Uneventful Day

The rest of Wednesday was relatively quiet. Alan worked on his homework at his desk, trying to ignore the heavy, frosty silence that lay between him and his roommate. He also listened for signs of the cold that Sugi had told Xavion about; apart from a few sniffles, there were none.

When should I tell him about moving over to Dom's place? he thought, tapping his stylus on his chin. Should I tell him at all, or just do it? He risked a quick glance in Sugi's direction. He threatened at one point to make Dom's life hell if Trey was bounced. I wouldn't put it past him to do the same if he knew that I was changing rooms. So, I won't tell him at all. Let him be surprised. That decision made, Alan let out a quiet sigh, and relaxed a little. Then he turned back to his Spanish assignment.

The atmosphere in Fermat's room was far more congenial. He and A.J. were doing homework but every so often there'd be a comment or two about how the day had gone or what their plans were for Thursday.

"D-Don't forget we have l-laundry pick up, t-t-t... in the morning," Fermat reminded his roommate.

"Oh, yeah! Thanks for reminding me!" A.J. exclaimed, smiling. "I'll take care of that now while I'm thinking about it."

As soon as A.J. disappeared into the bathroom, Fermat reopened the window he had for the tertiary drive. He hadn't heard anything about the rescue since seeing the newscast, not from his father or from Alan. I'll deal with Alan tomorrow, and talk with Dad after Friday night. But at least I can get the details here.

He read quickly through Jeff's terse, dispassionate overview of the whole situation with the Scrutiny, then his father's equally terse recounting of things from his point-of-view at Command and Control. Hmm. Dad really doesn't get much action back at base, does he?

The bathroom door whooshed open, and Fermat brought his homework window up to cover the logs. A.J. slung his bag of dirty clothes to the floor near the door, and resumed his seat, putting his earphones in. Fermat had learned that his roommate liked to listen to classical music while doing homework. "You know what they say about Mozart and being smart," A.J. had sheepishly confided. "My mother told me once that she played it for me when I was a baby." He had shrugged. "I slept through the night earlier, which I think is what she really wanted. In any case, I've developed a taste for it."

"H-Hey, different strokes for different f-f-f... people," Fermat had replied. "I'm rather fond of jazz myself."

He had also discovered that when A.J. was concentrating hard, the younger boy would start to unconsciously hum bits of whatever he was listening to. The humming was pleasant, and on-key, so Fermat usually took no notice... until now. He worked on his page of Spanish translation, listening for the tell-tale hum, and smiled slightly when it began. He gave himself a full sixty seconds - counted off by the computer's clock - then brought the smaller window to the top again.

Hey, Scott's logs are here now. Let's see what he thought of the rescue.

Scott's style was usually brief and to the point, but this time it seemed that the Thunderbird One pilot had allowed himself a bit of a teasing dig at his commander. "Though we have been cautioned time and again to politely refuse gifts from those we rescue, it seems that the Commander is not above accepting a small gratuity from time to time himself."

Wonder what kind of gratuity Scott's talking about? Fermat wondered. He shrugged and closed Scott's log. Listening briefly to his roommate, who was still humming, he worked on a few more lines of Spanish homework, then pulled up Virgil's recounting. Virgil's logs are always fun to read. He makes a story out of it and puts in lots of description.

He quickly read through Virgil's log, which wasn't that long considering that most of what Thunderbird Two had done was hover. But by the end of it, he had gotten a good idea of the way the winds buffeted the cargo carrier, the choppiness of the sea, the view of foamy white breakers on the swelling waves, and the twisted metal remains of the Sealink's cradle lying on Scrutiny's deck.

The sudden cessation of humming and the opening of the fridge door brought him back from the sea, and he hurriedly clicked on his homework, bringing the full page to the top again.

"Want a soda?" A.J. asked.

"S-Sure," Fermat replied. "A r-root beer, p-please."

A.J. took out a brown glass bottle, unscrewed the prickly metal cap, and handed it over. He looked over Fermat's shoulder at the homework, as the older boy took a swig. "You're still working on that?"

"Uh, yeah," Fermat responded, hoping he sounded sheepish and not nervous. "Got to d-d-d... woolgathering for a few m-minutes."

A.J. nodded sagely. "I understand." He drank some of his own root beer and glanced back at his desk. "I'd better get back to work."

"M-Me, too."

With that, A.J. went back to his computer, and Fermat breathed an internal sigh of relief.

Thursday dawned cold and clear. Alan was up early and out before Sugi rolled out of bed. The walkways were still damp and full of small puddles, but Alan didn't mind the dampness. The shoes he'd worn for running the day before weren't fully dry, but he wore them anyway, knowing he'd be getting them wet all over again. Definitely got to get to town and buy some new athletic shoes. These are getting ruined.

He found Erik sitting alone again, and decided to keep the freshman company. Erik smiled widely when Alan plunked his breakfast tray down across the table.

"Hey, Alan!"

Alan returned the smile. "Hey, Erik. Good thing it's gonna be sunny today, huh?"

Erik nodded as he swallowed the gulp of milk he'd just taken. Once his mouth was clear, he said, "Yeah. I was afraid it'd never stop raining."

"Just wait until we really get into winter." Alan forked up a bit of scrambled eggs, chewed, swallowed, and added, "You'll really think the sun's gone away. But when it comes out over the fresh snow..." Alan sliced his hand slowly through the air, indicating a smooth surface of some sort.

"I know, I know," Erik said, grinning. "I'm from New Hampshire. We get that all the time." He glanced up, and nodded his head in the direction of the dining hall's entryway. "Look. There's your roommate."

Alan turned around to see Sugi enter, surrounded by two or three other teens, including Ralph. They were laughing at something, but it seemed to be confined to their own little group. Alan sat back in his chair and scowled. "I hope the coaches can grab him today for his drug testing," he said, glancing back at Erik.

"I'm sure they will." Erik put his focus back on his food, as did Alan, and they finished their meals in a companionable quiet.

When they were finished with their meals, they walked together to the tray return, chatting about life in general and their families in particular. Pierce was working, and he leered at them. "Got another special friend, Tracy?"

"Got two brain cells to rub together, jerk?" Alan shot back, shoving his tray toward the kitchen worker.

Pierce was thrown off-balance slightly, and let forth a startled, "Whoa! Someone's cranky!" He put the tray into the dishwasher rack, and turned his attention to Erik. He grinned maliciously. "Hey, kid. Do you know what they say about Tracy here? He doesn't like girls."

Erik handed over his tray, then folded his arms. "So what?" he said contemptuously. "No crime there." He turned to Alan, and made a motion toward the door with his head. "C'mon, Alan. We don't want to be late for our run."

The two boys paced each other as they left the dining hall together. "Nice comeback, Alan," Erik said. "I'll have to remember that one."

"With four older brothers, I've picked up a lot of good lines," Alan explained. He gave Erik a friendly swat on the arm. "Thanks for sticking up for me."

Erik grinned. "No problem."

They entered the gym, where Xavion and some of the other track team members waited. After greeting the others, Alan leaned up against the gym wall, his arms folded. He watched idly as the soccer team left the gym for their run. Xavion came up to him, and said, "Hey, Alan. Look." He nodded his head once, motioning toward the locker rooms on the other side of the gym.

Alan turned his attention toward where Xavion had indicated, and saw a small group of boys - including Lee Sugimoto - being led off by Coach Becarra and Ms. Bell's assistant, Sandy. He nodded slightly. "Good."

The rest of the day went relatively smoothly. Both Alan and Fermat felt that they were settling at last into the routine of classes. They had a surprise quiz in Math, and their first visit to the computer center for a Spanish pronunciation exercise. Lunch felt almost normal; there was no harassment for a change. Alan was able to spend more time working on his own routine during strength training while still helping Mr. Becarra with the other students. And Fermat's Shakespeare class prepared for a test on the background of the Bard and his times, while gearing up for their study of Henry V.

"We're even going to w-w-w... see a m-movie," he told the others at dinner.

"Do you think you're ready for the big show tomorrow?" Qaeshon asked.

"M-Maybe," Fermat said, suddenly sounding nervous. "I'll only kn-know when I g-g-g... arrive." He speared a grape tomato and popped it in his mouth. He closed his eyes, enjoying the slight explosion that filled his mouth with juice and seeds as he bit down. Chewing and swallowing, he added, "We got our j-j-j... uniform c-c-c... blazers today."

"Great!" Alan said, giving Fermat a thumbs up. "I'll be glad when we get our uniforms." He made a wry face. "I've got to ask my dad for permission to ride downtown with someone and get some better athletic shoes. The ones I've got are pretty soggy from our morning runs. Besides," he stopped to take a gulp of milk, "I wasn't really prepared for track anyway. I probably need a couple pairs of cleats."

"Yeah, you'd better get some, Pinky," Xavion said. "I'm going downtown Saturday morning, if you're interested."

Alan thought for a moment. "Let me get back to you on that, Zave. I'm supposed to move in with Dom that day, but I haven't set up a time or anything."

"Hey, I'm flexible," Zave said with a shrug. "We can go in the afternoon if that's better for you."

"Sounds good," Alan replied with a grin. "I'll get my dad to fax or email permission."

The boys at the table were quiet for a bit, then Fermat said, "Hey, J-Jason. Did you get any more d-details on the Th-Thunderbirds the other n-night?"

"A little," Jason replied. "They found the submersible and returned it to the ship it came from. Nobody died, and nobody else got hurt. If there was anything else of interest, it was on too late for me to see."

"Any pictures?" Qaeshon asked hopefully.

Jason shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Are there ever any pictures? Besides, they were out in the middle of the ocean. No news crews could get there fast enough."

A.J. spoke up. "I'm going to have to do a sketch from what I remember from last spring."

"Do you think you can remember the details?" Alan asked, trying to sound eager and not anxious.

"I think so," A.J. said, nodding. "I've got a good memory. I'm just not the greatest of artists, that's all."

"Well, I'd like to see what you come up with, no matter what it looks like," Jason said, pointing his fork at A.J.

"Me, t-too," Fermat said before digging into his carrot cake.

Alan and Fermat walked together back to Maplewood. "I'm sorry, Fermat," Alan said, putting his hands in his jacket pockets and sighing. "I should have told you that I'd called home and gotten an update."

"W-Well, you're not the o-only one who f-forgot me," Fermat replied sourly, adjusting his sling's strap. "D-Dad didn't call either."

Alan lowered his voice. "My dad said we could check out the tertiary drive and see the logs and stuff... as long as we got A.J. out of the way."

"G-Good, 'cause I've already d-done that," Fermat said, a hint of smugness in his tone.

Alan gave Fermat a hurt look. "You could have waited for me, y'know?"

"And you c-could have t-t-t... s-said something," Fermat countered. "N-Now you'll h-have to wait for some other t-t-t... opportunity."

The two friends continued walking, the silence between them uneasy. Alan began to rotate his right shoulder, and pulled his left hand out of his pocket to rub it a bit.

"What's wr-wrong?" Fermat asked.

"My shoulder's a bit sore. Must be from throwing the javelin today at practice. I did get a good stretch and warm up for running and jumping, but forgot to stretch my arms and shoulders." He shook his head. "Last time I forget to do that." He shrugged his shoulder and rotated it some more, then stopped and put his hands back into his pockets. "Did I tell you what that Pierce guy said to Erik and me this morning?"

"N-No, you d-didn't."

Alan proceeded to tell his friend about the encounter with the kitchen worker. Fermat nodded and made the appropriate, understanding "mm hmms" in the right places.

Alan concluded with, "Did he say anything to you?"

Fermat shook his head. "No, he d-didn't. But then D-Dev was with us. He would have been sk-skewered by Dev's r-r-r... sharp wit."

The older boy snorted a laugh. "Yeah, compared to Dev, Pierce would have been totally unarmed."

By this time, they'd reached Maplewood and Alan stopped at the base of the dormitory steps. "Listen, I am sorry I didn't tell you more about the latest 'family excursion' earlier. I've been pretty wrapped up in my own problems lately."

"I've n-noticed."

The dry tone of Fermat's statement wasn't lost on Alan. "I promise I'll do better about keeping you up-to-date."

"I h-hope so."

Alan put out his fist. "Still friends?"

Fermat looked at Alan's hand, then lightly tapped the top of the fist with his own. "We n-never stopped."

Grinning, Alan tapped Fermat's fist in return. "I'll see you in math tomorrow. Wish I could be there for the meet, but... there's just no way. Not with practice and all."

"I understand. You'll g-get to see me n-next week." Fermat reached to pull his jacket over his immobilized arm, and Alan lent a hand, helping him zip the open jacket up part way.

"You'll get to see me next week, too. Our first track meet of the season." Alan shuddered. "I hope I don't fall on my face."

Fermat chuckled. "At l-least, no m-more than u-usual."

"Ha!" Alan huffed. "Yeah, right... geek."

"D-Dork!"

Alan grinned. "Crackpot!"

"Goof b-ball!" Fermat sneered facetiously.

"Wombat!"

"Where'd you g-get wombat?" Fermat asked, giving Alan an incredulous look. He shook his head. "Never m-mind. Zombie!"

"Weirdo!"

"D-Dingbat!"

"No fair!" Alan protested through his laughter. "You can't reuse words or parts of words!"

"O-Okay, then." Fermat paused for breath, then said, "Flake!"

"Wacko!"

"D-Dipstick!"

"Kook!"

By this time, the two friends were laughing so hard that it was hard to get their insult out. Boys walking past were giving them strange looks.

"F-Fruitcake!"

Alan fought hard to catch his breath. He wagged a finger at Fermat. "No... no. Not that one."

"Ah... okay," Fermat said, nodding heavily as he gasped. The gasping trailed off into giggles again, and he managed to eke out, "P-Pinhead!" Alan collapsed into laughter again.

"Enough! Enough! I give!" Alan leaned over, breathing heavily, and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You won this time, Brain."

"Aw, c-come on, P-Pinky!" Fermat said, shaking his head and trying to control his laughing. "You don't h-h-h-have any m-more?"

"None that I can get out without peeing my pants," Alan replied. That set Fermat off again, so much so that his glasses slipped down to the end of his nose.

Alan calmed enough to stand straight and said, in a more normal tone, "Enough, Fermat." He reached out and put his friend's glasses back where they belonged. "Thanks for the laugh. I needed it."

"M-Me, too." Fermat slowly straightened, working hard to control the giggles that threatened, like hiccups, to force their way out. "Things have b-been entirely t-too tense l-lately."

"Yeah. You're right." Alan held out his hands palms outward. "But you know what Gords always says, 'A little song, a little dance'..."

Fermat interrupted. "D-Don't finish it!" he warned, shaking a finger. "I c-couldn't take it n-now."

"Oh, okay." Alan grinned. "I'd better let you go. We both have homework and studying to do."

"Yeah." Fermat turned to mount the steps to his dorm. "S-See you in m-math."

"Sure thing, Fermat. Goodnight!" Alan turned away, putting his hands back in his jacket pockets.

"G-Goodnight, Alan!"

Surprisingly enough, Sugi wasn't in their room for most of the evening. Alan did his homework in relative peace, but part of him was listening for the sound of the door opening and for the tension that had just eased to return in full force. It was just after the first warning that Lee returned. The knees of his jeans were damp, and smeared with mud and grass stains. Lee caught Alan looking at them, and said, "I was tossing around the football with a couple of friends. Not that it's any of your business." The senior went into the bathroom to change, and brought out his laundry bag, flinging it toward the door. It landed beside Alan's. "Good thing it's laundry day tomorrow, huh?"

Alan nodded, but said nothing. He climbed into his bunk, made himself comfortable, and waited for lights out.

Sugi disappeared from Alan's line of sight as the older teen sat down on his bed. Alan could hear the creak of the bedsprings, then suddenly, Sugi was standing right beside him, his face just inches from Alan's. His sudden appearance caused Alan to draw back, startled.

"What do you want?" Alan asked.

Sugi's eyes narrowed. "I've heard a rumor that you're moving in with Dom Bertoli this weekend. Is it true?"

"Yeah, it's true. What about it?"

"Were you going to let your current roommate know about your change of plans?"

Alan shook his head. "Actually, no. I was going to surprise you."

"Yeah, it would have been a surprise all right," Sugi sneered. "I told Bertoli not to do it."

"Well, it looks like you're not as impressive as his mother," Alan retorted, laying his head back down on his pillow. "I'd have thought you'd be happy to get rid of me."

"I will be. Don't worry, I will be."

The five-minute warning sounded, and Lee disappeared again. Alan shifted a bit. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. There had been something vaguely threatening about how Sugi had replied to his statement, something that Alan couldn't put his finger on, but it disturbed him nonetheless.

One more day. Just one more day and I'm outta here, he thought. Nothing's going to stop me, either.

With that last thought, he pulled up a little, punched his pillow a couple of times, lay back down, and the lights went out.