Trial 017 - 2019 Wattys Sci-Fi Winner

Chapter 2

"I'm only going to be a few minutes," Mom said, pulling up in front of our one story house. "Do you want to wait for me in the auto or do you want to come inside?"

"It's summer," I pointed out. "Not exactly the best time to be in an auto."

"Fine," she said, snatching her keys.

I hopped out, picking up my bag from the backseat before meeting my mom at the door. The house was one of the newer models in Kingsfield, set up in a mass housing boom almost two decades ago. Mom told me that Dad's job had allowed them to afford the house not long before he went missing on the Outside. Not that I was too torn up about that. He was gone when I was still young, so I barely remembered him anyway.

Mom unlocked the door to the house with her security ring, waving me inside as the door slid open.

"Wow, it's really humid today," she noted, fanning her face. "Drink some water and wait for me, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," I muttered.

The house was pretty roomy, for a one story home. The front door opened into a small vestibule, just wide enough to accommodate two people standing. I dropped off my shoes in the rack built into the wall before stepping out into the living room. Since there were only ever two or three of us in the house at a time (Peter wasn't always home and we rarely had visitors besides the occasional neighbor), there was only a couch and an armchair to keep comfy. I tossed my jacket and bag on the chair and kept going in a beeline toward the kitchen.

"The passes to the Institute are on the kitchen counter!" my mom yelled from the bedrooms. "Don't forget to drink water!"

I snatched a glass from the countertop, sticking it under the dispenser as I turned my attention toward the stack of virtual envelopes blinking on the countertop screen. There were a few e-bills on top, but underneath, an envelope with an intricate seal bore Peter's unmistakably bold writing style. Leave it to Peter to send back something fancy.

Setting the glass of water on the counter, I pulled a stylus off the wall cooler and broke the seal on the envelope by tapping the screen. Two passes were included inside, along with additional documentation and a map with a set of instructions to show me the way.

"There's a pass for you too," I called to my mom. "Are you coming?"

"What? Oh, not today," Mom called back. "Work."

I nodded, though I knew my mom couldn't see me, and looked over the directions.

Djoser Airfield - shuttlebus to Moon

Follow the Blue Line once docked

Peter never liked saying more than he needed to. Most of the time, people we met were put off by his curt mannerisms, often reprimanding our mom for raising such a rude child, but in reality, Peter knew how to be polite. He just didn't think he needed to waste time on manners.

I pulled out my mobile, collecting my pass as I got up to look for a bag. Every time Peter came home, he'd bring back souvenirs he'd made and free stuff for me, as well as some extra cash he earned on the side to help Mom with the bills. This time, since I was going up, I probably would need to bring a backpack to carry back all the stuff he'd let me steal from his lab.

I wandered into my bedroom, kicking the door open with my foot. My spare backpack was folded up and stashed under my desk, all ready to go. Snatching it up, I shook it out to make sure there was nothing in it before tossing it back into the living room. That was the bag I was going to take to Peter's school; my normal school backpack was already full of junk anyway.