CHAPTER 1: THAT is why, Pixie!
„..., or should we better choose Chili?"
The young man with short black hair and fancy glasses asked and his neighbor, an athletic guy with short blond hair and a sleeveless shirt on, pensively scratched his nose.
„Hmmmm...", he muttered, but before he was even able to answer, a slightly smaller figure with red hair and freckles barged in.
„Naw! Let's stick to chicken, today.", he said and quickly pulled the menu out of the other one's hand, „I haven't had some for quite a while, you know..."
He flipped the menu behind him without even looking where the card went to.
„Maybe, that's just because, there isn't any real chicken around here, anyway?", the man with the glasses asked, voice low, turning his head to look at least where the card had been thrown.
„Haha! Really funny, Josiér...", the one with the red hair pouted, „At least, we eat normal things. Not like those rebel suckers – Didn't you hear what Commander Olsen told us last lesson? They eat humans!" He shook his head. "How barbaric!"
„Of course, I heard, what the Commander had told us, Conners.", Josiér justified his glasses with a tip of his middlefinger, „And I am also not complaining. I'm just saying that the reason you haven't had any chicken for some time might be that there is no chicken around here in this cafeteria or anywhere else at all..."
„Oh, come on, you two!", the blond haired cadet sighed, „You don't really need to quarrel about dinner, do you...?"
„Shut up, Bings." The redhead with the freckles waved disparaging at the stronger one. „You don't have any culture, do you? Food is really something that can be discussed about. At least, if it isn't the Frankenfood, that's served here in this canteen..."
He smirked crookedly and then finally changed the topic:
„By the way... Did you guys already hear the latest news? Our friend Pixie has signed up for the maneuver, again..."
„Huh? Pickens, you say? " Josiér grimaced, while Bings just started chuckling.
„Oh, my... I wonder, if this guy will ever learn, that his destination is anything but flying..."
They started laughing.
„By the way: Speak of the devil... - There he is, our 'high-flyer'... ", Conners stopped laughing and pointed at a rather thin figure with short blond hair, who was wiping the floor at the other side of the room.
„Hey, Pixie!", he shouted and waved at Cadet Pickens (Whom almost everyone at the academy just called 'Pixie'.), „Got a second, buddy? Come over here, we've got some work for you!"
Cadet Pickens knitted his brows.
Those three again...
Everytime, Conners and his so-called friends needed something from him, it always ended up quite ugly for him, so Pickens wasn't really happy about the fact that Conners called him over right now.
However, after hesitating another short moment, he put his mob aside and walked over to the small group.
„Conners. Bings. Josiér.", he greeted them and nodded politely, „How can I help you this time?"
"Hey. We heard, you want to try your luck, again?", Conners said and started lingering on his chair, eyes curiously set on Pickens.
"Uhm… 'scuse me?"
"The maneuver, stupid!"
"Oh! Y-Yeah, of course! I'm sorry…", Pickens smiled as if he had been caught out and scratched his head, "Yes, I signed up, again. –Oh! And this time, they'll let me join you, I promise!"
His eyes started to sparkle, like everytime, he imagined how it would feel to fly the skies in a real plane.
But dreams are bubbles, and just like one of them, his vision plopped within a second, when he heard Conners laughing, again.
"Oh, come on, Pixie!", Connors said and shook his head, " You really believe that bullshit you just told us?"
"I… Uhm… - O-of course, I do!" Pickens seemed quite puzzled about the question. "Why not? I finished the first-year's exam on first try, just like you did. Captain Jonas will simply have to let me join this time…"
"And if he doesn't?"
Conners grinned.
"He won't! I mean, he will not… No. He will… He won't…? He will…? –ARGH! This time, he will let me join in, basta!"
Why shouldn't the Captain let him fly again this time? How dared Conners to say such a thing! He was okay at school and he didn't do anything forbidden ever since he had entered the academy. So, how dared Conners to say such a thing!
Picken's hands startet to shake.
They were wrong. All of them. Who ever said, he would stay on the ground again this time… - They were all fucking wrong!
"Hallo? Pixie…? -Hey! Steven!"
Josiér snipped his fingers in front of Picken's face and brought him back to reality.
"There you are…", he said, sounding pretty relieved for a moment. But then, the sorrowful expression in his eyes vanished completely and when Josiér continued, Cadet Pickens got the feeling again that he was nothing more to them than the dirt on the mop he knew how to deal with so well.
"Look, mes amies", Josiér proposed, "Why don't we just forget about the whole thing and Pixie's finally getting us our chicken and some dessert? What do you think about that? Sounds great, doesn't it?"
"Of course it does!" Bings seemed to be very happy that someone else but himself seemed to remember what was really important here.
"You heard him, Pixie?", he turned towards Pickens, "Go, get us some food. I'm starvin' here!"
Pickens bit his lips. For a second, his big brown eyes fixed Josiér as if to ask him WHY? Why are you doing this to me?
But then, he took a deep breath and without further waiting for an answer to his unspoken question, he finally pressed: "Strawberry, Chocolate or Vanilla?"
The other three cadets ordered their stuff and Pickens turned and headed back towards the kitchen.
Again, he thought, Again they gotcha all fucked up…
It was always the same old thing: They found him, they asked him stuff or wanted something - and then... Well.
Okay. Sometimes they left out point one or two. Or both. Nevertheless, it was always the same old shit. They were cool, he was waiting kitchen tables. And they let him know. Always. Congratulations.
He hated that.
Pickens had to admit that it wasn't that much the fact that the others mocked him all the time. It was more that he didn't actually understand why. Why was he always made fun of? The last on the list? The one who had to stay at home? Last time, he had been among the top ten students, concerning the theories of flight and defense. And after some minor difficulties, he had even managed to start one of the battle jets without crashing the electronic parts like the three times before…
Well, thinking of it, Pickens actually had to admit, that he didn't like those highly modern planes that much, anyways. He preferred the 'Classics', like old Ruby, for example, which was a plane from the times before the Federation had united all parts of the world. Its mechanic was quite simple but also reliable. And if there was something wrong with the machine, it was quite easy to fix. But Ruby was like him: She had to stay at home. After all the years, she had served in several wars, she was now more like a small piece in a museum to teach the students about the History of aircraft construction.
Sad but true. She would have made her way through the clouds even more precisely than those electronic toys…
But, back to the current situation. Conners, Bings and Josiér. They ordered Chicken and Crispy Pudding.
Urgh. What a disgusting mixture…
For a second, Pickens wondered, if he should have told them about their desserts. For example, what Crispy Pudding was actually made from. But, no. He didn't. Instead, he fetched all the stuff from inside the kitchen and returned to Conners and his friends, to put the first plate and bowl in front of Conners.
Chicken and Crispy Pudding with Strawberryflavour as ordered.
Without a word, he surrounded the table, to put the next order in front of Josiér. Too bad, that he didn't look down on the floor that very moment. Otherwise, he maybe would have realized the outstretched leg, which Bings had just put in his way.
A small stormcloud was just passing outside the base, when the clattering sound of breaking porcelain mixed with Picken's decent cursing and the laughter of the others.
"Look at this!", Bings was howling, almost laughing until tears came to his eyes. "A Pixie all covered in Vanilla and Chocolate pudding. You really do like sweet stuff, don't you?"
Leaving aside the fact that it also was his own dinner that covered Cadet Picken's face and uniform and half of the floor below, Bings considered things to be really funny, though.
"See? That is why, Pixie", Conners giggled and peered down at him, "That's the reason why, you will never ever join us on any maneuver. And now clean up that mess and get us some new food, Loser."
Whit these words he stood up, waved at Bings and Josiér to follow his example and simply changed tables, leaving Cadet Pickens all alone sitting on the floor, covered in Crispy Pudding and Synthetic Chicken Sauce.
Hey. :) I hope, you enjoyed the first chapter. If there is anything that you want to tell me or ask me about, feel free to do so in the comments. I try to answer you as soon as possible then. ^^