There is Another (Chapter 1)
Posted By: Chris Reebe<Adrenaline@si.rr.com>
Date: 4 July 2002, 3:53 pm
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"Rock, paper, scissors, says...shoot...Oh, man! Your turn to win...but you know what this means John, I win next game" said Chris, disappointed that the game wasn't set up in his favor this time.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's go takeover the hill!" was John's only reply. He loved to win and was thrilled that he and his best friend had made the deal. Since they both knew they were the best, they would take turns winning games against their less fortunate friends.
They both began climbing the hill, Chris leading. He would clear the way for John and once at the top they acted to struggle. Since John had won the 'rock, paper, scissors' game earlier, Chris fell from the hill giving the impression that John was the best. No other kid seemed to realize that John and Chris were the only two to win any game.
"Can I speak with you please?" asked an unfamiliar woman. Normally, Chris would have went too; John and Chris were inseparable; but this time Chris saw this as his chance to take the hill... and on John's turn to win, too! This means he can win twice in a row now!
"Have fun, John" Chris said, with a wide grin on his face.
"This is your turn...I win next" said John, knowing exactly what Chris had on his mind.
Suddenly, the grin faded and Chris nodded, feeling foolish for thinking John would allow two consecutive victories in King of the Hill.
Chris shrugged off the minor disappointment as he saw another kid dive at him.
He sidestepped just as he was about to be hit, sending the kid over the top of the hill and on his way back down the other end. Chris grabbed his ankles to prevent his friend from rolling down the hill and immediately turned his attention back to the game.
There were no immediate threats to him on the hill so he glanced over to John and the woman. He saw a coin flip and John pick it out of the air. He heard John say, "I always win". Chris then yelled "Not always!" with a smile on his face.
The woman turned to her partner and pointed to Chris. A moment later, she smiled and sent John on his way.
As soon as Chris saw his best friend start walking back, he immediately rolled down the hill. He reached the bottom and popped up to his feet. He would much rather hear what was going on than play a silly game that hew could win anytime.
"What was that all about?" asked Chris, eager to know.
"Look at this" John said, showing the shiny coin, a smile on his face the whole time.
"Cool! She gave you that?"
"Yeah. She seemed nice" John answered, flipping the silver quarter in his hand.
"But what did she say?" asked Chris, showing his interest in his friend rather than the coin.
"Nothing" John answered. Let's go."
"You sure? I saw she had a data pad. Something's up."
"Don't worry about it" John said, reassuringly. If anything happens, you know you would be the first to know.
A whistle sounded, interrupting their conversation. The two boys ran towards their school for the rest of their lessons.
The school was small. One floor, white, weathered bricks, and a sign above the front double doors read 'Learning Grounds 8/66'. Perhaps, the school wasn't so small after all...
They took a shortcut to the school. A few hops and they were over the five-meter tall hill. It was a hot and humid day. Sweat could be seen dripping off of their faces as the two raced each other. The two boys were close in speed but Chris always won. It could have been because of his size. Chris stood one and a half meters tall and weighed seventy-five pounds. He had blue eyes and dirty blonde hair, showing signs of turning to complete brown. He had his hair in spikes, but not the usual style of spikes. Perhaps his most unique feature was his hair. It seemed as if his hair was alive, growing wildly in different directions while staying in the spike form.
His strides were longer than John's. John never complained, though. He was the type of kid who always thought of something. Sometimes he would tackle Chris on the way up the hill and use the extra time to take the lead, but today he was too hot to fool around like that.
A normal school day after recess consisted of flight training, math, and science. Since Earth's colonies have been on the brink of civil war recently, each colony tried their best to train worthy pilots at early ages.
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