Calypso Initiate

Chapter Four

        The first thing they taught us in Beginner school was that failure is unacceptable. I was seven years old when my parents brought me to The Peaks to start my education. It was their job to teach me how to read, write, and count. The rest was up to the city.

        I remember looking up in awe at the size of the buildings—how they towered us like mountains. My fingers clutched on Benjamin’s sleeve in fear that I might lean back too much and fall over. They were so high I could barely see the top.

        As we approached the school, my brother went on about the things I should and shouldn’t do in class, but I was too fascinated by the change of scenery to listen. It was the first time I’ve ever stepped out of the compound after all.

        The Ring was crowded by traders and other colonists. I’ve never seen so many people in one place. There were stalls after stalls of goods gathered from the wild—from seeds and fruits to animal parts. There were rolls of colorful cloths and crates of different ores, minerals, and vibrant crystals. Armor sets and tools hoisted on metal bars along with different weapons designed and built from the Calypso Tech Labs.

        The savory aroma of fresh herbs, roasted beans, and nuts flourished into the morning air, making my mouth water. Merchants called out the attention of the crowd as some colonists haggled for better prices, and the entire Ring was filled with the indistinct murmurs of a busy day.

        “You’re not listening to me!” Benjamin fumed, a scowl stamped on his face. But I ignored him.

        “Look at that!” I said as I pointed at a stall in the Ring. It had large jars lined up on its shelves containing Caridea mosquitoes—or cridders as we usually call them—that were the size of a man’s head. Their translucent wings appeared almost nonexistent as they hovered inside the containers, trying to pierce through the glass with their spiny legs. Orange exoskeleton covered their entire body, striped with black and blue and shimmered under the sunlight like polished leather.

        “Can we get one?” I pleaded my father. They are rare swarms of edible insects inside the Grid that aren’t easy to catch because of their speed. They can fly as fast as laser projectiles from hunting rifles. But of all the creatures in Calypso, they have one of the best tasting meats after being cured. My mouth watered at the thought of cridder soup.

        “Listen to your brother Prudence,” my mother hissed, her brows furrowing with disapproval. “It’s very important that you do well.”

        My lips pursed into a pout as I looked down on my feet. “Okay.”

        My mother had always been firm on me and my brother. I think it was because she was afraid for us—that we might do something to break the law and get taken away. For days she had been pressing me about the importance of studying and following the rules, the same way she did with Benjamin when he started school. But I was too young to take any of it seriously.

        My father kneeled next to me, a warm smile crossing his face. “Tell you what. If you do well in school I’ll catch a cridder for you. You can have one all to yourself.”

        My face lit up. “Really?”

        “Not fair!” Benjamin protested.

        “Benjamin,” my mother warned. “Not so loud.”

        My father laughed. “You can have one too if you promise to keep your sister out of trouble,” he told him as he stood up.

        “Deal,” Benjamin replied. He grabbed my hand and guided me to the school building. “Again you need to pay attention in class. They’ll ask you questions and you have to answer them right every single time or you’ll get punished.”