Chapter 1: Late on Account of Lust
James? James! Secilya s persistence was wearing thin on Jim s nerves; after all they d been up till at least midnight studying . How the hell could she be such a morning person? James!
What? He grumbled deep in his throat, wiping at the sleep dry on his lashes with the heel of a hand.
Get up or we ll be late.
Late for what? Shifting his weight to his elbows he slowly he blinked but the harsh sunlight bleeding into his dorm was almost too much to bear. Late for what Secil? It s Sunday. She paused for a moment, yesterday s wrinkled blouse and a mismatched sock clutched to her chest.
James yesterday was Sunday. She threw on her blouse, to keep her hands free to search for her skirt. I thought you said you weren t drinking last night? Jim lazily kicked the sheets from atop him, legs dangling over the side of the bed. Can you help me look for my- As she bent to search by the dresser table her boyfriend wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his lap. James-
Three things: I told you before, call me Jimmy. Everybody else does. Secondly, I didn t drink last night. Great sex with my girlfriend tends to make me lose track of time. And third, forget about class for just one day. He placed a lingering kiss to the exposed flesh peeking out from her collar. Let s just relax.
Jame- Jim, we have a two hour essay in Pleubus s history class.
What?! He tossed Secilya- all 107 pounds onto the bed. When?
In fifteen minutes.
You ve got to be kidding me? Damn it I knew that we should have studied last night. As Jim further trashed his dorm to find a uniform that didn t smell like gasoline or cigarette smoke Secilya buttoned up the white blouse as best she could; Jim had managed to pop one off in his fervency the previous night. Pulling her blonde mane into a messy bun she kissed her boyfriends cheek.
I ve got to head out. I ll see you in class okay?
Jim, we ve got to- Brent, Jim s roommate, stepped back into the hall to allow Secilya to slip through the door. So?
So ? Close the damn door. Brent cracked a smile as he obeyed his flustered friend s command. Jim grabbed a faded pair of blue trousers and fought to hike them on. What s with the smug grin?
Nothing. I m just wondering when you re going to tell me how last night s festivities went. Throwing the red head a smug grin of his own from atop the shoe laces he was stuffing into his shoes he joked,
There s a reason you were locked out. Besides you were plenty busy with- what s her name?
Bridgette. I really think that she s-
Dude save it. You ve said she s the one for every other girl you ve hooked up with this month. I would ve thought that you d have chosen your words more carefully. Grabbing their books they headed from the boys dormitories to IA s main building.
You don t get it. Bridgette and I are so made for each other.
Really? Tell me one thing that you two have in common that doesn t involve sex.
Well what about you and Secilya? There s been a sock tied to the door every Friday and Saturday for the last three weeks. Jim resisted the urge to roll his eyes, not at Brent s observation but at his friend s naivety. It was classic Brent Norcom behavior: forget introductions, no need for information, just screw. A lot.
At least we ve been dating for more than a week. Besides she said that she wanted to take our relationship to the next level .
Are you sure you weren t the one begging for- shit!" The first period bell was going to ring any moment. "Race ya?"
"Oh, you're on."
"Time is up. Essays on my desk and no talking until all papers have been handed in." Damnit, he knew that he should have studied, this had to be at best a D+ paper. But- he turned in his seat to see Secilya wave and throw him a sultry gaze that made all the blood in his brain head south.
It was worth it.
"How did you think you did?" Brent breathed down his neck from his seat.
"Let's just say that when my mom see's this mid-term she's going to-"
"Mister Hawkins." Damn. "Since you enjoy public speaking why don't you inform the class about the festivities this Friday?"
"Wait, we're having a party?"
"No," there was a chorus of disappointed 'ohs' and a few misplaced 'boo's' from the teenagers. Plebus flashed a toothless grin of withheld information, waving his blue tentacles to quiet the class. "Interstellar Academy is hosting the first annual Galaxy Games." Hype gripped the class and Mr. Plebus did his best to answer the dozens of questions hurtled in his direction.
"What the hell are the Galaxy Games?"
"Think of it as the Olympics. Rather than countries being the participants the competitors will belong to four schools."
"Who are the other schools?"
"Excluding Interstellar there will be the Migalta Charter School-" M.C.S boasted to further enriching some of the most intelligent minds in the galaxy. Doppler had been a student there some 20 odd years ago. "Kinapse Military Academy-" The boo's returned by an even larger margin. Kinapse had been a rival school to I.A. for over half a century. None of the current students really understand why two schools striving for the same goal: galactic peace would have so much hatred towards each other. But like they say: the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. "And M.H.S. Montressor High School." The name of Jim's long forgotten high school caused his heart to skip a beat. Or two. There was no way-? What would happen if he caught up with some old friends- the friends he had all but abandoned three years ago?
He quickly shook away his worries and his heart eased out of tackycardia and into a smoother rhythm. His old buddies weren't exactly the most promising of students. What were the chances they'd still be in school?
_
Thanks for reading!