Earthseed

left him sitting with his cat.

    The Competition was over.
    Everyone had gathered in the dining room to hear the results. The injured young people sat in the front. Federico still wore a crown of bandages; Brendan sat in a wheelchair, his leg enclosed in a cast. A few other people had sustained injuries, mostly sprains and bruises. Zoheret sat next to Kagami, with Lillka on her other side.
    The teams were beginning to gather in groups. Lillka got up and went to join her team, the Black; Zoheret went to hers, shying away as she brushed against bodies. Almost everyone wore a scarf with a team’s color. Manuel glanced at Zoheret as she sat on the edge of a table, then turned away.
    The room grew quiet. Even before she looked, Zoheret knew that Ho had entered the room. He stood in the doorway for a moment, fingers touching his brown scarf, then went to his team. Someone hissed. Ho smiled slightly. She wondered where he had been hiding.
    “I know,” Ship began in its alto voice, “that you are all anxious to hear the results of the Competition.” The room was still. “I’ll start with last place. That goes to the Red team, with sixty-one hours and forty-one minutes.” Zoheret heard sighs and groans from the front of the room; that had been expected. “But I want to add that the Red team deserves a commendation for finishing the course against great odds. You should be proud.” There were a few desultory cheers.
    “Sixth place goes to the Green team, who made it in forty-nine hours and three minutes. The Green team was cautious, as I discovered in talking with its members, but they deserve credit for coming through without a single major or minor injury.” The Greens groaned and grumbled.
    “Fifth place goes to the Violet team, with a time of forty hours and fifty minutes.” Zoheret stared at Manuel’s back. He was leaning forward, his muscles straining under his thin shirt. If they won, perhaps he would stop being angry with her.
    Lillka’s team, the Black, won fourth place; the Yellow took third. Zoheret held her breath. Dmitri and Jorge were eyeing Ho.
    “Second place goes to the Blue team,” Ship said. The room erupted with cries and a chorus of boos so loud that their time was inaudible. Ship was commending their ingenuity; Manuel shook his head. Ho jumped up on a table and waved his arms, bringing on more hisses.
    “The Brown team has won,” Ship said over an ebb in the protest. Voices drowned out their time as well.
    “Hey!” Dmitri shouted above the noise. He raised his eyes to the ceiling. “You know what happened. You know what the Brown team did to win. They should be disqualified.” There was a chorus of agreement.
    “The Competition is over,” Ship said. “Your party will be held here tomorrow, as always, and you will have the day to yourselves. Have a good time.”
    Several young people had already left the room. Willem, who had been standing just behind Ho, grinned and put his hand on Ho’s shoulder. Ho shook the hand away, glaring contemptuously at the other boy.
    Zoheret waited. Perhaps Manuel would ask her to come to the party with him after all. He stood up, then turned and caught her eye. She tried to smile. He was walking toward her, pushing past others. As he came up to her, he said, “We could have won if we hadn’t stopped to help Red.”
    “No—they were too far ahead.”
    “It might have been close. We might have had a chance.”
    “Second place isn’t so bad.”
    “It isn’t winning.” He gazed past her. Then he turned, muttering something to Jorge. The two boys walked toward Ho.
    Ho, surrounded by a small group of people, was accepting congratulations. Anyone who held a grudge, Zoheret knew, was unlikely to take it up with Ho while he was with friends. She saw that Bonnie was with him. Bonnie pulled nervously at her yellow scarf as Manuel and Jorge made their way to the victor. She took Ho’s arm. Manuel watched her without expression as he extended his hand to the other boy.
    “I’m not going to that party.” Zoheret turned toward the voice and saw Lillka.
    “I probably won’t, either,” Zoheret replied.
    “It’s disgusting how that team won. I can’t believe Ship just let it go.”
    “Ship’s stuck. It said no rules.”
    “I know one thing. You can’t trust Ho. He’ll do anything.”
    “I think we knew that already.”
    Lillka walked toward the door.
    Zoheret looked around for Manuel, still hoping, but could not find him. The room was