The Apollo Academy (24 page)

Zane and Kaylana looked at each other, like that was actually a possibility. She only mentioned Hailen’s name as a joke. Just because she was openly mean to her didn’t mean that Hailen had a reason to kill her. If that was the only motive they needed then more names should be added to the list. “Are you sure about Sky?”

“Well, Sky helped me find the first spider, so I don’t think he’s behind it,” Zane said, launching them into an hour-long conversation over who could be removed from their suspect list and eventually agreed that only Zane, Kaylana, and Akemi should come off the list. Everyone else they argued over, so they decided to leave them all there.

“So we’re not going to tell your dad?” Kaylana asked.

“Absolutely not. We’re not telling Ms. Lovell either.” Aurora clenched her fists. Just thinking about what they would do made her feel dizzy. “I’m not leaving the Academy. That would just be giving whoever is targeting me what they want.”

“Touché,” Kaylana agreed.

“I still think we can trust Dr. Stevenson,” Zane piped in.

“Well I said the same thing about Ms. Lovell,” Kaylana countered.

“Let’s not get into this again. I have no idea who placed that freaky spider on me, but it could be anyone.” Aurora’s back slumped. Her earlier let’s-get-this-solved attitude vanished, and frustration took its place. If only she’d been able to change her last name when she applied for the Academy, but that probably wouldn’t have mattered anyway. Besides, she’d decided to be more involved with her dad’s company, and that also meant living with her last name.

Aurora moved away from the desk. She didn’t need to look at the list anymore. She had seen their faces every day over the past six months.

Her stomach growled. “Maybe we should get some food?”

“Yeah, I can eat,” Zane responded.

Aurora smiled, pleased that he wasn’t ready to leave yet.

“I can order some food up if you want.”

“I could go for an energy drink,” she admitted.

“I want pizza!” Kaylana jumped up and down. “It’ll be like a slumber party. And I have the most nova idea of what we can do after we eat.” She beamed her huge smile at both of them until they had no choice but to go along with whatever she said. Kaylana’s attitude was infectious, and Aurora thought it would be nice to spend some time together without having to think about the plots against her.

Zane used his techiwatch to order pizza. Fifteen minutes later when Zane was walking out the door to pick it up, Kaylana teased, “Try not to beat up the guard.”

Aurora’s mouth dropped open, but Zane only shook his head and shut the door.

AURORA

S
tuffed with pizza, Aurora leaned back against her bed and sighed in contentment. Things always seemed better when she had a full stomach and an energy drink. If Coach Harris saw what they were eating now, he would double their physical training.

“So what’s this nova idea of yours?” Aurora knew it would probably be something crazy, but she wanted the distraction.

Kaylana shoved the last bite of pizza into her mouth but managed to smile anyway.

“Oh, this
isn’t
going to be good. What is it?”

Zane watched their interaction as he continued to eat.

Kaylana choked down her last bite. “Well, I was thinking we’d use your ladybug and well, fly it into, um, Hailen’s room.”

Yup, that wasn’t a good idea, but Kaylana plunged on. “It’s only like two doors down the hall and we might even find out something to help us. Plus you’ve been practicing, right?”

Aurora fidgeted with the gold chain around her neck. She didn’t really think spying on Hailen would reveal anything useful, but at least this way she’d feel productive. She couldn’t stand being in the middle of all this drama. All she wanted to do was attend classes, improve her piloting skills, graduate, be placed onto a mission, and maybe go on a date.

“What if Hailen sees it and smashes it?” Aurora asked, appalled at the thought.

“Boring!” Kaylana launched a pillow in her direction.

Aurora ducked and managed to catch the pillow right before it would have smacked her in the face. She stuck her tongue out. “Ha, cat reflexes!”

Kaylana laughed. “And I suppose that’s why
you
were selected for the flight AOC right? Your cat-like reflexes were just too good for them to pass up.”

“Yeah, well, my cat-like reflexes just might save your life one day.”

“Exactly my point. Even if Hailen sees it, she won’t be able to catch it with your cat-like reflexes.” Kaylana winked.

Aurora laughed but quickly stopped when she remembered they weren’t alone.

Zane was still sitting on the floor, watching them. He had a weird expression on his face that Aurora couldn’t quite figure out. It wasn’t a completely happy look because it was also tinged with sadness. Maybe he wasn’t used to friends acting like her and Kaylana?

Aurora glanced away and down at the pizza box. Their extra large pizza had been completely annihilated.

“Oh, all right. Let’s do it,” Aurora said. Now that the pizza was gone, Aurora wanted another reason for Zane to hang around. Maybe if they did something fun he would.

The ladybug was already sitting out on her desk next to its remote control. It was perfectly poised, with wings extended, as if it patiently waited to be flown.

Aurora picked up the remote control.

The ladybug zoomed off the desk and whizzed past Kaylana, sending her blonde hair into her eyes.

“Whoa, that was close!” Kaylana lay back on her bed in the attempt to avoid any more close flybys. Aurora had been trying to learn to better control the ladybug by practicing in their room, but she still hadn’t quite gotten the hang of it yet.

“Did you hear Hailen’s conversation in the locker room today?”

“Yeah, vaguely.” Aurora had been more worried about almost suffocating.

The ladybug crashed onto her bed. She blamed her loss of control on the small Vid display on her techiwatch. It was only about seven inches big, which made it difficult to remotely control its flight path.

“I think I need more practice before this little lady goes on her first aerial reconnaissance mission.”

“There’s a seal under every door anyway. There’s no place for the ladybug to slip through,” Zane said.

“Oh.” Why hadn’t she thought of that?

Kaylana, not fazed by the change in plans, continued. “Well, she’s bringing some celebrity named Rowan to the dance.”

Right, Aurora remembered hearing that. Rowan? Aurora would need a last name to even begin trying to figure out which celebrity she was dating, but even then that might be a lost cause with her stance on the media. Just because she promised herself to take a more active role in her father’s life and not to run away from the media, didn’t mean she kept up with the latest celebrities.

“We have to figure out who this Rowan guy is!” Kaylana grinned, jumping up and down. “And now we know where he’s going to be.” Kaylana pranced around the room, her long lean frame gracefully gliding around their furniture.

Zane and Aurora exchanged a glance. The girl had completely lost her mind.

Kaylana turned to look back at them in disbelief. “
Hello?
” She drawled out as if she couldn’t believe they hadn’t figured out what she was talking about yet. “Hailen is bringing him to the
Lunar Moon Festival
, and that’s only a few weeks away.”

Aurora looked at Zane. He stood completely still, his face frozen. “What is it? Do you know who he is?”

Zane came out of his trance. “The only Rowan celebrity I can think of is Rowan Dagan. And the only reason I know that is because I just saw him on the news.”

“As in the son of Frontier Solutions?” Kaylana asked.

Aurora felt the blood drain from her face. Why did she feel like the ground was sinking below her?

“Do you think that’s who Hailen is dating? Rowan Dagan?”

Zane shrugged. “There’s only one way to find out. If she gets permission from Ms. Lovell to bring a non-cadet date, then we’ll see him at the dance.”

“I guess that means Hailen definitely stays on the suspect list,” Kaylana said.

Aurora rubbed her eyes. “Let’s talk after a full night’s sleep. We can’t do anything without proof anyway.”

Zane still appeared deep in thought, and Kaylana took this as her cue to leave. “I’m going to take a shower. See you later, Zane.” Kaylana winked and closed the bathroom door, leaving the two of them alone.

Aurora knew where Kaylana hoped this moment alone with him would go and avoided making eye contact with Zane. It would be the perfect opportunity for Zane to ask her to the dance. Of course she hoped he would want to go with her, but she didn’t want it to be because he was suspicious of Hailen and her possible date.

She finally looked at him, hoping he couldn’t read her thoughts. Zane was standing perfectly still, silently watching her, his eyes actively assessing everything. Right now, Aurora wished she was able to hide her emotions as well as he could.

“So,” she said breaking the silence. All she wanted to do was reach out to him, but he was so closed off. This boy had rescued her with such care just a few hours ago, but now an emotional space the size of ten galaxies spread between them.

Zane twitched and relaxed his carefully controlled movements, softening his face. She still couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but the cold light in his eyes disappeared.

“So.” He looked down. “I, uh, wanted to apologize to you again—”

“For what?” Aurora rubbed her forehead. When she looked back up, Aurora saw some sort of inner turmoil. Aurora gripped the bed beneath her. She wasn’t sure if she could keep herself from walking over to him. In fact, she was stupidly contemplating the idea of just asking him to the dance herself, but she didn’t want to put herself in that position again.

“I’m sorry for what you overheard in the hallway that one day—”

Aurora held her hand up. “Zane we’ve already had this conversation.” And she didn’t want to hear it again. “I get it. Besides, I think you’ve more than proved your true feelings.”

Not only had he saved her life, but their heated exchange in the locker room earlier proved he liked her.

“Just let me finish,” he whispered, his earlier confidence gone.

Aurora was beginning to recognize the switch. If she was right, then Zane felt the need to hide his emotions, keeping anyone from ever knowing what he was thinking. Occasionally, he would let down his barriers, and Aurora would glimpse pieces of his true feelings—but only through his eyes. Aurora focused her attention there.

“I meant some of the things I said.” Zane paused. “But it was mostly to protect myself from my feelings for you.” His gray eyes remained clear, free of their usual cloudiness. “When I first saw you at the Academy, I was shocked but also kind of excited.” He shook his head, re-living the memory. “I kind of made some assumptions I shouldn’t have.” Zane walked over and stood directly before her. Aurora wasn’t sure what he was going to do next. He was actually opening up to her, and for once his eyes matched his words.

“I can’t explain it, but I can’t have the attention that would certainly come from dating you.” He shrugged his shoulders as if a weight had been lifted off him. Aurora knew dating her could be tough, but she wasn’t sure she understood his desperate need to not draw attention to himself. Actually, who was she to judge? She certainly didn’t handle the unwanted attention well herself.

“So . . . I’m sorry. Again.”

Aurora knew she was getting ahead of herself when she hoped that they could move forward the way she’d wanted all along. She was silent, trying to think of what to say. She wanted to ask him to explain, but she didn’t want him to close in on himself again.

“So I guess what I’m trying to say is . . . I like you, but we can only be friends.”

Say what?
“Then what happened in the locker room today? Or at the launch pad?”

Zane swallowed. “Aurora, I’m not going to lie. You’re beautiful, and at some point maybe I’ll be good enough for you. But I can only be friends right now, okay?”

Aurora slowly nodded. She wasn’t going to keep pushing him. And this certainly wasn’t the first time he’d asked just be friends. She didn’t understand it, but what else could she do? Aurora wanted him in her life. “You did save my life earlier today, so I’d say you’re off to a good start.”

Zane sobered, and his face lost all expression.
Ugh, I shouldn’t have mentioned the attacks!
Aurora wanted to shake him when he resumed their original conversation. The words rushed out of her mouth before she could stop them. “Maybe we should go to the dance together?”

Heat flamed her cheeks, and she covered her mouth with her hands, trying to keep anything else from slipping out.
Why did I say that?

“Oh, I’m an idiot. You just said you wanted to be friends and here I am saying we should go to a dance together. Look just forget I said that—”

Zane put his finger against her lips, stopping the over-explaining marathon that was sure to follow. “Actually I think that’s a good idea. We’ll go as friends with Kaylana and Akemi.”

Aurora’s mouth parted, and Zane pulled his finger back like he’d been burned. Unsure of what to say, she kept her mouth shut and let him do all of the talking.

“Akemi and Kaylana seem pretty into each other.” He shrugged, rubbing his finger. “It’ll be a good way to ensure your safety while also seeing if Rowan Dagan is Hailen’s date.” Zane’s face grew serious and calculated, his eyes returning to their usual storm clouds. “If she is dating him, that means your dad was probably right to worry about Frontier Solutions.”

Aurora looked down, trying to hide her disappointment. Why did her last name still have to ruin everything?

Aurora wanted to smack herself. Someone was trying to kill her, for crying out loud, and here she was, worried about her non-existent love life. It was time to focus. Aurora hopped up off the bed and opened the door. “That sounds like a good plan. I’ll tell Kaylana.”