The Secrets of Star Whales

The Secrets of Star Whales — page 1 — To my parents who always had a book in hand who challenged me every day to be better And to my sister who tried to write a book first and ignited my competitive Thank you Also Paige I win I wouldn’t be anywhere without you guys side

The Secrets of Star Whales — page 2 — 1 THE TOURIST FROM THE ABYSS India twirled the marble-like ball between her fingers shooting me a wicked grin Get ready Max You have fifteen seconds The education level’s tubelike corridor was crowded and not just with our classmates The entirety of Azura’s students kids ranging from five to sixteen were returning from lunch Well returning would imply that we were going to our respective classrooms but almost everyone had their noses pressed against the plastiglass windows instead Because in the gaping space beyond backlit by the bright-pink Kialoa Nebula a foreign starship was being towed to our

The Secrets of Star Whales — page 3 — space station Behind us Mrs Smith our temporary teacher after Mr Bruska had his accident barked Back inside all of you That idiot’s broken ship won’t help you on next week’s exam Move Now or never Max India whispered presenting the tiny ball again Blue and white swirls wrapped about the orb and when thrown it would release a fog so thick I’d have no trouble escaping Mrs Smith’s scrutinizing gaze Get this gossip It’s all you Now she was just being dramatic We don’t even need the smoke bomb Why don’t we just sneak out Too late With a wild laugh she threw it against the polished faux-wood floor The smoke bomb exploded in a burst of white fog filling the hallway with coughs and screams I tried to grab her arm take her with me but she shouted Tell my stooory

The Secrets of Star Whales — page 4 — and vanished in the pandemonium India She was gone And really we couldn’t waste a good smoke bomb could we I sprinted past the other classrooms ducking into the first adjacent hallway The potted ficuses provided excellent cover from the teachers thundering toward our classroom and the chaos Azura our space station was shaped like a big multistory wheel The outer tube rotated to maintain gravity and spoke like corridors led to a few elevators in the center We were on the education level now but the starship would be docking three stories above in the hangar level I pressed the button to summon one of the elevators and plotted an excuse for why I wasn’t in class just in case the lift was already occupied But the double doors dinged open without a soul in sight Airtight I grinned and bounced inside All

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