Beyond the Stars

outlooker

The day had ended, Peter sat by me on the schools empty and diluted steps too the school, the final staff member of the school passing by giving me and Peter a pirouetting smile before finding their car and taking off leaving the parking lots empty and dusky as the sun began too set. Two hours, Baker hasn't returned a call or text for two hours other than one mysterious message about seeing us after school for something important.
Peter was still typing on his phone, occasionally readjusting his glasses so they were on track.

"This is so stupid.." I scoff jutting my foot from its position where it skidded against the concrete steps.

"I mean, we've been out herr all day and he hasn't shown! I wasted another good day on that boys time and-"

"Settle it down. He said he would be here and he will be here." Peter intervenes with a sigh.
He stuffed his phone away looking onward out toward the empty and dusky parking lot filled with absolutely nothing.
Nothing untill you reached the highway where cars and mechs jutted and skimmed on by. Occasionally the chinese branded heavy personal AC truck passing by.

Another thirty minutes passed before a shadow flickered on the horizon. I stood up letting my gaze swiftly go from Peters eyes back too the figure far out in the parking lot. I would put my right hand in the way too block the beam of the sun which glared on top of us. Id take a small step from the schools walk way, and then down the entrances flight of stairs and then down the stairs too the parking lot, it was clear now. It was Baker.

Peter showed up beside me a few seconds later blocking the final dying gleam of sunlight from his eyes staring at the tall thin boy with deep brown hair that almost glittered a bronze in the sun.

"Told ya."
"Shut up."

Baker skidded too a stop in front of us, his normal casual which consisted a Carhartt jacket and those awfully out of style cargo pants.

"Your late-"

He threw his arms up nodding as if he knew what I was going too say next, he'd dig into his pocket pulling out a piece of paper with a set of scrawled on addresses and some side fractions.

"Im sorry for being this late guys but im sure you'll love whag I got cooking."

"You mean what you burned, over seasoned and dropped on the floor?"
Peter adds in with a small casual shrug.

But Baker just dropped his hands and shook his head.

"No. Thats- just shut up Peter."

"Yeah! Shut up Peter." I chime in before Baker continued onwards.

"Well, before I was ultimately interrupted by Peter I was talking about what?"
He asks with a slightly confused look.

"You were going on about what you've been cooking or something." I say restating the earlier conversation.

"Oh yeah!" he howls like a fool, just as I drop my head into my hands too rub my template. He'd dig into his pocket yanking out three pieces of paper, which was folded way more neatly than he well...seemed too fold neatly or even neat at all.

"Open them."

I nod giving a shoo motion with my other hand before I opened up the paper by its crisply folded edges. Bold and proconsul letters typed in ink across a form for-

"You moron!"

He shrugs. Still not influenced by our name calling and jesters.

"Tell me Bakey." Peter starts stuffing the form into his pocket.

"Why do you think we'd join the AC infantry units?"

Baker shrugs putting his hand out as too get the forms back but slowly retracts the hand seeing as he wasn't getting any forms back.
"Hey~Roman, your always talking about the UAC, thought the AC was pretty much the sam-"

He crys out in pain, pulling his knee upwards as I shoved my foot into his shin.
"NO! The UAC is wayyy different, they are legit a totally different unit. The UAC is the UNITED APPZERATION COLONLYS. The AC is the Acuzabtion Contributes. They are totally different things! And if I joined any infantry unit it would be the UCSD, I would NEVER. Join the UAC or fhe UAC."

His eyes bug open for awhile before I pull back sighing.

"Well...I.." Baker begins. "This might seem serous but now that we are officially out of highschool we are eligible too join the UNC. So I thought...we might all do it together..."

I stop him before he goes any further.

"What are you saying?" I ask a ping of rectification forming in my gut.

"You guys..Including me have been drafted, I...Im actually 19. I messed up a school year. Told the recruitment officer our names gave him the jist and he seemed so bored and crushed by the uneventful days that he didn't even care.."

I look at Peter for a second then back too Baker, before I knew it, Baker had a broken nose.

"Heh...I deserved that..."