Robot Warriors by Zac Harrison

Author:Zac Harrison [Harrison, Zac]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Curious Fox
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

John found his crowds of supporters in the main canteen. He felt like a warlord at the vanguard of an army. All this cheering, banner-waving, and back slapping – a guy could get used to this!

“Got a chair for you here, John!” shouted Light Bulb (whose name, it seemed, was Fluoron). “Come on through!”

The rest of the canteen was already crowded with other students, but instead of the usual neat rows, they were clustered into five huge groups. Tables and chairs had been dragged over so that the groups could sit together. It was like a battlefield, flags and pennants waving, each group crowding around its commander.

Between the groups threaded a few undecided students who hadn’t yet picked a champion, and the very unfortunate few who were too behind on their studies to join in the fun.

Kaal had his crew, John had his, Quondass val Haq, Raytanna and Gredilah had theirs. Only Mordant Talliver sat alone, picking at his black gooey breakfast, with the ever-loyal G-Vez hovering over his shoulder. He had packets of Yoko Beans, Astron Crunchies, and Brucko Gums spread out in front of him, which he offered to passers-by. A few students had taken the bait, but they were talking among themselves, not even bothering to wave the Mordant Talliver Holo-Placards he’d given them.

John considered feeling sorry for Mordant.

Nah.

“Hey, John!” Emmie called, from the halfway point between John’s group and Kaal’s. “Good luck for the finals today, yeah?” Her Holo-Placard beamed the message GO JOHN GO.

“Come sit with us,” John offered.

“I’m fine!” she said, glancing over her shoulder. “I’ll just stand here. Don’t want to get in the way... Hey, Kaal! Good luck!”

“Thanks!” Kaal said with a shy wave.

John saw that the other side of Emmie’s banner read GO KAAL GO. He couldn’t help laughing out loud. Emmie noticed, shrugged, and gave him a big you-got-me grin. “What can I say? I can’t take sides, can I?”

“Emmie, don’t ever change,” John said, shaking his head in wonder.

“OK, well, best of luck to you both,” Emmie said quickly. “Got to go now. I’ve got, um... things to do.” With that, she was gone, bounding out of the canteen and leaving John puzzled.

It must be rough, not making it to the final, he thought. Maybe Emmie couldn’t put on her brave face any longer.

The ship’s nutrition system, as advised by Zepp, served John a big bowl of cornflakes. Instantly his fans crowded round him, eager to see what exotic Earth food he might be eating.

“Can I try one?” Xyglurz asked nervously.

“You can have the lot,” John said, pushing away the bowl. “To be honest, I haven’t got much of an appetite.”

John didn’t want to say it aloud, but he was feeling sick with nerves. There were only ten minutes left until the semi-final was due to start. As with all the rounds, he had no idea of what to expect.

Across the table, Xyglurz was turning a strange metallic green and spitting out chunks of soggy cornflake.

The next few minutes passed in a blur.

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