"So back to my room then?" Braxton offered as the small group stacked their empty dinner trays. It was Matt's turn to get rid of them. Sy dutifully gathered silverware and cups.
"My room is open too," Varian offered brightly. "It doesn't smell like skunkweed any more!" He paused, then added under his breath, "Not much, anyway."
"Err, that's okay, Varian," Jim replied awkwardly. "I think we'll stick with Braxton's. There's a lot of us, and I wouldn't want to accidentally disrupt one of your alchemy experiments. Again." The other boys nodded their agreement a little too eagerly.
628 hiccuped, a burst of lilac scented green bubbles escaping his mouth. Braxton gestured towards him as if to prove their point.
Varian sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Those should go away any time now."
"Last night you said that they'd be gone by this morning," Braxton pointed out.
Varian shrugged helplessly. "A minor miscalculation based on his size and density. And it's not like I know exactly how many milliliters he swallowed."
628 hiccuped flowery green bubbles again. He grinned and stabbed one with a sharp claw. "Pop."
Matt let out a small sigh. "Let's just head to Braxton's room. I might duck out early, though. Hogarth and I are working on that project for Myths Across Cultures this weekend. We're almost done, just need the finishing details."
"You're still working on that?" Jim scoffed as he wandered towards the tray return. "Scribble and I finished Friday."
"We actually want a good grade."
"Oh, low blow." Jim absently wrapped his arm around Sy's shoulders as their friends rejoined them. "I'll have you know that Scribble did a fantastic job doing all the work."
"Jim!" Sy cried in disappointment.
"I'm kidding! I promise, I did my fare share. I'll show you my rough drafts!"
Braxton snickered. "Wow, Soft Spot, you certainly reformed him. Mais c'est génial!"
"Parles-tu Français?"
"Oui! Y español. E italiano. Et-"
"That's enough, you showboat." Matt shoved Braxton goodheartedly. "We get it, you're the most cultured of us all."
"Braxton?" Varian's face twisted up in confusion. "He's what we consider cultured?"
"Impressive, I know." Braxton pretended to dust something off his shoulder. "I'm just reeking of high class society." 628 tipped his head and poked at Braxton's shoulder to see what was on it. He licked the fabric. Instantly his face screwed up and he tried to paw lint off his tongue.
"Why don't you invite Hogarth to join us tonight?" Sy suggested brightly. He ignored the horrified expression on his boyfriend's face. "You two could work on your project while we hang out. Jim, you could invite Scribble, too."
Jim shook his head. "Scribble's probably already getting ready for bed. He said there's some comet that's supposed to be visible around six am and he wanted to be awake to view it."
"Oh, the Quanzhi-Maik comet! Zephy was talking about that Friday! He wants to see it as well, he said the bright purple reminds him of his mother. It's her favorite color."
"You just know a little of everything, don't you?" Braxton asked.
Sy ducked his head in embarrassment. Jim drew him closer to his side and frowned at Braxton. "Leave him alone, Brax."
"That was a compliment!" Braxton protested.
Varian's face lit up. "Did you want to try and see it together?" He asked hopefully. "I'll be up then anyway, I could come get you guys?"
Jim shook his head. "No way. I've touched a comet, I don't need to get up before sunrise just to see one millions of kilometers away."
"When did you touch a comet!?" Varian was plastered against Jim in less than a breath. "What was it like? Did you get a sample of it? How much do you remember? Can you describe the sensation? How did you survive?"
"Um," Jim wasn't quite sure where to start answering all of Varian's questions. "It was cold. Mostly made up of ice and dirt? I flew through the tail of one when Silver taught me to fly a lifeboat. This was four years ago, though. I don't think I have anything left of it."
Sy smiled over at Varian. "I've seen one too, they're not uncommon to pass by when traveling through certain shipping routes. I'll see if I can get a map sketched up for you with details on the most frequent occurrences. I think my dad has one already, actually. Next time I talk to my parents I'll see if he'll send me the download. You know how to read holographic maps, right?"
Varina nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! Only the first thing I learned to do when I was offered this opportunity!" A pause. "I mean, after I stopped yelling." Another pause. "And asking questions."
"So like three days later?" Braxton drawled.
"Something like that."
Sy stopped outside Braxton's door. "I'll go get Hogarth. Back soon!"
"Want me to go with you?" Jim offered.
"No!" Varian grabbed Jim's arm and tugged him into the bedroom. "You have to tell me more about this comet!"
Sy laughed. "See you later, guys!"
The remaining five boys claimed spots around the room. Varian promptly set to peppering Jim with a thousand questions about comets and other objects he had encountered in his travels.
Matt flashed Braxton a smile. "Thanks for letting us use your room."
"Anytime. I probably should have given Sy my badge, though. Oh well. He can knock. While he's not here, though, did you want to…" Braxton trailed off with a mischievous smile as he tapped the side of his head.
628's face lit up. "Ziz-ziz!" He leaped up onto Braxton's shoulder and spun the dials wildly.
"That's good, hang on…." Braxton listened for a moment before he began reciting. "'-that admiral's boy. Can't stand the little brat.'
"'You better be careful what you say, if someone overhears you talking like that, he won't be happy.'
"'Yeah, well, who's going to do that? Ain't no one around, and I checked the school equipment, it doesn't pick up this channel.'"
628 was clearly fascinated. His antenna twitched as Braxton recited the conversation for him. Even Varian had fallen silent as the assembled group listened to the transmission.
"Who's talking?" Jim inquired. Matt shushed him.
"'I'm telling you, I'm going to do something about that boy. He's sticking his nose where it doesn't belong.'
"'I get that you're angry, man, but you need to cut that talk out. You're going to get yourself into something you can't get out of.'
"'This isn't just talk. I need to know if you're with me. That little hotshot has gone too far this time. It's bad enough he made us do all that extra effort with his little mail scheme, but now he's got me in hot water with the admiral. I'm going to find a way to take care of him. You in?'
"'I don't know. We'll discuss this later. I have to go.'"
"Who was that?" Jim repeated.
"Sounded like Gray," Braxton didn't look like he liked the answer. "I can't tell you who the other was."
