The New Humans

Chapter 11

Monday morning, Ash walked to school with his head held high and a smile on his face. The late spring morning sun was warm and imbued him with new energy. The houses around him, all white cubes, were the perfect surroundings for the street in that provincial town. And what a lovely perfume in the air that morning. Ash couldn't wait to get to school where he would see all the nice people he had known for the past fourteen years.

"Come on, we're going to school, not taking a pleasure walk," said Rachel.

They arrived at the entrance to the school at a few minutes to nine. The courtyard was full of students joking and chatting before the beginning of classes. Tucked away in a corner, Rike and his gang were talking loudly, laughing, and slapping each other on the back. Even ten yards away Ash could hear Rike's voice.

"That brat would have been nine or ten years old," he said. "Then he starts staring at me, and I grab him by the neck and say, What do you want? He says, Nothing, nothing, all scared. I go, If you want to look at me, you gotta pay. And then he gave me all the money in his wallet."

Rike's friends laughed and congratulated him on his audacity. Ash walked past the group without even a glance.

"You're not saying hello, Synthetic?" Rike said.

Rachel motioned for her brother to ignore him and walk on, but Ash turned instead and, without losing his smile, approached Rike, put his hand on his shoulder and said, "Hello, Rike. How are you? All good?"

Rike was speechless. After a moment he said, "Get that hand off me."

Ash took his hand away. "Sorry, I didn't want to embarrass you."

"You don't embarrass me, Synthetic," Rike said. "You embarrass yourself every morning when you look in the mirror."

Rike's friends laughed, but Ash amazed them by joining in.

"What have you got to be so cheerful about, Synthetic?"

"We're moving to New Hayes this week. There is nothing you can say or do today to upset me." Ash walked away.

"Believe me," Rike said. "I know dozens of ways to upset you."

The morning passed. The timetable for the third hour that day was physical education. Standing in his usual place at the side of the court, the coach was marking the attendance on the log with the help of two pretty girls. When everyone arrived, he snapped the log shut and said, "Right, we'll start with a game of basketball. The people with colored shirts versus those in white."

Ash had a black shirt, while Rike was in white. It was the same situation as four days ago except in reverse. Rike turned toward Ash and gave him a scornful grin. Ash smiled in return.

The players went to their places at the center of the court. The coach blew the starting whistle and the game began.

One of Rike's team touched the ball and sent it to a teammate; he grabbed the ball on the fly and dribbled a few steps before facing an opponent; then he threw the ball to a teammate a few dozen yards away, but Ash intercepted the play and ran toward the basket. An opponent tried to stop him, but Ash moved around him with a feint.

Then Ash saw Rike running toward him with the intention of knocking into him. He passed the ball. For a fraction of a second, he raised his arm. In that moment, as if Rike had suddenly forgotten how to walk, he tripped over his own feet and fell face first to the ground.

All the players gathered around him to see if he was injured. Rike got up with the grace of a gorilla and touched his head to be sure there was something inside. Ash couldn't help smiling at that, and he wasn't the only one who found the scene amusing. Giggles came from the bench.