Bounders Read Online Free Page A

girl’s indigo shirt in her hands. The shirt billows out behind her like a flag as she runs.
    Lieutenant Ridders stares at the girl. He has the same expression as most of the kids. The same expression as I have, probably, because I ache with frustration and a familiar shame for the girl. We watch in slow motion, no one knowing what to do.
    The seconds stretch until Lieutenant Ridders leans close to the microphone. “Miss, you need to be in uniform.”
    She doesn’t look at him. She doesn’t even seem to hear him. But her mother closes in and seizes her. The girl goes rigid as her mother drapes her with the indigo cloth, slips her arms into the sleeves, and fastens the buttons. I can tell by her mother’s expert fingers it’s not the first time she’s wrestled the girl into her clothes.
    The mother guides her by the shoulders and places her in the line. She leans in and kisses the girl’s cheeks before returning to the family area. The girl—Mira—stares straight ahead, but her eyes are vacant. Whatever spirit possessed her was tamed by the Earth Force uniform. I’d never admit it, but I liked her better the other way.

3
    AS WE STAND IN LINE BENEATH the mammoth silver disk of the passenger craft, we’re shielded from the sun and the glare off the sea. As I wait my turn to board the craft, I check out the other Bounders. Even though we come from all over Earth—the Americanas, Eurasia, Amazonas, everywhere, really—we’re the same. We’re dressed the same. We’re going to the same place. We share the same future. Finally I can blend in. I can stop trying to force myself into a space I don’t fit.
    When I make it to the top of the boarding ramp, I turn back and scan the crowd for my family. Dad folds Mom into his chest. Neither of them notices me. But Addy does. Across the sea of people, Addy locks eyes with me and stretches her arm straight in the air. I raise my palm. “Good-bye,” I whisper. I swear I hear her whisper back. Addy will be coming with me next year on my third tour. Then I’ll be able to connect my two right spots in the world—home and space.
    As I board the craft, Cole tugs my sleeve. “Quick. There are seats near the back. We’ll have the best view out the rear windows when we exit the atmosphere.”
    We dash past the sealed cockpit and the side sections reserved for Earth Force officers. I tail after Cole across the sturdy brown carpet, past the rows of seats covered in tweed and tan pleather. We dodge a dozen Bounders milling around in the aisle, and jet for the back. We choose two seats in the center zone, last row.
    I flop down on the oversize seat and sink into the tweed. The seat backs in front of us have built-in touch screens. Cole activates his screen and pages through the safety instructions for the craft. I get up on my knees and look out the back window. The maintenance crew is checking the craft, making sure we’re ready for flight. Beyond them is the edge of the tarmac and the open ocean. The sea is a dark steely gray with tips of white and shadows of black.
    Something slams into the back of my head. Ouch!
    A standard-issue brown lace-up shoe lies on the ground beside my seat. As I reach for it, a short freckly kid dives in front of me and tackles the shoe.
    â€œIt’s mine!” he yells.
    I stare at him. Obviously, I didn’t steal his shoe. Geez, it nearly knocked me unconscious.
    The freckly kid spins around in the aisle and freezes. A meaty boy with sloppy hair and bad skin saunters down the aisle. He takes his time. The huge grin on his face is mesmerizing and nauseating at the same time.
    The freckly kid squares his shoulders. He raises the shoe in the air and shakes it in the meaty boy’s face. “You shouldn’t have stolen my shoe, B-wad! It wasn’t funny.” He makes a decent show of confidence, but his hand trembles as he holds the shoe.
    The smile on the