The Free City

Chapter Fourteen : Saturnsday

"I'm just saying I think it's weird we haven't sparred with our powers all week," Jana said between bites of her breakfast.

"It's not like we've ever sparred every day or anything," Sam said, sipping his coffee.

It's because I'm here.

I stirred my tea and didn't say anything. When I took a sip I made a face that I couldn't hide from my friends.

"Not the one, huh?" Jana laughed.

"I'm sure you'll find a tea you enjoy eventually," Sam said.

"How many more kinds of tea could there possibly be?" I asked, annoyed. "I like the idea of tea, but I've tasted at least five and they are all gross. They taste like muddy rain water."

Sam and Jana looked at each other and then back at me. "There are dozens of local teas," Sam said. "And probably dozens more that are from farther away. Although with the Khan's army nearby we probably won't be getting any shipments like that for a long time."

We shared a moment of tense silence.

"Any word on Lonesome City?" I asked quietly.

Jana looked over her shoulder to make sure Emily wasn't coming down the stairs.

"No," she whispered, looking back at us. "There is nothing on the radio news about it. It's just the same status; surrounded but not under attack. I don't know why."

"Maybe Khan is just trying to strongarm and scare them," Sam said. "Maybe he isn't really planning on attacking at all."

None of us wanted to burst that bubble of hope, so we remained silent.

I stood up to wash out my mug and grimaced. My arms and legs had plenty of bruises under my clothes and my muscles were sore. Again.

"Who did you spar with last night?" Jana asked me. She glanced at Sam.

"It was me," Sam confirmed her suspicion. "Why do you think I'm drinking so much coffee? Dianna kept me up past two in the morning beating me up!"

"You invited yourself," I reminded him with a grin.

"It isn't ever awkward?" Jana asked carefully. "Like if both of you show up?"

We all knew she meant Sam and Kole.

"Somehow the two of them have managed not to show up at the same time the past three nights," I said suspiciously as I washed my cup in the sink. "As if they made a deal or something."

Sam just smiled at me with a look in his eyes that made my knees a little weak, and Jana smacked him on the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You know what that was for," Jana said with an air of superiority. "Don't make me spell it out."

Sam rolled his eyes but didn't question her again. Footsteps on the stairs announced the arrival of more classmates. Emily came down first. The dark circles under her eyes and the pallor of her face bespoke sleepless nights. I felt sorry for her. There was no way any mail was getting through the barricade that Khan's army set up, so there was no way for her to know if her family was safe until the radio stations updated everyone.

Damien and Zuri joined us, too. Jana shoved a tray of bacon across the table at them, and the three newcomers eagerly descended on the feast. I was surprised they were all still wearing what appeared to be pajamas and casual wear.

They were going to be late for class if they didn't hurry. Even Sam and Jana had yet to change.

"Any plans for Saturnsday?" Zuri asked us after her obligatory appreciative sounds for the bacon.