Young Social Innovators, recipient of the RAIA Fearson Scholarship, Junior Miss Nebraska two years running
IP : 2053:db7:lj71::212:ll3:6e8
SECURITY STATUS : Top Secret LANDLOCK-6
Heather gazed back for a searching moment, then her yellow-brown eyes widened. “Oh, Tom, you’re here!”
She sounded so happy to see him that his stomach flipped. “Yeah, I’m here.”
“I barely recognized you without the …” She trailed off, eyes scanning his face. Then she said brightly, “I’ve been waiting for weeks for you to pop out of the surgery suite. I thought you’d changed your mind on us.”
Tom didn’t know what to say to that, staring into the gorgeous face of a girl who he’d thought would never give a guy like him the time of day.
Back when he wasn’t smart.
Back when his skin was messed up.
Back when he was homeless and had nothing going for him.
The thoughts fired in his brain all at once. A sense of having been reborn as a new person overcame him. He wondered at his own daring when he leaned closer, held her eyes, and said, “Sorry. I’d never keep you waiting.”
He was rewarded by Heather’s giggle. “Aw, you’re still cute, Tom.”
“Cute?” Tom tried to puzzle that one out. Was that flattering or unmanly?
A rich laugh broke in between them. A tall, handsome guy shoved his tray onto the conveyer belt, then casually propped his elbow on Heather’s shoulder. “I see the H-bomb has claimed another victim.”
Tom didn’t need the neural processor to tell him who this was. He’d know Elliot Ramirez anywhere. The text scrolled over his vision center nonetheless.
NAME : Elliot Ramirez
CALL SIGN : Ares
RANK : USIF, Grade VI, Camelot Company, Napoleon Division
ORIGIN : Los Angeles, CA
ACHIEVEMENTS : Recipient of the Taco Bell Teen Hero Award, first place World Junior Figure Skating Championship, founder of the Shoot for the Stars Inspiration Forum for Children, Teen People ’s Young Heartthrob of the Year, winner of the Latin American Achievement Award
IP : 2053:db7:lj71::209:ll3:6e8
SECURITY STATUS : Top Secret LANDLOCK-6
Laughter tinged Elliot’s voice. “You’ve gotta live up to that wily reputation, don’t you, H? Toying with the affections of poor, innocent plebes.”
Heather shrugged her shoulder so Elliot’s arm slipped off. “I like poor, innocent plebes. And I’ll have you know, I helped General Marsh find Tom’s network address, and I helped run him through Marsh’s experimental screening scenario.”
“So what did you get for that?” Elliot teased. “Is the next slot for Camelot Company guaranteed to someone in Machiavelli Division?”
“Don’t listen to a word Elliot says, Tom,” Heather said sternly.
Elliot raised an eyebrow. “Actually, Raines, you’ll have to listen to what I say. You’re in my Applied Simulations group.”
“I am?” Tom said.
“Yes,” Elliot confirmed, his dark eyes flicking over some information he could see, scrolling through some manifest in his head. “Thomas Raines, my newbie.”
“Oh.” Heather pouted. “That’s too bad. I hoped I’d have you, Tom.”
Tom fervently wished she had him, too.
Elliot clapped his shoulder. “Hey, you lucked out.” He winked. “Trust me, the people back home will go nuts when you tell them I’m the one training you.”
Tom thought of Neil’s reaction if he ever found out his kid would be taking orders from Elliot Ramirez, of all people.
“Yeah,” Tom agreed. “My dad would definitely go nuts.”
CHAPTER SIX
V IK SAID A PPLIED Simulations were groups of plebes battling simulated enemies together under the leadership of members of Camelot Company. Vik really liked his group because it was led by Heather, who was apparently very hands-on, the thought of which made Tom wild with envy. Yuri, on the other hand, didn’t care for his. He was in a group led by a Combatant named Karl Marsters, who always chose the goriest, bloodiest simulations available for his plebes. Apparently,
IP : 2053:db7:lj71::212:ll3:6e8
SECURITY STATUS : Top Secret LANDLOCK-6
Heather gazed back for a searching moment, then her yellow-brown eyes widened. “Oh, Tom, you’re here!”
She sounded so happy to see him that his stomach flipped. “Yeah, I’m here.”
“I barely recognized you without the …” She trailed off, eyes scanning his face. Then she said brightly, “I’ve been waiting for weeks for you to pop out of the surgery suite. I thought you’d changed your mind on us.”
Tom didn’t know what to say to that, staring into the gorgeous face of a girl who he’d thought would never give a guy like him the time of day.
Back when he wasn’t smart.
Back when his skin was messed up.
Back when he was homeless and had nothing going for him.
The thoughts fired in his brain all at once. A sense of having been reborn as a new person overcame him. He wondered at his own daring when he leaned closer, held her eyes, and said, “Sorry. I’d never keep you waiting.”
He was rewarded by Heather’s giggle. “Aw, you’re still cute, Tom.”
“Cute?” Tom tried to puzzle that one out. Was that flattering or unmanly?
A rich laugh broke in between them. A tall, handsome guy shoved his tray onto the conveyer belt, then casually propped his elbow on Heather’s shoulder. “I see the H-bomb has claimed another victim.”
Tom didn’t need the neural processor to tell him who this was. He’d know Elliot Ramirez anywhere. The text scrolled over his vision center nonetheless.
NAME : Elliot Ramirez
CALL SIGN : Ares
RANK : USIF, Grade VI, Camelot Company, Napoleon Division
ORIGIN : Los Angeles, CA
ACHIEVEMENTS : Recipient of the Taco Bell Teen Hero Award, first place World Junior Figure Skating Championship, founder of the Shoot for the Stars Inspiration Forum for Children, Teen People ’s Young Heartthrob of the Year, winner of the Latin American Achievement Award
IP : 2053:db7:lj71::209:ll3:6e8
SECURITY STATUS : Top Secret LANDLOCK-6
Laughter tinged Elliot’s voice. “You’ve gotta live up to that wily reputation, don’t you, H? Toying with the affections of poor, innocent plebes.”
Heather shrugged her shoulder so Elliot’s arm slipped off. “I like poor, innocent plebes. And I’ll have you know, I helped General Marsh find Tom’s network address, and I helped run him through Marsh’s experimental screening scenario.”
“So what did you get for that?” Elliot teased. “Is the next slot for Camelot Company guaranteed to someone in Machiavelli Division?”
“Don’t listen to a word Elliot says, Tom,” Heather said sternly.
Elliot raised an eyebrow. “Actually, Raines, you’ll have to listen to what I say. You’re in my Applied Simulations group.”
“I am?” Tom said.
“Yes,” Elliot confirmed, his dark eyes flicking over some information he could see, scrolling through some manifest in his head. “Thomas Raines, my newbie.”
“Oh.” Heather pouted. “That’s too bad. I hoped I’d have you, Tom.”
Tom fervently wished she had him, too.
Elliot clapped his shoulder. “Hey, you lucked out.” He winked. “Trust me, the people back home will go nuts when you tell them I’m the one training you.”
Tom thought of Neil’s reaction if he ever found out his kid would be taking orders from Elliot Ramirez, of all people.
“Yeah,” Tom agreed. “My dad would definitely go nuts.”
CHAPTER SIX
V IK SAID A PPLIED Simulations were groups of plebes battling simulated enemies together under the leadership of members of Camelot Company. Vik really liked his group because it was led by Heather, who was apparently very hands-on, the thought of which made Tom wild with envy. Yuri, on the other hand, didn’t care for his. He was in a group led by a Combatant named Karl Marsters, who always chose the goriest, bloodiest simulations available for his plebes. Apparently,
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