Chapter 3

Disappointment filled Kinson for some reason, but he couldn't recall exactly why. He concentrated on organizing his mind. Eventually, the memories of Richer Nielson faded from first to third person. Vietnam felt rather far away. Halfway across the solar system, in fact. As it came back to him, Kinson felt he would rather spend another day in Vietnam than here, at the Titan University of Psionics.

Ignoring the other assistant's words of consolidation, Kinson left the evaluation room and walked out into the hallway. The wide windows near the roof revealed Titan's strange mountains, a sight that normally drew his attention, regardless of the circumstance. Today, however, he hardly glanced at the scene. Other students quickly passed by his downtrodden step. The change of classes brought about a crowd that cramped even the extremely wide hallways. Pushed to the side, Kinson looked around in irritation.

"There you are! How did the evaluation go?" he turned around at the cheerful voice behind him.

"Hey Celeste," he replied, failing to reciprocate her energy.

The smiling girl lost her smile, but the sparkle in her eyes remained. She flicked a few strands of long blonde hair out of her face and sighed.

"That's the third one, isn't it. Well, I'm sure there are other programs you can apply for. Your grades are pretty good, aren't they? Who wouldn't want a talented psionist like you?" She said positively. Kinson could only shake his head at her optimism.

"Celeste, come on. The only thing I've got is deathdreaming. I'm not like you or Trevor. I only got into this school because the government felt bad for us," he responded, morsoley.

"That's not true, you're good at almost everything in school. Also, your work ethic is top tier!" She replied.

"Everyone is good at almost everything here. But they also qualify for Advanced Studies. I'm not sure I'm cut out for university life," Kinson admitted, not meeting her eyes.

Celeste went quiet for a moment. Finally she turned around, irritated.

"Fine, if you want to give up, I won't stop you," she responded, sounding a little hurt.

Feeling a bit guilty for some reason, Kinson opened his mouth. But, he closed it again. Maybe quitting really was the best option. Unsure, he decided to probe a bit more.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. I don't really feel like there are really any options, but maybe I just haven't found the right way to apply myself,"

Celeste looked at him, then smiled again. "That's the spirit! I'll try and think of some ideas too. Just don't give up!"

"Ok, I'll do my best. I suppose I'd better get to class now," Kinson nodded.

Celeste turned to leave, headed for her own class. "Alright, I'll see you later then!"

Seeing her go, Kinson hesitated. "Thanks, Celeste. You're a better friend than I deserve," he said.

She waved and stuck her tongue out, then disappeared into the crowd. Feeling much better, Kinson smiled. He took a deep breath and stepped back into the flow, headed for class.

The rest of the day passed by rather quickly. Although encouraged by Celeste, Kinson found it difficult to focus in his Basic Rocket Systems and Life Among the Stars classes. General credit classes were typically slept on by the students, with these two being no exception. Despite the long hours of class, Kinson had adapted to the schedule months ago, it being in his second semester after all. When Professor Styx finally closed class, he yawned and gathered his things.

Kinson left class rather slowly. The hallway emptied quickly, as most students were rather eager to get going. Finding himself by the Telekenetic's Quarters, Kinson went to their practice room. Two solid open doors showed the large gymnasium-like structure. In the middle of the floor, three students, wearing the typical protective gear, faced each other with arms raised. A stiff leather ball levitated in between them, seemingly caught in between opposing forces.

One of the students, a tall guy with black hair, gave a shout before thrusting his right arm forward with greater force. The ball rocketed away from him, striking the chest of the younger boy to his left.

"Hey!" the kid cried, falling on his behind.

"Ha! I guess it's my win!" The blonde kid gloated.

"Not so fast, I'm still up," the third student broke in.

"Ok, then. Me and you, let's go."

The grounded student threw the ball into the air, which then trembled, suspended between the two remaining contestants. Kinson watched with interest as it hovered between them, neither gaining any ground.

"You've gotten stronger since we last dueled!" the Blonde said. "you're actually forcing me to use 5% of my power!"

"What's gotten into you? I've always been this strong! Also, have you been reading too many fantasy novels recently?" The third student, someone Kinson knew rather well, asked sarcastically.

"No, I don't have time to read. I'm too busy honing my skill," came the reply.

Kinson finally broke in from the side, "Alright Trevor, let's get going."

"Give me a sec. I've got to teach little Johnny a lesson," Trevor spared him a glance.

Another minute passed. Sweat beaded on the two's foreheads as they trembled with aching arms. Finally, Trevor grunted, breaking the stalemate and sending the ball into his opponent.

"You've got me this time, but I'll be back!" Johnny roared as he dusted himself off and grabbed his backpack.

"You're ten years to early to challenge me!" Trevor said, laughing.