What Ari says hypnotized by the snap snap beat of Becka cracking her knuckles Ordinarily I would slap him on the back of the head to bring him to his senses but I resist the urge Things have been bad enough between us lately Long story My fault I don't want to strain our friendship even more Especially because he's the only person who didn't start treating me differently after my dad aka our science teacher got fired a few months ago So I just mutter Creeper alert Which Ari understands right away Oh He tears his eyes away from Becka Thanks Anyway I was saying that I can't believe we're playing this again I know we're still on the same page about most things including disliking dodgeball Of course Ari holds the high score in Virtual Dodgeball along with every other video game I know But the real thing Not so much Eh he responds pointing to the corner of the room Ms Needle who teaches mismatched things like PE music art and Spanish and dresses like she's getting ready for all those classes at once is lost in some old timey paper book that she must've checked out from the special library on Ceres There's nothing else she can get us to play on the last day of school without having to yell I nod Can't blame Ms Needle for being a little
burned out I'd be too if I was an underpaid public school teacher who spent nine months of the year living with my whiny students onboard a rundown spaceship My dad used to say that it's the most rewarding job in the solar system But my dad's also a liar And second Ari adds dodgeball isn't my favorite favorite either But don't jinx yourself by complaining It's bad luck The ball will for sure knock out your teeth or something That's Ari something practical and smart because he's brilliant immediately followed by something ridiculous ridiculous and superstitious because and I've never been totally clear on this maybe he also believes in magic But he's right about one thing I don't need any more bad luck Come on Hunter shouts at the captains We're not gonna have enough time Okay okay Riya groans rubbing her forehead She's clearly having trouble picking between the only two choices left Unlike Becka Ari and I are short and scrawny Ari has giant dark hair that always looks like he just finished electrocuting himself And considering his habit of tinkering with every machine he can get his hands on he sometimes really has just finished electrocuting electrocuting himself I have super freckly skin and eyes that I've always thought are a little too big for my face You'd know just by looking at us that we aren't the next All-Jupiter All-Jupiter Athletes in the making
Fine Riya says throwing up her hands I guess I pick Ari I sigh The other captain doesn't bother to call my name even for the ceremony of it He just glares at me and shrugs Thwack Becka is in one of her frenzies It's not easy to throw in zero gravity but Becka manages just fine She hurls the ball at Gena Korematsu so hard that it actually actually hits Gena's stomach and bounces directly back into Becka's hands so she can have another go Gena flies over to the sidelines spinning out of control Becka kicks off the wall and rockets across the room Halfway to the other side she fakes the ball at Hunter's head And Hunter twenty feet up in the air curls up like a scared hedgehog But as Becka crosses directly in front of Hunter she just taunts him with a wave and a smile People would probably be more upset about Becka hogging hogging the ball if we weren't all so busy keeping away from her Like the rest of our school the gym is nothing special Correction It's unspecial Subspecial It's about the size of a basketball court with crooked baskets attached to the roof at each end and bleachers on one side that used to fold down onto the floor but have been stuck half-open half-open for two years Principal Lochner likes to joke that
the money to fix the bleachers should come in any day now Because like most of the other public schoolships orbiting Jupiter's moons we're basically broke Check out the PE supply closet busted hockey sticks useless tug of war bungee straps torn jump ropes tied together and a stack of orange cones that look like they've been blasted through the thickest part of the Kuiper belt This dodgeball is our last ball we use it for dodgeball kickball volleyball basketball and a very frustrating version of touch football Trying to avoid getting hit Cal Brown instead gets caught up in one of the GO CHAMPIONS banners that dangles from the ceiling Everyone laughs and not only because Cal is a klutz Since none of our teams has ever won even a single championship for any sport even with Becka leading the pack the school's nickname has turned into a bitter inside joke Becka spits into her hands and rubs them together to improve her grip which is an even grosser thing to do in zero g than normal Ari stops to stare at her like she's a glowing angel dancing in slow motion Thwack Thwack Thwack Becka does her signature move she smacks the ball into a steady spin and holds a finger an inch or two underneath it like she's levitating it with her mind More than a little distracted today I fail to immediately notice that I'm the only one left on my team You ready for the pain Graham Becka asks
