Free The Sky Drifter by Paris Singer Page B

brought it to my lips. The sweet drink was smooth and just tart enough for my liking.
    Relieved of what it’d been carrying, the bot lifted its arms and waved them around to the merry dance music that suddenly started playing. I sat on the edge of my bed and smiled. “Thanks, Ava.”
    “You are welcome, Seven.”
    After taking another sip from the glass, I asked, “So, what’s the new game about?”
    Ava and I played for a while, then I went to bed. However much she’d helped me forget, the deafening stillness of the night now magnified my encounter with One tenfold until it filled my mind.
    ***
    BANG. BANG. “ Seven ! Get —”
    I opened the door just as Iris swung her fist at the door to knock again. As it collided with my mouth, she turned with a look of confusion on her face.
    “Hi,” I said, checking for a bleeding lip.
    Her eyes widened, not so much at the thought that she’d hit me, but at the fact I was awake on time.
    “Seven? Wha—”
    “I just felt like getting up earlier. What?”
    “Dude, are you okay?” came Pi’s disbelieving voice as he stood slack-shouldered on the path.
    Stepping forward and then turning to close the door, I smilingly replied, “Guess yesterday’s trip must have really taken it out of me. I crashed as soon as I got home and slept the whole night through.”
    “I don’t think this has ever happened in all the time I’ve known you,” japed Iris, still looking astonished.
    “Just trying to keep you both on your toes,” I joked as we started down the path toward the town.
    I didn’t want to tell them that I’d barely slept that night, my mind troubled with One’s threat. Iris and Pi could more than take care of themselves. They were stronger than me, but I knew what One was capable of. The vindictive look I’d seen in his eye suggested a gleeful malevolence the likes of which was hidden behind his mask. As strong as my friends were, I just couldn’t take that chance.
    “Looking forward to cooking class?” I asked Pi, wanting to change the subject.
    “You know I am,” he replied, excitedly bobbing his rotund body up and down a couple of times. “Hope you’re ready to see the master at work, bro.” He winked.
    “Always am.” I laughed, relieved the conversation had veered away from me.
    “We’re on for Shabli’s later, yes?” Iris asked.
    “Sorry, can’t today,” I replied.
    “Oh?” asked Pi with an air of animated curiosity. “What do you have to do that could possibly be more important than Shabli’s? I know there’s no Sphere practice today.”
    “Ha, ha,” I answered flatly. “I have an advanced Strategy class later.”
    From time to time, I’d have extra-curricular Strategy lessons with Ms. Photuris. She’d approached me after the end of my very first class and had told me I had a natural talent she wanted to nurse and enhance, offering to personally teach me once in a while. The lessons took place in her office, which was more like an advanced, grander version of the classroom, only with a single four-dimensional screen that filled the entirety of the farthest part of the dark windowless, yet comfortable, room.
    “Bummer,” stated Pi simply.
    We reached the academy on time as groups of students filtered gradually in. As Iris headed off to her Quantum Physics class with a group of friends she’d spotted, Pi and I walked toward our Cooking class. The classroom was situated on the far right of the academy. The high-ceilinged room   had long windows that stretched the length of the white walls, making it very bright inside as the light shone in. Each chrome workstation gleamed with cleanliness, and there was a certain clinical smell that permeated the air mixed with the perpetual aroma of the many dishes that had been created over time.
    Each of the islands was spread over the middle of the classroom and had its own plasma burners and oven, a sink, and substantial work space to prep on.
    Pi and I entered the large room to the sounds of