A week after the big hallway fight, Calista had barely raised her Self-Control to Level 6. It was higher than she felt she deserved. Her Weakness Level was steadily, yet slowly, rising again. The anxiety about getting it to Level Down was ironically making it raise more.

  She’d ensured she’d stay at Experience Level 4 by spending her entire suspension training and studying from the early morning until the late night. She forced herself to go to sleep at an adequate time, taking her reconstruction meds before bed. Once she returned to classes, she was only 5 XP away from Leveling Down, and she wouldn’t allow that to happen.

  Her Reputation remained Controversial, fluctuating in the range of -5 to 5 RP. Now she knew what Harrison saw every day. It was much better than being in the deep negatives, at least. Students were treating her very differently.

  The first day after her suspension, she’d gone to Breakfast at the Mess Hall, fully expecting the stares she got. What she didn’t expect were respectful nods of acknowledgement from many of the students as they passed by her or as she walked by their tables. She’d gone straight for the Kappa table as usual, pretending to ignore everyone as she buried herself in studies on her AIDA band.

  The opposite also came from other students, mostly from the Delta Guild, who scowled and hissed insults at her, daring her to lose control again. But she wouldn’t. She ignored them coolly, which only made them more impatient and irritated.

  Hillary hadn’t interacted with her at all since the fight. After she finished her own suspension and arrived in Teamwork class, she didn’t spare her a glance. The coaches didn’t put them in the same group, nor did they make them fight each other, probably at the request of Dean Lisa to keep the peace until finals week. Rosalina was also largely ignoring her— she was mostly ignoring Lílitha, both pretending the other didn’t exist.

  At the very least, Lílitha didn’t seem so irritated by Calista anymore. She’d started eating in the Mess Hall, something she hadn’t done in years according to Harrison. She joined her at the Kappa table every day since their suspension ended, and occasionally, Camelithia and Belinda would join them, as well.

  Cam was her usual chatty self, not bringing up the incident as she discussed rumors about finals week. She theorized that Rosalina would be fighting Bark, but changed her mind and thought she’d fight Disaris’s top Favorite, Barreth ‘Hellhound’ Digger. Calista never interacted with Hellhound, but she’d seen his face and assumed his call sign came from his dog-like features.

  Belinda was always the quieter one, choosing to simply listen and ask the occasional question. As Cam spoke, she watched Calista carefully, her marble brown eyes showing concern. She finally mouthed an ‘Are you okay?’, which Calista responded to with a subtle nod and smile.

  +5 Rel-P

  Approaching Close Friend Status

  For the rest of the month, Calista had focused on preparing for the finals week tournament. She needed to earn at least 10 XP every day to get to an acceptable Level.

  Finals Week would take place right after Thanksgiving break. It was crucial to earning XP. Everyone’s earning rates would be multiplied by 30%, allowing for massive Level-Ups.

  They would have spoken exams for their Theory classes, which had everyone answering random questions from their professors in only 10-15 seconds. In Teamwork, the coaches would split the class in half and put them into a random game, evaluating how they worked with each other.

  The rest of Calista’s Practicum courses would be evaluated through the tournament. Everyone was to find a partner of their choice to fight. Student Coaches often battled each other, and Favorites tended to also fight each other unless there were no Favorites left, in which case they would fight any Guild member. They would be going in order of rank, so Calista would have time to practice.

  The problem was, she didn’t know who to fight.

  She’d asked Camelithia and Belinda, but both of them had already chosen their partners. She couldn’t ask Lílitha since they were in the same Guild, often sparring with one another in sessions. Students needed to fight someone they didn’t often engage in combat with.

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  Calista’s anxiety grew with each day that passed. Most students were already deciding their partners long before finals, and there weren’t a lot of people willing to take her at her Controversial state. The worst case scenario was that she’d get paired up with a random student, unable to study their abilities and weaknesses, or have any clue what style would work best against them. She tried approaching some people in her classes, but they either ignored her or rejected her directly. Some of them were haughty, practically laughing in her face, but most seemed a bit afraid.

  Too many students had seen the Pet recording of her pummeling Hillary on the school Hub before the faculty took it down, threatening to reduce XP from anyone who tried to reupload it. Calista didn’t know if it was just her, but she didn’t like the idea of people being afraid of her.

  “Incoming call from ‘Kate’.”

  Calista’s heart stopped and her head snapped up from the AIDA Band screen she’d been studying, sitting criss-crossed on her sleep capsule. “S-say again?”

  “Katelyn Medley is sending a holo-call request from-”

  “Answer it!” Calista leapt out of bed.

  She unexpectedly broke into tears when her little sister’s blue-sheened form appeared before her. Her blond hair was in a pixie cut now and her body was thin as a stick. She wore a plain, beige bodysuit, which enhanced the bright color of her matching emerald eyes.

  “Kate!” Calista’s voice cracked and she reached out to cup her sister’s face, forgetting that it was merely a hologram. She wiped her eyes, staring at the unfamiliar sight of tears on her fingers.

  Katelyn was crying, too, also reaching up to feel Calista’s hands, then sagging slightly when they passed through her form. “Cali…” She hiccupped. “I’m so sorry, I wanted to call you, but they wouldn’t let me, and it’s all my fault, I shouldn’t have gone back and I shouldn’t have worried you or distracted you, it’s my fault, it’s all my fault and I’m so sorry…”

  “Kate, stop. Stop.” Calista held out her hands to calm her. “Stop apologizing. I’m just…” She chuckled. “I’m just so happy to see you. I missed you so much.”

  +20 Rel-P

  Restored Soulmate Status

  Next to her, Quinlan’s small form appeared. His black hair was shaggy, slightly falling over his gray eyes, but his usual, sarcastic expression remained unchanged. Calista never thought she’d be happy to see that look on his face.

  “Quin!” She covered her mouth, practically bawling. “You’re taller!” She reached out to pat his head, forgetting again.

  “I grew, like, an inch.” Quinlan rolled his eyes. “Maybe you just got shorter.” His response only made Calista laugh-cry harder.

  +20 Rel-P

  Restored Close Friend Status

  “Cali, I’m so sorry…” Katelyn’s jaw trembled.

  “Kate, really, don’t. Stop blaming yourself. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

  “You told me not to go back there, and I did anyway. I could’ve gotten all of us-”

  “We talked about this. Stop crying.” Quinlan nudged her with his hip. “We’re alive, we’re safe, and we’re okay. At least I got a break from hearing ‘uber’ all the time.”

  Calista laughed and sniffled, wiping her eyes until they were dry. She took a breath so she could be able to talk coherently. “So SECURE finally released you?”

  “They found the people looking for me. They got turned in by some Ruhirian they hired to have a vision about me.” Katelyn laughed ironically. “Even scammers draw the line somewhere, right?”

  “Two months… it took them two months to find them? Holy bugs.”

  Katelyn shrugged. “They’re hackers, and they were station-hopping the whole time. SECURE programs up there are cache. They sent one of their ‘team’ down every week to look for me.”

  Calista shuddered at the thought of dangerous, bloodthirsty people— Earthians and non-Earthians alike— searching for her sister like a quarry in a hunting sim. The more she thought about it, the more she wished she could’ve beaten and turned them into SECURE herself.

  “Can you talk about it?” she asked her sister.

  Katelyn nodded and told her the full story about the attack at Cosmos; how the Mercurian had resisted the defective taser, broken through her Mask, and hurt her Martian friend who defended her. At the mention of him, her face fell.

  “I haven’t heard from him since… I got a message that he was safe, but nothing else.”

  “If you do see him, tell him thank you for me.” Calista smiled appreciatively.

  “You look so… different.” Katelyn stepped forward, leaning to look at Calista from different angles. “You look incredible.”

  “I do?” Calista glanced down at herself. She had her sleep bodysuit on, which hugged her enough to show the contours of her new body.

  “Have you looked at yourself?”

  “Not really… I didn’t want to distract myself.”

  “You’re…” Quinlan motioned to his arms and waist. “I don’t want to say bigger— that sounds bad. You’re… stronger?”

  “I feel stronger… I’m a Level 4 now. Already halfway through, actually.”

  Both of her siblings brightened with pride. “You look so… healthy. Your skin is glowing, you’re not super thin anymore, you’ve got muscles…” Katelyn beamed. “I’m so happy, Cali. I’m so happy you’re there.”