Space Cadets

Eliza was pleased that she’d gotten away with helping Colin and that no one questioned her hastily concocted story about being sick. She’d been worried for a moment that she was going to get him in trouble, but everything resumed as normal. Or almost everything, since Eliza was now picking her daily outfits with more care and caught herself actually putting on lipstick. Her reflection looked back at her a little judgmentally and she sighed.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she told herself. She was well past the point of pretending she dreaded Colin’s appearance at her door in the mornings. She had a whole swarm of giant butterflies in her stomach every time she saw him. There was a light knock on her door and she jumped, dropping the tube of lipstick and banging her knees on the vanity. She cursed and limped to the door, swinging it open to find Colin.

“Are you okay?” he asked, seeing her grimace. She forgot about her possible bruises as the butterflies came back full force. She straightened and tucked her hair behind her ears.

“Um, yeah, I’m fine.”

“So what do you have planned today, Miss Rothchild?”

Eliza brightened, unable to keep the grin off her face. “Come on, we have to be there in an hour.”

“Where?”

“It’s a surprise.”

Colin arched an eyebrow as she started pushing him down the hall. “Do I get a hint?”

“No.”

Eliza was practically bouncing as she led him to the entrance of a brightly colored building. She gave the woman behind the desk her name.

“Right this way, Miss Rothchild. The room is all set up for you.”

She led them to a big gray door and then punched in a code that let them inside. Eliza bounded inside and her feet promptly lifted up off the floor. She laughed as Colin’s eyes went comically wide.

“Zero gravity,” he said.

“Come on, you haven’t even seen the theme I picked yet.” Eliza kicked her feet and soared upward, gasping when she actually saw the simulation. She had opted for the underwater theme, so the room was bathed in dreamy blue light with brightly colored holographic sea creatures swimming around them. Colin joined her and his mouth fell open slightly.

“Wow,” he said after a moment. “This is… incredible.” A sting ray glided past him and Eliza smiled at the awed look on his face. Eliza zipped around the room with ease, twisting this way and they to try and see everything at once.

“I have to hand it to you,” Colin said, “every day is an adventure.”

“That’s what I wanted all along,” Eliza agreed, somersaulting through the air and passing through the tentacles of an octopus.

“Eliza, can I ask you something?”

“I’ll allow it.”

“Why were you so averse to having a guard?”

Eliza drifted on her back, staring up at the convincing surface of the ocean. “It was a few things,” she said. “First being that I’m not a child and I felt like my dad was giving me a babysitter. And it makes me feel like some kind of self-important snob to have a designated bodyguard. I mean, how am I so special that someone should have to follow me around everywhere I go? They barely let you sleep and won’t even give you time off for a family emergency and they definitely don’t pay you enough to put up with me.” Eliza straightened and faced him. She tucked her hair behind her ears.

“But, um. I don’t really mind so much, anymore. The guard thing. Though I still think you deserve a raise. Maybe a medal.”

His lips quirked up in amusement. “I don’t need a medal for hanging out with you.”

They bobbed in the air for a moment, a school of bright fish swimming between them and casting everything in a faint rainbow light. Eliza and Colin were drifting very close; and it took mustering all her self restraint to not lean forward and kiss him. She didn’t want to be presumptuous and ruin everything, even if the butterflies had returned and she thought she might actually cough some up.

“Tomorrow we’re doing the rose maze,” she blurted. “The queen insisted that we needed a fun family outing and I guess the maze is supposed to be really elaborate once you get inside. So I hope you’re prepared to spend an entire evening with my family.”

“You spent five days with mine,” he pointed out.

“Trust me, it’ll feel like five days with mine,” Eliza said dryly. They floated weightlessly through the zero gravity room for another hour before Eliza’s reserved time was up. She was smiling and practically skipping as they left.

“That was so much fun,” she gushed. “Do you think Becca and George would like it? Should we bring them here sometime?”

Colin laughed. “Yeah, I think they’d love it. But you’ve done a lot for my family already.”

“I don’t mind. I like your family and besides I…don’t really have any friends.”

“What am I, chopped liver?” Colin feigned shock and Eliza smiled, a little shyly.

“Okay, I have one friend,” she amended. I’d still like to bring Becca and George. Maybe when Becca has a break from Academy classes. I mean, she’ll probably need to de-stress anyway.”

Colin shook his head, a lopsided little smile on his face. “Eliza, you are something else.”

As far as family outings went, Eliza was kind of looking forward to the maze. It didn’t feel stiff and formal as everyone crossed the lawns to the massive, colorful network of rose bushes and thick green shrubbery. Everyone entered in pairs to start with, but soon they were distracted by the beautiful flowers inside, which had been arranged to create images and twinkling lights were strung through the leaves to add some more light. The maze was huge and it didn’t take long for everyone to wander down different leafy passages and become separated. Somehow she even lost Colin and found herself wandering alone through the maze. She thought she had mapped out part of the way out in her head, and up ahead she heard voices. She rounded a bend in the roses and stopped short. Colin was standing with Bianca, and she was laughing at whatever he’d just said. He knelt down in front of her and seemed to be helping her put her shoe back on. Bianca smiled and touched his arm when he stood back up.

Eliza felt like the air had just been sucked out of her lungs. She quickly ducked back around the corner, so she couldn’t see them anymore. She felt suddenly nauseous and retreated back the way she’d come, somehow making her way out of the maze before anyone else despite her mind racing. Stupid, she told herself. You are so stupid. She was supposed to wait for everyone else instead of wandering off alone, so she sat on one of the garden benches and curled her fists so tight her nails bit into her palms. Eventually Colin emerged, brushing some leaves from his hair.

“Hey, there you are,” he said. “I lost you in there.”

“I’m sure you were fine without me,” she replied stiffly. He frowned.

“Are you okay?”

She was spared answering when Jocelyn and her guard emerged from the maze next, congratulating Eliza on getting our first. Soon after came her parents, and finally Bianca and her guard. Eliza abruptly stood up and walked away, back toward the palace. Colin hurried to catch up.

“Eliza?” he asked hesitantly when she continued walking toward her room without saying anything. “Are you all right? You seem upset.”

“What do you care?” she muttered.

“Hey, come on, what’s the matter?” He reached out to grab her arm and Eliza twisted sharply out of his grasp. He dropped his hand, looking bewildered.

“Did you really think I was that stupid?” she demanded.

“What? I don’t think you’re stupid. What are you-“

“You think I haven’t seen this ploy before? Cozy up to the loser little
sister no one wants so maybe one of the worthwhile sisters will notice you and think you’re such a great guy for being nice to me?”

“Eliza-“

“I knew whichever bodyguard got stuck with me was going to resent it. I knew you’d all want Jocelyn or Bianca instead. But I thought you were different. I thought…” She trailed off, clamping her lips together as her traitorous eyes welled up with tears. Colin took a step toward her.

“Eliza, please-“

She jerked open her bedroom door and ran inside. “Just leave me alone.” She slammed the door and bolted it for good measure. Then she slumped to the floor and burst into tears.