BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
I'm jolted awake by the piercing sound of an alarm clock buzzing in my ears. I reach over and slam the clock to shut it up. It's 7am. Ugh, I'm exhausted.
I roll over, groggy, and pull the covers back over my head.
"Karina," snaps Eva. "The bus leaves in twenty minutes."
She huffs out of the bedroom and slams the door shut behind her.
I take a deep breath. In and out.
I roll out of bed and stumble into the bathroom, hoping a shower will wake me up. The hot water is refreshing, and the smell of lavender soap is soothing.
After showering and brushing my teeth, I slip into my jumpsuit and grab a banana and some almonds and put them in my new bag.
When we first arrived to the apartment, there were two, black backpacks sitting on each of our beds. Our names are embroidered inside. They are gifts for the Squad's newbies.
I decide to stick my headphones in the bag as well.
"Eva?" I shout. "Are you still hear?"
No answer.
"Eva?" I say one last time.
I pause and do one more mental check that I have everything and then leave the apartment and head toward the elevator.
"K-Nigma!" yells Rex. "How was the rest of your night? How was meeting Iggy??!"
"Hey Rex," I answer. "It was cool."
For a fleeting moment, the thought flashes across my mind that maybe I should tell Rex the truth about Iggy. I just want someone to confide in - it feels heavy to keep it all to myself. But then the feeling passes, and I realize how silly it would be to tell her anything - I barely even know her.
"Iggy is really cool," I add. "How was your night with that, uh, boy?"
"He's dreamy," she responds. "I had so much fun. Thanks again for inviting me."
"Of course," I reply.
We are both silent for a moment, thinking about our adventures from the previous night.
"So, no juicy secrets about Iggy?" Rex pipes up again, laughing. "I thought maybe you'd get some interesting deets on her, you know, snooping around her dressing room and whatnot."
"Like...IS she dating JJ or not?!" Rex adds.
JJ is one of the more popular male pop stars at the moment. He's around Iggy's age, and apparently there have been rumors about him and Iggy floating around for a while now. I can't believe I forgot to ask her about that. Next time, I guess.
I laugh, "No Rex, we didn't talk about Iggy's love life."
"Lame," teases Rex.
"I was just with her for ten minutes anyway," I lie. "I have to go though. First day of training!"
"Right!" she exclaims. "Good luck. The first day is fun!"
"Oh by the way," she adds. "My brother Ro is having a party tonight after the closing ceremony. He's super-rich and his place is awesome. It'll be sick. You gotta come."
"Sure," I respond. "Sounds fun."
"Great," Rex says. "I'll have to introduce you to his anorexic biatch of a girlfriend, Pia."
"Can't wait for that," I respond, sarcastically.
The elevator arrives and I hop in, waving to Rex, "See ya!"
I'm feeling a little nervous, but I remind myself that I deserve to be here.
When I enter the lobby, there is a small group of newbies, all wearing gold jumpsuits and matching backpacks, clustered around the entrance of the building. Eva is at the center of the group, telling a story, while everyone listens.
"And he died and she didn't even have to destroy her greatest attachment," I hear Eva say.
She spots me, sneers and then looks away. The other girls in the group do the same. I walk to the opposite corner and sit in an empty chair, by myself.
The bus pulls up a second later, and we all head to the door and file out of the building and onto the vehicle, one-by-one.
"Hello, hello!" chirps Shilpi as we emerge from the apartment building. "Good morning, Karina!" she says to me, as I'm about to step onto the bus.
"Good morning, Shilpi," I respond, forcing a smile.
All of the seats are taken, or newbies put their backpacks next to them, barring me from sitting in otherwise empty spots. So, I grab my only option, alone, at the back of the bus.
So much for being friends, I say softly to myself, staring at the back of Eva's head.
The bus ride is short, and soon we are making our way into a large building. Shilpi ushers us into an auditorium, sort of like The Arena but slightly smaller, and we take our seats, in the second and third rows. The first row is filled with important-looking people, clothed in long, black robes. The Lords of Shinar.
In their matching attire, it's hard to differentiate between any of them, but one catches my eye - a woman, very tall and very slender - who holds a can of Iggy's Elixir in her left hand. Her hood is up, so I can't see her face, but she wears a cool, golden bangle on her left wrist. I wonder what her deal is.
Eventually, the auditorium fills up and Xeno takes the stage. We all start clapping.
"Thank you, thank you," begins Xeno. Everyone quiets-down.
"Welcome," he continues, "Today marks day one of training for the newest members of our Squad. Congratulations newbie Cadets. Welcome to the Galactic Squad."
Everyone cheers.
"I must reiterate how very special you are to have made it this far," he adds. Becoming a member of the Squad is not an easy thing to do, so you should be proud. We are honored to have you here."
Again, everyone claps and cheers.
I feel self-conscious, wondering if all of the newbies sitting around me are secretly agreeing that I shouldn't be sitting among them.
"Today we begin a series of trainings that you are required to attend," he adds. "Once you complete all of the trainings successfully, you will be officially inaugurated into the Squad. No one has ever made it this far and not been accepted into the Squad, so I don't expect for that to be the case for any of you."
"There's a first time for everything," Eva whispers loudly, looking straight at me. Everyone around us giggles. I sink into my seat.
The morning progresses with a series of speakers talking mostly about how the Squad is organized, where important buildings are, what the basic rules are - things like that.
My eyes begin to get really heavy, and I start to nod off. Then Xeno makes one final announcement.
"Before we all break for our afternoon meal," he says. "I'd like to officially announce who the Mentors of our newest Cohorts will be."
I perk up.
"I'll start with the Cohorts that I'm mentoring," Xeno continues. "Cohort 32, Cohort 17, Cohort 21..."
Xeno goes on listing various Cohorts and their respective Mentors until finally he announces, "Moxie Perez."
My heart skips a beat.
"Mentor Perez will be in charge of the following Cohorts," he continues. "Cohort 11, Cohort 13 and, Cohort 53."
I flood with excitement. I want to jump out of my seat and start screaming and dancing.
"Every newbie, before you grab food," Xeno announces. "Please go to the Blue Room to find out where and when you will be meeting with your assigned Mentor during the break. Each of you will have a one hour session with him or her before we meet back here in the evening for our closing ceremony."
Xeno exits the stage and everyone stands up to leave. I rush out, thrilled that I get an entire hour to chat with Moxie. I cannot believe this is happening! I laugh at the fact that the way that most people feel about Iggy is how I feel about Moxie Perez.
As I make my way to the Blue Room, I notice the same gaggle of newbies from this morning crowded around Eva again, as she speaks and they croon. "No doubt spreading more lies about me," I say under my breath.
Zayn approaches Eva and gives her a high-five and then stands and chats with everyone. I fume. He sees me and starts to head toward me, but I quickly turn around and run off to retrieve my assignment.
On the way there, I pass by the food station, so I decide to grab a sandwich to go and put it in my backpack.
The device on my arm buzzes. It's Zayn. "Hey, what's up? Why did you dash off?"
I choose to ignore him. I turn off my cell and enter the Blue Room, heading straight toward the desk labeled "Moxie Perez."
"I'm here to pick-up my assignment details," I tell the woman sitting at the table.
She smiles, "Name, please?"
"Karina Ishma," I respond. She pauses for a second and stares at me, a look of shock mixed with awe on her face.
"Is something wrong," I ask, feeling nervous. What if they made a mistake. What if I'm not supposed to be here today, and I just didn't get the memo? I start to panic.
"THE Karina Ishma...from Planet Dard?" asks the woman.
"Yup," I respond, as cheerfully as possible. "That's me!"
"Wow, uh welcome, Ms. Ishma," she says, handing me an envelope.
I take it from her, "Thanks."
Then she leans over the table and looks both ways before whispering, "Is it true that you got in because a boy killed himself?"
I look at her for a moment, unable to respond. I'm not sure what to say.
"It's complicated," I squeak out.
"Oh, ok then," she responds, nodding her head slightly and sitting back down in her chair. "Don't be late! Moxie doesn't like it when people are late."
"Got it - thanks," I respond curtly, hurrying out of the room. That was slightly annoying and weird. I need to find a quiet space so I can clear my head before I meet with Moxie. I don't even know what I want to say, but I feel like there's so much.
I open the envelope. I have one hour. I walk out of the building and keep going until I find a quiet spot to eat and think and write.
As I approach a tree with a bench underneath it, I notice that same woman - one of the Lords of Shinar - talking with a man in hushed tones. I duck behind a nearby bush.
The man isn't wearing any robes. In fact, he's wearing a mask that covers his entire face. The mask looks vaguely familiar...is this the same guy who was chasing Zayn and me on Mimba? It can't be.
I get shivers up and down my spine.
The woman hands him something, and I see her golden bracelet as it catches the sunlight.
Who is this guy, and what is she handing him?
After the exchange, they both go their separate ways.
Curious.
When the space is clear, I go and sit down on the bench. There's a small piece of paper next to it, but it's blank. I grab it anyway and stuff it into my backpack, just in case it's written on with invisible ink.
The breeze blows, and I feel cold even though the sun is shining bright, so I throw on my jacket. My stomach growls, so I dig into my sandwich. It is delicious.
I keep trying to clear my head and prepare for my meeting with Moxie, but I can't get the image of that woman and the masked man out of my mind. I have an uneasy feeling that something fishy is going on, and my curiosity is starting to get the best of me.