Starfire (The Starfire Wars Book 1) by Jenetta Penner

Author:Jenetta Penner [Penner, Jenetta]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Torment Publishing
Published: 2018-07-29T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

M y mind blazes with a jumble of thoughts about the Starfire, Javen, and his people. Then how my dad knew everything about Arcadia.

After leaving Javen, I race into the dorm and to my room. I throw open the door, ready to research the Board members I might be able to approach for help.

“What are you in such a hurry about?” Irene asks.

I jump since I thought the place would be empty. “Why are you home and not at work?”

Irene returns to chopping a head of lettuce at the kitchen counter. “My boss sent a bunch of us home early. I have no idea why. But Extra Solar is still working out all the shifts.”

I glance at the computer on my desk. But what I want to do will need to wait until I have privacy. I’m not sure how much more I want Irene to get wrapped up into this whole thing. I slip off my shoes and place them to the side of the door.

“Why don’t you take a seat? I’m making a late lunch.”

“Oh, I ate already.” I think back to the few bites I had of the sandwich Max brought.

Irene gives me a once over. “Sit. You’re eating.”

“You sure are bossy.” I chuckle and walk to the barstool at the kitchenette counter and sit.

“That’s what happens when you raise three kids younger than you for six years.” She dumps the lettuce into two bowls and moves on to slicing a tomato.

“Three?”

She shrugs. “My cousins. Two girls and a boy. My parents left when I was just a little kid, and my aunt ended up taking me in. But only if I cared for all her kids. I was only nine, but otherwise I’d have been out on the streets.”

“Why couldn’t your aunt take care of them?”

“She was working. I didn’t ask what kept her out so late and she didn’t tell me,” Irene says as she finishes up the salads and brings our lunch over for us to eat. “She’s a good person, though.”

“Where’d you live?”

“Los Angeles.”

I cringe. I’ve heard about LA. It’s dangerous, and the city’s air quality is awful. There are days you can’t even leave your home without a respirator. And if the smog doesn’t kill you, the people there might.

“I know what you’re thinking. How’d a girl from the slums of LA end up working for Extra Solar, right?”

I glance at her as she places a fork next to my bowl.

“Not really. I was thinking about the bad air.”

Irene laughs. “The bad air is exactly what got me here.”

I tip my head, not understanding.

“I spent so much time indoors that I needed a hobby to not go crazy. So, I turned to computers— games, hacking, and legit stuff too, like school. Pretty soon people online took notice of my skills, and I started picking up odd pro jobs. When the exams came up for a chance to come to Arcadia I jumped at the opportunity. And only because my identity would be blacked-out from the judges until after the scores were in.

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