get it over with and you’ll be happier.
“I heard about your party last night and the topics discussed.”
Jeffie swallowed her mouthful of water too quickly and coughed several times to clear her throat. “Who told you?”
Kobe gave her a sly grin. “The grapevine. I never heard the outcome, but I got the gist of it.” His hand rested on Jeffie’s and she finally looked at him.
“Hey, it’s okay. I know what you’re going through—I mean, I can’t really empathize. I’ve never had a crush on Sammy, you know.” He paused as if to let her chuckle, but she didn’t. “Anyway, I’m sure it’s been tough. I respect that. Part of me feels awful that I tried to tell you so many times that he’d died in Rio. I thought that was true, and I thought it was the right thing to say. You have to believe that.”
“I do.”
“The reason I had to stay so long in the hospital after we got back was because I couldn’t get past it. So I thought I was helping you get past it.”
“You don’t need to apologize. I’m not mad at you.”
Kobe ran his fingers through his hair, which lately he’d let grow longer than normal. “I’ve been worried the last few days. When we dated last year, I was a tool.”
“Kobe, you don’t need—”
“I didn’t take you seriously. I didn’t take anything seriously. I wanted to have fun and you were fun. Then in Rio, when I got shot and thought I was going to die, I—I remember sitting in a corner watching Sammy and thinking about myself and I had all these regrets. And one of them was you.”
Jeffie’s eyes narrowed on him, and her expression turned to one of curiosity. “What about me?”
Kobe closed his eyes, giving Jeffie the impression that he was embarrassed by what he was thinking. “I’ve always thought you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. Which is why, I think, I had so much regret in that moment. I realized I’d wasted something—an opportunity to be with you—that was something special. You’re not just a beautiful girl, Jeff. You’re fun, smart, talented. You like to game and you like sports, but you’re not all about that stuff. You’re so much deeper than you like to let on. I lov
e the time I spend with you and I find myself wanting more of it with you.”
“I know,” Jeffie said, her eyes bright and her mouth decorated with a smirk. “It’s amazing how awesome I am.” Her attempt at a joke didn’t hide what she felt inside. Kobe’s words moved her. They made her doubt her decision. The concern and care coming from him was something she hadn’t felt on the phone with her mother or father. The feeling warmed her and elevated her spirits.
“You have to know how much you mean to me.” He leaned across the blanket and kissed her. Jeffie kissed him back and poured herself into it. He had told her things no one had ever told her, not even Sammy. He wrapped his fingers in her hair and pulled her close. She didn’t mind at all and enjoyed the safety of having someone who cared about her so deeply. When he finally broke away, she saw that the lipstick Strawberry had helped her carefully apply had smeared itself around Kobe’s face. She laughed as soon as she saw it.
“So does this mean things are good between us? Or do I still have to worry?”
Jeffie’s laugh died quickly. The time for decision had come. Sammy, Kobe, or neither?
* * * * *
Dr. Sokama, now a suspected agent of CAG, had not been found despite an intense two-day search, neither had the Thirteens nor Aegis she’d allegedly helped escape from the prison. At a quarter to midnight, Commander Byron left the War Offices where Psion Command had met with General Wu and Alpha Command to discuss the events of the escape and formulate a plan. He had intended to go straight back to Beta headquarters, but had changed his mind and gone, instead, to Victor Wrobel’s home. Only a few minutes later, he stood in the kitchen of Victor Wrobel’s house with the image of his old friend exploding fresh in his mind.
The house was a simple place, like most of the units in the Alpha complex: two bedrooms, a living area, a bathroom, a kitchen, and only a little storage space. Alphas didn’t have time to collect things. Teams of Elite had combed the house twice: once when Byron had ordered Wrobel’s detainment, and once more when they returned to search for any contraband or evidence of treason. Both times they had come up empty-handed.