Derelict

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jem burst into his room with the intensity of an amp dialed way past distortion. Barre turned over and threw his arm over his eyes as his brother pushed the light levels up to mid-day. He flicked on his neural to check the time. 0700. "What the hell?"

"I'm working in the computer lab today. You wanted help with your advanced calc homework. Now or never."

Barre threw a pillow across the room. It missed Jem by half a meter.

"Come on. I have coffee for you."

He would need a lot more than coffee this morning. "I hate you."

Jem laughed.

"I'm up, I'm up. Now get the hell out and let me get dressed."

Jem snuck in close to his bed and snatched his blanket, tossing it to where the pillow lay on the floor. "Not until you put your feet on the floor."

Barre shook the dreads out of his face and glared at his perfectly awake, perfect little brother as he walked out of the room. It wasn't Jem's fault he was their parents' darling, but it didn't make the sting any easier to take.

He accessed his music library and turned up the volume to drown out the self-pity party in his head. By the time Barre managed to get dressed, Jem probably would have invented a new language, discovered a rare element, and gotten three more acceptances to Uni. All Barre had was a blooming headache and the music burning through his mind.

When Barre emerged from his room, Jem, true to his word, handed him his coffee, fixed the way he liked it. "Black and sweet, just like you are," his brother said, smiling.

Barre scowled over the steaming mug. How could Jem be so freaky cheerful this early? He added it to the mental list of things that were unfair and not likely to change any time soon.

"Since when are you so eager for school?" Jem always hated the work anyone assigned him. Usually he tried to figure out ways to twist it to suit what he wanted to do. Maybe they weren't so different after all.

"Doing a collab with Ro."

"I know, you only love her for her brain."

"Barre, it's not like that," Jem said, the skin on his cheeks brightening.

It was always so easy to fluster his little brother. At least some things in life were fair. "Do Mom and Dad know?"

Jem stared up at him, his eyes intense. "No. And they don't need to. I get my work done. I get good grades. What I do and who I do it with on my own time is none of their business."

"Whoa, kid." He swallowed the last of the coffee and set the cup down on the counter. "I'm not here to criticize." Barre had enough of his own secrets, including the packet of bittergreen in his back pocket. "Where are they, anyway?" he asked. Their quarters were utterly silent except for the two of them.

"Station staff meeting. I waited until they left before coming to wake you."

"Thanks." And he meant it. The last thing Barre wanted was to spend another meal being picked apart by his disapproving parents.

"Can we go yet?" Jem asked, just the barest hint of the whine in his voice that used to drive him crazy.

"Fine. Good. Whatever." Barre put his hands on Jem's shoulders and pressed down. "But we do the calc work first. Payback for waking me up."

"Deal," Jem said, slipping out from under his grip.

Other than a few night-shift staff heading to their quarters, the corridors were empty this early in the morning. The computer lab was empty, too, except for the AI's blinking red oculars. Barre logged into his syllabus, swallowing the resentment he always felt when he asked his little brother for help.