The Distance Between

by Blair Cousins

  “What?” Ester walked closer to his bed, there were so many suits on the bed. They all looked like a jumbled mess. She picked up one that was yellow and white.

  “Eww,” Angel slapped it away. Ester jumped back. “That one is old, what about this?”

  Angel held up a blue and white suit. The top part was long sleeved and cropped, made from a soft white fabric. The bottom was navy blue, with a funnel shaped piece that connected to the top part. The sides were completely cut out and most of his back was exposed. Ester looked at the contraption with mild repulsion, but she knew if she didn’t say something Angel would just show her more.

  “It’s not bad.” She sat on the bed.

  “Good, because I like this one too, and I have the perfect boots to match.” Angel disappeared into one of his closets, appearing shortly after, holding a pair of boots, in a different outfit, a tight all white and silver accented ride suit. There were matching diamond shaped cut outs on his stomach and back. He wore matching boots and carried an all-white purse with an M embroidered in it. “Ta-da!”

  Ester wasn’t sure if she should look at the boots Angel had in his hands or ask him if he had an automatic outfit changer in his closet, too. She blinked several times before giving the thumbs up. Angel clapped and giggled as Ester sighed. She could tell that this was going to be a long day.

  ***

  For the rest of the day, Angel dragged her to all the shops and salons. It wasn’t as bad as Ester thought. She enjoyed most of it, even though Angel got mad when she said her favorite part was getting food. But she did have a good time. She’d never forget the looks on the beauty technician’s face when she said she’d never had a facial. It was priceless and maybe over time she would grow to like Ans-on’s weird taste in fashion. Back at Angel’s condo, Ester watched as Angel finished getting her ready.

  She twirled around in the mirror wearing a lilac colored ride suit, with a short frilly yellow skirt and flowy yellow sleeveless crop top. Her hair was pinned up into a braided bun, with sparkly yellow and purple tinsel braided into it. She fought Angel tooth and nail not to have her nails done, but Angel was not having it. In the end though, she kind of liked it. She looked down at her matching nails as Angel plucked and shaped her eyebrows and did her make-up. This could be Angel’s thing if he wanted to, because it was practically a pro. Her matte purple lipstick matched her eye shadow along with a pair of purple clip on earrings. This was prettiest she’d ever felt.

  “Picture time!” Angel ran over to her.

  His make-up was just as good. His lips were navy blue and his eyeshadow was on so thick it looked like dog spots. White glitter highlighted his face, sparkling just as bright as Ester’s. Angel pulled Ester close and the two posed for a quick picture taken by his hovering camera. In seconds, the picture they took was projecting as a hologram.

  “Perfect!” Angel waved the camera away and finished getting ready. He sprayed on some perfume and went to put his boots on. “My friends are coming over, so you’ll get to meet them.” Angel switched out his wristband for one that matched his outfit. “Okay, how do I look?”

  “Great.” Ester gave a thumb up as she kicked her legs up and down.

  “Angel, your friends are requesting entrance into your home. Shall I let them in?” The master AI system chimed.

  “Yes please, Master.” Angel turned to Ester who looked so cute. “My friends are going to love you! Stay here.”

  Angel ran from his room leaving Ester all alone. She wondered what kind of people Angel hung out with. Angel didn’t seem like the type to hang around rude people, but not everyone was nice like him. Ester heard some voices in the hallway. It sounded like three people. She straightened up and smiled when Angel entered the room.

  “Oh my gosh, Angel!” A chubby boy in a dark brown ride suit gasped. “She’s so cute! I’m so jelly.”

  “Oh stop.” Angel waved.

  Two other girls followed, one that was really tall and thin, wearing a shimmery all black ride suit. The other was short with a muscular build, wearing a sleeveless opal colored top, with light brown pants. Ester relaxed a little when they all returned her smile. Angel rushed over to Ester and pulled her off the bed.

  “Guys,” Angel pushed Ester forward, “this is Ester, my new bestie from ranger academy.”

  “Aww,” The boy groaned as he adjusted his black framed glasses.

  “Oh hush,” Angel teased. “Ester, these are my best friends from prep school.”

  Angel opened up his arms wide. The taller one let out a sharp controlled laugh and looked directly at Ester.

  “I think he meant to introduce us by name, but I’ll save us the time. My name is Saela,” She reached out and shook Ester’s hand. Her grip was strong and firm, which surprised Ester. “To my right is Hi-Wing.” The more muscular girl grinned. “And the whiny one is Josh.”

  “I am not whiny!” Josh’s face turned red. “Angel’s the one who went off to ranger school and got himself a cute girlfriend.”

  Angel huffed. “I do not have a girlfriend, Josh. You know I’m reserving these buns for Allura.”

  Josh collapsed to the floor dramatically as Angel laughed. Ester watched the friends interact; she could tell by their chemistry they had been friends for a long time.

  “Angel,” Saela cut them off. “Shouldn’t we be going?”

  “Oh right!” Angel gasped. “Master! Call up our car!”

  “Yes Angel, and a message from your parents: be safe and have fun.”

  “Thank you, Master, tell them I said, ‘will do!’” Angel and the others rushed from his room and ran towards the elevator.

  ***

  The concert hall was the stadium of Ester’s dreams. It was pitch black with hundreds of soft multi-colored lights that made it look like they were viewing outer space. Ester’s hands reached towards the stage as her idol, Galaxia, made her grand entrance. She walked out with arms wide open, head up, ready to embrace the crowd. Her thick curvy frame and big light brown afro created its own atmosphere of confidence and beauty. Shining bright like a comet in her sparkling light blue ride suit, she opened with one of Ester’s favorite songs. Ester screamed. She wanted to cry, but her heart was beating too fast, demanding only to release all this excitement she had built up. She sang along, next to Angel and his friends as they danced, moving as one with the crowd. Everyone threw their hands in the air as their wristbands lit up, turning the entire concert hall into a beautiful galaxy. Ester hollered when Galaxia hit the high notes, turning to Angel who smiled back at her. She would never forget this night for as long as she lived.

  Chapter Eleven

  Their break ended all too soon, but the cadets were back, refreshed, and ready to continue their training for their next exam. The scenario exam, part-two in their entrance exams, was not a test they could run their way through. They needed to study hard and learn basic ranger protocol and rely on each other to make the best possible decisions. During these short few weeks before their last exam, physical training was cut down to one session a day giving them more time to study. It was eleven hundred hours, and Ester and her friends were sitting together outside in the courtyard going over galactic history. There was a lot of stuff they hadn’t learned in school, and they were grateful that their final exam wasn’t a written test on the material.

  “What’s the point of all this?” Ester put her tablet down.

  “It’s important to the scenario.” Angel read each word and highlighted the portions he thought were important.

  “Yeah, but how?” Ester didn’t see the connection. Rangers were fighters not bookworms.

  “We’re going to need to know about galactic relations to complete the mission.” Angel put down the tablet. “I’ve read about the scenario test; it’s not like the relay test. I’ve heard of cadets freaking out and breaking down. It’s super stressful, and you’re responsible for knowing all about the universe because the test is simulated in space.”

  Samay put down her sandwich.
“We don’t need to know how to fly a spacecraft do we?” she fretted.

  “No, not at all,” Angel said, “but we do need to know about the different space stations and no fly zones and such.”

  “Like the dangers of Verlin’s belt?” Samay pulled up the hologram.

  “Exactly.” Angel expanded the projection. “See, we are here, the third planet from the belt. Each planet, minus Ceapeaya—”

  “The Motherland?” Ester asked.

  Angel nodded. “Besides Ceapeaya or the Motherland as some refer to it, each planet has at least two or three major space stations and tons of little satellites and mining stations in between. Fandour is the most dangerous, not because it’s a planet of outlaws, but because it’s the closest planet to the belt. It doesn’t have any major stations super close; they’re kind of far out in the safe zone. Kees has three major space stations. We have three as well, and Labadora has two, but one went offline about three years ago.”

  “Because of the wars, right?” Samay asked.

  “Yeah, their planet has been in a vicious civil war for years now—since, the dictator Harvik Pishcel rose to power.”

  “I’ve never heard of him?” Ester clicked on the planet.

  “That’s because it isn’t talked about much. The government has been keeping it hush-hush because relations are so bad.”

  Samay gaped at Angel. “Oh goodness.”

  “But it’s okay. They mostly fight amongst themselves anyways.” Angel shrugged.

  “If there’s so much war, why doesn’t anyone step in to break them up?” Samay asked.

  “Intergalactic law,” Fermit quietly chimed in. “We cannot interfere with another world’s law.”

  “Oh, hey, Fermit,” Ester peeked over at his tablet. “I see you’re not taking any chances on this exam.”

  “Nope,” Fermit said as he continued to scroll and jot down notes.

  “Hey,” Ester rolled over in the grass. “Didn’t you take the second exam? How was it?”

  Fermit froze at being put on the spot. He looked at his friends and forced a smile.

  “It-it wasn’t all bad.” Fermit laughed.

  “Bullshit,” Angel said. “Your eyes are telling on you.”

  Fermit sighed. “It wasn’t a walk in the park, I can say that for sure, but it’s… I don’t know, weird.”

  Everyone inched closer. Fermit swallowed hard. “Forget what I said. I don’t want any bad luck to fall upon us. We just have to cram this stuff.”

  Groans erupted from the friends as Fermit went back to studying. Ester watched his face. He was a nervous guy as it was, but his body language said it all. This was not a test to be taken lightly, and Ester didn’t want to risk letting everyone down, so she opened her tablet and got to work studying.

  ***

  Night rolled in and many cadets hid away, either studying or resting up for the next day. Kiakit searched the bedroom area for Murk. Lately, he had become more hot-headed than usually, but Kiakit didn’t let it bother her. That’s just how Murk was; he wasn’t whiny and weak like the other cadets in their class. She found Bue and Zime in the lobby pouring over the books. Neither had seen Murk either, but then Kiakit snapped her fingers. She knew exactly where he was. Kiakit ran across the lobby towards the small gym they had in their dorm.

  “I thought I might find you here.” Kiakit walked over to Murk, who was doing a series of intense pull ups.

  Murk jumped down and flexed in the mirror. He was in peak physical condition. Kiakit walked over to the bench beside him and sat down.

  “You hit the books yet?” Kiakit asked.

  “Don’t need to.” Murk rotated his wrist.

  “Bullshit, even you can’t predict what’s on the exam.” Kiakit smirked.

  Murk scoffed. “I swear all these lazy cadets will do nothing but poison the lines of all the great rangers that came before them. I was born and raised to be a ranger. I have members of my family who are active duty rangers. I know all about the test. Why do you think I keep saying that I am the best? Because I am the fucking best.” Murk balled up his fist and hit a punching bag, whacking it out of his way.

  He struck it again and again, beating on it as if it were nothing. Kiakit admired his strength. If there was going to be anyone that would lead their house to victory, it was going to be Murk. Kiakit joined him and started lifting weights. This time around they were going to come out on top.

  ***

  Test day was only a day away and the air was heavy with nervousness. This was their last chance to prove themselves worthy of a seat at ranger academy. There was no guarantee that they would make it, even if the other houses had lost more points than them. They had sixty-four points total and the house in fourth place was only ten points below them. Any little slip up could mean that their class would fail. Captain Pole could feel the tension and felt moved to do something about it. He stood and walked towards the middle of the class and coughed to get their attention.

  “Ahem,” he cleared his throat. “I can tell you all have been studying hard. I know we haven’t done any practice scenarios and because of the nature of the exam we can’t practice them anyways. However, I can give you some tips per say.” Captain Pole stretched and looked around the room.

  “Yes, I know it may seem like all this studying is for nothing, but you’ll need to know that information to make better informed decisions. Meaning, you’ll need to know the names of the planets and space stations, so you won’t think you’re orbiting Ceapeaya when you’re really orbiting Fandour. The test isn’t about winning. There is no wrong way to complete the mission, however, and I’ll say this again: your ability to work together and think critically is most important. Read the mission scenario carefully and monitor yourselves as well as your ship. On test day, you’ll be split up into random groups of ten. Your score is calculated based on how each team completes the mission.” the captain paused. The stares he was getting back didn’t show any signs of relief, so he sighed. “So, in light of this, I have decided to end class early. Use this time to relax. You have a big day tomorrow.”

  The sounds of cheers and claps broke out all over the class room as the cadets filed out. It was noon and most headed to the dining hall, while others headed out to study. Murk and his friends passed Ester and Angel.

  “I hope you enjoyed your free ride, dust rat,” Murk said in passing.

  “What did you say?” Ester growled, but Angel pulled her back.

  “It’s not worth it.” Angel struggled to hold her back “One day, we’ll be through with him and his nonsense.”

  “I hate that guy.” The electricity surged through her veins shocking Angel.

  “Ow!” Angel shouted and that snapped Ester out of her rage.

  Others stopped and watched the scene unfold. Angel shook his hands.

  “I’m so sorry, Angel.” Ester drew her hands back.

  “You know, you really have to stop letting that guy get under your skin.” Angel inspected his hands. “That hurt like crazy. You gotta calm down, Ester.”

  “I know, I’m sorry.” She lowered her head, feeling embarrassed as wandering eyes whispered as they passed.

  “It’ll be okay, just you wait this time next week. We’ll be official rangers.”

  Ester nodded as Angel rubbed her back. She was nervous about the test tomorrow. This wasn’t something she could do alone, and she didn’t mind working with others. She just couldn’t stand the idea that someone like Murk could get a chance to join ranger academy. Just thinking about him walking across the stage made her blood boil. She took a deep breath and re-focused. He did not matter right now. All that was important was that she was ready for the test tomorrow, the final obstacle in your journey to becoming a ranger.

  Chapter Twelve

  Test day arrived and the chatter reached a din in the dormitory. Cadets rushed around like rats, hopping in the showers and changing into their uniforms. Ester was up bright and early, mainly because her nerves wouldn’t let her s
leep. This was it, their last exam, and it burned Ester up inside knowing that she couldn’t just rely on herself to get through it. Angel was up just as early prepping for the exam. Some cadets crammed on their beds, while others prayed. The excitement was both energizing and nerve racketing and because their house was only in third place, they would need to work hard if they were going to make it into the top ninety.

  Angel powdered up and curled his hair as Ester pulled her feet through her uniform. From her bench she could see Murk and his friends laughing. She was sure they thought they had it in the bag, but this was still anyone’s game. Kiakit caught her eye and scoffed, only turning Ester’s mood sour. Ester clenched the shoulder of her uniform as she pulled it up, half ready to confront them, but then a body moved in front of her view. Ester looked up to find Samay and Fermit staring down at her.

  “Yikes, we haven’t lost yet,” Fermit joked.

  “And we’re not going to.” Angel turned as he padded the last bit of setting powder onto his face. “We’re going to kick some ass, right guys?”

  Samay averted her gaze with a nervous giggle, and Fermit laughed a little, but he was clearly tense.

  “Come on guys,” Angel said, “we totally got this.”

  Ester smiled at Angel’s attempt to cheer up his friends, but he was right. They had worked too hard these past few weeks and hard work paid off.

  “Yeah,” Ester pulled up her ride suit. “We’re going to own this test and come out on top.” Ester raised her fist. The others nodded, and smiles shined brightly on their faces.

  For their final exam, the cadets met in a large conference room on the other side of campus. The conference room was similar to their classroom, but instead, everyone was seated around a large oval table with a polished metal finish. The cadets were impressed by the elegance and style of the room. It looked like one of the rooms the rangers held their press conferences in.

  Just like for their first exam, everyone wore their matching silver and blue ride suits, proudly showing the house they represented. Captain Pole was not there on time, which unnerved the cadets, but they waited patiently as usual. Angel eyed the art on the walls; it remained him of the pieces that hung in his home. Ester and Samay fell absolutely in love with the fancy dark silver chairs, which were the softest chairs they had ever sat in. Suddenly, the large black screen in the front of the conference room turned on and the cadets saw their captain.