Psion Gamma (30 page)

“Cool.”

Jeffie nodded. She stared at the face she thought she’d memorized perfectly.

So many things I’ve forgotten
.

The four Thirteens took form in various spots around the room. Jeffie noted Sammy’s apprehension by the way his eyes shifted faster than normal and his face took on that stony appearance. She also saw the same shrewd, calculating look he wore in the Arena as a seasoned honcho who’d never known defeat. The silence of the recording was punctured with gasps or utters of surprise, mostly from Brickert. All in all, the battle lasted well under two minutes, ending when Sammy sacrificed too much of his backside. In a desperate attempt to take one of them out, he received a volley of shots in his back.

“Can you believe how fast he was?”

Jeffie didn’t answer. She’d just seen Sammy for the first time in months.

“I knew he put himself through a strenuous exercise routine,” Brickert continued, “but . . . wow!”

“Yeah . . .” She was eager to watch another one. In fact, she felt like she could sit there all night. “Did you know he was that fast?”

“Kind of. I know he focused on long-distance sprinting, different kinds of things to build up his white muscles.”

“His what?”

Brickert chuckled with a half-shrug. “I don’t know. He explained it to me once. There are different types of muscle fibers, slower ones and faster ones. Fast ones are white and help improve short bursts of speed.”

“How come I never knew about this?” she wondered aloud. “All our time talking, and I didn’t even . . .”

Brickert put his hand on her arm in a way that communicated his sympathy. “I was his roommate. I took him for granted, too.”

Another holo-record started and ended with similar results. Brickert and Jeffie took verbal notes about what they needed to improve. Jeffie still couldn’t believe the quickness of Sammy’s reflexes, the perfect timing of his jumps, and his sheer recklessness. Sometimes she and Brickert caught themselves groaning or cheering along with the sims.

After an hour of the same result, Jeffie got up to pick a different record. “I want to see his first victory. It took him a month before he won. Let’s watch it.”

“Okay,” Brickert said with a shrug.

This victory had special meaning to her. The night he told her about beating the four-Thirteen sim was the same night she’d forced him to play six hours of Star Racers until she beat him. The spontaneous embrace they’d shared in that moment had left her wanting more. Jeffie had experienced a few flings, all of them squeezed into a busy life of sports and other activities. She’d had kisses and romantic moments during those brief relationships, but being in Sammy’s arms felt better than anything else.

She wanted Sammy.

In a huff, she broke her thoughts away from the memory and turned her attention back to the holo. Sammy sped toward the ground faster than anyone Jeffie had ever seen before, breaking the neck of a Thirteen with a loud and quite gruesome
SNAP!
Then, after removing the Thirteen’s finger, he used the gun to finish the other three.

“I know I’m starting to wear the word ‘wow’ out, but the only other ones that come to mind are too obscene.”

Jeffie nodded in agreement.

“You think we can fight like that?” Brickert asked her.

“He taught Al to beat the four Thirteen sim, didn’t he?”

“But that’s Al . . .”

“And I’m Jeffie. And you’re Brickert. So what? Start the next one.”

Brickert started to respond, but Jeffie got a text from Kobe.

Hey J. Where are you? Wanted to hang before bed.

She wrote him back a short message saying she was too busy. Brickert tried to act oblivious, but his small, annoyed snort was enough to tell her that he knew what was going on.

Please don’t come looking for me, Kobe
, she begged silently. But about five minutes after she sent the text, the sim room door opened, and in walked Kobe with his brother reluctantly following behind, both in their own zero suits.

“Is it okay if we watch?” Kobe asked them.

“Err . . .” Brickert slowly glanced over at Jeffie. His eyes told her plainly the answer was
No, not okay
.

Kobe noticed this and turned to her. “Do you mind?”

“No,” she answered. She kept her eyes on the action in front of her. And though she tried to concentrate on what Sammy was doing, her mind kept thinking about Kobe’s presence, wishing he wasn’t there. Perhaps she wasn’t alone in her feelings, because as the four of them watched, no one spoke. She had a pretty good idea why Kobe had come, but hoped she was wrong.

Brickert stayed another hour before announcing that he was going downstairs for a late dinner. She begged him with her eyes not to leave her with Kobe and Kaden, but his own silent reply was,
You said he could stay, not me
.

“And I think I’ll go with him,” Kaden said without hesitating. “Later, guys.”

Jeffie closed her eyes.
Wonderful. Just wonderful.

Kobe moved over and took the holo-seat next to her.

Please don’t do this, Kobe. Please don’t make me talk right now.

His first words were: “Can we talk?”

She knew she was doomed. She swallowed hard and said, “Do we have to do this?”

The room was silent for a moment. The holograms of Sammy and four dead Thirteens slowly faded away. Jeffie wanted to take off her zero suit now as the room seemed to have gotten very warm very quickly. Kobe watched her with a nervous expression, which for him was rare.

“Are you watching these recordings to get better in the sims or just to see him?” He nodded toward the empty space in the middle of the room as if Sammy were still there.

 “I—I don’t know why you’re asking that.” It threw her off balance that he had gone right for the point. She’d expected him to build up to this moment. “You know how much I want to be better.”

“It’s been months now. Don’t you think you should consider moving past it? I mean, you weren’t married . . . or in love. You know?” He laughed, but without his usual gusto. “We’re too young for that stuff!”

“None of us feel our age here.” Her tone told Kobe that he should know exactly what she meant. “Look at Al and Marie! When they were seventeen they were already practically engaged.”

“So you’re saying you were in love with him?”

“How could—I don’t know, Kobe!” she answered. “I never really had a chance to find out.”

“How do you feel about me?” he asked, putting his hand on hers. “I know I blew it before, but we’ve had great times together.”

“I’ve had great times with Strawberry, too.” Even though she wanted to move it, she left her hand under his. She liked the touch.

Kobe snorted and that wry smile crept back on his lips. “Funny,” he offered. But then he was serious again. “Do you feel like you’re ready to—I don’t know—date someone else?”

“Do I have to answer that? Can’t we just do what we’ve been doing? I can tell you’ve got . . .” She searched for a word that didn’t sound like something she’d just heard Brickert say, but failed, “ . . . the hots for me. You make it pretty obvious, and it hasn’t stopped me from hanging out with you every weekend.”

“I know. I’m glad, but I feel like the memory of Sammy is keeping us from being more than friends. I miss him, too. I was there. He saved my life.”

“I know!” Jeffie said much louder than she meant to.

“Do you blame me?”

“NO!” she shouted, then caught herself and calmed down. “No. Not at all.” And she meant it. “But what’s the point if I’m so mixed up right now? Can’t you give me some time?”

Kobe’s face was now more serious than she had ever seen it. “Jeff, I was there.” His eyes were fixed on the wall opposite them, unblinking and lost in its perfect whiteness. “I took two bullets near the end of the battle. It was all on Sammy to get us out of there. He fought . . .” Kobe cleared his throat and looked up at all the micro-projectors hanging in the ceiling. “You had to have been there to believe how he fought. I was slipping out of consciousness, but I still knew I was seeing something special. Then a bomb went off, and he threw himself in front of me to—you know—to save me. That blast knocked me out. I can’t imagine what it did to him. I—I don’t think he’s coming back, not after what happened in there. And I’m not saying that for me. I got over it. It took time, but I did. I’m saying it for you. I’m sorry. I’m very
very
sorry.”

Jeffie folded her arms across her chest. “If anyone could have survived, it’s Sammy. After what I just watched, I know that now more than ever.” Her tone had an icy temperature that made Kobe look away again.

“I agree.” His voice was quiet, maybe even embarrassed, but Jeffie couldn’t tell for sure. “I’ll give you all the time you want.”

Jeffie whispered her thanks with closed eyes. She wasn’t sure she could handle all of this. Suddenly Kobe’s warm lips pressed against her cheek.

She opened her eyes and looked into his. “Thanks for telling me that stuff, Kobe.”

As soon as Kobe was gone, Jeffie started the next recording. She paused it just as it started so there were no Thirteens in the room. She stood next to the three-dimensional image of her best friend and looked into his eyes. The holo-record was so perfect that it was easy to pretend he was right there with her, looking at her.

No
, she corrected herself,
looking through me
.

She couldn’t smell him, couldn’t touch him, but he was there. She put her hand above his shoulder, pretending it rested on his jumpsuit. Her hand hovered in place, shaking barely enough that her skin dipped in and out of him. An ache so deep and strong for him rose up that she had to touch him. Had to. She lurched for him with her arms and fell forward through his image. When she hit the floor, she knew he was gone, and allowed herself to have a good cry.

The next morning, she and Brickert told the computer to tailor their exercise routines to helping them increase their speed and bursts of power. The first day almost killed her.

For a week, the only difference she noticed was exhaustion, and consequently, how poorly she performed in instructions and sims. The electronic trainer assured her she would feel a difference in her performance in three to four weeks, and that gave her hope.

Nothing more was said between Jeffie and Kobe about their conversation in sim room four. She treated him no differently than she had for the past several weeks, and he continued to be his usual, flirtatious self around her.

Friday night, she went to bed earlier than normal. A week of rigorous daily workouts and fighting two Thirteens in the sims had taken its toll. She skipped her usual nighttime shower and collapsed on her bed only to find something bumpy in her pillowcase. Annoyed, she reached inside and pulled out a scarlet envelope with her name decorated in loopy gold ink.

Jeffie first thought that Kawai, known for doing things just like this, was planning another girls’ night. She was sure her guess was right when she opened it and removed a very fancy invitation. But Kawai was not the type to invite another girl to a picnic. It was from Kobe. The date was set for the upcoming weekend. Suddenly, sleep was far from Jeffie’s mind as she lay back on her bed twirling the envelope and card between her fingers.

She heard a snap and the door opened. It was Strawberry grinning like she’d just seen Antonio working out with his shirt off.