Datapad

The next day at school, things got bad and strange.

Or badder and stranger than usual, considering that school was Karr’s least favorite place in the universe. He’d grudgingly finished two of the day’s six classes when he heard his name called over the building’s intercom, summoning him to the headmaster’s office.

“Perfect,” he griped. His classmates giggled.

His teacher, a Givin who was leading the class in calculus, shrugged and waved at the door. “Go on, then.”

He picked up his datapad, stuffed it into his bag, and slipped out of his desk. “What did I even do this time,” he muttered to himself—leaving off the question mark that should’ve gone at the end.

The teacher muttered something vague in reply, but the door shut behind Karr before he could catch it. He didn’t care, and it didn’t matter. He had three minutes and counting to answer the call before it came again.

If it came again, it came with detention.

With the looming threat of spending even more time in the headmaster’s office, he hustled down the empty hall, zipping his bag and tucking in his shirt as he went—his shoes squeaking on the polished floors with every rushed step.


- Force Collector, Chapter 5