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asked.
    “Ah, yeah.”
    “Good. My parents are cool with a few people staying over.”
    “Thanks, Lewis. I’ll check with my dad.”
    “Yeah, sure,” he said, like I was rejecting him. “You know, he’s welcome to call my parents. They’ll be there. They got rules, you know. No beer. No smoking. It’s cool, though. The locals party on this island… we can join ’em for a bonfire. I’ve got some friends there.”
    “Emma’s aunt lives there,” Melissa said before I could answer.
    “You’ve been to the island parties?” Lewis seemed interested.
    I shook my head. Dad barely let me out of sight as it was. There was no way he’d allow me to go to a party on an island.
    “Makes Friday nights around here seem tame.” He laughed, referring to the huge parties a few football players hosted every weekend. “There’s a nice beach there. And a resort my parents go to. Only place in town they’ll have dinner.”
    I nodded. “The Carmichael Inn.”
    Senora Gonzalez called the class to attention. I should have said my aunt owned the inn, but when the teacher hushed the class a second time, I lost my chance.
    Class dragged on for eternity. Quiz tomorrow. Review of last year. Study group today after school. Eleven minutes left in class.
    “Abran sus libros en la página diez,” Senora Gonzalez said, handing out packets to each row. Open your books to page ten .
    A knock on the door interrupted Senora Gonzalez from her presentation. When she went to answer it, Melissa brought up the trip again.
    Ten minutes left.
    “You can ride up with us, Friday night,” Lewis offered after Melissa told him I couldn’t drive.
    When I looked up, Senora Gonzalez was headed toward me. “Emma, can you come with me?” Her piercing eyes stared at me. “Grab your things, please.”
    Melissa shrugged. “I’ll see you at lunch.”
    I gathered my books and followed Senora Gonzalez to the door.
    Why was I singled out?
    At the doorway, I paused. All eyes were on me. Matt smiled before I turned and walked out. The office secretary greeted me with an unusual look and escorted me through the maze of hallways to the waiting police officer, Principal Davis, and the school nurse.
    What did I do?

 
    Chapter 3 
    Ben's Story
     
    Pete Jorgenson waited at the gate, like usual.
    “Good to see you. How was your trip?” He matched my stride.
    “Uneventful.” We walked past the long lines and through the maze of security in the Admissions Center in the Northern Hemisphere. We called it the Hub. 
    An older man with a scrappy, peppered beard, wearing a shabby, tan overcoat tried following us through the invisible field that authenticated our identities. I heard the sparking sound of the neon-blue web that prevented his access into my world, temporarily paralyzing his movement. It stirred unrest amongst the pending admittents, those people waiting in line for acceptance. Fear filled their minds, but they didn’t flinch. Within seconds, calmness overcame them again.
    A security officer waved his hand in the direction of the man, and the sparking vanished. The web disappeared, yet the old man did not move. The swarming crowd retreated as an unseen force separated them from him.
    I stopped and glanced at the suppressed chaos. The disruption was so commonplace that Jorgenson didn’t react. Most pending admittents understood they died. After all, their Admissions Guide told them. It was the first words a Guide verbalized to the deceased when they hovered over the remains of their human body. But with so many thoughts, emotions, and memories running through them, it was hard to understand what was happening, and unrest was expected.
    “Molly checked in a short time ago,” Jorgenson said. We followed the crowd. Most everyone was approved for entrance.
    “I didn’t realize she came home for a visit.”
    Jorgenson nodded as we passed slower-moving people in front of us.
    A quick update with her would be good before we were engaged in our