Chapter 47

Aiyamar

My Team moved off down the hall, Tzara following sullenly. I still don’t want to acknowledge her as part of the Team; she wasn’t, really.

I even feel a little resentment that Lorik is the Leader now. I mean, it’s not like I have anything personal against him. It’s just wrong, somehow, that Kyle isn’t leading. He’s a natural at it.

Even when he first started, after Chris left, Kyle was the best Leader. At least, he was in the 1-4 Quarter Corps. We’d risen from being Team 031 to Team 009 in only a single Earth year. That’s record time.

At least I know Lorik though, unlike Tzara, who is simply an intruder.

We slowly made our way back across the Mess Hall, and back to the Team 009 dorm. On the way, Kelta struggled to tame a threatening thunderstorm brewing overhead. It was only one of several such “impossible” weather phenomenons.

I ducked around Eyrad so that I could stand next to Kelta. “Hey.”

She sniffed and brushed a hand in front of her eyes. It was a poor attempt to hide her tears.

With Kelta, you never know if she’s just leaking, or actually crying. But it would make more sense for her to be crying, what with…well, everything.

“Hey,” I said again so that only she could hear. I slipped my hand into hers and squeezed. “You want to talk later?”

She shook her head, sending auburn hair flying in self-generated air currents. “I’m just worried, you know?”

I nodded. Of course I knew. She’s worried about her crush, Wynn. For the last 18 Earth months, she’s been constantly thinking about him. Now it’s gotten to the point where I’m worried about her. It’s not exactly easy having relationships in the School. Sure, some do it, but it’s technically against the rules. Too many complications if someone defects in battle.

So, it’s not like she can just tell him, in case he’s the type to say something to Kyle. Neither one of us thinks that he would, but it’s better not to take changes. They are pretty close.

She was doing a good job of keeping it to herself, because no one knew until she told me. And she only told me because I threatened to tell Kyle that she was acting strangely (not eating, sleeping, etc). The last thing she wanted was for a mind-reader to ask her what’s wrong.

As far as we know, no one else knows except for Krystal. How she managed to pry it out of Kelta, I’ll never know. She must have a gift for persuasion. That’s why Kelta wants her to ask Wynn how he feels about her. Discreetly, of course. I’m really excited to see what he says (and what he thinks).

…

We reached the dorms slightly damp. Poor Kelta had lost control, unleashing a torrent of rain onto us and a few other Classmen. No one minded. Rain seemed appropriate for such a somber mood.

I felt so bad for her. She’s usually not like this at all.

Lorik had us line up, and then he addressed us simply. “We’ll have to chance the portals for this mission. Aiyamar, Astulad, and Tzara will help strengthen them and lessen our chances of being teleported to the middle of nowhere. All of you, be on the look out for enemies. Take notice of any emblems, signs, et cetera. Collect your weapons. We leave in 2 Earth minutes.”

While I certainly wasn’t thrilled with being forced to work with Tzara, Astulad was practically glowing. I mean that in a literal sense.