Starbounders Read Online Free Page B

“Yes, I know, it sounds like a girl’s name. My parents were convinced they were having a daughter, but they got me instead.” The Lightwing boys and girls laughed. “We’re going to split you into groups of four and see how you fare in the Qube. Suit up and find a pair of friction boots that fit you. Monica and I will be evaluating your skill level for training placement.”
    Zachary and the other boys and girls walked over to the far side of the tank, where rubber padded suits were hanging on hooks, and boots of all sizes sat in cubbies. He grabbed an outfit that looked about his height; it was long-sleeved with full-length pants. He then reached for a pair of size-seven boots, but it was as if they’d been glued down. He gave them a tug to pull the bottoms free from the cubby shelf. He tugged and tugged again, but the boots wouldn’t give. Finally, he gave them a twist, and they released immediately.
    And Zachary wasn’t the only one struggling with the boots. Ryic was as well. When he finally dislodged a pair from the cubby, Ryic went stumbling back into a girl standing behind him. They both fell in a heap.
    â€œFirst day on your new feet?” the girl asked.
    Ryic looked at her curiously. “No, these are the same feet I have always had.”
    â€œDidn’t anybody ever teach you how to put on a pair of Armstrongs before?” the girl asked Ryic.
    Ryic looked at her curiously. So did Zachary.
    â€œArmstrongs?” Zachary repeated.
    â€œNickname for friction boots,” she said. “Named after that dude who first walked on the moon. Or at least the one everyone thinks did.”
    The girl had a blond pixie cut with dyed streaks of blue, three piercings in her left ear, and one in her right. She wore black knit stockings beneath a pair of jean shorts, Converse high-tops, and a shirt with holes in it that had either gotten that way from years of wear or, more likely, had been bought with them.
    Zachary stared at her a little bit longer than he intended to. He caught glimpses of the oversized rings on her fingers and the flower doodled on her forearm in glittery magenta.
    â€œTake a picture, it’ll last longer,” she said. “If your mental photo needs a tag, I’m Kaylee.”
    â€œI’m Zachary. This is Ryic.”
    Kaylee didn’t give much more than a shrug back in response.
    Zachary slipped his foot into one of the friction boots, and as soon as his heel and toe were in place, the boot tightened around his ankle on its own. It was a snug fit, less comfortable than the warp glove. The only sensation he could compare it to was the time that a boa constrictor wrapped itself around his arm at a friend’s birthday party.
    Soon all the Lightwings were gathering in a semicircle around Loren and Monica, chattering excitedly.
    â€œAll right, let’s start with you, you, you, and you,” Loren said.
    Realizing that the final you was directed at him, Zachary was hit with a surge of adrenaline. Since the day his parents had told him about Indigo 8, Zachary had been waiting for this moment. A chance to prove himself. And he wanted to experience zero gravity. Jacob had said there was nothing like the sensation of being weightless. Now Zachary would finally get to feel it for himself.
    Lightwings who hadn’t been chosen for the first round groaned, disappointed.
    â€œMonica, why don’t you take it from here,” Loren said.
    â€œSure thing.” Monica turned to Zachary, Kaylee, and the other two trainees chosen. “You’ll all be competing against each other on the zero-gravity obstacle course. The object is to pass through the numbered rings in order. Today’s race is noncontact, which means no hitting, pushing, or springboarding. If you unintentionally collide, just keep going. At the sound of the siren, begin.”
    Zachary sized up his competition: besides Kaylee there was Chuck, the red-haired kid with the