We followed closely behind Mr. Krangel, who radiated immense pride and intense energy as he marched straight towards the group of students.

  “Hey, dorks!” Krangel yelled.

  Soleri scowled, and in a few long strides faced Krangel.

  “I thought I had informed you to stay out of this.” Soleri said.

  “You did, but I don’t care.” Krangel said. He furiously poi Soleri. “Here’s the breaking news, Soleri. One round of beam chasers.”

  “What?” Soleri asked.

  “It’s not fair that you just get my space, and I’m making the challeo take it back.” Krangel said. “Just take three of yirls and they’ll fight these three.”

  Kalei cracked her knuckles. She looked ready to kill. Soleri crossed his arms, gripping the elbow patches on his suit jacket.

  “I suppose I could spare three, as most of today’s session will be for the Falling Shards boys.” Soleri said. “But what would be in this for me?”

  I was shocked he actually sidered this.

  “If your team wins, you make your stupid news crap take up this whole track as long as you want,” Krangel said.

  Soleri rubbed his .

  “But if my team wins, you move your set over,” Krangel said. “And I get you one on one in a proper Haven fight.”

  “Definitely not the tter,” Soleri said. “But the former…a petition does sound rather enjoyable. That said…I ’t imagihe school board will approve such a sudden ge.”

  Krangel proudly held out a paper with a sloppy signature on it.

  “I just got signed permission from Principal Peam,” Krangel said.

  Peam waved from the bleachers.

  “Principal Peam, a thorn in my side once more,” Soleri said. “Very well. I assume an hour is adequate time to prepare?”

  After grabbing ym clothes, we found Kra the beam chasers court. It was a building on the far end of the gym area. Kalei looked giddy when Krangel unlocked the doors.

  The court had its own locker rooms, and my arted to set in when Kalei gave us our beam chaser shoes, with strong mags in the soles so we would have a harder time falling.

  “Kalei, while I’m totally down to help, I hope you know I suck at sports and have only pyed beam chasers for five minutes, and when I did py I fell down immediately and they sent me home from school because falling really hurt my ankles. Also, we name our team? Team Starlight, right?”

  “And I’m still irely sure what beam chasers is,” Oka said. “Is that going to be a problem?”

  “Leave it to me,” Kalei said. “You guys take the defender positions. 3 on 3 beam chasers with one round is mostly going to be betweewo runners anyways. And no, we’re not calling us Team Starlight.”

  Kalei took us to the court and quickly expihe rules. We would be on defense, where we’d stand on circur ptforms that were attached to a horizontal beam.

  “All you have to do is stand on these,” Kalei said. “Lean to either side to move and try not to bump into each other. If the ball gets close to you, just try and hit it to me. With the grav systems below us the ball won’t get any lower than our waists.”

  Kalei was a runner, so she would be in charge of getting the ball to the end of the court and hitting it into one of the holes in the wall. They looked really high up and small, and I couldn’t imagine how she could even do it. She’d be almost skating on the beams that crisscrossed from the front end of the court to our side.

  “Basically, I go forward and backward, you two move side to side.” Kalei said.

  Kalei gave us each our defeaffs, which were a little heavier than I would have liked. She twirled her staff and took a deep breath.

  “There’s something about the air that just feels like home,” Kalei said.

  “It is pretty nice,” Oka said.

  I could tell Oka was a little nervous too. boots felt pretty ky. The helmet and pads made me feel stricted.

  “Hey, uh, Oka?” A man said.

  “Oh no,” Oka said.

  We looked to the edge of the court where Oka’s adoptive father Berin Kiood, looking ed.

  “Is he gonna be a problem?” Kalei asked quietly as Mr. Kinder approached us.

  “Probably,” Oka said.

  “We’ve e too far to stop now!” I hissed through a fake full teeth smile.

  “Right,” Kalei said. “I’ve got a pn, follow me.”

  We followed Kalei’s lead and awkwardly waddled behind her as Berin caught up with us.

  “You guys…pying, hi, Berin Kinder, we’ve met. You’re Oka’s friends? Yes?”

  “Yep, that’s us,” Kalei said. “We’re in the middle of practice, do you mind stepping back?”

  “Well, yes, I mean, if that’s,” Berin said. “Listen, are you pying beam chasers?”

  “Yep,” Oka said. “It’s for a thing for our teachers. Is that alright with you, Mr. Kinder?”

  Oka didn’t quite have the fake kiss up to adults voice down, so it came out more desding. Mr. Kinder didn’t seem to notice.

  “You know the ankle injuries, muscle tears, you know that e from beam chasers?” Berin said. “I don’t know, I think I’m not feeling this one. I think I’m gonna use my parental...yeah...my parental guardianing to...not...let you.”

  “Mr. Kinder, let’s all take a walk,” Kalei said. “It’s pretty hot in here so I o cool off.”

  Kalei wi us. We followed her to the outside area of the arena. We stopped at twin doors outside of a room beled “LOWTEMP CHAMBER”.

  “What is this thing?” I asked.

  Kalei jabbed me with the beam chaser staff she brought with her.

  “Ow! Wh…oh?” I said.

  “You ever try one of these out, Mr. Kihey’re cutting edge sports teology, able to cool off someone overheating. It doesn’t even have to be sports, it just be a hot day!”

  Kalei’s fake suck up voice was like a car salesperson’s and I didn’t think I liked it very much.

  “Yeah, I have because these are made by a Kinder subsidiary,” Berin said. “To be ho, standing here by the oddly massive industrial freezer, I think you three are up to something. Does this have something to do with Oka pying beam chasers?”

  “Listen, Mr. Kinder, I’m a big fan,” Kalei said. “That season of your show in the cruise ship? Cssic.”

  Mr. Kliander actually blushed.

  “Oh, why thank you.” He said. “That one retty rough in the moment, but the audience was very receptive, which—"

  “Buuuut,” Kalei said, holding a finger up. “I believe I saw your brother say he was going to recreate that bit with the frozen pole in the iceberg observatory you guys stopped at for that iceberg rager.”

  “Ohhh oh no.” Berin said.

  “Yeah,” Kalei said. “We were actually just talking to him and he said he was gonna go in the Lowtemp Chamber to try it.”

  Kalei pulled out her phone and loaded up a video. For some reason she had a video of Principal Peam walking into the freezer thing, and it must’ve been from the st half hour because I saw myself looking really stupid trying to walk onto the beam chasers thing.

  “Why am I making that face?” I said.

  “That’s your straining face,” Oka said. “I only see you make it in gym css when we have to make at least a moderate effort at something.”

  “What, really? Oh, that’s so bad.” I said.

  “This was from just a few minutes ago,” Kalei said. “I was gonna go in after him, but students don’t have permission to open the door to it.”

  “That’s not good,” Berin said. “He’s gon his touck again. And that would not look good now that he’s principal.”

  “Yeah, very muot good. It’s been a while…”

  “So you better…” I said.

  “Yeah yep,” Berin said, sing his wristband on the door’s lock. “Oka, this may take a bit. So while I’m doing this, don’t leave to go py that dangerous sport, OK? OK Oka. That’s what I’m gonna call you now, for today. Or from now on, if you like, or even don't mind. OK, OK Oka?”

  Oka nodded.

  “Yes, father,” Oka said.

  “Wow that’s…the first time you called me that.” Berin said. “Are you…feeling alright? Or should I say OK? That’s my girl, OK Oka!”

  “You should really get in there,” Oka said.

  “Yep, yes,” Berin said. “I will be right back.”

  Berin stepped into the freezer room, and Oka smmed the doors shut behind him. Kalei slid the staff she was holding iwin door handle.

  “And that takes care of that!” Kalei said.

  “That articurly devious,” I said.

  “Eh, he’ll be fine,” Kalei said. “‘It’s made by a Kinder subsidiary nyeehhh.' He deserves it for that one. Sorry, Oka.”

  “No, I pletely agree,” Oka said.

  “Why do you have a video of Peam walking in there?” I asked.

  “Pure luck,” Kalei said. “Ever since I saw Peam kiss that poster of Risey the Rising Shards Kanibari, I knew I o have my camera ready around him. I didn’t see him leave so he really might have got his tou there.”

  “Wow,” I said. “Hey, do I really make that fa gym?”

  After getting bato position with our full gear and staffs, we didn’t have time to go over much strategy before Soleri and Krangel came onto the court. Krangel looked sweaty and solemn, like he didn’t think we could win, which was a real morale booster.

  “Mr. Krangel, I’d like to introduce you to the team that will crush your musclebound dreams.” Soleri said. “Ovie Chirhart, and Ko and Kai Matora!”

  Ovie turned up her fake sweeto maximum levels in Soleri’s css, and he fell for it easily. She was far and away his favorite student now, so it didn’t surprise me that she was one of his picks. Ko and Kai were twins that I hadn’t talked to much, but if they were friends with Ovie being their friend was a lost cause already.

  “I also invited some students to watch.” Soleri said.

  The seats around the court started to fill up with students from the news club, as well as some not in the club. I spotted Aira, Laenie, and Lillia in the crowd.

  “Don’t die!” Aira said and gave us a thumbs-up.

  I waddled up onto my sphere and shot Kalei a nervous smile as she gracefully walked on the beams towards the middle. It was hopefully all up to her now. She looked ready for the challenge as she stared down, Ovie and readied her staff. No matter how this goes, I at least say I cheered her up a bit, I thought as the starting whistle blew.