Warming Times - Chapter 1

On Friday March 24, 2118 at 1:30 I sat in the classroom waiting for our Social class to begin. In another two hours we would be out of here for one wonderful week.

Time usually raced from one vacation to the next, yet for some reason, the last three months had just dragged by. There were moments I thought this day would never come, but here it was, and I was determined to enjoy it. There was no way to know how, but somehow there had to be an adventure waiting for me. Something to remember and tell stories about in my old age.

I tried to block out the noise from the other eleven kids in the class and stared at the viewer in the front of the room. The viewers both at the front and the back took up the entire wall. Other than what was shown on them, every classroom in the school looked identical. Since the semester was just about finished the viewers were blank for the most part.

The classroom contained six tables arranged in two equal rows. Normally two students sat at each table. The teacher used a desk at the front of the class when she was not lecturing. There were two classes in the school for each of the grades from 1 to 9.

My best friend, Penny, sat down at the table beside me. "So what are your plans for next week? Doing anything exciting?"

Penny was one of those girls who had everything going for her. She was pretty, smart, and popular with beautiful long brown hair and large hazel eyes. Her clothes always fit perfectly and were always just right. She was never a slave to the newest trends but seemed to know exactly what to wear to look great.

All the boys in Grade 9 were out to attract Penny’s attention, but she only noticed my twin brother, Michael. Who could blame her? He was tall and muscular. His deep-blue eyes sparkled when he smiled, which was most of the time. Like me, he had strawberry blond hair and olive skin. His appearance was quite striking. Some girls argued he was by far the most attractive and entertaining boy in the whole school.

As popular as the two of them were, I was the exact opposite - a quiet loner that tried her best to stay in the background, at least at school. While Michael seemed to have a perpetual smile, I was usually serious.

I turned to look at Penny. "Sorry. What did you say?"

"Looks like you’re a million miles away." Penny chuckled. "I just asked if you have anything planned for next week."

"Not really, but it’ll sure beat being here," I said.

Penny leaned back in her chair and put her hands behind her head. "That’s for sure."
I nodded absently. "Do you and Michael have anything planned?"

"No. We’re just going to hang around. So how do you think you did on the test?" Penny leaned forward as she felt somebody walking up behind her.

I felt like we were being watched but chose to ignore it. "Not bad. There’s a good chance this one’s an A. At least I hope so. You know Dad will make me spend all next week studying unless the mark is over 80 percent. That would be a real drag."

Jane was standing right behind us listening to every word we said. "Yeah right! How do you think she did? The whole exam was about her family. Who founded the Canamerica Space Station? Who was the first president of the board? Who's the current president of the board? How could she not know the answers? It’s like me not being able to tell somebody my name or birthday. She must have bribed Mrs. Teller to put all the questions she wanted on the exam. Hey Andrea! How much did you pay her?"

I stared straight ahead and kept quiet. Penny jumped in to defend me. "Jane, you’re such a drip. You’re just jealous because your family has never been known for anything - except being difficult! From what I understand your father's an expert at annoying people. Looks like he taught you everything he knows. You’re just like him."

"Jealous? Don’t make me laugh!" Jane responded. "Who could ever be jealous of Miss Grumpy? She doesn’t have a friend in the universe other than you and that brother of hers. She seems to think that just because she goes to all those fancy dinners with her father she's somehow better than everyone. What a laugh. Just because you don’t like me, Penny, doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of people who do. I don’t need you or your pathetic little buddy."

I put my hand on Penny’s arm to calm her. She looked at me and slowly got to her feet. "Jane, you’re so full of yourself. If anyone in this room is pathetic, it’s you."

With a noticeable groan, I rested my head on my arms and placed them on the table. Jane surveyed the room and then looked back at Penny. "Admit it, Penny. Ever since her mother died three years ago, Andrea's been a real bore. She never goes anywhere fun. She's too busy playing princess for the reporters with her father. She needs to take a reality check and join the rest of the kids her age. Nobody, other than you or her brother, actually chooses to spend time with her."

Penny moved toward Jane with fists tightly clasped. "For your information, I'd rather spend a day with Andrea in the worst place on this space station than a minute with you anywhere."

As Penny was getting ready to go into one of her tirades, Mrs. Teller walked in the room carrying a stack of writing tablets. She dropped them on her desk and stood scanning the classroom. "Quiet, class. Take your seats so we can get started."

Everyone quickly moved to their seats. Although she was a small delicate woman, Mrs. Teller could be very intimidating. At first glance you could mistake her for a teenager with her long red hair and youthful clothing, but her face had the pained look of someone who had been through many difficult times. Nobody in the room wanted to face the wrath of Mrs. Teller. She had been teaching our Grade 9 class for six months and nobody had escaped the cutting edge of her remarks.

She picked up the top portion of the stack and faced the class. "You all did quite well on the exam. I was pleasantly surprised. as always, I sorted the exams by mark. Please come up to the front when I call out your name: Andrea Best. Excellent job, Andrea, you got 100 percent; the only one in the class to do so I might add."

I slowly got up and walked to the front of the class with my shoulders slumped forward. Mrs. Teller watched my progress. "Come on everyone. Let’s show Andrea how impressed we are. She deserves a round of applause."

How embarrassing.. Why did teachers single kids out like that? it made me feel like crawling under one of the tables and never coming out. Once I retrieved my exam I slunk back to my chair.

As I sat there I thought about what Jane said. She was right. This was an exam covering the history of the Canamerica Space Station. My great grandfather was the founder and my family led the council for most of the space station’s history.

Jane was right about something else too. Ever since Mom was killed, I spent most of my time with Michael, Penny, or Dad. There just didn't seem to be any time to spend doing useless things between school, taking care of the house and going to social functions with Dad. With Mom gone Dad needed someone to help him. Of course he never asked me to do these things, I did them because I knew they needed to be done. Anyway, why should I force myself to spend time with people I didn't want to be with.

As Mrs. Teller called out the names of each of the kids in the class, I thought about Mom and the last time we were together. We were having a disagreement about something. I remember storming out of the apartment and running all the way to school, never dreaming I'd never see her again. When they called me out of the class that afternoon, it seemed like time had come to a complete stop.

The next day Michael found an article about the attack, Dad framed it and hung it on a living room wall. The headline kept screaming at me: "Mary Best, Stabbed to Death." I could never force myself to look at that article. The events of that day played over and over in my mind.

The last two hours of class were miserable. Mrs. Teller told us about the next Social topic. When the bell finally rang I got up and practically ran out of the room. I disappeared into the sea of kids all wanting to get to their lockers. With lockers lining both sides of the hall, and kids pushing there way through to reach them, I had to struggle just to get through the crowd.

I finally made it to my locker and punched the combination on the lock pad. The door popped open to show the neatly arranged contents. Everything had a place. I stashed my books on the topmost shelf and got my sweater from the shelf at eye level. Once I loaded up my backpack, I slung it over my shoulder and carefully shut the door.

I heard Penny calling out my name as I rushed toward the exit. At that moment my only thought was to get home quickly and shut myself away with my journal for the rest of the afternoon. Managing to escape before she could reach me, I slipped out the side door of the school. Once I was out of the school I ran all the way back home. I didn't want anything or anyone to stop me.

When I got to the apartment I slammed the door shut, ran to my bedroom and sat down at my desk. When I reached into my desk to pull out my journal a bright blue ball shining through the window in front of me caught my attention.

I always found it impossible not to stare at Earth when I could see it through one of the space station windows. It was fascinating to think that there were billions of people living on that small blue ball. I often day dreamed about all the stories being played out there. The space station was so small in comparison with only 6,500 people living there. It was hard to imagine over 33 billion people all living in one place.

I sat gazing through the window in front of me, past the corridor that ringed the outside of the space station, past the benches and bushes beyond. I ignored the people that were always walking past the windows. My eyes were fixated on Earth. Even though I could see it through my window between 4:10 and 4:20 or 10:10 and 10:20 every day as the space station revolved on it's axis, I never got tired of looking at it.

When it did finally pass beyond my view I reached into my desk and pulled out my journal. Whenever I felt depressed or wanted to talk to someone I would sit and write. I had spent hours writing in my journal since Mom died. It always made me feel so much better.

My journal was nothing more than a writing tablet with a combination pad on the top. I set it down on my desk and opened it up. The stylus, which should have been in its holder beside the screen, had been missing for months. Since I never used it, that was no big deal. I plugged my keyboard into the side of the tablet and sat staring at the two screens in front of me. I tapped in the word 'end' and the last pages I had worked on appeared.

Just as I started tapping on my keyboard, Penny and Michael walked in. There were times I hated the fact that my best friend was also my brother’s girlfriend. Nothing was private. There was nowhere to hide, not even my bedroom.

Michael stood looking at me with his arms folded across his chest. "So what’s this all about? Feeling a bit down, are you? Penny tells me you let Jane walk all over you again. Wait till Dad hears about this. He always tells you to stand up for yourself. He’s not going to be too impressed, is he?"

I glared first at Penny and then at Michael. "I don’t want to talk to anyone right now." I turned my back away from them. "Who said you could come in my room anyway? You know you’re not allowed in here unless you’ve been invited. Get out and leave me alone. I've got things to do before I have to get ready for that dinner tonight."

As expected, Michael ignored my comments and kept talking. "No way, Sis. We're not going until you tell us what’s on your mind. Now tell me what this is all about."
When I didn't respond, Michael continued, "Penny tells me you got 100 percent on your Social exam. Guess what? I did too and I didn’t even study. I don’t remember you spending too much time studying either. Looks like we’re both geniuses."

Penny rolled her eyes. "You guys are amazing. I studied five nights straight for that exam and only got 90 percent. It seems I always have to work harder just to stay ten steps behind. It’s not fair. How do you do it?"

Since it was obvious they weren't going to leave any time soon, I turned to face them. "Didn’t you hear Jane? We’ve been listening to the history of the Canamerica Space Station for the last 15 years. How could we get anything less than 100 percent? Anyway, you’re too hard on yourself. You always get better marks than me in Biology and Health."

Michael glanced over at Penny. "So now it comes out. You’re not really upset about what that drip said, are you? I’m surprised you even listen to her. You know she just likes to put everybody down. Her favorite target has always been our family and you in particular. Boy, was I happy to find out she wasn’t in my Grade 9 class. It’s just too bad you two have to put up with her."

Michael paused then laughed out loud. "For Grade 10, we should arrange to have her loaded onto a settlement ship headed for nowhere. What do you think? no, wait. We couldn’t do that. It would be cruel and unusual punishment. How could we ever do that to the other 999 people on the ship? Can you imagine having to live with her for your whole life, with no hope of escape?" He shivered.

Michael continued on a different track. "Anyway, can we help it if we're part of such an amazing family? It's not our fault everyone ties the history of our family to the history of Canamerica? Any time you’re part of such greatness there will be people who try to bring you down. Some people can’t stand to see others who are better than they are. Never forget, Sis, we are the ‘Best’."

You had to love him. It was impossible to stay depressed for long when Michael decided he needed to cheer me up. I couldn't let him know that, though, or he'd be reminding me at every opportunity. "that’s not what’s bothering me. You know I’d never let Jane get to me unless there was some truth in what she said."

Michael started picking up and looking at the holo books sitting on my book shelf. "Ah. So, now we’re getting somewhere. If that’s not what’s bothering you, what is? What could Jane possibly say to get you so upset? You’re not making any sense, Sis."

This conversation was annoying. I wished he would just keep quiet and leave my things alone. "Okay, nosey. She said I’ve been a real bore since Mom died. Nobody wants to be around me because I’m no fun anymore. The sad thing is - she’s right! She didn’t say anything I haven't thought myself a hundred times. Mom’s death keeps haunting me. Why would anyone murder her? Can you answer that?"

The silence hung in the room. After a few minutes he spoke quietly. "When you’re the ‘Best’ there are people who get jealous and want to see you suffer. The person who killed Mom wanted to destroy her and bring us all down too."

Penny looked shocked. "Did they ever find out who did it?"

Michael shook his head. "Officially, no. But Dad’s convinced it was Brian Reise."

Penny's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Brian Reise? You mean the owner of Reise Enterprises? Everyone knows he was a crook but why would he kill your mom? Did she get in the way of one of his crooked deals or something?"

Michael's voice cracked as he answered Penny's question. "No, nothing like that. He had something against Dad for years. He made no secret of the fact he wanted to make Dad suffer."

"Why?" Penny asked. "Everyone loves your father."

Michael took a deep breath and continued. "Dad won the position of president of the space station council in 2103. Brian ran against him and it was a tough campaign. He even contested the vote but everyone knew he was just jealous. Then Dad implicated Brian in a scandal four years later."

Michael paused as if to allow time for his memories to slow down and match the speed of his words. He picked up another holo book and turned it over in his hands. "Dad and Brian were friends in school. At the time Mom was Brian’s girlfriend. When she started dating Dad, Brian was furious with both of them. After that, he blamed Dad for everything that went wrong in his life. He even said he'd make sure Dad would never benefit from what should have been his. Dad’s convinced he killed Mom to get back at him and take away what he cared about most in his life. If Brian couldn’t have Mom then nobody would."

I was getting nervous as I watched him touching all my things. I got up and took the holo book out of his hands. "that doesn’t make any sense. If he cared so much about her, how could he bring himself to destroy her?"

Michael appeared to be looking right through me trying to find an answer to my question. "Who knows what makes someone do something like that? Let's think about something happier. After all this is the beginning of our vacation. Let’s not ruin it talking about a depressing subject." He reached out for another book.

There had to be a way to get him out of my room. I hated it when people touched my things. "Okay. Okay. You win. I’ll put my journal away and try to smile. Now do you think you can leave me alone? I have some things to get done before supper."

Michael followed my every movement. "Now that sounds suspicious. We’re off school for a week and you’re talking about getting things done. Are you sure this isn’t just some act to get us to leave, so that you can get back to your journal. You know we can’t let that happen. I've made it a personal mission to banish all depression from this space station."

I rolled my eyes as I took a holo book out of Michael's hands. "Oh, brother. Where did that come from?"

Penny winked at Michael. "We’re going to the pop stand and you’re coming with us. You know we can’t leave you alone. There’s no telling what you’ll do."

"Fine. You twisted my arm. You’re never going to give me a moment’s peace anyway? But I can't be too long. I've got to get ready for another dinner party with Dad."

Penny started heading for the door. "Great. So let’s go. We'll have you back in time."

Michael stood in my way as I got up to leave. "Why do you insist going to these parties anyway? Dad's never asked you to go with him and it's obvious you don't enjoy them."

Sighing heavily I answered his question. "No. Dad never would ask. He'd just try to muddle through on his own, but he needs someone with him. Since I'm the only one who realizes what has to be done, it's my responsibility to make sure there's someone there."

Michael stood looking at me like I was lab animal he was trying to figure out. "You're crazy Sis. Don't you have enough to do without adding more responsibilities? I'd say it's not my responsibility until someone asks me to do it. Why should you have to play babysitter to your own father, unless you enjoy going to these parties. Maybe you do secretly enjoy the attention just like everyone says."

Why did I go? Michael was right, I didn't enjoy them but Dad needed me. "Don't be ridiculous. The parties themselves aren't too bad and I do learn some interesting things at them, it's the reporters that drive me crazy. They're always wanting to snap pictures and comment on my clothes or what I did wrong this time. I wish they'd all just disappear."

Penny shook her head as she looked at me. "You should stop being such a martyr and start having a little more fun. I'm sure your father would get along." She checked her watch briefly. "If we're going to get you back in time we better get out of here. It's almost 5:00."