Page 4 of Vawn
Ojokun stepped out of the fitness room then, his shirt over his shoulder and skin glistening with sweat. His eyes were wide as he glanced between my brothers and me, probably well aware he’d walked out at a bad time.
Too angry to be embarrassed, I turned away from them all and stomped all the way out of the building.
Why did Ret have to be such a hypocrite? I knew he had one-night stands. Said that was the life of a space racer. Why was it such a bad thing for me?
Outside again, I kept walking until I reached a pond on the edge of the facility. Sitting down on the bank, I took my shoes off and rolled my pants up before sticking my feet in the water. Little purple shiffers nibbled at my toes, taking away some of my anger. I ran my fingers through the water and thought of my daughter. She really was more precious to me than anything else in the universe. And right now, a one-night stand was all I could commit to. I didn’t want to bring anyone new into our lives at this moment. My daughter was fine with only one parent.
I decided to head to the dorm, in order to video chat with her and see what she’d been up to since I left. I’d just have to ignore my oldest brother and his unwanted opinions for the rest of the weekend. Or maybe I’d blow up his jet.
***
Talking to Enif left a smile on my face, but a slight ache in my heart. She’d told me all about her day but was too tired to stay up any longer. Her day was ending while I still had much to do. And while I said good night, along with my brothers, I wasn’t there to tuck her in.
Genj rubbed my shoulders after I hung up. “You’re a good dad.”
I side-eyed my other brother. “Too bad not everyone thinks so.”
“Vawn, I didn’t—”
I held my hand up before Ret could say anything else to piss me off. “I’ve got to get ready for the dinner tonight. Mind giving me some privacy?”
My oldest brother huffed out a heavy breath before leaving the room. Genj shook his head as he left behind him.
I wasn’t as mad at my brother anymore, but I refused to let him know that. He was still a hypocrite and had no right to try to control my private life.
From my luggage, I took out black, loose-fitting pants and a matching blazer. I had a white camisole to wear underneath it, with a bright-green scarf for around my neck. Since the dinner was formal, I decided to wear something to match the occasion instead of trying to stand out too much. My brothers would be in proper uniform, along with all the other space racers. But, when we went to the club later in the night, I would make sure I turned every head in the place.
My brothers were already dressed and waiting for me by the time I’d finished getting ready. I joined them in walking to the banquet hall, which was really just the mess hall rearranged for this event.
We sat at a round table assigned to their team, though I was the only guest of the five of them. Ret guided me to sit between him and Genj, but as soon as I saw Ojokun, I darted away to take the chair beside him. According to Ret’s heavy sigh, he wasn’t pleased, but Genj smirked and shook his head.
Ojokun sat still in his chair, his fingers interlaced in his lap while his eyes darted between me and my oldest brother. Ignoring Ret, I placed my napkin on my lap and pulled myself closer to the table. I refused to let him win.
When the other two members of the team arrived, Ret finally took his seat, but Ojokun didn’t look any less tense.
I placed a hand on the hot space racer’s shoulder and leaned toward his ear. “I look forward to that drink you promised me. Hopefully, I’ll see you at the club tonight.”
Ojokun gulped, his cheeks flushing. “I….”
“Enough.” Ret slammed his fist on the table, shaking all the cutlery. “What you do this evening is your business, but can we please keep dinner respectable?”
I rolled my eyes but turned away, focusing my attention to the two team members who’d just joined us. “Xac and Qé, it’s good to see you again.” I’d been introduced to the Kalpierenes yesterday but never really had a chance to talk to them.
They both nodded with amused smiles.
“So….” I leaned back in my chair and clapped my hands. “I know the stories about my brothers becoming space racers, but I want to know the rest of your stories. Tell me how and why.”
Qé lifted their four-fingered hand. “I’ll go first. It’s a simple story, really. Xac and I were watching a race on our comm unit. We decided we wanted to try, and therefore, we went to a training school on Kalpier. As soon as we finished the course, we went to a tryout and made it.”
Xac ran their hand across Qé’s thigh. “That’s about it. Your oldest brother had been watching and wanted us on his team. We said yes.”
“Their reaction time was amazing.” Ret rocked back in his chair. “It was as if they could predict everyone else’s moves before they made them. I had to have them on my team.”
“I guess you got your way, then.” The story was more boring than I’d expected. I turned to Ojokun. “What about you? Is your story any different?”
He turned slightly in my direction and sighed. “Not much. The only difference was Ret didn’t want me on his team.”
I shook my head before eyeing my brother. “And why was that?” I had a feeling he would give some ludicrous answer since Ojokun was one of the best racers in the universe. I didn’t really follow the circuit, but I’d seen the headlines after every race, always making sure my brothers were still alive.
