Good.
Several old dilapidated farmhouses peek their worn faces over the horizon. As we pass them, the kids wave at the people unloading supplies from trucks parked in front of one of the houses.
Soon the metallic gleam of our prep school comes into view. Outside, several other flatbed trucks stop to let their charges off. Bob stops on the road, not pulling into the driveway. That way he can just head straight down the road without having to turn around. He hates dealing with the other drivers.
We all jump down, and I grudgingly wait for Rand. He looks a little wobbly, nothing like the competitive stud who raced me just a little while ago. I gloat inwardly, trying not to break into a grin. It’s his first day of school here, after all. Attitude or not, he’s still the new kid. I remember what that felt like.
Once he’s down from the truck with both feet on the ground, he lifts up his hands in front of him. “Really? Seriously? We have to do this every day?”
Bob takes off, leaving us surrounded by the growl of his exhaust and inhaling the dust swirling around us.
I cough and laugh. “Yep, welcome to Border Prep School Number Twelve. Your new home away from home.” I start walking toward the door.
“Wait! Do we even have real teachers?” His formerly pale face is now red with anger.
I whirl around on him, hands on hips. “You really need to keep your judgments to yourself surfer boy. Just because we’re poor doesn’t mean we’re stupid or uneducated.” I stomp up the cement incline to the open door and step inside the welcoming air conditioning without waiting for him.
I head to my first class, ignoring my conscience that says I should probably wait for Rand. But right now, I don’t care after his attitude. Let him figure it all out if he’s so freaking smart.
I find a seat in the back of the senior classroom, slamming my pack down. I plop down in the chair and thunk my forehead onto the cool metal desk. I don’t think I’ve ever met a more exasperating person in all my life. Most people around here are just thankful they’re still alive and have food to eat.
Someone taps me on my shoulder, and I come flying out of my chair ready to yell at Rand again. I stop inches away from his face before I realize it’s Kai, not Rand. All the adrenaline drains out of me. I’m so relieved that it’s Kai and that he’s all right that I grab him and hug him tight. He hugs me back, chuckling.
I suddenly realize what I’ve done, and I quickly let go. I look around as several kids are just looking away. A few glare at me. Rand is at the doorway staring daggers at us. Great, so much for keeping my friendship with Kai quiet.
8
Tension
I pull Kai over to the far corner of the room and try to ignore all the eyes upon us.
“Sorry about that, Kai. I’ve been worried sick about you. Well, we’ve been worried sick. Cam says hi.” I’m rambling, but I can’t help it. This has been such a rollercoaster morning already, I’m pretty sure I’m about to completely lose my marbles in front of everyone. Or maybe I already have. I watch Rand step inside the classroom out of the corner of my vision.
Kai smiles and looks down where I’m still grasping his arm. I let go.
“Yes, I’m fine,” he says. He leans in so close that I can feel his breath on my ear. “At lunchtime I need to talk to you though. There are some things I need to tell you.” Kai smells of a mixture of vanilla and some spice that I can’t ever quite place. All the packages he gives me smells of that spice too, so it must be one that is used often in his house. I make a mental note to ask him what it is. But not right now. I’ve got to pull myself together.
I turn my head slightly, so we aren’t so close. “Okay, but can you at least tell me why all those guards were there? And why your government let the Unit soldiers in? I thought maybe you were discovered.” I drop my arms to my sides and try to act like we’re just discussing homework or something benign like that.
Kai looks toward the door, stiffening. He frowns and hands me a small baggie with candy in it. “For Cam. Tell him I said hi back. See you at lunch.” He turns and hurries to the front of the room to sit down with the other Chinese students. I stand there stupidly with the baggie in my hand.
I don’t know that Rand has come up next to me until he nudges me. I turn sluggishly, my head still confused about Kai’s abrupt departure.
“What’re you doing talking to someone like him? He’s our enemy. They shouldn’t have even let them in here.” Rand unashamedly points straight at Kai, wrinkling his nose. His voice is low, like a dog’s growl. My brain finally kicks in, and I shove Rand hard against the wall and stomp back to my seat. I put the bag of candy into my backpack and get out my tablet to plug it into the charger at my desk. I’m fuming, and I just hope the teacher starts class soon so I can forget about these boys and get on with school.
Rand swaggers by my desk and flops into the seat right next to me. I roll my eyes. Kai is up front, hunched over his desk looking like he’s reading. But I know he heard what Rand said. Everyone heard.
I’m thinking about switching seats when Mr. Joe, our teacher enters and calls for order. His long, braided hair bounces off his back as he walks in between our desks.
We learn that, surprise, they will be testing for the Academy at the end of this week. Our teacher hands out our testing schedules. Our physical tests are this Friday, and our knowledge tests are this Wednesday and Thursday. Those who don’t want to test for the Academy he moves to another classroom. He tells us that he’s going to devote every moment in our class this week to help us to study for the tests.
I sigh and stare at my schedule. Instructor Terry was right.
Mr. Joe gives us a speech about our class being the first border school prep class allowed to test for the Academy, and how we need to prove we deserve that chance. He challenges all of us to put everything into these tests. I look around. I’ve gone to school with most of these kids the last few years, and I don’t think there are many that will pass.
Not every single test, anyway. There are a set of twins and two brothers that I’ve studied with occasionally that might pass the intelligence tests, but I’m not so sure they’ll do well on the physical tests. They’re from one of the smaller cities nearby; they aren’t day laborers, so physically they’re weaker than those of us working the fields. Then there are a few kids that kick butt in the fields and are strong, but they aren’t exactly the smartest fish in the ocean. The big city kids and the Chinese with tutors should be able to pass everything, including the flying portion. I stare at Kai’s back, remembering I need to get him into the tunnels before Wednesday. That’s sure going to be difficult now.
Mr. Joe hands us each a thick hardbound book. He says almost everything we need to know for the practical space knowledge test is contained in this book. My heart starts racing. All the books Kai gave me were small, thin paperbacks. What if I’ve been studying all the wrong things this whole time? I look up front and see Kai looking back at me. He smiles me and nods at the book. I stare back down at it like it’s about to bite. I open it up slowly, my heart thudding in my ears. I flip through it, skimming the contents. Chapter after chapter I scan the titles and subjects. My pulse slows and a smile creeps onto my face. I look back up to Kai. We make eye contact and he winks at me.
I take a deep breath and flip back to the table of contents. All the books Kai gave me contain the same information. Everything I need to pass.
I look up again and find Rand looking between Kai and me. His face is red, and his eyes are cold. I shrug and return to reading through the book. I told him to leave me alone, so maybe now that he knows I’m friends with Kai, he might actually listen.
We study in silence until lunchtime. Mr. Joe tells us to take lunch and then head to the “gym” afterwards. Our gym is more like a high-tech athletic dream center. We may have refurbished tablets, but they put a lot of money into keeping us physically fit and into the space simulators lining the gym.
I grab my backpack and the new book and hea
d to the front of the classroom to meet up with Kai.
He’s waiting for me and gives me a playful punch on the shoulder. “I told you not to worry.”
“I know, I know. I just about had a heart attack when I saw this huge textbook. I can’t believe how amazing you are.” I bite my lip. “I mean, for bringing me exactly what I needed. You know, for helping me. To study.” Good grief, I really need to stick to science and engineering. I’m a failure at this social stuff. I roll my eyes. “I’m sorry, I know I sound stupid. Forget I said anything and let’s just go eat lunch?”
Kai’s laughing. “Yes, let’s find someplace we can talk.”
We head out of the classroom and toward the back door. Behind the school they’ve built a running track and several obstacle courses. There are a few shade trees along the drainage ditch that runs along the south side of the building. We head over to the trees and find a spot to sit down in the sparse grass.
We take out our lunches and start eating. We face the school, so we can see if anyone comes our way.
“So, Kai tell me what happened this weekend?” I stuff some jerky in my mouth and chew.
“I had all the supplies loaded up and was heading out of my house, when my parents stopped me.” He pulls out an egg roll and hands it to me.
My eyes go wide. “Mmmm. I haven’t had an egg roll in forever.”
He nods, grinning. “Yes, if forever is two weeks.”
I shrug, smiling around my egg roll.
“So, anyway, my parents kept asking me where I was going, with whom, how long I would be gone, stuff like that. They don’t usually ask me any questions, so that made me a little nervous. I asked them why they were suddenly acting like this, and they told me that we’re being watched. Our whole family. My father thinks it’s because of his work at the new biological research facility across from the hospital. He told me I need to be careful and stay at home or at school. I think our government suspects me of helping you. I don’t think they know about you exactly, only that I’m smuggling supplies across the Wall.”
My hands go clammy, and I take a drink of water, thinking. “What about your parents? Do they suspect you’re smuggling supplies over here?”
Kai stops in the middle of a bite and lowers his hand. He looks up and locks gazes with me. “Yes. I told my parents about you and Cam.”
“What?” I can’t move or breathe. “You told them about us? Are you crazy?”
He places a hand on my shoulder, but I shrug it off. “Anja, it’s all right. They understand and support me one hundred percent. They would never turn us in. They were forced to move here and leave the rest of our family back in China. All because our government wants my dad’s bio research.” He looks down. “And they’re happy I’ve made such good friends.”
I slowly smile. “If you’re sure about trusting them, I will too for now. But I guess we need to stop crossing over. We can’t take the chance of either one of us being found out by your government.”
Kai looks up, his expression worried.
I shift so I can lean against the tree trunk. “But why do you think the government cares about us? And why did they bring in the Unit? We’ve been careful.”
“I’m not really sure why they care that I’m giving you supplies. It’s not like I’ve been giving you top secret medication from my dad’s lab. It’s all been antibiotics and cold medicine, food and water supplies. General stuff.”
“Probably just politics. They don’t even want us to be friends, let alone for you to be helping us.” I bite the inside of my cheek.
“Well, I doubt they’ve followed me, otherwise they would’ve stopped me sooner. But I was thinking about the Unit being here, maybe they’ve used some sort of tracker? Possibly, placed in the medical supplies I gave you. When you go home, search everything to see if you find any sort of bug, then destroy it.”
My mouth gapes open as I imagine the guards we saw on the Wall finding me because I wasn’t careful to check over our supplies last week.
Kai pulls out a foil-wrapped package out of his pack. “Frozen egg rolls for you. Tracker-free.” He smiles and hands them to me like a peace offering. “They should still be cold by the time you get home tonight.”
“I can’t believe you can joke about it.” I shake my head and take the silver package from him. “But, thanks for these, Kai. You know Cam was pretty upset when he saw Unit 29824 on the wall. I was worried too.” I study the package in my hands.
“I know. I understand we can’t chance crossing over.” He places his hand over mine. “It’s going to be hard not seeing you either. The good thing is that we can see each other at school.”
I look up from staring at his hand covering mine. His dark eyes make my stomach flutter. “It’s not going to be the same as our weekend hangouts though.”
“I know. But at least you have your mom and Cam to keep you company on the weekends. My parents work so much I don’t see them. I really look forward to time with you and Cam.”
“You don’t have any friends there? Coworkers you hang out with from the medical center?”
“Nope.” He shakes his head, sending his dark hair over his eyes. “Our family was one of the first ones to move here. Most of the other families have younger kids or none at all. And besides, I don’t really have much in common with the others at the medical center. They’re just interested in spending time with their research, not making friends.”
I frown. Even though he has a nice house, plenty of food and his own room, he’ll never know what it’s like to have a little brother or sister to compete with and tease. “I’m sorry, Kai.” I turn my hand under his so I can squeeze it. “I hope we get jobs on the same station.”
Kai squeezes back. “If we score high enough, we should have a choice of which station to go to. My family has enough influence that if I do well, I could pretty much choose my career path. And you’ll be one of the first Borderland girls to make it to the Academy. Your government will make sure you get your choice of location, because they know everyone will be watching you. You’ll be able to either help their political position or damage it.”
I shake my head and stick out my tongue. “No pressure, huh? Great. Not only is my family relying on me to ace these tests, but now you tell me that my government is watching me as well.”
“Yep. The fate of the world rests on your shoulders.” He laughs and pushes me over on my side.
I sit back up and jump to my feet. I brush the dead grass and dirt off my pants and gather up my stuff. “Let’s go get warmed up.” I reach out my hand and help pull him up.
“Sounds good. Let’s see if you’ve been working on those sit-ups.” He grabs his book and backpack and sprints toward the door. I laugh and race after him, the dark figures on the Wall forgotten for now.
9
Tension
On the way home I use my backpack as a pillow, curling up in the middle of the truck bed. My body aches from the workouts our coach put us through. I think all of our teachers are going to push us past our endurance points this week. They need us to succeed as much as we do. If we get into the Academy, it’ll reflect positively on them as well, which will help their funding.
The muscles in my legs are still twitching and my arms feel like rubber. Even Rand hasn’t bothered to try to make conversation. He’s curled up against the cab of the truck, his eyes closed. I beat him in almost all of the physical tests, so his ego is bruised as well as his body. He thought he could come up from the south as the big, tough, surfer boy, and beat all of us poor farm workers easily. I was determined after his attitude toward Kai not to let him win. I pushed myself extra hard today.
The tests I was weak in, Kai was strong in. He beat Rand easily. Kai and I ended up ranking first and second at the end of the day. That left Rand as third. He’s not a happy camper.
All three of us have our physical testing on Friday. So, we have the next few days to work out and compete against each other. I smile to myself. It’s good to keep Ra
nd’s ego in check. Maybe he won’t be so judgmental from now on.
My smile fades as I remember that I still need to help Kai with his small spaces fear. How am I going to do that with the extra security on the Wall?
My knowledge tests are scheduled for Wednesday and so are Rand’s. The knowledge tests include both computer and flight simulation tests, so I’m pretty sure it’ll take all day. Kai doesn’t take his until Thursday with the other Chinese students. Until now we’ve all competed together. I wonder if the extra military force has to do with this.
By Monday we’ll know if we get into the Academy or not. If we make it, there’ll be a ceremony next week that’ll be televised worldwide. If not, we have to wait another year to test. Unless we turn eighteen first. I frown.
I wish Mom were here to see me. She always wanted me to reach for the stars. She’s the one who would wake me up in the middle of the night, bundle me up in a blanket, and take me out to view the stars. She taught me all the constellations and got me addicted to learning everything I could about all the space programs around the world.
The truck lurches to a stop, and I mentally shake myself. I can’t dwell on the past right now. Not this week. I have to concentrate on these tests, and only these tests. There is too much riding on me successfully passing them.
With my body sore, the walk home feels especially long. Rand is quiet, and all the other kids barely talk. I cross the high bridge holding onto the railing with one hand, the huge textbook under my other arm. We stayed so long at school that it’s almost dusk. I can see across the dusty fields that most of the workers have already made it down into the canyon. A few stragglers are walking slowly down the trail on the other side of the canyon from the southern fields.
From up here, you can’t even tell there’s a canyon ahead. It just looks like flat farmland that stretches to the far mountains on the horizon. I turn down the path, and after rounding a couple of large rocks, I can see down into the mouth of the canyon. People are starting cooking fires, fishing, and going about their evening chores.
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