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relatively competent when it came to the use of his
telekinetic implant, but for god's sake, he wasn't the expert
everyone kept calling him. If all of these kids put in as much
effort as he had, and practised for as many hours, they would be
able to do everything he could.
    All
too soon, Commander Sharpe came bustling up to him, and the lecture
began. With a short introduction, Carson found himself thrust into
the spotlight, literally. He had no problem with public speaking,
but he couldn’t help but feel like a fraud as he stood there and
pretended he had the right to be teaching anybody.
    Still,
he put on a good show, strengthened his resolve, and got through
it.
    Thankfully, halfway through, they turned off the spotlight,
and gave him a bunch of telekinetic weapons to demonstrate
instead.
    This
part he loved; this part he could do in his sleep.
    There
was something so invigorating about the use of his telekinetic
implant—or the TI, as most people referred to it.
    When
he was commanding it, and seeing objects fly across the room with
little more than a thought, he felt so in control.
    Yet
even as he demonstrated a powerful TI weapon known as the 10
pointed blade, it didn't stop him from looking up to see a
particularly late cadet creep into the back of the lecture
hall.
    Though
he couldn't see them perfectly from where he stood, he could see
their hair.
    Harper.
    He
almost dropped the 10-pointed blade, but with a quick thought, held
steady.
    She
was 45 minutes late.
    And
that was pretty late considering this lecture only ran for an
hour.
    Pushing on with the rest of his talk, he soon finished, and
before he could get away, he was inundated by questions.
    Though
technically the class was over, and everyone was free to leave,
nobody did.
    Nobody
except Harper.
    He
flicked his eyes up to see her surreptitiously slip out the back of
the lecture hall.
    Ha.
    Had he
been that boring?
    Clearly not, considering every other cadet in the hall was
practically fighting each other for a chance to ask him
something.
    It
took a long time to wade through everybody's questions, but
eventually he did it, then he finally found himself free and
quickly scooted away from the lecture theatre before any more
cadets could pick his brains.
    As he
half jogged through the halls, intending to get back to his own
office before anybody could waylay him again, he kept his eyes
peeled.
    For
Cadet Harper.
    He now
had two things he wanted to ask. Why had she been so late for his
lecture, and how in god’s name had she injured herself.
    He
rolled his eyes as he realised he should just drop it. The medical
staff aboard the Orion would have already questioned her, and if
they’d thought there was anything suspicious, they would have
looked into it.
    He
told himself firmly to get over it, but the more he tried, the less
he succeeded.
    Though
he wanted to run into her, he didn't, and soon enough he reached
his office. With a massive sigh, he considered the enormous mess of
data pads and old, ruined TI weapons that were strewn around the
place. He knew he should clean it up, but always told himself he
didn't have the time.
    So
instead of bending down and picking up the junk littering the
floor, he pushed his way over to the windows. Then he looked down
at the unrivalled view of the Academy grounds below.
    Before
too long he found himself scanning the lawns, checking every corner
for a hint of curly black hair.
    When
he realised what he was doing, he shook his head.
    “Get
over it,” he commanded himself one last time, “you're just trying
to distract yourself from bigger things.”
    Which
was true.
    Carson
had far larger problems to consider, and just maybe he was using
the not-so mysterious injuries of Cadet Harper to
procrastinate.
    After
he finally convinced himself that was the case, he turned, and he
got back to work.
     

Chapter
5
    Cadet
Harper
    Dammit, she had done it again.
    She’d
been late for class. She’d just overslept. Despite the fact