Page 46 of Bound By Stars
When he twists to make the catch, I push off and glide past, snagging the ball just out of his reach. I grip the bar along the ceiling and throw to Meridian, who’s waiting on the left.
Hale is halfway across the room when Skye zooms down the center, grabbing the ball as Meridian releases it. She fakes the throw left and then chucks it at the upper right corner of the wall behind Asha, whose momentum carries her in the wrong direction.
“Goal!” Skye catches the edge of the roll-up door and launches herself past me, slapping my outstretched hand.
I drift past Jupiter as he moves back into position.
“You’re a natural,” he says.
“Beginner’s luck!” Hale calls from the opposite wall.
Tar and Asha count down from three when we’re all back in position. Curran, Hale, and Jupiter use a handoff approach, twirling around each other and clenching their hands to hide who has the ball.
Tar zeroes in on Hale, launching at him.
There’s a flash of colors as Jupiter slips the ball to Curran with their backs to Meridian.
“Curran has it!” I call out to her as he slams the rainbow sphere into the wall for their first point.
Next round, Skye zooms through the space until she launches herself a little too hard at the back wall and collides with Asha.
“You two okay?” Tar asks from his position in front of the window.
“Yeah, give us a minute,” Asha calls back, checking Skye for injuries as they both laugh.
The rest of us move slowly back into our starting positions.
Jupiter doesn’t stop on his side, crossing the center line and slowing in front of me. “Enjoying zero gravity?”
“Technically there’s no such thing as zero gravity. Everything has a gravitational pull. Even you and me.” Did I really just say that out loud? Being a know-it-all never sounded so much like flirting.
“Yeah?” He grins like he’s asking a completely different question that has nothing to do with space or gravity.
That is not happening. He’s sweet for a privileged Elysian, but he’s still a privileged Elysian. Who cares if his smile makes my throat close up or that my breath hitches every time he looks at me through those thick lashes? That all sounds like an allergic reaction.
Tar calls from the window, “Timeout over. We need to finish this game before launch.”
“What happens at launch?” I frown at Jupiter.
“This is kind of like a big airlock.”
My eyes go wide. I’ve always wanted to experience weightlessness, but this isn’t worth the risk of being sucked out into space. I stare at the docking door. “So why the hell are we playing a game in it?”
“It’s fine. There’s a warning before it takes off. Plus, Tar always gets us out of here well before it gets close to time.”
The next round, I’m too busy watching the docking door to notice Skye’s pass. Hale snags it and his team collectively earn their second point.
“Wake up, Earther!” Meridian calls from the opposite side of the room.
I shake it off. None of these people seem reckless. Especially not Asha. She’s too protective of Tarak. If this was seriously dangerous, she wouldn’t let her brother down here at all.
They manage to get a couple more past Tar, but more rounds than not, Meridian and I manage to work together to keep control of the ball, despite the glares and cloaked insults she’s busy tossing my way between passes. And Skye keeps the other team guessing, zooming through the long room like she’s not afraid of crashing again.
By the last round, we’re three points ahead when we reset.
“Did someone tell you the game started, Big Six?” I lock eyes with Jupiter on the other side.
Curran snags the ball and throws it back to him.
