Chapter 10- First Flight

  Jett spent another hour with Layla before heading back to the room. He didn’t even respond when Angie greeted him, asking about her missing shoulder bot he had forgotten at the training center. He hit the sheets and fell asleep.

  The next day, he dragged his way through classes, putting forth the minimal to get through. Once classes were done, he spent the second half of his day with Layla curled up around him. Ashley, Bill, and Amanda come to visit him after their afternoon training.

  Bill entered first, “Hey buddy, how’re you feeling? Amanda said you were under the weather in your class.”

  “He didn’t look any different to me.” Ashley added, “Sorry, I didn’t notice.”

  “That’s because the law class is an absolute snore. How do you even make it through that class?” Amanda asked.

  Ashley shrugged, “I think it’s actually interesting.”

  Bill cut in, “Jett, is there anything we can get you?”

  Jett sighed; he already felt like he had recovered, but he was soaking in the relaxing feeling of lounging about. “Nah, I appreciate you coming by. I just overdid it a bit.”

  Layla perked up. She started licking him. She had started the habit whenever she was worried about him or thought he was still injured.

  “Alright, Layla, I’m fine. I promise.”

  Bill raised an eyebrow, “You must have really overdone it.”

  “Yeah, I overdid it on the training course.”

  All three of his friends winced, “Yeah, we just started running the course. The drop bots pack quite a punch if they sneak up on you.”

  Jett raised an eyebrow. Drop bots were basic defenses. Little spheres that dropped and exploded. Most of the time, they were used for decontamination or fire suppression.

  “They set up the course for me to set up spider bots.”

  Bill winced, “Ouch, those sound like a pain to deal with. We are still on levels one and two. No spider bots for us yet.”

  “Are you using laser rifles?”

  “Yeah, they are trying to teach us to clear rooms. They set it to auto fire, but changed it to burst when someone tripped and pulled the trigger. They took out their entire squad.”

  Jett frowned as he thought about what else his sponsor must have changed to “help” him.

  “Everything ok?” Ashley asked when she noticed Jett frowning.

  “Yeah, sorry. Just got lost in thought.”

  Jett listened to his friends reminisce over their own stories of clearing the course. Ashley was timid, taking two minute to clear a room that could be cleared in a matter of seconds, and her unfamiliarity with a rifle meant she often missed.

  “Hey! That’s what training is for!” Jett consoled his friend.

  Bill was a little too careless in clearing the first few times, but by the end, he was at the top of the class. At the top of the class with Amanda. She preened, throwing her hair over her shoulder and grinning as she gloated.

  “I told you the entrance exam was the easy part. My family had me go to summer camps. One had us practice rifle fire and clearing courses for a whole week.”

  Jett grinned, enjoying the good humor and successes of his friends. Even Layla gave Amanda a victory lick.

  “Ew! Dragon saliva!” Amanda said, then ran to the bathroom to wash it off as Bill, Ashley, and Jett chuckled.

  The next day, Jett felt rejuvenated. He even managed to stay awake the entire law class. In dragon anatomy, they continued talking about cores. Most of it centered around the photophagy space dragons do through their scales. While dragon scales could absorb light with over fifty percent efficiency, sky dragons had to get their energy the old-fashioned way: by hunting big beasts.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  In history class, they were focused on how society was affected by the advent of the taming of sky dragons. Space dragons would be later in the year.

  Jett had enjoyed his classes now that he didn’t feel like he was in a constant state of being hungover. He was so happy that he didn’t even let Lago or Eggo bother him.

  “What are you smiling at, poser?” Eggo asked at the beginning of class.

  “Just enjoying my morning.”

  Jett noticed Lago walk into class with his arm around a girl.

  “Oh, who’s your girlfriend, Lago?”

  She looked over at Jett and rolled her eyes, “Why’s the hopeful talking to you?”

  “He pretends to be a dragon rider. Just ignore him, Mai.”

  Jett’s eyes flicked between Lago, Mai, and Eggo. Jett didn’t want to cause trouble, but he knew they would never leave him alone.

  “Just mind your own business.” Eggo said, then punched his palm, “unless you want a beat down.”

  Jett rolled his eyes and was saved from responding to Eggo as the professor walked in.

  “Alright, class. Today is a special day. We have our first flight at the end of the week. We will split the class into sky and space. The first day will be making sure the gear fits but plan this will be the schedule for the rest of the year.”

  “You just received a message from your professor with the rider schedule, your name is not at either time slot,” Angie whispered from his shoulder.

  Lago and Eggo grinned back at him a few seconds later as they saw his name missing, too. Eggo whispered, “poser.”

  Then Professor Waldin cut in, “Oh, right, I forgot. Honored rider knight, your sponsor has asked you conduct flight training with him, so you are excused from either time.”

  Jett wanted to whisper to Angie to snap a photo of the look of disbelief on Lago, Mai, and Eggo’s faces, but he wasn’t that petty. Besides, Angie was always recording when he was in class.

  “Eyes forward, class.” Professor Waldin called out. He couldn’t help the smug smile the rest of class as the professor reviewed the parts of the saddle.

  Later that night, he grabbed dinner with Bill, Ashley, and Amanda. All three were exhausted when they showed up, and Jett realized they were still worried about him. Ashley was struggling not to face-plant in her food; she was so exhausted.

  “Rough day?” Jett asked.

  Bill nodded, “They upped the difficulty, and each time we lost a point, we’re supposed to run a mile. I still owe three more tomorrow. Amanda made it out the best, and she still owes one.”

  Jett grimaced, but Amanda slapped her hand on the table to get their attention, “Right enough about training. There is a rumor going around the school that someone in the first year got a sponsor. Jett, you take classes with the dragon riders. Do you know who this person is?”

  Bill waved her off, “There is no one with a sponsor at this school. It’s just baseless rumors.”

  “You can ignore them if you want, but if we find out who it is, we might be able to make connections. Connections that get us one step closer to getting eggs.”

  Bill raised his hands in surrender, “Alright, alright. Jett, can you please tell Amanda it’s all just baseless rumors.”

  “Actually…” Jett said, scratching the back of his head and laughing nervously.

  Bill’s eyes went wide, and even Ashley perked up.

  “Seriously?” Bill asked, “Who is it? Do you know their name?”

  “Does it really matter that much? I doubt they will be able to give you an egg.”

  “Yeah, it does! Connections are how most dragon riders get their eggs. You should know! Now spill!” Amanda blurted.

  “Um, well. It’s me.”

  The three just stared at him. So Jett continued, “That’s part of why I was so worn out. I met with Dragon Rider Franklin to start my training.”

  Uncharacteristically, it was Ashley who threw up her hands, “How did you get a sponsor in your first year? Do you have any idea how rare it is to get a sponsor?”

  “Not really…” Jett answered.

  His friends continued to grill him for information over the next half hour. Asking what he did to get a sponsor and refusing to believe he didn’t do anything. As the night dragged on, Ashley fell into her plate, smearing the red sauce of her dinner everywhere. She wiped and excused herself. Bill and Amanda followed after them.

  Jett returned to his room and saw the minimization of windows.

  “Angie?”

  “What? I was just looking online for… a harness for Layla.”

  Jett went over to the computer and opened the article. It read, “How to stop my puppy from chewing on electronics.”

  Jett gave a flat look to the bot sitting beside the computer. He had been so busy with classes, recovering, and training that he had given Angie some autonomy.

  “Angie Layla is not going to eat you.”

  “You just say that because you aren’t made of metal.”

  Jett shook his head, “Any messages?”

  “One from your sponsor. He wants to meet tomorrow on the flight deck. You and Layla are going to have your first flight.”

  “Wow, that’s soon. Alright, anything else important?”

  “Just the usual.”

  Jett opened his messages to see one from Bill and one from Amanda, each asking him what he did to get his sponsor, and that they would take the secret to the grave.

  The next day, classes were calmer than usual. His sponsored status turned him from a social pariah to a mystery. Even Lucy gave him a curious look when she once again tried to ask Kyle out on a date, which he was still entirely naive to.

  Jett felt it was nice. It almost felt like he was flying under the radar, but every time he turned around, he could see people turning their heads and trying to act nonchalant. After classes, he grabbed Layla to head down to the flight deck.

  ‘Momma’s back!’

  “Hey, Layla, are you ready to go flying today?”

  Over the link, he got a high-pitched squeal, and she yipped in happiness. As they made their way down to the flight deck, she didn’t walk; she skipped and bounded with barely contained excitement.