Page 77 of The Towering Sky
Avery nodded slowly. “What if I wanted to carry myself differently?”
“Slouch. Don’t make eye contact with people; use your peripheral vision instead. Shrink in on yourself, and de-emphasize the physical,” Calliope told her. “It’s surprisingly easy to keep people from looking at you. I bet you’ve just never really tried.”
Avery seemed to think that over for a while. “You’re very brave,” she said at last, and Calliope couldn’t have been more shocked if Avery had begun stripping off all her clothes, right there in the train station. Brave? She was selfish and impulsive, but never had she thought of herself as brave.
“I guess it’s only brave if you succeed. It’s just reckless if you fail.”
“But when have you ever failed?” Avery asked.
Calliope blinked.I’ve failed in New York, by living as someone I’m not, she wanted to say, but then she thought of Brice and brightened a little. He knew the real her, whoever it was, buried beneath all those layers of lies.
“I’ve had my moments,” she evaded, but Avery didn’t really seem to be listening anymore. She was looking back out at the sunrise, thoughtful.
“See you in class later,” Avery said abruptly, standing up. “I’m sure we’ll both be exhausted.”
“I’ve had later nights—and earlier mornings. And I’d venture to say you have too.” Calliope was pleased to see that she had coaxed a smile from Avery. For a moment, it felt as if they were almost friends.
As the other girl walked off, Calliope turned away from thesunrise to watch the anonymous sea of people moving through the train station: all the greetings and good-byes, the laughter and tears, the commuters chattering on various pings, the travelers standing in pools of isolation. She was very accustomed to being alone. But it suddenly struck her how many other people there were in this vast city, also alone.
RYLIN
“YOUAREALLOWEDto take me out in New York, you know.” Rylin pulled aside the curtain of their enclosed private deck to gaze at the view.
“Where’s the fun in that?” Cord laughed, seeming unconcerned.
They were on the evening cruise of theSkyspear: the most luxurious, and most famous, of the space tourism vessels now in operation. Though this hardly counted as space, Cord insisted. They would remain at an altitude of three hundred kilometers the entire time, never leaving the comforting band of Earth’s low orbit.
“I mean, you don’t have to always be making big romantic gestures with me,” Rylin insisted. Last year he’d whisked her off to Paris, and now this?
“Maybe I like big romantic gestures,” Cord replied.
“I know. But next weekend, let’s cook tacos and watch a holo.Something more... low-key,” she finished, and smiled. “I guess I feel silly being on a flight to nowhere.”
They had taken off from New York a few minutes ago, in the late afternoon, and would land back in New York just two hours after departure, having circumnavigated the entire globe. They had already technically reached orbit, which meant that they weren’t burning any more fuel. TheSkyspearworked like a high-speed satellite, propelled by the slingshot effect of Earth’s gravity.
Their “viewing suite,” one of several dozen in first class, was essentially a private living room, containing a stone-colored couch and a pair of armchairs. No bed, Rylin had noted right away, in a confusing combination of relief and disappointment.
The real showstopper was the flexiglass that lined most of the floor and one entire wall. Rylin could scarcely look away. It was heart-stopping but exhilarating, watching the view unfurl beneath them. The entire world felt like a secret, wild and full of promise, revealing itself only to her.
On the edge of the glittering patchwork quilt, a golden crescent of sun just tipped over the planet’s curve. That was one of the highlights of this evening cruise: that they would fly straight into the dawn and through to the other side. Rylin wished she’d brought her vid-cam.
“This isn’t about the destination, Rylin. It’s about the journey.” Cord came to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on her shoulder.
But Rylin felt as if most of her life had been about the journey, rather than the destination. Now she finally had a sense of purpose, and she didn’t want to make any moves unless they were in the right direction. She didn’t need to slow down and enjoy the ride. She wanted to get where she was going, and then enjoy being there.
“Besides, I wanted to do something special tonight. Isn’t it nice, being so far from New York?” Cord gestured down to the city, which was already a tiny, pulsing firefly receding behind them. “Really puts things in perspective.”
“The world does look small from up here,” she agreed.
“The worldissmall.”
“Maybe to you!” Rylin spun around, her breath catching at how close Cord was. Her blood felt as if it had rushed to her fingertips, her lips. “To me, it’s enormous.”
“For now. It’s my goal to change that.”
Rylin hesitated. She knew she should probably say something, point out that Cord was trying to throw money at their relationship again, just as he had the last time. But she didn’t want to ruin the moment. She liked Cord forCord, not for the expensive things that came along with dating him.
“You have that wrinkled-nose, lost-in-thought look.” Cord smiled. “Whatever it is, you don’t have to take it so seriously.”
