My heart races as I sit down at the small desk opposite the bed. I’m not sure why they just didn’t ping my school tablet. I hover a finger over the touch screen and squint at the incoming identification code. Gowen Base. My brother’s blond head comes to mind, and I quickly enter my code to accept.
“Hello?” The vid screen above the desk comes to life and instead of Cam’s face, I find myself staring into Kai’s rich brown eyes.
“Kai.” I smile at his handsome face. A pang of guilt shoots through me as I realize just minutes ago, I was flirting with Rand while Kai is still in the hospital recuperating.
“Hi, Anja.” Kai shines his million-dollar smile at me.
“Everything all right, Kai? Is Cam all right?”
Kai holds up a hand. “Yes, everything is fine. I just miss you.”
I relax into the hard metal chair. “I thought they weren’t going to let us talk before you got here.”
Kai looks behind him, and when he turns back around, he leans forward. His expression is serious now. “They don’t know I’m calling you. I hacked into your school computer since I don’t have the appropriate permissions yet.”
I lean forward. “But you said everything was all right,” I whisper. Voices in the corridor signal the return of the other girls. My pulse increases.
“It is. I just know how much you worry about your brother.”
A giggle sounds from behind him. I narrow my eyes at Kai. He just gazes at me, then leans back.
Cam’s face quickly fills the screen.
“Woah. Hey, Cam.” I laugh at the goofy grin on his face.
“How’s school? Have you been in the spaceship yet? What kind of classes do you have?”
I hold up both hands in surrender and laugh. “One question at a time. And I’ve only been here a few weeks, Cam. So, no I haven’t been up in the spaceship yet.”
Kai puts his arm around Cam so they’re side by side. “We can’t stay online long. Just know my parents will take excellent care of him, all right?”
I blink. This has been the longest I’ve been away from my little brother. “Thanks, Kai. I appreciate that.” I glance at the door as laughter echoes out in the corridor. “I’ve got to go. We have lights out soon.” I look back up at Kai and Cam. “I’ll see you soon though, right Kai?”
He leans forward. “Yes, I’ll be there tomorrow morning.” He grins. Then the vid goes dark.
I stare at the blank screen. Tomorrow? A shiver goes up my spine as I realize I’ve really missed Kai. And it’s only been a few weeks.
I stand up and press the button to open my door. Standing there are the two girls from the corridor. They’re already in their night clothes, their hair wet. Waiting for me. I lean against the doorframe, trying to look unconcerned. “Something I can do for you?”
The taller girl smiles. Her blond hair is cut short and frames her pixie face perfectly. Even wet. “I’m Katrina, and this is Sam.” She smiles at the girl next to her. The other girl just frowns and studies me. “I just wanted to apologize for Josh and Alex.”
I square my shoulders and stand up straight. “I was just headed to take a shower.”
Katrina places a warm hand on my arm. “We’re really sorry they acted like that. I didn’t want you to think we were all right with their behavior.”
I force myself to smile. I don’t know if she’s being sincere or not. This is the first time anyone has talked to me outside of class.
“Thank you,” I say. I clutch my clothes tightly under one arm and extend my right hand. “I’m Anja Toland.”
The lights dim twice, and Katrina and Sam abruptly hurry off to their rooms. I regretfully take the quickest shower I’ve had here. Having hot showers has been one of the best things so far at the academy. I make it back to my room just as all the hall lights go dark.
When I wake up in the morning, there’s a whole field of butterflies in my stomach. I get to see Kai today. I quickly get dressed and head out of the dorm before the other girls are even awake. I clench and unclench my hands as I hurry down the corridor and down five floors to the main class level.
“You’re up early.”
I swivel mid-step to find myself face-to-face with Josh. His black security uniform looks fresh out of the box, it’s so stiff.
“G-Got to finish an assignment before first period,” I stutter. I take a step backward. Why didn’t I ping Rand to let him know where I went?
“I’m Josh.” He takes a step closer to me. “I noticed you last night.”
Noticed me? I shiver.
“I know who you are.” I cross my arms to steady myself.
“You were with that Rand guy.”
It’s a statement, definitely not a question. I stay quiet as I glance around. I’m kicking myself for not being more aware of my surroundings. Again.
“Is he your boyfriend?” He takes another step toward me, pinning me to the wall as I try to back away.
I swallow. “He’s a friend.”
“Well, I’m here to tell you that you need to choose better friends. He’s not going to be here long.” He slams his hands against the wall on either side of my head, making me jump.
Heat floods my face as I stare at him from just inches away. “You can’t tell me who to be friends with.” I count silently to ten. I need to follow my own advice about finding peace with Josh and his group.
He sneers down at me. “I’m going to be the next class leader, so it’ll go better for you if you did listen to me. Or you’re going to be failing out just like that dumb-as-rocks boyfriend of yours.”
Heat spreads throughout my body as I press my nails into my palms. I can’t afford to lose my spot here because of my temper. I close my eyes briefly before looking back up into Josh’s muddy green eyes.
“Or I’ll be the next quarter’s leader and you’re the one making the mistake right now.” I close my hands into fists.
Josh’s expression darkens.
A loud bang makes us both startle.
I look over Josh’s arm. Kai is standing there, his face tinged red. His hand remains on the wall he just slapped to get our attention.
“Or I’ll be the next leader, and I’ll make sure you don’t complete the academy.”
I swallow and suck in air thick with tension. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kai so intensely angry.
Josh doesn’t move. I try to duck under his arm, but he snatches my arm and pushes me back against the wall.
I grit my teeth. It’s hard to play the peace card when he does that.
“You’re not going anywhere. I’m not done talking to you.” He looks back over at Kai. “And I don’t remember seeing you around here. So, leave.”
“No.” Kai takes a step toward us. “Let her go.”
My heart races out of control as I look between the two.
Josh laughs. I shiver at the darkness of it. “What’s with this girl? You and her boyfriend know something about her I don’t know yet?” He slides his hand from my shoulder toward my neck.
My stomach threatens to heave as his sweaty hand makes contact with my skin. Anger is heavy in my chest.
“Boyfriend?” Kai asks, his eyes still on Josh.
“He’s talking about Rand,” I say with teeth clenched. I look away from Kai and wait until Josh turns his head back toward me.
I head butt him with my forehead, and when he falls back, I side kick him hard in the stomach. He stumbles backwards, his arms windmilling.
I grab him and force him to the floor. Kai steps next to us and looks down on Josh.
“Don’t ever touch me again.” I narrow my eyes at him as my head starts to throb.
Josh scrambles to his feet and takes a few steps away. “We’re not done here.” He turns and walks away, his arm wrapped around his mid-section.
I turn back to Kai. My heart skips a beat as his handsome face is marred with a deep scowl.
“Why does he think Rand is your boyfriend?”
I take a step backward at the
strange tone in his voice. “Because he’s the only one here, until this morning, who would talk to me.”
Kai’s face softens into a confused frown. “What do you mean?”
I let out a sigh and glance down the corridor. “The first day of school the Commander made Rand and me stand up in front of the whole class. He told everyone how we helped the New American Republic military rescue you and your parents.”
“He said all that?” Kai’s eyes widen.
“He didn’t name you or your parents, of course.” I look down at my shoes. “But since then no one will talk to us. Except Josh and his group and that’s only to start arguments.”
Kai lays a hand on my arm. “I’m sorry, Anja.”
I look up. “I’m glad you’re here.”
His face blooms into a smile. “I missed you,” he whispers.
I grin as he closes the distance between us. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me in for a kiss. All the tension and stress from the last week falls off me in waves.
We pull away as voices echo down the corridor. I cycle the nearest classroom door open and pull Kai into it. “Do you have your schedule yet?” I ask him.
I now notice that he’s in his school uniform and that it fits perfectly. I force my gaze to his eyes, my face warm.
“Yes.” He grins as he watches me. He pulls a school-issued tablet out of his backpack.
I look at the screen. “You’re in every one of my classes.” I grin.
“Good. Now you’ll have someone to talk to,” he says.
My smile fades. “Sorry about all that with Josh. I didn’t want to say anything to you while you were healing. Most of the students here are from the northern schools. Rich and entitled.”
Kai grabs my hand and squeezes. “You can talk to me about anything, no matter what I’m going through. All right?”
I nod.
The lights glow green with the ten-minute warning.
“I’d love to stay right here alone with you, but we’d better get to our first class.”
Kai doesn’t let go of me. I look down at our entwined hands.
“Are you sure you want to do that here?” I take a small step toward the door.
He grips my hand tighter in response.
We step out into the corridor as students start hurrying out of the lifts. I look over at Kai as we walk. “You sure? It’s not like back home where everyone looked out for one another.”
“I’ll take my chances.” He flashes a smile at me.
I’m happier than I’ve been in a while as we walk hand in hand down the corridor.
“How’s your arm?”
“Perfect. Thanks to the general I was able to get hyperbaric chamber time. Healed the broken bone and all the other wounds very quickly.”
I stumble. Kai pulls me to him, keeping me on my feet.
“What’s wrong?”
I glance at all the students pushing past us. I pull Kai to the edge of the corridor, against the wall. “I had almost forgotten just how badly you were injured.” My hands tremble as I take fast, shallow breaths.
Kai pulls me close, bending down to whisper in my ear. “Those wounds were nothing. Thanks to you I lived.”
My face warms at his words. And his touch. I look up into his eyes and notice an intenseness I’ve only seen a few other times. When we’ve kissed. I push off from the wall and drag him back into the sea of bodies, aware of all the eyes watching us.
Kai’s strong grip on my hand never lets up until we get to our classroom and have to take our seats. The rest of the day I’m practically holding my breath, imagining Kai bleeding and injured. I can’t stop glancing over at him to make sure he’s still alive.
By the time we’re walking side by side to lunch, my nerves are frayed to the breaking point. When Rand joins us, I’m practically growling.
3
Josh
Rand studies me.
“What’s gotten into you?” he asks.
“Nothing. I’m just on edge today.”
Kai wraps an arm around my waist. “She was harassed by a kid named Josh this morning.”
I frown as Rand’s expression darkens.
“He didn’t hurt me.”
“But he did harass you? Because of me?”
I scoff. “It’s not only about you. It was both of us the commander called out.” I take a tray and start loading food on it, not paying attention to what I’m doing.
Rand grabs a tray and steps in front of me. “Yes, but I’m who he really has a problem with.”
I smirk. “Well, now he has an issue with all three of us.”
Rand freezes.
I pass him. “Kai walked into the corridor as Josh pinned me to the wall. I head-butted him and he left, but now Kai’s on his radar as well.”
Rand laughs. “You did what?”
Kai reaches past Rand to grab an apple. “Not only that. She side kicked him across the corridor and took him to the ground.” He smiles at me.
“This is serious, guys.” I glare at both of them.
They both do a lousy job of hiding their grins.
I roll my eyes and move up in line. I look down at my tray and realize I grabbed three desserts. Great. I turn toward the room of tables.
Most of our class is already here and seated. The only table with three open seats is right next to a large group where the top of Josh’s curly dark hair stands out. Figures.
Kai elbows me. “Dessert?”
I shrug. “Wasn’t paying attention.” I snatch the apple off his tray and head toward the empty table. I feel eyes on me as I walk. I quickly sit down, my back against the wall so I can watch the room.
Kai sits next to me. He mumbles something under his breath when he notices Josh. Rand comes and sits down on the other side from us, giving Josh a glare.
I lean forward so only Kai and Rand can hear me. “Like I was telling Rand last night, we need to find a way to make peace with them.”
“Like kick him across the corridor?” Rand glances at me, a glint in his eye.
“I didn’t have a choice. I tried talking first,” I protest.
“No way,” Kai growls.
Rand nods at Kai in agreement.
“Come on guys, those two aren’t worth ruining our chances of graduating. We have two years here. Let’s not blow it our first month.”
“What do you have in mind?” asks Kai.
I take a bite of the apple as I watch the crowd interact with one another. I notice that the same people that hung out on day one are still together in groups. Students from the same schools and regions seem to be more comfortable together. I look between Rand and Kai. Just like we’re doing.
“I’m not exactly sure how yet. But it’s possible one or more of us might be stationed with someone from that group someday. It would be better for our futures if we figured out how we can all work together.”
“But working together in space means we have to trust our whole crew. How can we do that when we already know we can’t trust them,” Rand asks as he leans in closer.
Josh and Alex laugh at something Katrina said. Her face turns a bright shade of pink, and she stares at her plate. “I’m not sure yet how to deal with them. But maybe if we concentrate on making friends with everyone else around them, they’ll get over themselves.”
Rand snorts, his expression grim. “Doubt it. Josh is bent on taking me and my leadership position down.”
I tilt my head, glancing at Kai first. “He might just have an issue with you being leader, not you in particular.”
“I don’t know about that,” Rand says as he finishes the last of his lunch.
“Just try being nice, all right?”
“And you don’t let yourself get caught alone with them again.”
I nod and glance at Kai. He gives me a weak smile. “All right. Since I’m on his radar now. I don’t want to let my temper get me kicked out of here either.” I straighten my uniform and stand up. Rand and Kai follow me to dump our trays
and we hurry out before anyone else is even done eating.
Kai grabs my hand again. “Anything else I should know that happened the last few weeks?” He smiles at me as we head down the corridor.
“Not that I can think of,” I say. I glance at Rand, but he looks deep in thought.
We take the lift up to the simulators. When the lift doors open, Kai gasps beside me.
“This is where we spend our afternoons.” I grin and step out into the giant room.
The sim level not only has multiples of every simulator we’ve ever been tested on, it’s designed to look like the inside of a spaceship dock. There aren’t any windows and it’s made of riveted metal from floor to ceiling.
Our steps are loud on the decking. The faint scent of grease and jet fuel reaches me, and I smile. I tug Kai across the room to where a decommissioned two-person inner-planet jump ship sits.
“Wow, this is amazing,” says Kai as he runs his free hand across the hull.
“Right? When we pass all the sims, we get to do this one. They’ve retrofitted an actual jump ship to function inside as a flight simulator. Look.” I point down at our feet where there are seams in the metal flooring, “That’s where they bring up the walls to enclose the plane to create a real zero-G atmosphere.”
“I want to be the first to do this.” Rand stands next to us, beaming up at the jump ship.
I elbow him. “Of course, you do. Stay out of trouble then.”
“Hey now. You’re supposed to be my friend.”
“I am your friend. Remember? Friends are supposed to help each other stay out of trouble.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” He flashes me a wide grin.
I shake my head and squeeze Kai’s hand. “Let’s get to our classroom.”
We head toward the far wall of the room. What looks like an airlock rolls open to reveal a large classroom. Rand, Kai, and I climb down steps to take seats at the front of the room.
Other students filter in. Rand’s eyes roam the faces, his shoulders tense. I place a hand on his arm. “Relax. Stop worrying about them,” I whisper.
He doesn’t respond, so I lean back in my seat. A soft ping sounds next to me and I turn to Kai. He grins as he looks down at his tablet before handing it to me.
Earthlight Space Academy Boxset Page 21