Page 17 of Crash Landing
“Nothing, geshi.”
Canting my head, I shifted my weight to one leg, popping my hip out like I used to when I was going to stand up to someone. But I digressed, putting a lid on the temper I swore I wouldn’t let get the best of me anymore.
“Sam,” someone said. “A word?”
I spun to find Mr. Hemburg waving me over, his hands resting on his hips. Excitement and dread clashed inside me. Excitement to work with such a renowned researcher and dreadthat working with him would send all the wrong signals to my classmates.
Shit.
I glanced at the captain as I slowly backed toward Mr. Hemburg.
“As fulfilling as this little conversation could have been, I have research to do,” I said flatly.
“Stay close,” he said as I made my way toward the woods.
The way he said it, though, was a little chiding.
Annoying.
7: Sam
Mr. Hemburg had a whole row of strange samples sitting on one of the tables and as we approached them, I felt my lips stretching into an excited grin. He was the lead researcher. He probably knew exactly what to collect and how and which would yield the most groundbreaking discovery. I started picking up jars to look at what he’d found.
“Redseed,” he said when I picked up a little vial filled with red seeds. “I have been waiting to find a physical sample of it since I found out what it was.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“Crushed into powder, those are medicinal, according to valerians. They stabilize blood pressure and regulate body temperature.”
Immediately, I thought of my fevers when I had a reaction to the devil plant. The seeds might not be anti-allergy, but they probably would have helped. I wondered if the valerian doctors ever gave any to me when I was sick. I was so out of my mind that I wouldn’t have remembered anyway.
“That’s incredible. So, can it be ingested like this?”
“Not sure. Valerian physiology is a bit different I suspect. We’d have to do a lot more tests.”
I shook the little vial of seeds in front of my face, staring at them like they were gold. I was consumed with the possibilities… until I caught Mr. Hemburg staring at me in the same fashion.
“Your face really lights up about these wonderful discoveries,” he said.
I smiled, my cheeks growing hot as I put the vial down. “I guess.” To my right, Candice and a couple of other girls were sliding their own sample jars on the table, watching us way too closely. “I mean, it’s just the first field I decided to try. I couldn’t go into medical. I’m not smart enough and definitely too squeamish,” I laughed. “And really I’m not good at anything, so I went into a field that was interesting.”
Mr. Hemburg reached out and took my gloved hand in his, making my back stiffen.
“Don’t ever say something like that. You’re bright and there is so much potential in you. Do you think I’d be showing you these samples if I didn’t think so?”
No one had ever called me bright and full of potential. I stopped breathing at the comment, letting it sink in. Of course, the mean little voice in my head told me I’d heard him wrong, but I tried to ignore that. Mr. Hemburg said I was bright. I was drunk on the compliment.
“Come,” he said. “I’ll show you where I found the seeds.”
He slung his bag onto his back and turned, heading deeper into the woods. Curious, I followed him, excited to know what other things he could teach me and what other things there were to discover. I was almost giddy thinking about it. Perhaps the seeds were the beginning of my finding a way to conquer the effects of alien plant life on humans.
“This planet really is a gold mine,” he said as we hiked through the trees. I glanced back at the base camp as it sunk further into the hazy distance.
“Isn’t it a moon?” I commented.
He acted like he didn’t hear me. “I’ve done a lot of digging when it comes to plant life on valerian planets. This being thefirst time we’ve been allowed to do any research on one, you can imagine how far I’m willing to go to discover everything I can.”
“Of course. This is a huge opportunity. You worked on the Nexus, right?”
