It is a small victory, but I need to be honest with myself.

Something tastes bitter.

I am not relaxed. This feeling that I am betraying them keeps bugging me. There is more at stake in this story than I am able to share.

I'm the one that didn't learn how to be a good friend. They are great people. After all, they keep backing me up no matter how messy I make things.

Bad by using them like this.

I am pretty sure they are thinking what I have in my mind is a wild desire of rebellion against the system. They must think I'm after payback for being punished. If that is the question, they could not be more wrong.

The truth is I never learned how to share my feelings, preferring to hide them and bleed alone. And today I am bleeding from inside while pretending to be strong, reckless and determined. Looking for something different to do. Something that demands full compromise to make me forget how terrible I feel.

Should I tell them that I made the EVO inspectors confiscate my climbing mags on purpose? That I knew if I used them during class and in plain sight they would take them.? And I would have an excuse to retrieve them by myself?

Hei knows me better than anyone. When he looks at me I know he is not buying my weak reasons to invade the institute. For sure he realized what is going on with me. Waiting for the right moment to say something; or being him, a smart remark.

But this time he is cornered by his own feelings.

Knowing how he cares about me, Hei won't be comfortable to say anything. He won't dare to hurt me more than I already am.

Heiky knows this invasion is my way of escaping an intense flow of emotions tearing me apart. Ripping me from inside since I woke up.

He expects me to be the one to tell everyone.

"I'm sorry Hei, you are giving me too much credit. I can't. I am not ready." I try to tell him when I look back to his concerned face. It is like we are both trying to talk without saying a word.

All I want is to forget.

Wake up from this nightmare and see everything different. Fill my mind with my second passion in life: adrenaline.

That way I only reveal what I find necessary.

"I'm quite proud to explain my plan. It is simple but effective." Again I impersonate the daring troublemaker girl they seem to love.

I savoir more of my Ice cream. Acting normal, getting ready to explain how they fit in my plot.

Allan decides to take an inquisitor's role.

In his wish to intimidate me and look good in Belle's eyes by backing her up, he interrupts me before I resume the plan.

How predictable of him.

"We didn't say we will follow it," he states. "But let's hear what you have to say. It will be easier to make you forget about this crazy idea of invading the institute."

At the same moment, he stares me with defiance in his looks, while moving his arm to the back of Belle 's chair. In a feeble attempt to embrace her like Hei is doing to Sue. But, Sue knows about it and consents.

I almost laugh.

Belle is so focused on me that she doesn't notice the slow movement closer to her left shoulder. Such childish attempt to get closer to his beloved one relaxes me. A gesture both amusing and silly. Was I meaner , that would be a perfect time to hint her about this other invasion. But, it is a harmless one and besides that, it will be hilarious if she finds out by herself.

So, I keep quiet about and give him what he asked:

"I thought we had decided to back my plan already. Let's get something straight, ok? We are not planning an invasion of a maximum security facility. Come on guys, it is our everyday high school. And it will be deserted. We will be going to enter the institute after work hours. Almost no one will be inside, much less in the underground storage rooms. It is a small and harmless adventure."

By their reaction, I see they are curious to know more about it.

"You said you needed my sports equipment. May I know why?" Alan is still decided to continue to impress Belle.

Poor guy, he is mad about our exemplary EVO princess.

"Only some gravity pellets, two or three max", I answer making a gesture of shooting down with a grav pistol.

That gesture made it easier for everyone to understand why I need the gun.

A grav pellet is a small remote bullet. Once the sensitive capsule leaves the gun barrel, it expands in contact with air and explodes. This generates a null gravitational bubble.

Being technical, the bullet creates a burst of anti gravitons. These fast and short-lived anti gravitons spread in every direction. Since positive and negative graviton particles cannot coexist, they annihilate each other. This weakens the gravity inside a small sphere for a brief time. A collision of matter with antimatter can be catastrophic. It can generate a massive disintegration of everything that it gets in contact. But gravitons are the weakest and smallest particles that exist. Also, the number of affected particles are insignificant on a normal scale. The energy released is enough to create a harmless local flash.

The famous Louis Xabner used this technique to invent our most popular sport on board of the Caravels. Since then, these pellet guns became a constant fever among the vellers.

I am not a big fan of Gravitybol, myself.

I know the basics of this competition but I don't follow the Annual Championship.

Allan is aiming for the big leagues, being one of the most promising talents in the EVO team in the last three years. He is so good on the field that he received two EVO ranks at once and full scholarship tuition.

The basic game rules are easy to understand:

Two opposing teams enter the field with everyone armed with a pellet gun. On the field, they use their grav bubbles to perform acrobatic moves and do higher leaps. At the same time, they are in control of a heavy ball. In fact, it is a spectacle of physical and precise control of the bubbles. Something appreciated by vellers from all three ships. To score points the ball needs to hit a high elevated goal pole on the borders of each side of the court. The goalkeeper has the task to deflect the ball or bend his pole using grav bubbles to defend his team.

However, I don't plan on doing acrobatics.

Similar guns are common use by the military and men of the Crow's nest. They use them to control high altitude drops and other tactical displacements. That is exactly what I intend to do with Allan's gravys.

I raise my body in my chair, sitting over my knees, asking them to gather closer to me:

"Okay, I see you guys need to see it by yourselves. Here it is how my perfect plan will work."

I lower my voice. I don't want any other EVO listening to what I am about to say.

"Belle will use her amazing computer skills. She will hack a few security cams and unlock a window in the 3rd floor of the central tower." she tries to protest, but I keep talking not giving her the chance to say anything.

Belle must be the Mrs. Right of our group, but I know some of her secrets. She invaded the institute computer to test her skills before. I was at her home when she did it. Though it was a boring experience. She didn't accept anything that I suggested her to do, at that time. Not even a small prank.

"Hei will be our leverage, with his bionics linked to my own smart lens I will be able to see much better at night. Even our prom queen has her own role in our little adventure." I look at Sue.

"Who else would be better to charm away the only person that can spoil our plan? We need someone to take care of the gate watcher for Belle to perform her magic."

I don't tell them what it is in my mind but I am sure they get what I mean. That old pervert is always checking on us girls. Giving us some creepy stares every day. Worse when we are attending Physical Evolution in our mandatory mini-skirt uniforms.

"Sue knows how to keep a guy distracted. That way he will not notice when our cam footage will replace the actual video feed."

Sue giggles, probably imagining the scene. As I expected, she found her small part in the plan amusing.

On the other hand, Hei gives me a cold look. By his gelid stare, I can see that he is not happy with her small part in the plan.

"TD and I will get the fun part. We will climb the outer wall and slide across the entrance grounds hung by our mag cables. There we will enter the vent shaft on the third floor. A small crawl to the main junction and will shot some gravy pellets to slow our descent to sublevel 8."

I can see that they are impressed. Surprised that I had already thought about every little detail.

I wonder if I should tell them about my forbidden virtual trip inside the institute in 3D reality view. The one I did when I was in detention, this afternoon. Instead of paying attention to a very boring lecture about recycling and molecules.

"So you see, it is a piece of cake." to be honest the perspective of doing that is already giving me an adrenaline rush. Not enough for me to forget how careless I was this morning, but it is a nice feeling.

Belle looks to me decided to say something. She still seems upset at me. I know she worries more about me than hates my idea.

If I can convince her the rest will follow.

Until now, she has avoided talking.

However, I knew it was a matter of time until she broke the silence:

"Lau, don't you think you are overreacting? I bet that there are some proper channels that we can go to retrieve your stuff to you. Pay attention, I care about you. Why you are so decided to break the rules?"

Everybody listen as she continues to expose her thoughts.

"You are my best friend on this entire ship. I know you and I know when you decide to do something you do it no matter the consequences. I see you are determined to go over this invasion no matter what we say. But, please Lau, we need to establish a limit."

She is not wrong if that is what is in her mind. I don't know how to answer her. I know It is wrong to grab everyone that seems to care about me to join me in this. I admit it. But I can't do without them. To be honest I don't want to.

I take a small breath and look straight at her decided to open my heart for a change. Without knowing why I m doing this.

"I just want to feel alive today, I wanted to forget about everything, Bellinda."

She hates when I address her by her full name and I see the change in her face. That may be mean, but now I know that I have her full attention.

Her face darkens. When her eyes get wide open I see that she understands now. The sad look when she realizes what is eating me from the inside is too much for me to bear. She  knows why I have been so disturbed during all day and what this terrible day means to me.

I can feel the tears forming in my eyes. I can't let them see me like this. I look down and leave my chair. I run out of the Galaxian leaving all of them behind me.

I am feeling like my head will explode.

There is no sign in this stupid artificial sky hologram to make me feel less miserable.

They followed me. I hear their footsteps but I don't look back.

Belle is the first to arrive, her warm arms hold me from behind in a tight hug. Soon everyone else is around me, they surround me in a group hug.

To my surprise. even Todd seems worried, he is standing close but without participating.

I sob and look to them, defeated.

"I just wanted to feel the air in my face again...like before...I just wanted to pretend..." I mutter.

Belle presses her head against mine:

"I am sorry Lau, I didn't realize today was that day…"

That day being August 7th, the day that the Caravels took my father from me.

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Now we know why our main protagonist is acting so strange. Come back in 15 days to know an important part of Lauren's past. Share with your friends, subscribe to our novel, hit like and tell the world how you feel. Our girl's  story and the destiny of the vellers will unfold in the next chapters.