“Even with the modifications we need to make in the payload?” I ask.
“The only parts we may not have ready to add by then are the solar panels. We probably won’t get them until next week.”
“All right.” I look at the board behind me where I wrote out a schedule for project creation and marketing. “Let’s see how far we can get before lunchtime.”
24
The Board
The week goes by quickly. Only a few students remain loyal to Josh after that day, and I worry that Rand will take a hit on his grade being on Josh’s team.
But if he gets expelled by the academy board today, that won’t really matter.
“You guys ready?” Philip and Kai finish their breakfasts. Rand says he’s not hungry. He’s got dark circles under his eyes and his shoulders droop.
We dispose of our trays and head out of the cafeteria. I have to tug on Rand’s arm.
“Come on, you don’t want to be late.”
“Doesn’t matter. They’re going to kick me out today, why should I hurry?”
“You don’t know that. This is your time to tell your side of what happened and why.”
He glances at me. “Aren’t you nervous? You’re going before the board today too. Course not for the same reasons.”
“A little,” I admit. “We don’t have much time left this year. I don’t want to screw this idea up for everyone. They’ve all worked so hard to get our projects done and to clarify the marketing piece.”
“At least you’re not getting expelled.” He frowns as we get to the lifts.
“You’re not going to get expelled, Rand,” says Philip. “I’ve done some research and there’s been eleven students brought to the board for expulsion, and all of them remained at the academy.”
“Really? Were any of them for fighting?” asks Rand, a glimmer of hope in his expression.
“One. Most of them were for cheating or violating academy rules.” Philip keeps his eyes glued to the floor.
“Great.”
I tug on Rand’s arm again as we get on the lift. “Don’t give up yet. Great leaders face all sorts of obstacles and keep going. Just look at this as another obstacle.”
He glances at me but doesn’t say anything.
“You’ll be fine, Rand,” adds Kai. “They’ve had all week to look at your record and Josh’s. As well as the vids. They’ll be able to tell you didn’t start this.”
“I don’t think they care if I started it. Fighting is against the academy rules.” Rand frowns as we step out of the lift. Josh is waiting at the far one with his handful of remaining followers. I’m glad to see Lon is not one of them. But Alex still remains.
We slow down. Josh sneers at us as we walk toward the skybridge.
“You’re not going without us, are you?” We turn at the end of the corridor and I notice Katrina hurrying toward us, a huge grin on her pixie face. Behind her, the lifts open and dozens of students step out.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“We’re just coming to support you two.”
“Both of us?” asks Rand.
“Of course. You only did what we’ve all wanted to do to Josh over the years. And we want you to both to know that we appreciate you standing up to him. Anja, Rand might’ve hit him physically, but you hit him where it counts. You held up a mirror to show him who he truly is, and he’s not liking what he’s seeing.”
I snort. “I’m not so sure about that. I doubt he’ll ever really see how much hurt he causes others.”
“Maybe not, but you did make the rest of realize we didn’t have to continue to take his abuse.” She smiles at Rand and me, and I swear he starts blushing.
We head to the other building, and I pause as we’re crossing over the skybridge. It’s a beautiful sunny day, free of clouds, and I press my face to the glass. Between the two buildings I can see a sliver of land below.
“Gorgeous, isn’t it, Miss Toland?”
I look over my shoulder. The commander is standing in the crowd. As students realize who it is, they give him space and flow away from him and his security guards.
“Yes, it is. I don’t often see the ground from here.”
He smiles and looks down as he joins me next to the glass wall. Then he turns to me. “I need to speak to you and Kai for a minute before the hearing starts.”
I look at Kai. I nod to the commander and we start walking again. “We’ll see you guys in a few minutes,” I say to Rand and the others.
The commander takes us off to the side. He waits until the crowd disappears into the main auditorium before turning toward us.
“We need your permission to take your brother to DC.”
Goose bumps crawl up my arms. “Why, is there something wrong?”
Kai grasps my hand.
“Your father has retained an attorney and is fighting the adoption proceedings.”
My mouth drops open. “What?”
“How does taking him out of state help, sir?” Kai asks.
I smile at him gratefully since he has the sense of mind to speak up.
“Apparently, your parents are friends with the President? They were able to escalate the proceedings to the Galactic Space Court, which will convene in our country’s capitol just for this issue.”
A pain spreads throughout my chest, and I feel faint. “When do they meet?”
“This afternoon. He’ll be escorted, with your permission, by the general and Kai’s parents on a cross-country lower atmospheric flight.” He holds out his tablet.
I read the text, not digesting most of it. It’s some sort of release of authority. “Will they win?” I croak.
“We’re hopeful. Your father has already been charged with both criminal felonies. He won’t be up for parole for at least fifteen years.”
“And Cam will be eighteen in seven.” I breathe easier.
“Yes,” the commander glances down at the tablet in my hands.
I quickly sign.
“Thank you. Now, rest assured the general will be with them at all times. Right now, you just concentrate on your little endeavor.” He winks at me and walks away.
I turn and lean into Kai. He wraps his arms around me and I hold him tightly. “Did you know my father was fighting this?”
“No. But we haven’t talked to Cam all week.”
I frown. My heart sinks as I remember all the messages Cam sent. “We were busy working on our projects,” I whisper into Kai’s shoulder.
He squeezes me and then lets go. “Cam understands. When we’re done here, we’ll call him, all right?”
I blink back hot tears as I try to take comfort that some very important adults are working to help my brother. “All right,” is all I can say.
“Good. Now let’s go be there for Rand and get you ready for your presentation.”
In the auditorium there are tables set up on stage just like when The Seven visited us. Except now there are eight academy board members seated there.
I stop suddenly as I recognize one of the board members.
“It’s Ms. Germain,” I whisper to Kai.
“Your greenhouse professor?” He leans around me and looks.
“I had no idea she was on the board.”
Kai doesn’t say anything else because the whole room goes quiet as we make our way to the front to sit with Katrina and Rand.
“We will now convene this fortieth session of the Earthlight Space Academy board. We have two matters before us today. The board has had a chance to look over information submitted to us, but we’ll also hear from the parties themselves. Then we’ll give a determination within two weeks.”
I squirm in my chair. “That seems so far away,” I whisper to Kai.
He nods, frowning.
My heart races. I thought they’d make instant decisions today. Great, that’s going to make an interesting two weeks. I glance over at Josh who still has a smug look plastered on his face.
Kai nudges me. “They want you up fron
t.” He pulls on my arm.
I quickly stand up, finally realizing what he’s trying to tell me. I thought Rand was going first. My heart races out of control as I walk.
I hug my tablet to my chest as I hurry up the steps. The commander backs away from the podium to let me step up to the microphone. I place my tablet on the clear podium and pull up the slides I’ve made for the presentation. They appear in 3D overhead so that both the board and the crowd can see them.
As I present to the board our idea of making our class projects more than just functional, I mostly keep my eyes on Kai and Katrina who are beaming at me the whole time.
My heart is full as I finish up my presentation. “As a class we’ve come together to clarify these ideas. Adding recycling filters to our projects will not only make them pay for themselves, but we’ll also be doing our part to help the already damaged environment.”
Several of the more numbers-oriented students helped do a lot of calculations this week to get the optimum size for the cargo bays. They calculated the perfect amount of recycling space junk we could do before the weight used up too much rocket fuel to return to Earth.
I swallow and swipe my tablet, so the images disappear. “None of this would’ve been possible if most of our classmates, including Rand, didn’t stand up to the one person in our class who is only out for himself.” I turn away from the shocked faces in the audience and toward the board members. “I urge the board to consider how our class acted as a whole before we started this project, and how we came together the last few weeks. I understand Rand shouldn’t have engaged in violence, but he was just defending himself and others in our class. I’m not sure I would’ve done anything different in his case.”
Behind me, murmurs rise.
“That is very true, Miss Toland. You didn’t.” I turn toward the end of the table where a small man with an olive complexion looks at me through round spectacles. “We have vid of you twice taking Mr. Archer to the ground after he threatened you. But in both those cases Mr. Archer didn’t lodge a complaint against you as he did Mr. James.”
My face is hot as I glance over to where Josh is still as a statue. Most of the class is glancing between him and me. I turn back to the board.
“Yes, I was forced to resort to using the mixed martial arts training I’ve had since a child. In order to defend myself from physical harm.”
“Why didn’t you come forward to turn Mr. Archer into the commander? Or his security supervisor?”
I turn and face Katrina. She smiles up at me. “Because we hoped to give Josh a second chance. He had a lot of friends that he went to school with that described to me the good side of him. How he used to be when they were growing up. I think we hoped the old Josh would resurface. Everyone deserves a second chance.” I turn back to the board member. “Don’t you agree, sir?”
I note the hint of a smile, but the he’s careful to keep his expression neutral. He just nods.
In the silence I realize my knees are shaking. I grasp the sides of the podium as I wait for more questions.
“I think that’ll be all, Miss Toland. We’ll hear from Mr. James now.” The commander gently taps my shoulder.
I try to smile, but I’m shaking too much. I just grab my tablet and concentrate on not falling down the stairs. I sit down next to Kai and watch Rand. My pulse is pounding so loud I can’t hear what he’s saying to the board. I watch his expressions and try to breathe deeply to quiet my pounding heart.
By the time my pulse isn’t roaring in my ears Rand is thanking the board for their time and comes to sit down on the other side of me. Katrina beams her bright smile at him and shifts closer in her chair.
Relief floods through me as Josh refuses to speak, and the commander then dismisses us. I practically run out of the room, weaving my way through the crowd. I finally stop on the skybridge to wait for my friends. I stand next to the glass looking down to let the crowd go past me.
Someone stops beside me. “Thank you, Anja. You didn’t have to do that.”
Rand’s eyes are bloodshot, but he looks more relaxed than I’ve seen him in days.
“Not sure I helped any, but I couldn’t get up there and not try.”
Kai, Katrina, and Philip join us. “Ready to call Cam?” Kai asks quietly.
“Definitely.”
Kai fills the others in on what’s happening with Cam and my father as we leave the skybridge and head toward the lifts.
Something hits me from behind and I go sprawling against the wall. I catch myself before I do a face plant and quickly spin around.
Josh is red-faced and is staring down at Rand, who is picking himself off the floor. Rand glances at me. “You all right, Anja?”
I nod. Josh must’ve shoved him into me. I look around and am grateful to see that no one else was hurt. Philip backs up behind Kai and Katrina, and the rest of the crowd is quiet as they stare at the scene in the narrow corridor.
I stand next to Rand and face Josh. “Are you sure you want to do this, Josh?” He’s sweating and still red in the face. The purples marks from Rand’s fists grow darker. I would’ve sworn he was having a heart attack.
“If I get expelled, I’m taking all of you with me.”
Rand laughs. “All? How are you going to take all of us with you?”
I step in front of Rand. “Don’t you see that you’re just making things worse for yourself, Josh?” I point to the crowd behind me. “You have no power over everyone anymore. They gave you years of chances. And still you used them, treated them awfully, and hurt those closest to you.”
He glances over his shoulder at the four guys still standing behind him. They flinch at his look. Josh turns back and frowns down at me. “I don’t care.”
“Yes, you do. You just don’t want to admit it to yourself.” Katrina comes alongside me. Her voice is soothing and free of animosity. “I know what you’ve gone through, Josh. I know what you’ve hoped and dreamed for your life over the years. But you can’t get there by stepping on others.”
A single tear falls from her shimmering eyes and lands on her uniform. Josh stares at her, his expression unreadable, but he clenches and unclenches his fists, and I crouch down slightly in case he tries to swing.
Instead, he turns and pushes his way through the guys behind him and lets himself into the zero-G compression chamber. Alone.
25
Destruction
No one moves for a heartbeat. Then we slowly turn toward the lifts and take turns riding back down to the residential level.
The smell of lunch cooking gets my stomach growling as we pile off the lift. “Let’s get something to eat then we’ll call Cam.”
Kai nods and we head to the cafeteria. I grab a tray of food and head toward our table. Rand is quiet as he sits on the other side of Kai. Philip sits on the other side of me.
“Can we join you guys?” Katrina asks, flanked by Carstair and Tod.
“Of course. Might need a few more chairs.” I grin as Tod and Katrina sit down quickly, leaving Carstair to be the one to drag over a chair. He throws a grape at Tod before sitting down.
I smile at their friendly antics. I look across the large room remembering my first day at school. Everyone seemed to already know each other, so Rand and I felt like outcasts. Then it got worse from there.
Kai elbows me, sending the food flying from my fork. He snickers. “Sorry. Just wondering where you went, again.”
I grin and retrieve my food and place it on the far corner of my plate. “Just thankful that we’ve got friends,” I whisper.
He nods. “You ready to call Cam?”
I stand. “See you guys upstairs? Last day to work on our projects before testing.”
Carstair groans. “Don’t remind me. I can’t even eat I’m so nervous.” He pushes his still-full plate away.
Kai and I hurry out and find a cubby to sit in. We dial up Cam. When he answers he’s out of breath. “Guys, I got to tour the Pentagon!”
I narrow my eyes, be
cause behind him is a dark sky that looks full of rain. “Where are you now, Cam?”
“We’re just waiting for our car to take us back to the spaceport.” He angles the vid so we can see Kai’s parents next to him.
Kai waves and I breathe a sigh of relief.
“You okay, Anja?” Cam asks, his face now large in the vid.
“I’m not sure. How did the hearing go? I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there.”
Cam frowns for a brief moment before his smile returns. “I understand you have school. Besides, I had fun today. Well, after the court thing was over.”
“And?” I urge.
He looks off to the side. “Just a second, the car’s here.” We have to look away as the vid goes in all sorts of directions as Cam climbs into the vehicle. When the vid finally stills, Kai’s father is holding Cam’s tablet.
“It is done. Did you know our friend the general is also a JAG?”
Kai and I look at one another. “No, we had no idea he was a lawyer,” I answer.
He smiles. “Yes, and he’s a very good one too. We weren’t in the court room very long. The judge ruled quickly.”
Cam leans into view. “I see what you mean by his different personalities, though.” He frowns and looks at Mr. Chao. “It was kind of scary.”
Kai’s father wraps an arm around Cam before turning back to us. “Young Mr. Cam only had to be in there a few minutes. The judge let us take him out once Mr. Toland started yelling.”
I wipe away a tear. “I’m sorry you all had to go through that.”
Mr. Chao looks to his other side, presumably at Kai’s mother. “We’ll be fine. Now that it’s over we can get back home.” He looks straight at us. “Sorry we’ll miss family day. We’ll need to stay overnight here and catch the first flight out tomorrow. But we’ll see you at graduation.”
I had forgotten all about family day. Tomorrow when we launch the projects we’ve been working on, is also the day when family could visit us at school. I try to swallow the lump in my throat.
Kai wraps an arm around me. “It’s all right, father. Knowing you all are safe is important to us. And I’m assuming the paperwork is all done, too?” He smiles at Cam, who has his head resting against Mr. Chao’s shoulder.
Earthlight Space Academy Boxset Page 38