Star Runners Omnibus

Chapter 12

9

Austin pounded the steel spoon on the plate, knocking off mashed potatoes that were as thick as rubber cement. He continued down the line. The mess hall slowly rumbled to life as more students arrived for lunch.

The first day of classes overwhelmed him. His head pounded, and his back ached from the tiny desk chairs lining each room of Terminus. He collapsed like a sack of dirty laundry into his seat at the nearest table. Staring into the potatoes mixing with the juice of the green beans, he thought of the dozens of projects with due dates and upcoming tests.

“Mind if I sit?”

Austin stared. The girl with the blonde hair from yesterday stood over him, a soft expression on her face. “No. I mean yes, of course.”

Laughing, she sat at the table and fixed her ponytail. She grinned and started at her salad. “I’m Skylar Kincaid.”

“Austin Stone.”

“I know.”

He blinked. “You know?”

“Everybody knows. You were the last student recruited.”

“So?”

Skylar played with the straw in her water and nibbled on the end. “So people are wondering why you were added at the last minute?”

“Don’t people have other things to worry about?”

“Yeah, but people still talk.”

“They sent you over here to spy on me.”

“No, I wanted to come over.”

Austin took a bite of the mashed potatoes and watched Skylar poking at her salad. “Well, what are people saying?”

“Some say you come from a rich family and they bought your way in. Others say you’re part of a charity program.”

Austin winced. That last ‘“rumor’“ was probably more of the truth. “It doesn’t matter. I’m here now.”

“Oh, so you’re the mysterious type. Fair enough.” She sipped on her water and looked at another table, a rebellious strand of golden hair falling on her shoulder. “How are your classes?”

“Tough. You?”

“It hasn’t been easy and we haven’t even made it a week.” She shrugged. “I have a pretty tough astronomy class at two.”

Austin’s raised his shoulders. “I’m in that class, too. Maybe I’ll see you there.”

She eyed him. “Maybe.”

They ate in silence for a moment.

“Do you like running?”

Austin frowned. “Do I like running? I wouldn’t say I like it. Why?”

“I ran track back home. I love it.”

“Well, I do like running sometimes. I played baseball back home.”

“We can run together this afternoon if you want, you know, during our PT?”

“What’s the deal with that anyway? I read the packet last night, and it said we had to meet certain requirements, and that was it.”

“Yeah, well they’ve been a little vague about it. The time is our own. There’s a gym, a track, and a trail to run. They said the physical tests would come later on. I think they want us to be self-motivated, so I’m not taking any chances. I need this scholarship.”

“You’re on a scholarship, too?”

She tilted her head. “I couldn’t afford this place. God knows what the regular tuition is for a place this pretentious.”

He laughed. “No kidding. Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” she said finishing her salad and wiping at her mouth.

Austin leaned forward. “We’re all supposed to be part of the same class, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Well, there’s about fifty of us and all the staff and faculty seem to be working with us, and there’s only one dorm, right? This is a four-year school, isn’t it?”

Skylar snorted. “It’d better be.”

“So where are the sophomores?”

Skylar’s mouth opened as if to answer, but she fell silent. She looked around the mess hall at the other students all wearing their blue uniforms. “That’s a good question.” She leaned forward, her eyes cold. “You think the teachers ate them?”

He sighed and dropped his fork. “I’m serious!”

“Come on! I don’t know where they are. Why don’t we ask someone? I’m sure it’s not a conspiracy or anything.” She stood and laughed. “I have to get some studying done before the afternoon classes. Want to meet up after at the track behind the dorm?”

He grinned. “See you then.”

His lungs burned with each gasp. As she had done the past three weeks, Skylar pulled out ahead of him as they rounded the track for the last mile, her blonde ponytail bouncing on her gray sweatshirt. Austin wiped his sweaty brow and pressed forward, the fallen leaves crunching under his feet.

The fading golden sunlight dipped behind the trees by the time they finished their afternoon run. Austin clasped his hands behind his head as he slowed to a walk. Skylar grabbed their water bottles from the bench and tossed one to him.

“Nice run!”

He gulped twice and nodded. “You, too. I still have trouble beating you on the distance.”

Skylar smiled and lowered the bottle from her lips. “I didn’t know we were racing.”

He laughed. “No point. You win every time.”

A group of students ran past. Austin looked back toward the main campus. Students milled about the Terminus Building and the dormitory. Two tossed a disc around near the track. Others sat on blankets and studied. Austin’s stomach turned at the sight.

Study.

He had two tests this week. Homework took up the majority of his evenings. Stetson had an easier time with it and played more Star Runners than Austin. He often wondered if he still remained at the top of the leader board of the elite server.

“What’s wrong?” Skylar asked as they strolled back toward the dorm.

“Too much studying to do.”

“Yeah, well, that’s what we’re here for.”

He would much rather be here than back at the fruit stand loading vegetables and tomatoes. It would be October soon, when the pumpkins arrived by the truckload.

Near the tree line, a student walked near one of the smaller buildings. It looked like a gardening shack.

Austin nodded. “Any idea what that building is for?”

Skylar followed his gaze. “No. I heard it was a lab, but I haven’t had a class there.”

“Interesting.”

“Yeah, I guess. I don’t need to think of any more classes right now. I just hope I make it to next semester.”

“Okay Miss ‘all-As.’”

“Laugh all you want. One bad test grade and the scholarship goes with it.”

They reached the girls’ dorm. Austin tossed his water bottle into a recycle container.

“Guess I better shower and hit the books.”

“Hold up.” Skylar reached out and balanced herself by touching his shoulder so she could stretch her legs. Somehow, she still smelled good. “Okay, see you in the morning.”

She hurried up the stairs with a spring in her step. At the second floor, she turned and winked before she disappeared behind the wall.

Austin walked back to his section of the dorm. Knocking on his door, he entered his room. Stetson sat at his desk, while Curt Osby sprawled out on Austin’s bed. Darrion Lamego sat near the window with a cigarette between his fingers, and Elroy Arrius sat at Austin’s desk, doodling on a pad.

“Just in time, Stone!” Curt said, standing to face him.

Austin stepped in front of his clothes. “I need to shower.”

“What’s the hurry?” Curt said, standing behind Austin. “Whew!” He clasped his fingers over his nose. “You do need a shower!”

“All right then,” Austin said as he grabbed his towel, a T-shirt, and clean sweat pants. As he slipped into his slimy shower shoes, he looked around the room. “What’s going on?”

Curt’s eyes darted between Stetson and Austin. “Your roomie was just having a conversation with us.”

Austin looked to Stetson, who stared at the floor. “Oh, really? About what?”

“Should we tell him?” Curt asked, looking back to Darrion and Elroy. “I think we should tell him.”

He sighed. “If this is all we’re going to do then I have a shower and studying to get to.”

Curt stepped in front of the door and shut it. “You and Stetson both have calculus in the mornings, and us three have it in the afternoons.”

“Wow, that’s some serious investigative work,” Austin said.

Curt’s expression hardened. “All right, smart ass. We’ve heard Professor Heath uses the same tests on test days.”

“So?”

“So.” Curt set his hand on Austin’s shoulder. “We want to meet up during lunch and go over the answers. Now we know Stetson might miss a few questions here and there, so it would really help him out to have a partner in this.”

Austin shook his head and turned to his roommate. “You agreed to this?”

Stetson said nothing, but nodded like a child caught in a lie in front of his parents.

“Do you mind?” Austin asked, turning back to face Curt.

Curt stepped out of the way. “Think about it, Stone.”

Austin marched toward the bathroom, his feet squishing in his rubber shoes, still wet from his morning shower. When he returned to his room, the three “guests” had left. Stetson sat at his computer, flipping around a website with photos of spacecraft from the Star Runners game. Austin entered in silence and sat on his bed, the springs creaking.

“You okay, man?”

Stetson rested his head on his hand. “I guess.”

“It’s none of my business, but you should tell those guys ‘no.’ They just want to use you.”

“It’s not like I have a choice.”

“Sure you do.”

Stetson raised his head, his eyes red. “You’re bigger than me. It’s easier to be the jock-type and not get picked on.”

Austin winced at being referred to as a jock. “So what if they pick on you? You say ‘no’ and next test they’ll go after someone else.”

“No, they won’t. They never let up. It always happens this way.”

“Listen, you’ve seen how serious this school is about everything. You get caught, and they’re gonna throw you out.”

“I wouldn’t get caught if you helped me.”

He frowned. “Can’t do it. If I get booted out of here, that’s it for me.” He thought of the fruit stand job, and his boss acting as if he expected Austin to work there the rest of his life. He leaned back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Stetson turned back to his computer as if a weight pressed down on his shoulders. “I don’t really like people,” he whispered. “They’ve always seemed like an unavoidable side-effect of life. But you, you’ve been nice to me. I won’t forget that.”

Austin smiled but didn’t know what to say. Minutes passed as he stared at his biology book. His attention kept being drawn back to Stetson, who gazed at the wall.

“Ow!”

The pain flashed like a bee sting at the base of his neck. Austin threw his hand over the spot.

“Is there a problem, Mr. Stone?” Professor Downs asked.

Rubbing his neck, Austin shook his head. “Sorry, sir.”

As the class lecture on chromosomes continued, students turned their attention back to the teacher. Austin tried to take notes and ignore the throbbing pain in his neck. He rubbed at his neck once more and felt dampness on his fingertips. It was blood. A glimmer on the floor caught his eye. Near his shoe sat a folded piece of paper with tape covering the edges; the end was capped with a staple. He bent down and picked it up. He looked over his shoulder to the hallway, but whoever shot the projectile had left.

He flipped it around between his fingers. Although he had never been hit by one, he had seen them used in high school. Some called it a “wasp.” Students used a rubber band to fling it at their target. Sometimes the target would be paper cups on the cafeteria table at lunch time. Most of the time, the target was a helpless kid the older students singled out. Austin had never had this trouble before.

He raised his hand. “May I go to the restroom, sir?”

Downs nodded. “Make it quick.”

Covering his neck, Austin hurried out into the hallway. He passed several classrooms. Skylar sat in her calculus class and winked at him. He smiled but continued toward the bathroom.

The cold water soaked into the paper towel and he placed it on his neck. The pain subsided, and the bleeding had finally stopped.

“Something wrong, Austin?”

Curt appeared from a stall at the end of the bathroom.

Austin seethed, clenching his teeth. Blood rushed to his face. Curt washed his hands while keeping an eye on Austin.

“I hate to see my classmates get hurt.”

“I bet.” Austin turned to leave, but Curt grabbed his elbow.

“We have to stick together, you know, cover each other’s back.”

Austin looked at Curt’s hand and then back at his face. He yanked his elbow away. “I have to get back to class.”

The mess hall filled with students as it did every day. Two more “wasps” had hit him in the past two days, one in the back and the other in the neck. Stetson mostly received verbal threats in the hallway except for a few shoves into the dorm walls.

It made Austin sick.

“You haven’t eaten anything today.” Skylar studied him, her eyebrows wrinkled. “What’s been up with you lately?”

“Nothing.” He grabbed a bite of his green beans. It tasted like metal, more like the can the beans came in than the actual vegetables.

“And you haven’t been yourself during PT either,” she said. “Can I help you with something? Is it the classes?”

“No, it’s not the classes.” Austin couldn’t look at her.

“Then, what?”

The question hung over the table.