Lux gave a halfhearted smile at the observation. She was still in school, but worked afternoons at a hair salon up on the 90th floor, cleaning the dye-cones and sweeping cut locks of hair off the floor. The stylists didn’t care when Lux used the dye on herself, and as a result her hair was now a constantly shifting kaleidoscope of color. “You’ve barely answered my texts this week. I was getting worried,” Lux said.
“I’m sorry. It’s just been kind of crazy.” Rylin felt a stab of guilt. She hadn’t meant to ignore her friend; she just hadn’t known how to respond. Lux had been texting her constantly since Hiral was arrested, probably assuming that Rylin needed cheering up. If only she knew the truth, Rylin thought, that she was trying to break up with Hiral but hadn’t been able to yet. And oh, by the way, she was starting to have feelings for the upper-floor guy she worked for.
“That’s why I’ve been trying to reach out, Ry,” Lux said softly. She lifted her hand in an exasperated gesture, and Rylin saw that she was holding a brown recyclable grocery bag. “I brought over stuff to make chocolate-nambo pancakes. Thought you could use a little breakfast comfort food. But it looks like you’re busy.” She glanced from the cooler to Rylin’s brushed-out hair and cute blue dress.
Rylin smiled, remembering all the times her mom had made those pancakes when they were kids. They were nothing special, just banana mix pancakes with chocolate flakes thrown in. Chrissa loved them and always tried to ask for them, but she couldn’t pronounce banana yet, so she’d run around the kitchen exclaiming “Nambo! Nambo!” until Rylin and Lux produced the pancake mix box, and her toddler face would break out in a grin of recognition.
“Chocolate-nambo pancakes sound amazing,” Rylin said truthfully. “But I was just heading to Chrissa’s tournament. Want to come with me? And then we could all do breakfast for dinner later?”
Lux hesitated, then nodded. “Sure,” she said, still watching Rylin, clearly confused by something in her expression.
“How is everyone?” Rylin asked as they left the apartment, realizing how little she’d seen of her friends since she’d started working for Cord. “Have you seen Andrés or V lately?” V in particular she wondered about—she still didn’t understand how Hiral had gotten caught, while V, who handled a much higher volume, was still dealing like normal.
“We went to the steel forest last night. The DJ was kind of lame, so we ducked out and just did halluci-lighters in that back corner by the Seventieth Street exit.” Rylin knew that corner. It was where they’d all smoked up for the first time, several years ago, and she’d felt so hungry suddenly that she thought she might puke. It’ll pass, Lux had assured her, giggling, and when it does it’ll suddenly feel amazing. She’d been right.
“It’s not the same without you and Hiral, though,” Lux added.
“Yeah. I’m worried about him. I just want to talk to him, but they won’t let me.” Rylin sighed as they stepped out of the Ifty stop near school, the cooler rolling gently along after her. Lux eyed it, but didn’t say anything.
They reached the wide double doors of the Irving Middle School gymnasium. Rylin felt a strange twitch of apprehension, being back here. It had been a while since she had set foot in a school.
They filed into the gym as the tournament was starting. It was just the way Rylin remembered, musty and faintly smelling of sweat, with a scratched-up polyresin floor. Rylin didn’t understand how the gym, which like everything in the Tower was only twenty years old, already looked like something out of the last century. Probably because no one maintained or cleaned it, ever.
The gym was crowded; Rylin knew this was a district tournament, but she hadn’t quite realized what a big deal it was. There was Chrissa and the rest of the Irving team, huddled on their side of the net, their heads bent together. Their school’s holographic mascot, an enormous gray wolf, prowled around the stands, eliciting squeals from a few of the younger spectators. Rylin even saw a few of those mini hovercams that flew around behind the star players, projecting their perspective onto the giant screens overhead.
She and Lux slid onto one of the rows of benches. Chrissa was about to serve, weighing the ball in her hand and rocking back onto her heels. Her dark ponytail swayed back and forth. Rylin watched, a little awed, as she tossed the ball into the air and slammed it across the net.
“She’s really good,” Lux whispered.
Rylin nodded. “Yeah.” She loved watching Chrissa, the way her body would be crouched utterly still, then slam into sudden action with all the ruthlessness of a machine. She moved gracefully, like a dancer, like she was in one of those fancy low-grav chambers and her feet barely touched the ground. Rylin’s heart clenched in pride. At times like this, everything she had given up seemed worth it.
Her tablet buzzed with a message from Cord. Dinner tonight?
I can’t, Rylin replied, with a glance at Lux, whose eyes were fixed on the game. She needed this time with her friend. We’re doing breakfast for dinner. You know how it is.
Breakfast for dinner is only worth having if it’s breakfast in bed, Cord replied. Rylin bit back an exasperated smile, and slid the tablet back into her pocket—but not before Lux caught the expression on her face.
“Good news?” Lux asked.
Rylin wished desperately that she could tell Lux everything. But she wasn’t sure Lux would understand. How could she, when Rylin didn’t even really understand it all herself? “Not really,” she said, hoping Lux would drop it.
When the game was over and the buzzer sounded, Rylin dragged the cooler down to where Chrissa’s team was all gathered, Lux following behind. Their faces were flush with victory, and they were all high-fiving one another. “Rylin! I didn’t know you were coming! And Lux!” Chrissa exclaimed, pulling Rylin into a sweaty hug. There was a small red patch stuck on her lower arm—a VitalsMonitor, Rylin realized, to track Chrissa’s heart rate and metabolism, and the contents of her sweat.
“When did you get that?” she asked.
Chrissa shrugged. “They’re making everyone who’s early recruiting wear them,” she said, and Rylin had a sudden flashback to the night in the steel forest, the last time she’d worn a patch of her own. It felt like ages ago.
“You brought snacks?” Chrissa went on, catching sight of the cooler and grinning in delight.
“I know, I’m totally the coolest older sister here.” Rylin wheeled it forward and opened the top, and the girls began eagerly reaching for drinks.
Chrissa grabbed an electrolyte drink and took a long, slow sip. Then she lowered the bottle and stared at Rylin. “You look different,” she said. “Is it your hair?”
“You’re confusing me with Lux,” Rylin said lightly, and Chrissa laughed.
“You’re right. It’s probably just that you’re wearing a dress,” Chrissa replied. But Rylin knew what Chrissa was seeing, even if Chrissa hadn’t figured it out yet.
Somehow, despite everything that was going on, Rylin was happy.
LEDA
“MOM? ARE YOU here?” Leda called out as she walked inside. She shivered a little, damp with sweat, still wearing the white nausea-blocking wristbands from antigrav yoga. It had only been Leda and Ming in class today. Avery hadn’t come to yoga with them for over a week now. She claimed she was trying to run more often, but Leda knew Avery was avoiding her—and Ming, whom Avery still hadn’t forgiven for what she’d done at Eris’s party.