Seventh Grade vs. the Galaxy

Seventh Grade vs. the Galaxy — page 7 — 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

Seventh Grade vs. the Galaxy — page 8 — 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

Seventh Grade vs. the Galaxy — page 9 — The class is buzzing Jack Graham is no match for a roaring T Bex hunting its prey Fine by me There's plenty of time for a second game which I plan to actually actually pay attention to just enough to get out toward the beginning and spend the rest of the period hovering alone in the corner But as the ball shoots toward me like a laser bolt some uncontrollable instinct takes over and I flail my arms up to block it To be fair I'm pretty sure that had it hit my stomach it would have done permanent damage damage to my kidneys So I make a fist Strike the ball And smack it down toward the bleachers where it hits the edge of one of the long benches and somehow Bang the ball pops leaving behind a sad rubber pancake floating in the air Ari was right I shouldn't have jinxed it Just like our ball our very last ball the room explodes Come on You had to try didn't you Worst Game Ever You should have gone home with your dad At that last comment the gym goes silent and I flinch worse than when the dodgeball was barreling toward me It would have been less painful if I'd let it crush my internal organs I shut my eyes tight and try to push down the urge to flee the gym run to

Seventh Grade vs. the Galaxy — page 10 — my dorm and never come out I just wanted to get through one day without having to hear someone mention my dad I haven't seen him in months and part of me doesn't want to see him ever again Of course it's the last day of school So this afternoon I'll be on a shuttle heading down to Ganymede and I'll have to spend the whole summer with him I would've preferred a few hours of peace a few hours of flying under the radar before having having to deal with all that Sure it's always been a little weird to be a teacher's teacher's kid But I was never an outcast before And my dad wasn't just a science teacher he's a legit scientist with a PhD from the University of California Europa The other kids actually thought he was cool which made me cool by extension He could've kept his cushy job at NASA but he decided to teach middle school science on a public schoolship instead because he believed in the importance of public education and was passionate passionate about teaching the next generation and wanted to spend more time with his son and lots of other things I'd also put in quotes because I don't believe them anymore And sure life wasn't perfect Especially after my parents parents got divorced and my mom moved all the way to Earth But I was reasonably popular I was smart Okay fine but I used to get B's do you hear me B's And I was happy But then my dear old dad went and got

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