Interstellar Academy

20: Jailed

The ship, as was expected, took a week to travel from the Space Port to the Academy. Jim searched aimlessly for his friends, finding Leslie first. They embraced before he led her, hand in hand, to find the others.

"Hey, Jim!" Stav and Ruse tackled Jim to the ground; thankfully, the boy had let go of his girlfriend's hand before she came tumbling with them.

"Well, hey there." He smiled at his boys; he'd missed them terribly. "What's up?"

"Nothin'. Just found Rayn. You guys hung out all summer?" Ruse raised an eyebrow. "That's… different."

"Yeah. He's actually a pretty cool guy, once you get to know him."

"I bet." They stood up and Jim assumed position beside Leslie.

"Brother!" Charlotte's voice sang across the ship, and she came up to hug all of them. "How are you doing?"

"I don't know, Charlotte, how was I doing one hour ago?"

She chuckled and reached behind her, hands entwining with Nova's. Her hair was in its usual braid, though it was evident it'd grown. Her eyes glistened the usual sea green and her pink mouth formed a small smile.

"Did you guys hear about Helena?" the green alien asked, her eyes growing sad. "She's in jail!"

"Again," Nova added, rolling her eyes.

"For what?" Ruse looked disappointed; he and Helena had mild crushes on each other all last semester.

"She stole from her job, supposedly." Charlotte sighed. "When you look at the evidence piled up against her, you can tell it wasn't her fault! Someone was framing her."

"If it's obvious for you guys, why isn't it obvious to them?" Stav asked, crossing his metallic silver arms.

"Someone has to take the blame," said Nova sadly.

"That's so wrong," Leslie said, Jim squeezing her hand. "Is there nothing no one can do?"

"Do you mean, is there anything a bunch of teenagers could do? I doubt it." Charlotte groaned. "And we have to get a new roommate!" She looked over at Nova nervously. "What if we get that Jennifer girl? Oh, my goodness, she hates me!"

Nova rolled her eyes. "She does not, she's very sweet."

"Jennifer?" Ruse laughed. "Nova, are we talking about the same person?"

"She's been nothing less than nice to me." The sunmaid shrugged.

"Anyway, let's get on with chores before the advisors chew our head off."

They went their separate ways, each gender getting assigned parts of the ship to clean the entire week. Jim didn't see much of Leslie or Nova, which he preferred, but when he did, they were together. That, honestly, made him nervous.

By the time the ship docked, Jim was a wreck, his head racking with combinations of the girls' conversations- or arguments.

They seemed happy enough though.

"We found our other roommate," Nova said, giggling, pointing over at Leslie.

"I was happy to oblige."

"Better than Jennifer by a thousand." Charlotte muttered, glancing at the Jello creature yonder. "A thousand times a thousand."

Since they were sophomores, they didn't have to go through some stupid initiation. Or so they thought.

That night, after the freshmen shuffled back into their dorms, Charlotte came huffing into the girls' lounge where the rest of them were conversing.

"LESLIE. I need you!"

The others stared at their breathless friend, puzzled.

"Yes, Charlotte?"

"Do you know how to swim?"

"No. I'm quite terrible at it." Leslie shrugged, her shoulders barely hitting the ends of her bright red hair. "Sorry!"

"UGH." Charlotte dramatically collapsed into Nova's lap, her words muffled, though audible to the group. "Why do you have to have a fin?"

"Because… I was born that way?" Nova pat her friend on the back. "There, there."

"The junior girls called upon me- ME- for a hazing challenge, and I can't participate."

"What type of challenge?" Ruse's arms crossed over his chest, now puffed out. He was in brother-mode.

"A… could you jump from a high point into freezing cold water wearing nothing but your underclothes challenge?"

Nova threw the girl into an upright position. "Why in the world would you agree to something like that!"

"Because it sounds like fun! And it's boiling hot, how would you feel it?"

"What if there are rocks at the bottom of that water, you could get really hurt!"

"And why would you ask my girlfriend to take part in that?" Jim asked defensively.

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "You guys are no fun at all." She rested her head on Nova's shoulder. "I really wanted to do it." She looked pleadingly at Nova.

"I'm ignoring you."

"Remember the last time Nova tried swimming in public?" Rayn added, having been quiet for some time. He had on his reading glasses and was going over a "student-teacher's guidebook". He was going to start his student teaching within the week, after a crash course. He was great with navigation and memory, and decided to help the geography teacher out.

"Yeeeees, but we're not surrounded by freakos with a boat- no offense, Rayn."

"None taken."

"Come oooooon."

Charlotte's black eyes shone and dark green lips quivered.

"Charlotte no." After just a moment, she grudgingly sighed. "FINE. I'll do it."

"YAY!" She hugged her. "You don't even have to get out of the water."

"I don't have a choice."

"Can we watch?" asked Stav, which earned him pillows to the face from both Nova and Ruse.

"NO."

"Cool, I was going to anyway." He packed his things and stood up. "Lead the way, ladies."

"WHOOT!"

Charlotte didn't wait for Nova to college her items, but grabbed her arm and pulled her outside. They went to the beach, then headed up a cliff.

"Charlotte, are you sure? We could really get hurt."

"Quit your belly-aching, Finn! We'll be fine!"

They reached the top, and Nova looked down.

"Are you gonna be OK?" Jim hovered beside her, also staring at the ocean below.

"I'm not sure, but I'm certainly hoping so." She gazed up at him and smiled. "Someone's gotta guard her, Heaven knows she won't do it herself."

"Good point." He laughed lightly, then said with a heaving sigh, "I got your present."

"You did! I was worried it'd gotten lost in space." She stood up. "Did you like it? I thought it was awful appropriate."

"Yeah, it was awesome, actually. Thank you."

"Hey, Nova, get your butt over here and get NAKED."

"Ch-Charlotte!" Nova scolded, embarrassed. She ducked behind a bush, placing her shirt and jeans neatly on the branches. Then she emerged, trying her best- and failing- to cover herself with arms.

Charlotte grabbed hold of Nova's hands, then looked excitedly at the junior girls.

"Three…. Two…. One… JUMP."

And they did.

They plunged into the water with a deep SPLASH, and for awhile no one came up.

Jim scanned for the familiar white fin, which he finally found swimming around below. Nova's head popped, her eyes panicked. "I can't find her! We got in, and the current ripped us apart, I can't find her anywhere!" She dove back under, careful not to reveal her fin.

She came up five minutes later, stunning the junior girls, with Charlotte, the girl's bright blue hair disappearing against the sea.

They met up at the beach, Ruse bending down and taking her from Nova. He knew the sunmaid couldn't come near the shore.

"I'll get Rayn! It's easier to travel by water; he's on the beach." Nova swam away, Jim watching her fin fly across the waves.

"Has she ever considered the swim team?" one of the juniors muttered, causing Ruse to blow up.

"You think this is a JOKE! She could really be hurt! Or worse!" That quieted the girls up.

Rayn coming up then, shirtless- he'd given his shirt to a now dry Nova. "Move out of the way!"

"Mr. White, look, we were just-"

"Don't start with me, ladies! You'll definitely be punished for this!" The girls shut up again, huddling together in a heap of guilt.

"Will she be OK?" Ruse asked, his heart racing and rising to his throat.

Rayn bent over her, shoving anyone else out of the way. Then he pressed onto her chest, breathed into her mouth, and repeated this a couple times before she finally coughed.

"Nnn… What?" She opened her eyes slowly, fluttering at each new blur that her eyes couldn't quite focus on. "Wha' happen'?"

"You nearly drowned." Rayn took one arm and placed it around his neck, then lifted her off the sand and into his arms, carrying her along the beach toward the campus. He glared at Nova, who ducked her head slightly. "You could have been KILLED. I know you can breathe but… there could have been rocks. There could have been hungry sea creatures. ANYTHING could have gotten you BOTH. Do you realize that?"

Nova nodded, ashamed, and didn't say anything else.