The morning of Earth Rise Day, Zed came awake with a start. There was knocking on his bedroom door. That was unusual. Usually, his parents headed out for the day before he had a chance to get up.

  “Zed, hurry up and get ready. We’ve been invited to breakfast with some people before the race. Do not make us late.” Ana Marsh rattled this off as if it were one constant sentence.

  Zed had almost forgotten what a relentlessly energetic person his mother was in the mornings. It was more than a little hard to take some days, but particularly today. He was in no mood to plaster on the smile that was required to satisfy his mother during a social engagement. To make things worse, he didn’t think the odds were great that, after everything, his parents would agree to let him compete in the race anymore. At this point, he’d just as soon avoid direct disappointment.

  Zed rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands until he saw stars. He wondered if Miranda and George were looking out at the stars right now. He shook his head and pulled himself upright in bed. Maybe burying himself in the distraction of a painful social engagement was for the best.

  Hanging out in his own head certainly wasn’t a place Zed wanted to be right now.

  ***

  “Koshenya!”

  Zed’s eyes darted around the mess, looking for the familiar source of his pet name. His gaze stopped on the enthusiastic, waving figure seated a few tables away. Alina and Janice sat opposite each other, enjoying a pre-race breakfast.

  To Zed’s surprise, his parents made their way straight for them. He scrambled to catch up.

  Alina gestured for him to sit next to her. “I've got to keep my eye on the competition.”

  He tried to smile. “I’m not racing, actually.”

  “What? Come on, Zed. Surely I didn’t scare you off so easily?”

  “No, it’s just—” Zed glanced at his parents.

  Alina winked at him. “Ah, I see. Mrs. Marsh, did Zed go and get himself grounded again?” Alina asked, her voice like syrup.

  “Well, technically no, but—” Ana sputtered.

  “I see, so your boy is trying to chicken out on the big day!” Alina said with a disapproving head shake directed at Ed Marsh.

  “Well, of course not—” Ed sputtered.

  He opened his mouth again to say more, but Alina had what she needed.

  “Perfect! That’s such good news. I was so looking forward to racing with Zed. I think he might be the only other person out there who can give me a run for my precious cargo space since Jonah isn’t racing this year.”

  Ana just nodded, trying to catch up with what had just happened. Alina had just made her agree to something she hadn’t intended to. Zed knew how much his mother hated being upstaged, and he loved Alina for managing it.

  He could see his mother trying to come up with a way to revoke her permission without losing face, so he decided to keep the ball rolling.

  “I may be the noob, but I think I’ve got a decent shot at beating you, Alina. Janice has taught me more than a few tricks you’d better watch out for.”

  Janice smiled. She’d been silent up to this point, content to watch Alina drive the conversation. Zed had no doubt they’d come up with this scheme together, and he was grateful.

  He thought he didn’t care if he raced or not, but now that the possibility was back on the table, he knew he wanted it. More than that, he realized he needed it. He was desperate for a distraction and a win.

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  “Alright, alright,” Zed said. “I’ll go ahead with it since Mom and Dad are okay with it, but don’t blame me when I overtake you and win it all.”

  “Win it all, huh? You’re just going to zip past me, little koshenya?”

  Alina feigned offense, her hand on her heart.

  Before Zed could answer, his mother leaned over and said, “Oh, I don’t think Zed is really out to win. He’s never been the competing type. It’s more that he's just trying to be a part of the excitement, right, Zed?”

  Zed wasn’t surprised by the comment, but in front of Janice and Alina, he felt blood rushing to his face.

  “Mom, why would I enter a race without trying to win it?” Zed replied. He was trying to keep his voice even but could feel himself losing the battle.

  “Oh, don’t be silly. I mean, look at Alina. She’s strong, intelligent, and has been in real races before. I’m just afraid you’re setting yourself up for disappointment if you don’t look at this realistically.”

  Ed Marsh squirmed a little in the silence that followed. Zed said nothing. He stared at the table, hoping his mother would drop it. Assuming the matter was settled and the argument won, Ana returned to her meal.

  Zed had learned a long time ago that there was no point in arguing in his family. You just did whatever it took to exit impossible conversations as quickly as you could.

  Looking up, Zed saw Janice staring at him. She seemed uncomfortable. A glance at Alina’s face showed a very different reaction. Alina was still smiling, but Zed was pretty sure there was something far more fierce in her eyes. Thankfully, his mother didn’t notice or didn’t care.

  Janice devoured the rest of her food as if it were her last chance to eat that week, picked up her tray, and stood.

  She gave Alina a little tap on the shoulder and said, “Well, I’m sure everyone has things to do to get ready for the day. I’ll see you all at the race.”

  Alina cleared her throat and mumbled a similar excuse before taking her leave as well.

  Zed finished his breakfast in silence. He tried to avoid eye contact with his family or anyone else, for that matter. His mind wandered to the race. He tried to think back over the course he, Miranda, and George had walked with Alina. It felt like a lifetime ago now, but it had only been a matter of weeks.

  Ana and Ed stood and picked up their trays.

  “I guess we’ll see you at the race, Zed. Try not to crash, alright?” Ana said over her shoulder.

  Zed gave her a forced smile.

  I hope I can even remember how to drive a Chariot, Zed thought. Well, if you’re going to enter a race driving crazy, high-stepping vehicles on an alien planet, why not just wing it, right?

  Zed gave an involuntary snort at this thought.

  “You know, lad, they say that laughing at jokes in your head is a sign of genius.”

  Turning with a start, Zed looked up into the wide face of Ethan Johns. Somehow, the big man had managed to slide onto the bench next to him without making a sound.

  “I hear that you’re competing in the big race today. Planning to bring some contraband from

  Earth?” Johns said with a sly grin. He lowered his voice. “A cubic foot of cigarettes could make you the king of Mars.”

  Johns burst into a chest-rattling laugh at the shocked expression on Zed’s face.

  “I’m just giving ya a hard time, Zed. If you tried to light up a cigarette in Naug, you’d set off so many alarms that it’d deafen you before you could take your first sweet puff. Doesn’t mean I don’t dream of it, though,” he said with a wistful sigh.

  “At this point, I think surviving the race will be about as much as I can hope for,” Zed said with an unconscious glance at his mother.

  Johns cocked his head. “Giving up before the race has even begun? Is that your strategy, Zed?”

  Zed straightened.

  “I didn’t say that. Just trying to be realistic, that’s all.” He hated hearing himself repeat his mother’s words. Apparently, they had sunk in.

  Johns glanced over at Zed's parents and then back at Zed, his expression a mask of incredulity.

  “Uh-huh,” he said flatly. “Zed, my boy, we live on a planet millions of miles from the one we started on, in a town printed by robots in a crater made millions of years ago. None of that sounds terribly realistic, so I see little reason to start worrying about that now.”

  “I’m not sure what that has to do with winning a race.” Zed understood perfectly well what Johns was trying to get at, but his mother wasn’t the only one who could be hard-headed, so he doubled down.

  Zed thought Johns might get frustrated with his defensive response, but saw his eyes soften instead.

  “What I mean to say is, don’t let the possibility of failure keep you from making the impossible real, boy. The people who brought this dream to life certainly didn’t. And make no mistake, the creation of this place involved a lot of failure. So whether you get out there and win, or Alina leaves you in the Martian dust, have a little humility and don’t pretend you’re owed a win just because you decided to try.”

  Even Zed’s teenage pride couldn’t muster a snarky response to that. He had missed the big man.

  “Soooo, any race tips? You must have watched a few of these.”

  Johns smiled. “I think people who have spent many years on Earth tend to underestimate what you can do in a one-third gravity environment. Take advantage of that.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Zed said. “I’ve been working on my fancy footwork.”

  Johns nodded and stood. “It should be a day to remember, Zed.”