A day passed. Then two. A week later, Zed found himself swinging by hydroponics multiple times a day until Johns finally gave him a “don’t call us; we’ll call you” talk.

  When Zed asked what was taking so long, Johns just shrugged.

  “It’s a good sign,” he said. “If they’re taking their time, it means they’re taking it seriously.”

  Seeing as he had nothing better to distract him at the moment, Zed decided to do the one thing he had left: catch up on his schoolwork. He realized it was probably a good thing that he had this time because, for as little attention as his parents paid to it, they were eventually going to notice how far behind he was. That was a conversation he would very much rather avoid.

  He didn’t hate the work. He even enjoyed it at times. Learning was interesting if the subjects felt worth learning, but none of it compared to finding life in a mysterious Martian cave.

  It had been almost two weeks since Zed had given Johns the scan. Zed, George, and Miranda were all enjoying their morning together. They sat side by side, eating their breakfast and drinking their imitation coffee in silence as the mess hall went through its mesmerizing animations.

  Their view was obstructed when a girl stepped up to their table and set her tray down opposite the three of them.

  “Hello, Zed. I’m Janice Das. We’ve sort of met before,” she said, giving a small, awkward wave.

  Startled, Zed felt a wave of confused emotions wash over him as his mind raced to figure out why her face looked so familiar and why he had such a negative internal reaction to seeing it.

  Then it came to him. She was the woman who had been with Andy nearly every time he’d run into him—one of his lackeys or something. She’d been there in the mess, and she’d been there when Andy had tossed his gift into that oil.

  Janice clearly had those first encounters on her mind as well because she followed her introduction quickly with, “I wanted to say, I’m really sorry about what Andy did. I should have said something or done something, and I didn’t, and I’m sorry.”

  Now Zed was even more stunned. All he could think to say was, “Why do you hang out with that jerk?”

  “Ah, well, actually, now I don’t.” Janice looked down at her hands. “We broke up shortly after that last time you saw me with him.”

  “You were dating that asshole?” George blurted out a little too loudly. A few people at neighboring tables glanced over at the outburst. George lowered his voice. “I mean, it’s not like you tried to stop him.”

  With obvious effort, Janice held Zed’s gaze and repeated quietly, “I’m sorry.”

  There was a part of Zed that was frustrated by that response. A genuine apology after months of built-up anger was incredibly unsatisfying.

  But wasn’t that kind of the point? he thought.

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  Then Zed thought of how Andy must have felt when Zed responded to his bullying with a gift.

  There was nothing passive about loving your enemy, Zed thought. It may be kind and gentle, but it is certainly not passive.

  For some reason, this thought gave Zed a little comfort and a slightly different perspective on the whole affair. He looked back at Janice, who was still sitting in silence.

  “It’s—it's alright,” he said as the initial burst of internal rage faded.

  Janice’s lips, which had been pursed tight, relaxed into almost a smile. “Thank you,” she said.

  They ate their meals in silence for a few minutes.

  Janice cleared her throat and said, “So, I saw the space you made for Andy.”

  Zed froze mid-bite.

  “How?” Miranda asked. “I mean, he dropped it in the oil or whatever, right?”

  “Sure, but the drive still worked just fine. It was just a cruel gesture on his part. He wasn’t going to look, but I did. And it…” Janice trailed off as if sucked in by the memory. "It made me see Andy’s actions with a clarity I think I’d been hiding from. Andy had talked about that place before, and I knew it would have meant a lot to him if he’d given you a chance.”

  Janice cleared her throat, pushing back the emotion that had been welling in her eyes. “I wanted to ask if you’d be willing to make a trade.”

  “A trade?” Zed asked. This whole encounter had thrown him off, but he had to appreciate Janice's boldness. Especially considering the tremor in her voice suggested it wasn't something that came naturally for her.

  “I would love a personalized overlay of my own for my quarters. I want a slice of home. Like what you did for Andy.” Janice’s voice had steadied and was all business now. “In exchange, I'll train and certify you for the Earth Rise Day race. I know the Chariots better than anyone. I can teach tricks that would give you a serious edge. I’m not a bad racer myself,” she said, her chin jerking up in clear pride.

  “Wait, back up. What’s Earth Rise Day?” Zed asked, intrigued but more than a little confused. “And why would I want to enter a race?”

  Janice looked surprised. “It’s—I mean—it’s Earth Rise Day. We celebrate it every year.” She looked for recognition in Zed’s face and found none. “They stream the race back on Earth. It’s actually kind of a big deal.”

  Zed shook his head. “Sorry, I’ve never been into sports.”

  Janice smiled. “You’ll want to be into this. Trust me.”

  In the end, an agreement was reached. Zed would make Janice her own quarters overlay. To his surprise, it wasn’t her childhood home that she wanted, but a park near the campus where she had gone to school.

  “It was my first time on my own, finally away from my parents. The possibilities seemed endless,” she explained, though he hadn’t asked. “It was the happiest I’ve ever been.”

  Then Janice explained the prize for winning the Earth Rise Day race. At first, Zed was disappointed. What she described didn’t sound like that big a deal. Then realization dawned, and from that moment on, and for the first time in his life, he was determined to win a sporting event.

  The prize was simple, really. It was one cubic foot of empty space, and it was the most desirable thing on Mars. What made this particular empty space special was its location on each incoming flight from Earth.

  The previous year’s winner, Jonah Gruene, had used this space allotment to bring a cubic foot of peanut butter M&Ms to Naug. The vibrations of launch and landing turned a few of the bags into more of a single proto-M&M, but Jonah didn’t seem to mind.

  A year ago, Zed would have found this an odd choice, but now he understood completely. People couldn't fathom the emotional attachments they have to certain foods and luxuries until they are truly out of reach. Zed wasn’t sure exactly what he’d choose to use the space for if he won the race, but the thought of having the option was enough.

  “I’d fill it with cheeseburgers,” George said. “Just smash them together, as many as you can. I don’t even care.”

  “That’s truly disgusting, even for you,” Miranda said, giving her brother a look of well-practiced disapproval.

  Zed and Janice agreed to meet a few times a week. There was less than a month until Earth Rise Day. Zed wasn’t sure how much he truly cared about the race or if he was just grateful to have his mind taken off whatever was waiting to be found in the crater cave.