Bounders (24 page)

“Well, what have we here?” Regis grins down at us, flanked by Hakim and Randall.

You have got to be kidding me. I guess my luck has turned.

Regis laughs. “The King of the Blast Pack and the Dancing Queen having a little alone time in the chutes? Priceless.”

My brain flips. There's no getting out of this mess. We're doubly busted. The admiral and Regis. I don't know which is worse. And I have no way to spin it. Mira is so freaked, she clutches my hand for dear life. The only silver lining is Regis and his minions will be busted, too. In fact, I don't think Regis realizes the admiral is standing just outside the chute cube.

“Is this what you two lovebirds do?” Regis says. “Sneak out at night and ride the chutes? No wonder Queenie set off so many alarms. She had to go meet her boyfriend.”

“Shut up, Regis!” I say.

“Shut up, Regis,” he mocks.

The door to the chute cube opens. “Yes,” commands Admiral Eames. “You'd be wise to shut up.”

Regis, Hakim, and Randall spin around to face the admiral. Their hands shake as they try to hold their salutes. I climb out of the trough and help Mira out after me before snapping to attention.

“What is the meaning of this?” the admiral asks. “Joyriding the chutes after curfew is against the rules.”

Wow. Admiral Eames thinks we were riding with Regis. Well, no reason to correct her.

“I'm sorry, Admiral,” I say. “It was poor judgment on our part. It won't happen again.”

“You're right it won't, cadet,” she says. “Or you'll be on the first ship back to Earth. Am I clear?”

“Yes, Admiral,” I say in chorus with Regis and his two sidekicks.

I don't know if the admiral notices Mira's silence, but Waters jumps in right away. He inserts himself between me and Mira and places a hand on each of our shoulders.

“These two are mine, Admiral,” Waters says. “I'll make sure they're disciplined. I believe the others are in Captain Han's pod.”

“Very well,” Admiral Eames says, and then addresses Regis and the other cadets. “You three return to the dormitory immediately. I'll inform your pod leader and make sure you're disciplined appropriately.”

“Yes, Admiral,” they say, and immediately depart in the chute.

“Good night,” Admiral Eames says, nodding at Waters. “Keep your pod in check, Jon. We're counting on you.” On her way out, she turns to Gedney. “Good work.”

Gedney mumbles something incomprehensible and blushes.

I don't want to look up at Waters, but I know I have to. His arms are crossed in front of his chest, and he has a stern stonelike gaze.

“I don't know what you two were doing,” Waters says. “And I'm not going to ask. Let's just say, I expect it never to happen again. Got it?”

I look back down at my shoes. “Got it.”

Mira doesn't respond, though I doubt he expected her to.

“Good,” Waters says. “And one more thing. You two surprise me. I never expected you to be associating with the likes of that Regis character. I've been watching him. He's bad news. Who you spend time with in your free moments is your own business, but I'd think twice about him.”

I open my mouth to respond—I don't want Waters to think I'm buddies with Regis—but he has already turned and pushed open the door to the chute cube.

Gedney winks. Oh well. At least
he
gets it.

The next week is brutal. No, really.
Brutal.
During lecture, someone runs a worm through the class server, and a huge heart pops up on everyone's tablets with the words
Jasper and Mira
written in the middle. Most of the class bursts out laughing. Even Marco laughs. And Ryan! Doesn't the guy remember I saved his life in the chute catastrophe?

Mira is checked out as usual, so I'm the prime teasing target.

I run for the door as soon as lecture ends and hide in the back of the mess hall during lunch. I nearly choke as I shovel food into my mouth as fast as possible so I can escape from here, too. Lucy corners me and demands to know what's going on. I shrug, shove a protein bar into my pocket, and sneak out the back door.

I kill time, stalking the halls and riding the chutes. If I keep moving, maybe I can outrun all the jokers who think their life missions are to remind me how much I suck. After all, the joke's on me. I waited my whole life to go to the EarthBound Academy. Surrounded by other Bounders, I'd finally find a place I fit, where I didn't suck at everything. Well, here I am. And I still suck.

At least this tour of duty is almost over. Yeah, so I can go back home and get teased for being a B-wad until my next tour, when I can come back and get teased for being a B-wad who can't fly.

I can't wait until pod session so I can stop running. But by the time I make it to the Ezone, I'm so exhausted, I don't know if I'll be able to function. Waters runs us through drills like he took pointers from Bad Breath. He's still punishing me for embarrassing him in front of Admiral Eames. Great. The harsh pod sessions are my fault, too.

After a particularly grueling glove exercise, Waters's com pin beeps, and he steps out of the Ezone. I lie on the floor and drape both of my arms over my head. Every time a thought pops into my brain, I shoo it away. I want a blank mind. The blanker, the better.

“Okay, kids,” Waters says when he comes back in. “You're lucky. No more drills today. I have to leave early. Gedney will finish up.”

Leave early? I push myself up on my elbows. By the door, Waters talks with Gedney. I can't hear what they're saying, but Waters is angry about something. And he's in an awful hurry to leave. Good. Maybe Gedney will let us go, too. I wouldn't mind some free time in the sensory gym.

Gedney shuffles to the center of the Ezone and claps his hands. “Now, now, I'm glad Waters is gone. We can explore the extra features of these gloves.” He withdraws his pair from his pocket and eases them onto his fingers. No such luck on getting out early, I guess.

“Extra features?” Cole asks.

Gedney nods. “Yes. Amazing technology, these gloves. Unlimited, what they can do. I've hardly scratched the surface of their capabilities. I expect you'll be teaching me a few tricks before long.”

That's weird. I thought he invented the gloves.

Gedney drags an orange cafeteria chair to the center of the Ezone. “You all know the gloves can manipulate the necessary replicating atoms in order to bound, but here's something you might not know. These gloves can manipulate any atoms—for instance, the atoms that comprise this chair.”

Gedney points his hands at the chair. Light shoots from his fingers. The chair rattles on its legs.

Wow. Cool.

“Can I try?” Marco jumps to his feet and stands next to Gedney. He waves his arms like a magician and then aims his fingers at the chair. The chair levitates a few centimeters above the ground.

I try next and slide the chair about two meters across the Ezone.

I'm feeling pretty good about myself. Better than I've felt in a while. When it comes to the gloves, I'm good.

“Come on, Jasper,” Marco says. “Lift it.”

I focus on the chair and shoot beams of light through my fingertips. The chair wobbles on its legs, just like it did for Gedney, then rises off the ground.

Yes! I'm doing it. I hold the chair aloft—five, ten, pushing twenty centimeters. It's awesome. I'm awesome. I've never felt more powerful.

My neural connection is suddenly severed. The chair launches high in the air and flies across the room, crashing into the wall. The shock knocks me off balance, and I fall to my knees.

What on earth was that? I might be good, but I'm not that good. I didn't throw that chair.

As I push myself up, a sick feeling stirs in my belly.
Mira.
She's the only one who is that powerful with the gloves. I turn slowly, knowing who I'll find, hoping I'm wrong.

Mira stands behind me, that serene look on her face.

Rage boils up from somewhere deep inside. Who does she think she is, staying disconnected from everyone all the time until the moment she can show me up? How dare she?

I charge at her, stopping right before her face. “Why'd you do that? What are you trying to prove? That you're better than I am? I already know that, okay? You don't have to go reminding me all the time. You win!”

Even as the words spew from my mouth, I know they're not fair. It's not Mira's fault I suck at flying, that I feel like I'm disappointing everyone all the time. But I'm angry, and Mira is an easy target. I'm sick of being teased, of always being on the outside. She's part of the reason. And it's kind of her fault everyone at the Academy thinks I'm her boyfriend. But I'm not. I'm not her boyfriend.

“I'm not your boyfriend!” I scream.

Mira buckles at the waist as if I'd struck her.

“Jasper!” Lucy yells. “What's the matter with you?” She places her hand on Mira's back and guides her to a corner of the Ezone.

I lean over, resting my weight on my knees, and struggle to catch my breath. In the corner, Mira sinks to the ground and pulls her legs to her chest. When Lucy sits down next to her, she flinches.

I am such a B-wad.

“Dude,” Marco says. “Stellar. Way to take out our pod star.”

Where's Gedney? Isn't this the kind of thing a teacher should be jumping all over?

Gedney reemerges seconds later. He carries a large metal bin. “I think we have a few more minutes,” Gedney says. “Let's give these a try.”

That's it? He isn't even going to lecture me? Somehow that makes me feel even more guilty.

“Grab your blast packs,” Gedney says.

Is he serious? This day could not get worse.

“Jasper, come on up,” Gedney says. “You'll be our guinea pig today.”

For a long moment I don't move. I even think about refusing, but I'm such a sucker for that whole respecting authority thing. I push myself up slowly. If I can't swing a flat-out refusal, at least I can make them wait for me.

I drag my feet to the door, where we dropped our packs, and fish mine out of the pile. What is he going to make me do? Practice in front of the entire pod? Hammer home just how awful I am? I guess I have it coming. Humiliation is small payback for what I did to Mira.

The pack feels heavy on my back. Twice as heavy as usual. I inch to the center, staring at the floor, hoping Gedney might take pity on me and change his mind.

“Good, good,” Gedney says. “Thought you'd never make it. But now we're ready. No cause to delay.”

Yeah, yeah. Hurry, hurry, hurry. We get it, Geds.

“Do you remember what I said when Waters left?” Gedney asks.

I don't respond at first. What is this? A quiz? “You said it was unlimited what the gloves can do.”

“Right you are. Unlimited.” Gedney sets the box on the floor. “Jasper, reach up on the control straps of the blast pack until you feel where they connect. Remove them. You'll have to compress the latch with both fingers and pull.”

I do as he says—find where the control snaps connect, and detach them.

“Good. Now put those old straps in the pack pocket.” Gedney bends down and pulls a pair of silver straps out of the box. “And put these on.”

Now this is getting interesting. Once I've put the old straps in the pack, I connect the silver ones. Can this really be what I'm thinking? Can the gloves control the pack?

“Give 'em a whirl,” Gedney says.

I hold the new straps out in front of me. No buttons. I place one in my right palm and one in my left. And squeeze.

Immediately my brain is aware of the pack. No, not aware. Linked. The pack is part of me. The connection courses through my veins.

I frame my intentions and shoot a message from my brain to the gloves exactly like we've been trained. Instantaneously I launch.

I soar to the rafters and bank right. The connection between my brain and body sizzles. I'm in complete command of the pack.

“This is awesome!” I yell. I fly low over my pod mates, tapping Marco's head with my toe, and then pull up hard for the ceiling. I'm in control. I am incredible.

Down below, Marco and Cole are suiting up with the new grips. Marco lifts off. We chase one another through the Ezone.

When I finally slow to a hover, Marco zooms over. “You perked up.”

“Yeah.” I shake the grips. “These are the best.”

Marco shrugs. “They'll take some getting used to.”

“What?” I say. “Don't you think they're better than the standard control grips?”

“Sure, eventually they will be. But I'm used to the controls. What can I say? You're better than I am with the gloves, and I'm a heck of a lot better than you are with the old-fashioned control straps. Keep flying, Ace.”

Marco takes off into a figure eight. I'm about to follow when someone's foot makes contact with my butt. Hard. I drop a few meters before regaining control. “Hey!” I spin around to face the kicker.