I changed into my brand new uniform and twirled in front of577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBTEdV9ERl5
the full length mirror. The white athletic skirt flipped around my thighs as I hopped over to the lockers. A finishing touch, the sunset orange ribbon tied around577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7h9IoLHNYi
my dark head. Admiring myself once more in the locker room mirror, I gave my reflection a firm nod of approval.“So, lessons with… what’s his name again?” Elsie cooed from the sink, touching up her holographic nail polish.577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZf3fjJ0Bj
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“Chip. Well, Mr. Harvey. But his first name is Chip,” I explained to my step-sister as I picked up my racket from the bench.577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrdbpyBSofu
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Elsie snorted, “You’re on a first name basis with the guy?”577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzxFUIgAdBg
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I bit my lip and inspected the wrapping on the handle, “Not exactly-“577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7oyXjjo3Wr
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“Good! April, he’s your teacher.”577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUg3W9B4fmv
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“I know!”577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASGL6wDs5M
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“I’m pretty sure the guy would go to jail if anything actually happened between the two of you. And not just in your daydreams.”577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPqPBQJM7DQ
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Snorting, I snagged the empty can of Coca Cola from nearby and hammered it at her. Elsie scooted a subtle step forward and it missed her. She arched a honey brown eyebrow at me and blew on her wet fingernails. I groaned and stomped towards the door.577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFj26Qioj3v
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“I’m a senior! Eighteen in a month. He’s only what? Twenty?”577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4WnekWhdQE
I ranted.Elsie snickered, “Twenty-two.”577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuLjDLFjffE
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Stopping at the door, I peered over my shoulder at her, “How do you know?”577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxDN9m32ctM
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Her mouth gaped open. Regaining composure, she shrugged, “I just asked…around.”577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4NCsnosqqx
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I glared down my nose at her, “Why?"577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtBUtduBWas
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“I’m looking for a tennis instructor!” Elsie protested, striding over to her bag and slinging it on her shoulder.577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTPN7wUcv0
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“But you play golf.”577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5iWSvcrEW
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She tossed her lemony ponytail over her shoulder with a sigh, “I was looking for another extracurricular to pump up my college applications.”577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUhE4VvNIf
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“Really?”577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7iv2NqdiJa
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Elsie smirked as she paused in front of me, “It wouldn’t hurt if that extracurricular had a cute butt too.”577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5K7Pt0m6xJ
I swatted her with my racket in the arm, “Don’t talk about Chip that way!”
“Ow! C’mon, it was just a joke!” She protested, “Kind of.”
I rolled my eyes and strode out towards the courts, “See you at home.”
I trotted out into the Venus Colony gym towards the tennis courts. The triple layer, indestructible glass panes gave a perfect view of the Maat Mons caldera. The ancient volcano rose against the permanent cloud cover of the Venus skyline. The outside pressure on the planet was equivalent to the pressure one mile under Earth’s ocean. If I was to go walk around outside, I would be crushed.
Almost as crushed as I felt as Chip rode up towards the courts on his hover bike. My veins fluttered with a rush of blood and I gripped the handle of my racket.
Chip parked his bike outside the rim of the court. His white sneakers clapped against the fabricated wood floor as he approached, snapping his sweatband around his jet black curls. He twirled his racket in his large hand and tossed a yellow ball in the air. Chip caught it, his green eyes trailing down the courts with casual carelessness.
"He’s just so dreamy!” A voice hissed behind me.
Furrowing my brow, I whipped around to find a gaggle of six other girls lined against the wall. All of them were brandishing their tennis rackets and swooning. I frowned as I stared at them. None were familiar, but I could tell they came from all different classes. There was even a freshman in the mix with braces and pigtails. I perched my hands on my hips and glared. When I had signed up, I was one of two on the list. Apparently news travelled fast about the fabulous Mr. Chip Harvey.
“Ladies, line up!”
His voice cracked as a burst of electric energy scattered across the mustard sky outside. I jolted and turned to face him, trying to keep my nerves in check. He came to a stop and stared down at me, his gaze blasé. He was so close I could have reached out and touched him.
“I’m- I’ve been practicing!” I stuttered with a weak grin.
Chip arched an eyebrow, “I said, on the line.”
The girls giggled behind me. I swallowed and kept my eyes on my shoes as I did as I was told. I had never seen a more handsome guy on Venus but he was as prickly as a lightening storm. And just as provocative.
I watched him as he showed the freshman girl how to do a proper swing. Elsie was right. He did have a cute butt.
"He just broke up with his girlfriend. She’s going off planet for school and they ended it,” a junior behind me whispered to her friend.
The other girl pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, “So, are you giving him a gift for Valentine’s day?”
The junior snorted, “Who isn’t?”
I gripped my racket. The box of homemade cherry chocolates with the lacy valentine was sitting in my locker at that very moment. I was going to sneak into the boy’s wash room after practice and leave it in his locker. But if it was going to be just another one in the pile, what did it matter?
“Miss Kumar?”
Swiveling, I smiled over at him, “Please call me April!”
Chip scowled, “Miss Kumar, it’s your turn.”
With a deep breath, I pranced over. Truth be told, I hadn’t practiced. Not with the report for Geology that I had procrastinated on till the last minute. I tried to remember what he had shown me at our first practice as I got ready in front of the net. The machine on the other side whirred and spit out a ball. I swung and caught a piece of it.
With a gleeful squeal, I beamed over at him.
Chip crossed his arms over his chest, “You call that a hit?”
My smiled wilted, “I mean, I almost-“
“Almost doesn’t count. You either hit it or you didn’t.”
I opened my mouth but found I didn’t have a reply. Face burning up, the machine whirred once again.
“Try again, Miss Kumar.”
I planted my feet and focused. Determined to prove myself, I prepped my stance. Chip sighed and held out the remote control towards the ball machine, shutting it down. He strode over, arms swinging.
“I showed you this last time. I will not do it again,” he groused as he stood in front of me and lifted my arms gently by the elbows.
Snatching a glance into his dour but oh so chiseled face, I forced my thoughts to the577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2cXkab0vvL
moment. The lightning storm outside picked up ferocity, the greenish glow577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOxlEzbfS5O
bouncing into the brightly lit gym. I prayed that the alarm to go to the577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf5lgoDN8UW
shelter below wouldn’t go off. Not now, not with Chip Harvey holding me so577Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVRKXtT74z3
gently-
“Miss Kumar! Pay attention!” He snapped, “Have you heard a word I said?”
I gaped up at his glare, “I did- kind of-“
He sighed, perching his hands on his hips, “I could tell from the first time I watched you that you have a lot of raw talent. But no discipline. A little bit of ability is nothing without hard work.”
For a moment, he sounded a lot like my dad. It threw me for a loop. I stuttered but didn’t have a response. Chip leaned down, gripping my shoulders and staring hard into my face. It was a good thing he was holding me up. My knees were going weak.
“If you would apply yourself, you could go really far in tennis. I believe that with all my heart, April.” He stated as though it were a promise.
My eyes widened, “With all my heart too.”
“What?” He straightened and arched an eyebrow quizzically.
Flipping my ebony ponytail with a breathy laugh, “Nothing.”
“Hit the ball this time.”
The machine hiccupped to life. I thwacked the ball far onto the other side of the court. I peered over at Chip. He cracked a faint grin as he stared at the ball. It was the first I had ever seen on him. As I waited hungrily for his praise, the overhead fluorescence flashed.
A screech echoed from the PA system, the alarm calling for all colonists to take shelter in the lower level. It was just a precaution when the storms outside were too severe. The lightening never actually hit the ground. But it was safety first on a planet as dangerous as Venus.
“Alright ladies! You hear it!” Chip shouted, hopping over the net.
I stared wistfully after him, the warmth from his hands still radiating on my skin. I thought of Chip Harvey’s hoards of secret admirers and my own valentine offering. I wouldn’t be missed if I took a few every minutes before going to the shelter.
My sneakers squeaked on the glossy floor as I raced towards the locker rooms. After retrieving my gift in its rosy box, I tip toed up to the boy’s locker room. I paused before turning the corner. In the silent hallway, hushed voices floated towards me. I peeked towards the door of the locker room.
A violent crack of lightening burst outside as my heart dropped.
Chip was smiling, actually smiling, down at someone in front of him. He wrapped his calloused hands around a petite pair of shoulders and combed his fingers through a lemony ponytail. The girl turned her face as he leaned down and whispered something in her ear. Elsie giggled. Stomach lurching, I turned away and pressed my back to the wall. I heard them walk away towards the shelter, my crush and my step sister.
The consistent temperature outside on the surface of Venus was a smooth 900 degrees Fahrenheit. Between the heat and the pressure, I would burn up and explode in a second outside the colony. I was pretty sure it wouldn’t hurt as badly as unrequited love.
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