The Last Days of Lorien Read Free Page B

thing—but this went way beyond that.
    Osaria swiveled her chair to face the screen. “It means that my hands are tied. If it were just one or the other of these charges, I’d be able to exercise my discretion in meting out punishment.” She frowned deeply. “But in addition to the rules he broke at school, he also tampered with the ID scans at the Chimæra. I have no choice.”
    “Oh no,” said my mom. She looked like she was about to cry.
    “This is a surprise to you?!” My dad was turning red, nearly as mad at my mother as he was at me. “He’s always been like this.”
    It was true. I’d always been a rule breaker, I’d always had a way of getting myself into trouble. I wasn’t ashamed of that; I liked that about myself. But it tended to flummox the people around me. Lorien was a happy, prosperous and law-abiding planet. The fact that I was always getting into trouble made me practically a freak of nature.
    Principal Osario shifted uncomfortably in her seat, put off by my parents’ bickering, and quickly broke in before they could continue. “I must say I’ll be sorry to lose Sandor.” She turned back to me. “Attendance issues aside, you are one of our very best students—and I have to admit that your tampering with the security systems, while illegal and dangerous, shows a certain amount of”—she paused—“ ingenuity. Now, as I see it, there are two options available to him. If he elects to stay in the capital—”
    “Yes,” I said. “I’m not leaving the city.”
    “—then we can arrange to have him placed as an apprentice with the Munis.”
    My heart sank. The Munis? The Munis were the custodial corps of the city’s workforce. Maintenance work. Most citizens of the capital were conscripted for Munis service by lottery, for year-long terms no more than twice in their lifetimes. There was no shame attached to performing Munis service in Lorien culture, but it was far from my idea of a good time. And entering the Munis as an apprentice was basically signing up to haul trash for the rest of my life. To me, that was a fate worse than death.
    I felt myself beginning to panic. “There’s got to be something else in the city. Can’t I get some kind of job at Kora, or the Chimæra?” I knew it was a reach to ask for a work assignment in one of the very places I’d just gotten in trouble for sneaking into, but I was open to taking any job in them, no matter how menial. I’d scrub floors if that’s what it came to.
    “Yes, surely there are some better options?” my mother spoke up. I was surprised to hear her coming to my defense.
    Osaria shook her head with regret. “Unfortunately, all urban job assignments other than apprenticeships are reserved for adults. It’s either Munis, or a Kabarak relocation.”
    I thought my heart had already reached the bottom of my chest, but I felt it plunge deeper, right into the pit of my stomach. A Kabarak ? Doing time outside of the city on one of Lorien’s communal Kabaraks was an important part of Lorien’s culture, not to mention essential for keeping the planet running smoothly, but it was definitely not a glamorous experience: loralite mining, Chimæra husbandry, farming. And all of it way out in the country, miles from any excitement. Unless pulling up weeds and digging through dirt all day is your idea of a good time.
    I had a bad feeling about this. On the screen, my father was nodding, looking almost satisfied, and I knew that my fate was as good as decided. Having done time on a Kabarak was considered a noble credential, and was a prerequisite for working in government or the Lorien Defense Council, helping to protect Lorien from an attack by one of our nonexistent enemies.
    Among a bunch of equally terrible options, the Kabarak looked like it had managed to win my parents’ approval.
    “Osaria, I think a few years on a Kabarak is just what my son needs.” My dad was smiling as he said it, actually pleased with the outcome of the