Caught by Julie Steimle (read my book .txt) 📕

the room and a long study desk with six chairs and drawers on the other side. Photographs of family and sports teams hung on the right wall where the desks faced and even a few awards hung above the desk lamps. All six sleeping bodies were Avers, officers of the first rank in the Surface Patrol. The anzers and Aleas slept in different rooms in that area all segregated between males and females just like the cadet sleeping quarters. The room was nearly identical to Zormna’s own quarters, which gave her an increased sense of confidence.

Crawling as silently as possible over the floor, she peered up at the sleepers. Some of the Avers were grown men, thirty years of age at least. Most were in their twenties, and the few exceptions, like Aver Tellovii who was just promoted to Aver a year ago from cadet, were as young as seventeen. Occasionally there were some that were fifteen, and Zormna even heard of an instance where one was thirteen, but never younger than that. You had to be an adult to take rank, and that Aver at thirteen was perhaps the youngest person to pass the adult test in Arrassian history, something she aspired to.

She kept glancing up at the beds. Much to her relief, Aver Tellovii slept on a bottom bunk. He had a peaceful expression on his face, his arms sprawled with one over his head, and the other wrapped around his thin blanket, twisting it with a wad in his fist. Zormna smiled again and pulled out the comb and bag.

Inspecting Aver Tellovii’s position, she tried to figure out how she’d apply the cleaner into his hair, but his awkward sprawl had one arm in the way and the other pressed to his pillow. Frowning, she tilted her head, holding the goop-covered comb up to place her first stroke.

He shifted his arm, covering his face while emitting a snort and murmur. Zormna pulled back.

This just wouldn’t work. It was too messy and she probably would get it all over his arm. Zormna sat down and tried to think. She glanced around the room for ideas, looking at the pictures, the beds, the sleep desk, and the drawers. She could identify Tellovii’s desk well enough. Pictures of his family were pinned up on the backboard, some framed fondly. Her curiosity made her crawl over to the drawers and open them up. Digging in the first one she found were vis-pads and homework cards among other things left from his teacher’s aide job.

Zormna closed that drawer and pulled another one open, peering back at the sleeping Avers to make sure they stayed that way. One in a top bunk snored, his arm dangling down. Sneaking in a quiet breath, she looked back into the drawer. Inside this one she found some hair gel, tooth sanitizer, skin cream, a couple handkerchiefs, and a comb. Grinning, she took out the hair gel and unscrewed the cap. It was half full. Zormna glanced back again at the sleeping Avers. They were still sound asleep. Aver Tellovii had rolled over and was now twisting his covers toward the left wall. Taking no time now, Zormna opened the bag she had carried with her and poured the clear liquid inside the bottle of hair gel, hoping the saccharine odor would not tip him off. She shook his bottle just slightly then screwed the cap back on. Immediately she placed the bottle back inside the drawer and pushed the drawer closed.

With haste, Zormna crawled out of the room, peering first into the hall to make sure it was clear. The night patrols were thin, but with the inner city rebellion constantly trying to break through to the surface to escape Arras someone had to keep alert and they had increased the shifts twice. No one was in sight.

She crept into the corridor the way she had come making sure she didn’t make any noise on the way. At the door she listened first for the guard, then she pressed the door button. It opened in a hush, slipping inside the wall. Peering out into the main corridor to make doubly sure, she listened as well as watched the shadows. Zormna heard footfalls.

Panicking, Zormna closed the door, listening for the feet to pass. They came closer, rounding the corner on the other side with heavier echoes, much like the pounding of her heart as she told her self over and over in a mantra for good luck that she was not going to get caught this time. All sorts of thoughts raced through her head as the feet marched past the doorway. She kept shaking her head, wishing she hadn’t been so rash, so eager to get even, and she only prayed that she could get out of the corridor before anyone spotted her.

But the sound of the feet died down. When Zormna guessed the guard had passed she pressed the door button again then peered slowly into the hall. She saw his back far down the corridor, his head turning only to search the near hallways. She exhaled, waiting just a moment longer then tiptoed out into the hall, reaching inside the door to close it. As soon as it shut she pressed herself flat into the recessed doorway. Zormna took one more peek after the guard. From there she snuck in the opposite direction of the night watchman.

As soon as she could, she stepped into an offshoot corridor, briskly walking away from the main officers’ barrack hall toward the shower room. Ducking inside, she stashed her bag with residue washing chemical in the waste bin and dumped the comb into the sanitizer for cleaning along with her gloves. Clear of all incriminating evidence, Zormna marched back into the hall, looked left then right, and then hurried back to her sleep quarters. Never seen, never happened.

Vanity

 

The shower room was full of Avers, anzers, and Aleas part of the early morning schedule all rushing to finish bathing before their scheduled shifts. They chatted and laughed in their lines, waiting for their three-minute showers. Others were already dressed in their spanking clean uniforms and setting their hair to their favored fashions. Like most, the spiked buzzed top and long hanging back required a certain amount of hair gel to get the desired effect. And like most, Aver Tellovii sported that hairstyle. He had quickly finished his shower and prepared for his shift, touching up his uniform first and then combing out his hair. He poured generous amounts of gel into the palms of his hands then ran it through his hair, not only touching up the top but also running residual gel into the long back to create a bunched look for effect. He gazed into the mirror with a wink and a smile. It had the perfect form. Pleased, he marched off to his duties.

Failure

 

“So, when is it going to happen?” Salvar whispered over to Zormna in the middle of History class.

Zormna hushed him, waving him away from her. She was sorely disappointed. Aver Tellovii’s hair was still red. Apparently it didn’t work, and she had lost sleep for nothing. The Aver sat smugly at his desk occasionally glancing at the students as he checked over their essays. No green. No nothing. Not even a shade of green added to the red. He must have lied to her the other day just to scare her. That was the sort of thing Avers liked to do to cadets—tease them to see how gullible they were. And Zormna had fallen for it. She felt so stupid.

The class ended without incident. Zormna glumly trudged to her flight training with Alea Sholda. Salvar followed but was feeling very much the opposite of her. He was completely relieved that it didn’t work. He knew he couldn’t control Zormna’s mischievous impulses anymore than he could beat her in a flying race. He had tried before, both things. But it really was no use. That, and it was rather dull to be left out of her pranks. This one really was the worst prank she had planned yet, though.

Back when she had made their classroom freezing cold as revenge for their instructor always making it too hot, that was funny. The Alea had hopped around as he tried to turn the heat up at the air controls, but it only made it colder. It was funnier still because Salvar and Zormna had warned everyone else to be prepared, so they all came in their warm flight jackets and long sleeved uniforms. Frost had even formed on their computer screens. Of course, she was caught. No one at their level could manipulate the computer systems except for Zormna, who had been previously caught tampering with her bedroom temperature controls before just to see how things worked. Once she had accidentally caused all the school’s lights to run at night, and it took three hours to undo what she did. The Kevin had been furious. Still, none of it had been malicious, until, possibly, now—and he was glad it failed.

 

Dinner, then bed. Zormna did not try it again. She had given up on getting back at Aver Tellovii. She was just grateful that she didn’t get caught in the halls that night. That would have given her clean up duty for a week, worse than missing a bit of class for a game of pronuk. She lay down in her bed and sighed. Still, she thought it would have been funny to see Aver Tellovii with green hair.

Green

 

Another morning, another shower. Aver Tellovii stepped into the shower stall groggy eyed. He pressed the controls on and the machine ran through the routine: first a water mist, then a sanitizing rinse, then