Hope plunged her hands into the dirt. It was dry and crumbled easily. She kept planting seeds at twice Ansh's speed. She would never let him win. She was the best. She was clear-headed and felt the cool Earth between her fingertips. Cole handed her a canteen and a bag of seeds. Powerful sun rays beat against her skin.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Her high-pitched alarm sounded. Although, she could not pull herself from this tooth and nail competition. Her alarm sounded again. She sat up in her bed. She did not remember going home or falling asleep. Her mom was asleep next to her. She inspected the alarm it displayed, "5:00 am, Wednesday early study."

She silenced it and rolled out of bed. The skin on her arms and neck was bright red and tender. It reminded her of what occurred yesterday. She pressed her forefinger onto her warm forearm, and it turned white for a second. She entered her bathroom and flipped on the light. Her face looked worse and so did her neck, legs, and ears.

Hope took a quick shower with cool water and tried to recall more from the day before. She was not prepared for Professor Petrov. She recalled the lessons her grandparents had given her about staying cool and covered. Her grandfather said, "I work in this every day. So, my body has adjusted to it." She needed to stop spending time inside in the air conditioning and train outdoors. This morning was too cool to help her acclimate to the heat, but she would tell Cole that they would play outside later. He would not know he was training, and Summer Hope would get credit for spending time with her friend.

She stepped out of the shower and dried off. Her mom had laid out a spray bottle of 100 SPF sunscreen spray. Thanks mom. She placed that in her backpack.

His grandmother told her to stay hydrated, sip cold water often throughout the day, and eat smaller meals more often. Last but not least, wear a wide-brimmed straw hat. It protects your face and neck, but it also keeps the sun off most of your shoulders." The first time she saw the god-awful hat was years ago, and she refused to wear it for half the day out of embarrassment, but after feeling like she did now, she wore it ever since. She saw it on the top of her dresser and placed it in her pack too. If she would have known, she would have brought it yesterday.

She missed her grandmother. Before she died, Hope would have called her for advice, knowing that she would have been ecstatic to help.

Hope searched her closet for her summer clothes. Her mom had packed them away on her closet's top shelf. She also found long and thin pants to cover her legs. She could not find a better shirt, so she put on a t-shirt for now. She would also ask her mom for more tips when she woke.

She ambled to the kitchen, filled her large metal bottle with water, and placed it in her freezer. She also found a cooler and loaded it with ice. Then she marched next door to Cole's house. She took gentle steps because the skin on her body was raw.

Cole's dad returned from a run and met her outside. He was sweating and breathing heavy.

"Good morning, Hope."

"Good morning."

"You look worse than Cole," he told her.

It was humid but cool this morning. They strode up his steps together.

"You should wear these shirts when you're outside." He pointed at the long sleeve shirt he wore and lifted the fabric.

"That looks warm."

"It's thin, wicks the sweat off you, and keeps the sun off your skin. I always use them when I run. The only problem is it releases the odors."

His mom waited for them in the doorway. "We bought some for Cole, but he never used them. I'll get them for you."

"Thanks, mom number two."

They made their way into his house.

The scent of coffee brewing stimulated her brainwaves. They did not let her drink it because it stunted her growth.

"Did Cole tell you want happened with his uncle?"

His dad said, "Yes. He did. I apologize for the way my brother acted and unfortunately it was on the news too."

"It's not your fault. You can't control his actions," Hope said.

"He's been very serious with this new group he met in rehab. He keeps trying to get me into it too. I met his current girlfriend when I was at his place."

"Yes. I saw her. Yet, aside from having horrible timing. Nothing really happened." She would need to find a better time to speak with Cole. "Anyway, with Professor Blanche leaving, Skye showing up, and Cole's uncle at the school, I could not have predicted this week if I tried."

"Me either," his mom said.

She continued down the hallway toward Cole's room. They both had to study. The hallway had dark-brown stained-oak floors, and white painted walls with family pictures. An old golden chandelier lit her way. She knocked on Cole's door, opened it, and turned on his light. He was still sleeping like usual. She considered a few pranks to torture him, but she was in too much pain to pull off anything.

"Rise and Shine, Princess!" She shouted and kicked his bed. She pulled her viewer from her bag, pressed the On button, and sat down in his big cushy, fake-leather chair.

"I will be here in my chair waiting." She used it more than him, so she claimed it to make him mad. She also grabbed her laptop and placed it on his desk. She was ready, but he always needed extra time to get going.

"Wake up, Cole." She kicked his bed again harder.

He groaned. His pillow covered his head. He was not the most reliable study partner, but he was the only one smart enough to keep up with her.

"There are two important books that were not on his required reading list. We need to read for Professor Kain's class."

"Also, both teachers talked about perchlorate, so we need to study that before we get there."

"How did I get in bed?" He moved the pillow off him.

He rolled out of bed and yelled, "Ouch! Why does everything hurt?" He stumbled into his bathroom and started the shower.

It troubled her that she was not ready for yesterday's classes. She had always read the assigned books, at least once, before the first class. If she would have been awake, she would have begun last night.

Her alarm vibrated. She knew what it said. "Study while waiting for Cole." She silenced it.

This book, Perfect System on Mars, would need extra time because it was one thousand pages with small print.

She read the index to the book.

o Chapter One. Dome Necessity for a Balanced Atmosphere.

o Chapter Two. Perfect Dome Atmospheric Mixture.

o Chapter Three. The History of ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene) film.

Hope tiptoed to Cole to minimize discomfort. "Hey Cole." She yelled through the shower curtain.

"Wait. I'm done," he said. shutoff the water, put on a robe, and then got out.

"Ouch." He grimaced when the robed touched his skin.

"Put lotion on that." His mom called out.

She opened to the cover page again and displayed it above her viewer. "This book is about the dome and the membrane that Professor Kain showed us yesterday. You'll enjoy it."

Then he hobbled back to his bed and crashed to the mattress. "Ow. Dammit!" He sat up.

"Anything is better than farming. Holy mind-suck Batman." Cole mimed his brain being sucked out with a vacuum.

"You need to use your brain to do it correctly."

"Once, the first time."

Hope grabbed his viewer on his desk and threw it to him.

He caught it with one hand without looking and sustained their conversation. "Plus, Professor Kain was not clear about the final exams or projects."

"Yes. I have a question mark in my notes about that too."

Cole and Hope read the Perfect System book for two hours until his mom called them for breakfast.

They headed to the kitchen and the mouthwatering smell of pancakes on the griddle.

"Dad?" Cole asked.

"Left early. I believe he went to speak to his brother." His mom replied and placed a plate of food in front of him next to a glass of orange juice, a banana, scrambled eggs, and blueberry pancakes. She did the same for Hope. Hope read while she ate. She was deep into chapter four and her brain was working through the problems with the membrane.

Hope stated, "Chapter four is about printing the film."

Cole's mom said, "Yeah. I've been testing that for Dr. Bettencourt. He sent me some samples to check their durability."

Hope said, "This material is strong, never collects dust, and is transparent. Until those yahoos from last year screwed it up."

"Thanks for the food mom number two."

"Hope, since you and Cole are betrothed, you can call me mom."

She watched Cole restrain a complaint. He winked at her.

"Sure, mom," said Hope.

"I saw that," Hope's mom screamed, surprising her. "Who do you think you are trying to steal my daughter?" She rushed into the room and her dad followed. She threw her arms over Hope to protect her.

"Ouch! Shoulders." That hurt but she was glad to see her parents before school. Her dad was usually at the hospital or sleeping.

His mom brought shirts in and gave each of them one. Cole put it on. Hope packed hers in her backpack.

Hope's dad said, "I was on my way to the office when I heard Julie was making blueberry pancakes. I could not pass that up, plus," he winked at Hope, "I hoped that..."

"Name Jinx!" Hope shouted.

She reached up and pinched Cole under his arm on the soft spot of his skin. Aware that it hurt more than usual.

"Holy crap!"

"No swearing," His mom yelled.

"You couldn't wait like a day?" He blew on his arm. "I'll get you for this,"

"I wanted to hear about your second day and inspect your sunburns." Her dad put on blue gloves and examined her arms and legs. He paused and touched the back of her neck. "This is the worst." He squeezed ointment onto his fingers and massaged that into her neck. Then he took off his gloves and threw them in the garbage.

"I also have pain killers for both of you. Take two and call me in the morning." He chuckled and shook the bottle with a rattle of ibuprofen pills. He placed them on the table between Hope and Cole. Then him and his wife sat at two open seats.

"Thank you very much, Doctor." Cole took two and handed the bottle to Hope.

Julie placed a plate in front of her dad and said, sarcastically, "I need to make sure we keep our drug dealer happy."

Everybody laughed.

"Your husband?" Hope's dad asked.

"Left already."

"Also, I heard about Professor Blanche leaving after the first day:" Hope's dad added, "Is that right Hope?"

"Yes. I saw her and Professor Petrov heading to the office yesterday. The new instructor Professor Petrov stated that they transferred Professor Blanche to Mars. I tried to find her to say goodbye, but I did not see her. I sent her a message too, although no response yet."

"That is strange," stated Hope's mom. "I've been a teacher since I graduated and schools do not have someone stay through the summer, work one day, then transfer them."

"Yes. That's a good point," Julie said.

"Dr. Bettencourt and his team are too intelligent to allow that scenario to occur. Something is off."

Hope's mom said, "We talked to her last year several times. She was planning on finishing this year, maybe next, and then retire. She wanted to retire on Mars but wasn't sure if it would be ready."

Hope stated, "I'll look into where they transferred her to."

There was no talking, silence, for a few minutes while they ate.

Hope's alarm beeped. "Time to go." She waved it at Cole then muted her alarm.

Hope jumped up and Cole's mom put her oven mitt and apron onto the counter.

"Cole, her alarm!" his mom said and Hope shook her viewer in front of him.

"My fault. I was enjoying this food too much."

Julie said to Hope's parents, "I'm sorry, we need to leave."

"Don't worry about a thing." They rose and hugged Hope. Then they went back to the stove against the wall. "We'll clean up here."

Hope's viewer vibrated and announced, "Call from Skye."

She hoped, self-name jinx, this was Skye telling her this was too difficult, and she was going back home.

"View call."

A hologram of Skye appeared in front of her. She was in the backseat of her limo. "Good Morning Hope and Cole," she winked at Cole. "My dad's gonna roll out the red carpet for Maria, so we need to go in the front entrance. We'll meet you inside."

"Wait. Maria?" Hope asked.

Maria Gonzalez moved closer to Skye, so Hope could see her. She waved.

"Oh, my god! You're here already."

"Hey, Hope." She beamed. "I arrived yesterday and helped carry your unconscious body into the house. You're welcome by the way."

"That is so embarrassing, but thanks."

Cole interrupted, "That's old news. She's here, dating Jacob Hunter. You really need to keep up with your current events."

"Shut up." She pushed him with her foot into the car.
"OK. We'll see you inside."

"End call."

Cole sat in the back seat and massaged his butt. He asked, "Why do you girls keep kicking me around? I'm not some piece of meat. I have feelings, you know."

She ignored him which was best and said, "You've passed your morning allotment for dumb jokes."

She sat next to him and they continued reading, wincing on each bump. She wanted to speak to Cole again alone last night, but last night did not happen and now his mom was in the car. She considered texting, but that was ridiculous and seeing how attractive Skye was, she began doubting it was the right thing to do.

Hope said, "Cole, check this out. The ETFE material is perfect for Mars because it solves several problems. You should read this first and then focus on making the solar cells smaller. That would be a lock if we solved this for them."

He read over her shoulder and said, "Yes. It would."

She had to focus on finishing this book instead. That was the most effective way to motivate her and keep herself focused on what she could control. She concentrated on beating Ansh and seeing the disgust in his eyes when she humiliated him.

Maria and Skye met them in the hallway.

She rushed to Maria, like she was an old friend and embraced her. She was warm, her skin was smooth, and she smelled sweet like cherries. There was something about Maria that made her feel at ease when she was around. "It's an honor to meet you. I love your music."

"... and movies," Cole said.

Cole and Skye hugged.

"I loved your Perfect System journal entry," Maria said, "You made it easy for dumb people like me to understand."

"You're not dumb. We need to hurry, so let's move." Hope pointed toward the class and they started walking. Skye and Cole were in front of her. Maria moved next to Hope.

Skye grabbed Cole's hand and held onto it.

That used to be her. She understood that couples held hands, but seeing it bothered her more than she expected.

Maria waved her hand in Hope's face. "You ok?"

"We used to...," Hope said then refocused on Maria, "Sorry, I have a lot going on."

"Your face just turned redder, which I didn't think was possible."

She wore her feelings on the outside. So, if someone paid attention, they knew what she was thinking.

"Are you jealous?"

Was it that obvious?

"I thought you were best friends."

Hope and Maria slowed down to put a little distance between Cole and Skye.

"We are." She whispered.

"But you do like him?"

"I didn't know that until Skye arrived. Or I did, but we were together, so it wasn't an issue."

Maria's beamed, "Oh yeah. You are totally better for him than Skye. I told her that yesterday."

"Why do you think that?"

"My mom and I have watched the Mars Prep show every day for two years. We've been praying for you two to get together."

Maria put on her million-dollar smile and gestured at the camera in the corner. "Hi, mom."

Hope said to Maria, "I was unaware. I wish I would have met you sooner."

Maria glanced at Hope's Betrothed bracelet on her wrist. "What does Betrothed mean? I always saw you wear it, but I could never read it."

"It's complicated. We'll talk more later."

They had reached the classroom and Hope wanted to focus on that now. They entered the room.

"You can sit next to me," she told Maria.

"Yes!" Maria pumped her arms in the air. Her happiness was contagious. Even though she was mad about Cole, she helped bring herself back to reality.

Maria sat on her right and Cole was on her left with Skye next to him. She felt relieved after discussing Cole with Maria. Hope refocused on beating Ansh.

Hope raised her hands the second class started. "Professor Kain, can you please give more details about the final exam and projects?"

"Yes. We will have two papers and semester exams. My class is only half of your grade. You still need to pass Professor Petrov's tests."

That was right up her alley. Tests and percentages that is where she excelled. Clear and concise goals.

"In addition, this year we are trying to improve the clarity of this membrane." He held the sheet up in the air and used his viewer to shine light though it.

"This film is only thirty percent transparent. You must achieve at least fifty percent. If you do not, you will be placed behind the rest of the class. The person who scores the highest will receive the top grade, and I will curve the rest of the scores based on that."

Professor Kain continued, "You can focus on two small projects and exams or one big project, but you must work in groups of two because when we are on Mars. You will need to work on teams regularly."

Cole said to her, "That's what I want to do. We can do that easily."

"I'd rather study and take exams," she said, arguing. "It's more of a sure thing. The other project is throwing all of our eggs in one basket."

Ansh and another student stood. Ansh stated, "My partner Sai and I look forward to improving the membrane to fifty percent."

Hope grinned at Cole and said, "Fine." Then shifted toward Professor Kain and stated, "Cole and I also want to enter that contest."

They took their seats and she told Cole, "We will beat him, but I will depend on you to do whatever I say." Being the smartest kid made him lazy, yet he always worked best under pressure.

An Asian boy with short black hair and a young woman with long black hair and a pink bow raised their hands. The young woman said, "We also want to attempt that project."

Professor Kain responded, "Yes. Good news. We like competition. And to the rest of the students, you have until the end of the week to decide."

He turned off the lights and displayed an image of a rotating Mars.

"Today's subject will be about para terraforming. Many of us would like to go to Mars and make it like Earth: temperature, atmosphere, etcetera, but that is not possible now. What is possible, is para terraforming. Para terraforming is changing a smaller space, like under a dome. Once we seal off this area then we can make it habitable. Our first dome will be at Tharsis."

He zoomed in to that site and onto the barren brown and reddish surface surrounded by craters.

"The first step we need to accomplish is creating the barrier. I showed you the material yesterday. Does anyone know what it is made of?"

Hope raised her hand before Ansh, "ETFE film."

"Good Miss Anderson. What does ETFE stand for?

"Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene"

"Good Miss Anderson. What are some of its weaknesses?"

She did not know that answer.

Ansh raised his hand with haste, "It is prone to punctures, so it needs to be protected or used for roofs."

They had not mentioned that in the book, so far. She was mad that she was not caught up. Her moment at the top was short-lived. She gazed at Cole, but he stared at Skye. Panic and despair flowed through her. Cole was her support to push harder.

Ansh returned to being the teacher's favorite, answering the rest of the questions until the end of this class. She would need to spend a weekend studying to catch up to Ansh.

She still could not understand, how he became so smart.