Interstellar Academy by Kennedy Harkins (read books for money .TXT) 📕

August 30:

“This is shameful, Igor.” I tried to maneuver myself in front of him. Not an easy task in spider heels on the crowded platform. A fellow New Yorker bumped into me and cursed in my direction.

“And a pleasant morning to you too, sunshine.” I stopped--really the only way to stay upright in shoes with eight stiletto “legs” sprouting in every direction-- in front of Igor. He didn’t plow over me, good body gaurd that he is. “Really, this behavior is below you,” I told him.

His grey eyes held no sympathy. “Your parents don’t want you informed of the school you’ll be attending yet.”

“But we’re headed there now. I’m scared and uncertain about my future.” He didn’t even blink. “Is a little loyalty too much to ask for? Who signs your paycheck?”

“Your father.”

“Think long term, Igor. In three years, I’ll be legal, an adult, and if you don’t play your cards right, you’ll be out of a job for the first time in fifteen years.”

The smell of hundreds of people all packed into a dome like tunnel leagues above the city continued to assault my nose. I tapped my foot impatiently and almost fell over. The one of the dozens of holo screens said the train would be arriving in 43 seconds.

“Your parents just don’t want a repeat of the--” He flicked dark hair on the top of my head. “--incident when they sent you to remedial camp this summer.”

“This?” I motioned to my head. “This is art.”

“You shaved half of your head,” he said dryly.

I huffed. “It’s called an undercut. I can show you sometime. It’s fairly simple, even a commoner like yourself could have some success with it. Make sure you comb the rest of your hair to the unshaved side, or you won’t be able to see the designs in the shave.”

“I’ll take that into consideration.”

The ground rumbled with the force of a metal tube moving at speeds so fast it almost appeared invisible to the human eye. I watched the blur of white and blue solidify into a twenty car train as it slowed to a stop in front of us. There were no windows, the glass wearing out too quickly with the regular wear and tear of thousands of rides a day.

“Vehicle 875B to Houston, Dallas, United States now boarding. Priority members may board at this time.”

I flicked my wrist at the AI checkouting our bands as we stepped through the doors. It was humanoid in its body shape, though it was made of metal and had no skin to hide the programing and engineering that made it run. It even had a face. That was the part that got a lot of people; the complete lack of emotion where there was human like intelligence was very apparent on the faces.

The AI was still examining my band for what should have been a second long scan. I rolled my eyes, annoyed. “Clearly, my taxes aren’t going to the upkeep of public transportation. Remind me to write a letter, Igor.”

The Artificial Intelligence being’s head moved up and towards me. It felt almost as if it were looking at me, a feat that would’ve been enough to send the phobics screaming.

I smiled. “I’d watch it. That kind of behavior’ll land you in a scrap heap.”

Igor grumbled at me to stop talking to inanimate objects, and I joined him against the wall of the train. The interior was completely barren of seats or handles, nothing to hold onto. When I leaned against the wall, inside my personal bright blue lines, metal bracelets emerged from the surface. They looped around my wrists, arms, thighs, and calves, effectively strapping me down.

I tilted my head towards Igor. “You didn’t ask what the designs shaved on to my head are.”

“They’re celtic ruins.” I blinked, and he said, “It’s my job to know everything you do and everything about you, especially what you carve into your skull.”

The automated voice said, “Please prepare departure.”

I was pressed even harder against the side of the train, feeling the force of the train getting up to speed. My heart beat increased along with it, and I grinned ear to ear.

No matter the vehicle, I liked going fast.

_____

Unlike in New York, the station platform in Houston was outdoors. The steamy Texas air hit me like one of Igor’s oversized fists. My heels scratched at the pavement in a predatory sound that made people dive out of my way.

“Love these shoes,” I said. We walked along with the crowd of sweaty people to the tubes--airtight capsules that would race down to the ground with all the speed and force that gravity offered. Igor hated them. “Speaking of shoes, where is my luggage?”

We squeezed into one of the dozens of tubes. There was barely enough room for me and Igor’s ridiculous body mass. “You packed  too much. Some employees are re-packing the essentials and sending it to the school. It’ll probably arrive before you do.”

“And where, exactly, are they sending it?”

He shook his head. “Nice try.”

“I thought so. What do you mean re-packing? Everything I had in there was absolutely essential.”

Igor grabbed onto the walls when the capsule was released. It didn’t shake like the train, but gave the feeling that you’d left your organs floating back where you started. “We have different ideas of what’s essential. You’ll be allowed to keep some of your clothes for jaunts outside the institution, which I’ve been assured will be few and far between, but the school provides a mandatory uniform.”

“A uniform? How soul crushingly unoriginal. Do you expect me to stay in a place that’s a threat to my individuality?”

The ground approached at frightening speeds, making you feel like you were going to smash into it and disintegrate into so many pieces they’d never find them all. Igor tensed and grabbed on harder to the sparse railing and my arm.

The capsule hit an invisible field, slowing its descent like it was falling through pudding. We touched the ground with a feather like touchdown.

He leveled a no nonsense stare at me. “Yes, I expect that. This won’t be like camp, where you could escape whenever it tripped your fancy.”

“You obviously never saw the inside of that camp. The security system was state of the art, and some of the obstacles--precautions weren’t even automated. That barb wire fence was practically medieval. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little pleased with myself for figuring it out.”

A sleek, black hover car was waiting for us when we stepped up to the busy road. Igor always insists on going fist. Body gaurd thing, I guess. So I made sure to beat him to the car and climb in the back before he could stop me. By the time he sat down in one of the plush seats, I was already pouring myself some fruity concoction from the bar.

He smiled--actually smiled-- at me. “Oh, I think you’ll find this school a little tougher to break out of.”

Intriguing. A challenge was just what I needed to relieve the boredom of the last few weeks. I’d felt my missing holo like an amputated limb, one that used to bring me hours of entertainment.

“Astra,” he said, calling me to attention. His face was serious. “Just stay put. If you give it a chance, you might like this school. Who knows, you might even find some friends.”

I peered out the tinted window. We were leaving the city steadily behind, the building becoming smaller and sparser. “I have friends. Not that I’ve been allowed to see them as of late.”

“You have people who amuse you, who you use, not friends.”

I shrugged, not seeing any difference between the two.

August 30:

My holo buzzed, telling me I had an incoming message. I set down the small sack I’d finished packing a few minutes previous and grabbed it off the nightstand. The sphere computer fit easily in the palm of my hand. I pressed the power button, and the pale metal exterior receded into the center of the ball, bringing out the inner touch sensitive screen.

The holo projected my mother’s virtual face into the air in front of me. It had the strange transparent quality that come from portable holograms. The larger ones looked like flesh and bones, because they didn’t have to conserve power to have a longer charge life.

“Good morning, Drusus.”

I didn’t reply. It was a message, not live.

“Your passes for transportation to the ship that will take you off world to the Academy’s shuttle are on your dresser. I have no doubt you’ll make me proud and excel at everything the school throws at you. I expect to see you home over break.”

Her face vanished, and I closed up my holo, slipping it into a pocket. Picking up the bag, I did a survey of the room. It was just as bare as it had always been, so there was nothing to take down or clean up for the next occupant. I picked up one last item, my most valuable, and tucked it safely away in my breast pocket.

I’d already said my goodbyes to Kios and my mother, who had been called away on Tundris Council business.  Kios was in class, not that I’d want him to escort me to the city limits. I wanted good memories to last me through the year.

I locked the bedroom door with me still inside and hit a switch. A panel slid open on the ceiling and a ladder shot down. I attached the pack to myself, hooking the straps around my upper and lower thigh, and then I climbed up and out of the room for the last time.

Since it was one of the upper rooms, it opened directly to the rooftop instead of more ladders towards it. It was early, before even the other students would of risen, and too cold for pleasurable flying, so the roof was deserted.

I secured my fur coat over my thermal suit and breathed in the thick city air, before stretching out my wings and diving from the roof. It was tall enough to allow more than the needed time to catch the wind currents and flap your way away from the rapidly approaching ground. That couldn’t be said