Thomas Shaw Female Dormitory
Astro Corps Academy Main Campus
21:20 GST-Z
Kat sat quietly at her desk, studying vectors and coordinates. She had earned a 96 on the test, missing a few points for not accounting for thruster drift. It was a strong showing after her embarrassing mistake in front of the class. Fran had scored a perfect 100.
Kat had rushed through dinner and left Fran behind, trailing Linares like a lost puppy. She does not even try to hide it, Kat thought. Fran’s poem still echoed in her mind. Is she jealous of me? But why? Fran was fun-loving, clever, and brilliant with hardware or software. Apparently, she was a tactical prodigy, too.
Fran came in quietly, moving with practiced grace as she slipped out of her uniform and got ready for bed. She always settled in before studying, usually reading from a hard copy textbook instead of a data pad. Since the capture-the-flag game, things had grown cold between them. Not openly hostile—just silent and awkward.
“How’s Linares tonight?” Kat muttered.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Fran shot back, tension rising in her voice.
“What do you think it means?”
“You’re jealous. You like him, but he looks at me.”
Kat smirked. “I’m jealous? What about that poem?”
“What about it?” Fran’s eyes narrowed.
“‘This one’s for the golden girl. The one you called your star.’ Sound familiar?”
“Oh, did that hit close to home? Maybe it was not even about you. Contrary to popular belief, not everything orbits around Kathleen Walters.”
“No, just Evan Linares.”
“At least I can get him to look at me.”
“How can he not? You practically paw him to death.”
“You bitch.”
Fran stood and crossed the room in two steps. Kat met her in the center, nose to nose. Neither blinked. Neither backed down. For a moment, both stood breathing hard, hearts racing, ready to throw the first punch.
Then Kat cracked up laughing.
Surprised, Fran stood frozen for a beat, then she started laughing too.
“Bitch? That’s the best you’ve got?” Kat wiped a tear from her eye as she sat back in her desk chair.
“I guess so,” Fran said, dropping back onto her bunk with a sigh.
“I’m sorry, Fran. I guess I am jealous. Jealous you’ve got Linares, jealous you scored higher on the test. Jealous because everything here feels like drowning in a hurricane, and you just float through it like nothing touches you.”
“You don’t need to be jealous. Math always comes easily to me. So has spatial reasoning. Linares, though… that’s just a perk.”
Kat glanced at her. “You know he has a reputation here. As a freshman, he should not have one, but somehow he does.”
“I’m not fragging him, Kat. I enjoy hanging out with him. He enjoys hanging out with me. But I know what he is. I will not be a victim of the bedpost.”
“Oh. Well… good.”
Fran smirked. “Even if something happens, it’ll happen slow. I may be from New Jersey, but I’m not the Jersey Turnpike.”
“What?” Kat asked, taken aback by the comment.
“Not everyone gets a ride,” Fran said, motioning from her chest to her feet.
“Good God, Fran. That’s not what I—never mind.”
Fran sat up a little, her expression softening. “Are we good? What’s really going on?”
Kat looked at the floor. “I’m just competitive. And it feels like you’ve been ahead of me lately. I guess I expected to be good at everything here, but I’m not. And yeah… it stings when he looks at you instead of me. The guys all see me as one of them. Nothing more.”
“Well, you are pretty damn serious. That’s not bad; it just makes them careful around you. I like to have fun. The guys pick up on that. But you—your someone they respect. That matters more.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“I am going to be a captain, after all,” Fran said with a smirk.
“Yes ma’am. And I’m sorry, Fran.”
“Think nothing of it, Kat. This place does it to you.”
“Call me a bitch again, though…”
“Not going to happen.”
“Sisters?” Fran held out her hand.
“Sisters,” Kat said, taking it. “In arms. Forever.”