Zara wanted to get ahead in school. She wanted the cute guy. She wanted to win the game. Trouble was, everybody else had expensive brain implants, augmented muscles, and those pretty tailored bodies. She had none of those things. Of course, she work...
After school let out that day, Zara Vals waited on the outer ledge of the classroom. She held her board across her lap, dangling her legs off the edge of the elevated supernatant structure. Successive layers of the massive classrooms were stacked on top of each other high up into the air, one level for each grade.
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Two girls flew by on their boards, glancing her way.
"Isn't that Zara," she overheard one girl say to the other. "Isn't she the one who got-"
They both laughed at something she couldn't hear.
Others pointed at her also but were too far away for her to make out their taunts. She could still feel the whipping from the teacher. It burned in her mind, reminding her of the lesson.
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Many of her mates gathered into groups after school, roaming through the air on athletic shoes or boards. Younger kids played tag; older ones put together soccer matches. Maybe they venerated Xavier and Samara, or perhaps they gossiped about Zara.
After the girls, Axel swept by on his board, but this time he ignored her. He didn't want anything to do with her now. It didn't matter much, though, because she spotted Finn coming her way.
Finn moved wondrously on a board as if he danced to the waves of the wind. When he sped by, he encouraged her with a casual wave. She slid off the ledge and jammed her own board under her feet, catching a gust and chasing after him.
She followed him all over downtown Atraville. They wove in and out of the tall spires and supernatant structures of all shapes and sizes, whipped around on gentle gusts of the wind—riding high, dipping low.
Axion scheduled the weather for Atraville as it did for all cities. The people expected temperate and sunny days unless it was a scheduled day of rain, but those were planned well in advance, with everyone given fair warning. The wind, likewise, was carefully controlled due to the gossamer nature of floating supernatant structures. Still, temperature variations around tall buildings created the perfect amount of wind for riding a board.
Riding a board required a good deal of work from her legs, especially with any kind of speed. She couldn't keep up his pace for long. "Finn?" She strained her voice against the wind. "Finn, I have to stop."
