Status: Edited

"Happy yet, Colonel?"

"You're still upset that I split them up, aren't you, Anderson?"

"They could be brilliant together."

"They can be brilliant on their own."

"It's been months since they've had a real conversation. Ender has taken on so much responsibility that it's breaking him."

"It's part of the training these kids go through. Ender's just excelled faster than the others."

"No. You pushed him faster and harder, than the others. I'm worried that he's not ready."

"He'll have to be."

. . .

Things at Battle School moved quickly as the months flew by. Ender had been transferred once again, this time to Phoenix Army. Petra Arkanian, the girl I had spoken to on my first day in Salamander, had been transferred as well and promoted to Commander there. From what I'd heard, Ender had also been made a toon leader.

I remained in Salamander Army under Bonzo's command, but I had also been promoted. Now leader of toon B, Bonzo had me moved to Petra's old bunk near the front of the barrack.

Over the course of the last couple months, I had become much more friendly with my army. Bonzo, who seemed to mostly have forgotten our disagreement as time went on, had finally acknowledging that I was indeed a better soldier than he had originally thought.

Ender and I struggled to find time to talk to one another after our discussion about Bonzo. Because of his transfer, I did not see Ender as much as I used to. Our schedules were constantly changing and we were lucky if we even caught a glimpse of each other in the halls. But whenever we did find time to catch up, it was like the world had finally slowed down enough to let me catch my breath.

Yet I was worried. Every time I saw Ender, he looked extremely tired and harassed. Dark circles had taken up permanent residence under his eyes.

As time went on, however, my thoughts couldn't help returning to our last argument. It stayed vivid in my mind and I was even beginning to see evidence for it everywhere I looked. Mostly, it was little things like soldiers refusing to acknowledging that they had a home outside of Battle School or constantly talking about strategy for the battle room. But I was beginning to take note of the signs that were everywhere.

Lessons with the Launchies continued like normal, but were increasingly becoming more intense. I even began to notice a sort of absence with Ender. His mind constantly seemed to be elsewhere during training. The rare occasions that he had joked with us had disappeared all together and it wasn't often that we saw him laugh anymore. Mostly he just stood to the side and observed our practices in silence, offering his advice or instruction when required.

With each lesson my concern for him grew. I usually tried to catch up with him after training had ended, but he was always one of the first to leave. It was difficult to understand his new behavior change and I wanted to know what was going on. Evidently, however, he didn't seem keen on sharing.

. . .

One day, I was leading my toon back to the barracks after a battle against Centipede when Bonzo strode up beside me. My brow furrowed in confusion as we continued onward. I looked up at him. "Ho, Bonzo," I greeted casually.

"Lara, I need to speak with you later," he said, watching me as we turned a corner. "Meet me in my quarters after dinner this evening." He quickly cut off my attempt to protest, glowering. "That's an order."

I looked away, fighting to mask my annoyance. "Yes, sir," I replied. He nodded, his expression neutralizing, before briskly walking off.

I worried about our meeting all the way up until dinner. I didn't have much of an appetite, so I skipped it instead and worked on finishing some of my homework back at the barrack. When at last, I could no longer avoid the time, I stored my desk back into my locker and made my way through the corridors towards Bonzo's private Commander quarters.

When I arrived, I took a second to steal myself before knocking swiftly at the door. A moment later, it slide open and I took a step inside.

The door shut behind me as my eyes roamed Bonzo's room. It was militarily clean and void of personal belongings. I finally let my eyes settle on my commander who stood near his bed before me. "Sir," I said, acknowledging his presence.

"Glad you could make it, Lara," Bonzo said, as if the meeting had been some sort of invitation. His face remained as emotionless as ever. An uncomfortable silence filled the space before he continued. "I called you here because I like to check in on my toon leaders every now and then to make sure they're doing all right." He straightened his posture importantly. "I know the responsibility can be tiring at times."

I was fairly certain he had never before called any other toon leader to his quarters to ask them how they were holding up, but I smartly decided not to mention this. "I'm doing fine, sir. Thank you for asking."

Bonzo nodded before letting out a sigh. "Look," he started, voice turning hard. "I know you've been spending a lot of time with Wiggin in your free time and out of concern for the army, I have to ask what that's all about."

I was stunned by his words. Concern for the army, my ass. "What do you mean?" I asked, anger rising as I threw all formalities out the window. "I thought we got over this ages ago! Free time is free, Bonzo."

He shook his head, gaze icy. "I'm aware of what free time is, Lara. But I need to know if there's anything going on between you and Wiggin."

I glared at him, annoyance rising in me. "And what if there was?" I asked hotly, bluffing heavily. "There's nothing you could do about it."

I knew I was digging my own grave, but I couldn't help the words from tumbling out of my mouth.

I took a few steps back as he advanced towards me, eyes wide. His dark glare were aflame with hot, boiling rage. My back hit the door as he drew up closer to me, feeling his breath near my ear as he leaned in. "Oh, believe me," he said, voice dropping dangerously low. "There are a lot of things I could do about it."

I froze, scarily aware of how strongly he'd meant it. "Look," I said quickly, trying to salvage the situation. "There isn't anything going on between me and Ender. I just go for some extra practice. That's all," I said with finality.

Bonzo watched me for a moment before reluctantly backing away. My posture relaxed in relief, grateful for the space. "Fine," he said, keeping his eyes on me. "You're dismissed. Get to bed."

Without a word, I turned and left his quarters, sprinting all the way back the barracks once out of sight.