The Sky Drifter Read Free Page B

at each other, leaving blotches of paint everywhere. And the tall Umbras, who, when sitting together, created a circular pitch darkness around them.
    Pausing to scour the many circular tables around, I finally saw Iris and Pi, sitting near the back, and then headed over to them. It never ceased to amaze me how, despite his relaxed, languid way of walking (and of doing everything else), Pi was always first to reach the canteen. I’d tried various times to make it to his class on time to catch him leaving, but he had always, somehow, eluded me. Whenever I asked him how he did it, he always replied with a simple, “I was hungry.”
    I reached them and sat on one of the chairs while Pi complained to Iris about something as he stuffed his face with wriggly tineas, which were a type of worm he loved.
    “Mmfmf…But…mfmf…He…always pickin…mfmfm…on me.”
    “Well, I don’t know, Pi,” replied Iris with slight irritation in her voice, her attention mostly directed on the hand-held Equinox console she held. “Maybe he has a point. If you keep falling asleep in his class, he’s bound not to think very highly of you, is he?”
    “I was…Mfmfmf…real…mfmf… tired !”
    Her brow furrowed. Iris was now fully immersed in the game and didn’t reply to him.
    “Hi,” I said to Pi, knowing full well Iris wouldn’t hear or reply to me, so engrossed was she in the game.
    “Iri…Mfmf…is mean…mfmfmf.”
    “Don’t let her hear you say that,” I half-joked as I chose the lunch menu I’d have that day from the clear display screen on the table.
    His bowl of tineas finished, Pi sat back, resting his hands on his stomach with a satisfied look on his face, and asked, “Sooo, did you beat No Face again?”
    “Don’t I always?” I replied as I finalized my order and pressed “send.”
    “He’s going to let you have it when you play Sphere later, you know.”
    “This I know, Pi. This I know. He more or less told me so as we left class, using colorful language to describe exactly what he intends to do to me.”
    “Don’t worry about it. All you have to do is beat him,” he replied, drumming his fingers on his stomach as he looked around the room.
    “That’s easy for you to say,” I griped. “You’re not the one who’ll have a swinging metal ball thrust at him, are you?”
    “Nah, you’ll be fine. You worry too much.”
    “Sigh” I conceded. Pi was just too laid back to argue with.
    A service bot pulled up beside me. The panel in its mid-section swished open and then a tray slid smoothly out of it, revealing my lunch. “Please take your order,” stated the bot in a metallic voice, which I rapidly did before placing the round plate onto the table. As soon as I’d done so, the service bot thanked me and hovered quickly away.
    “Why won’t you die ?” exclaimed Iris in utter frustration at the game, briefly looking up. “Oh, hi. When did you get here?”
    “Just now,” I replied.
    “Help me kill this guy?”
    “Gladly,” I answered, plunging my hand inside my bag and then pulling out my Exodus. Just as I turned it on and found the game, I heard the all-too-familiar sound of Pi sniffing.
    “Hey, what do you have there?”
    “Hands off, Pi. It’s a burger. Nothing you’d like,” I told him, doubting my own words.
    Still sniffing, Pi looked around again, and said, “I’m hungry.”
    “How can you be hungry again?” exclaimed Iris. “You’ve had four bowls of those worm things—”
    “Tineas, thank you,” interrupted Pi.
    “Of those things ,” continued Iris, obviously slightly annoyed Pi had interrupted her. “Where does it all go ?”
    “Let me tell you a little something about my species,” began Pi as I took a big bite of my chicken burger, worried he might swipe it “We need to eat a lot. It’s what makes us strong, ” he stressed.
    “If you say so.” Iris sighed, turning her attention back to the game just as I started playing.
    At that moment, I heard some raised,