“Zed, wake up, it’s time to get some breakfast. You’ve got a lot of schoolwork to catch up on today. In the med bay, of course. Where I can keep an eye on you.”

  Ana Marsh said all of this as if she were having an actual conversation when, in fact, she had simply barged into Zed’s room without so much as a knock and left as soon as the words were out of her mouth.

  Zed was only half awake and not even sure if he was just having another nightmare or not.

  “Coming,” Zed mumbled to the already closed door.

  This is going to be—well—it's going to be a day, Zed thought.

  One thing was for sure: he was not looking forward to the stares and whispers that being the lone delinquent teen was sure to bring him in the mess hall. The sooner that was done and over with, the better.

  Zed swung his legs out of bed and dropped them onto the floor, forgetting that one of his feet was covered in a gel boot.

  “Oh, ow ow ooow!” Zed inhaled, nearly choking on an involuntary gasp.

  Yeah, this morning is off to a great start.

  ***

  Entering the mess hall, Zed’s worst fear was confirmed. It was a full breakfast crowd, and the moment he entered, he could feel a lull in the conversation followed by a flurry of whispered exchanges.

  He kept his eyes on the floor in front of him as he used his cane to hobble to the food dispensers. He counted himself lucky that if he had to have a busted ankle, at least he didn’t have to deal with Earth gravity. He would have needed crutches or a walker on Earth. Here, a cane was enough to keep him from putting too much weight on his bum leg.

  Zed could have asked his parents about each of the food options that morning, but he didn’t want to acknowledge how helpless he was without his CIG, so he chose one at random with a youthful confidence he certainly wasn’t feeling. Out came a bowl of cinnamon porridge. He was hoping for pancakes, but hey, it wasn’t the potatoes.

  Zed sat down across from his parents and turned his full attention to his painfully hot porridge. He did his best to avoid eye contact with either his mother or father, but risking a glance, he could tell from the look on his mother’s face that avoidance wasn’t going to save him today.

  Zed realized he was going to regret his confident breakfast choice. His mother wanted to see him wallow in regret and suffering. If he didn’t give her that, she would only double down on his current punishments.

  Ana Marsh’s jaw was working as if she were building up to whatever she was about to unleash. Her mouth opened to speak, but before any words could launch themselves in Zed’s direction, the PA system sprang to life.

  Up until that moment, Zed hadn’t even realized the colony had a PA system. With everything being so CIG-dependent, regular speakers in the corner of the room felt incredibly analog.

  I guess even the most high-tech systems need a good old-fashioned emergency system, Zed thought.

  “Attention, citizens of Inauguration,” said the voice of Commander Thabisa Jones.

  Everyone else must have been as surprised as Zed because the bustling room froze as a hush fell over the crowd.

  The Commander continued, “As I’m sure many of you are aware, our resident teenager, Zed Marsh, took a little…” Commander Jones paused as if flipping through a list of diplomatic words. “Took a little excursion into the crater cave. While the circumstances of that excursion weren’t exactly by the book, the samples Zed returned with were of great interest. Over the last several days, these samples have been the subject of intense scrutiny. While there is still a great deal of work and research to be done, we have been able to definitively confirm at least one thing.”

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  Zed realized he was holding his breath. He could sense that everyone else in the mess hall was doing the same.

  “We can confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt that these samples are native to Mars, and they are alive.”

  The mess hall erupted in cheers. Zed saw a few people get porridge knocked into their laps as colonists jumped out of their seats, fists pumping in the air. The people near Zed began to clap him on the back, and a few even asked to shake his hand.

  Zed found himself carried along by the excitement. He had been so focused on the personal consequences of his adventure that he’d almost forgotten that he had actually succeeded, even if it was in less than ideal way. It had paid off! Life! Earth couldn’t possibly sideline Mars now. If he was lucky, maybe he wouldn’t have to spend the next few years alone with no hope of anyone his own age stepping off an arriving lander. Did that seem like a small thing in light of life from another world? Maybe, but for Zed, it was everything.

  Well, maybe not everything. Being at the center of this much excitement wasn’t so bad. Zed smiled as he shook a few more hands. It felt good to feel like a part of Naug, like he was one of them instead of just that annoying teenager who was tolerated.

  And then Zed made the mistake of looking at his parents. It was clear that pats on the back were not a part of the penance that Ana Marsh was seeking for him. And if she wasn’t happy, Ed Marsh generally followed suit.

  Oh boy, Zed thought. This isn't going to end well.

  Ana made her way around the table, grabbing Zed sharply by the elbow, and began to escort him out of the mess. She maintained a polite, plastered-on smile as she did so, giving the impression to all the world that, yes, she too was overjoyed by this discovery but really must be going now.

  Zed had just enough time to grab his cane and keep pace as his mother’s fingernails dug into his skin. As soon as they were out of sight and earshot, his mother spun on her heel to face him.

  “Well, wasn’t that nice for you. I’m not sure why I’m the only one who doesn’t think it’s appropriate to praise a teenage boy for nearly getting himself killed, wasting colony resources on a rescue, and shaming his family, but what do I know? One thing’s for sure, though: I’m nipping this in the bud.”

  Ana handed Zed his bowl of porridge that she must have grabbed on the way out.

  “You can finish this back in our quarters, minus all the fanfare. When I’m done, I’ll collect you to start your school day in the med bay. Is that understood?”

  Without waiting for a reply, she turned and headed back to the mess hall.

  Zed just stood there holding the bowl of porridge. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to feel, but boy was he feeling a whole lot. The one overriding emotion, however, seemed to be anger.

  He knew he’d messed up, but it had worked out, hadn’t it? Kids his age back on Earth did stupid stuff all the time that risked their lives. The difference was his risk had resulted in the discovery of alien life. His parents couldn’t ignore that forever, right?

  Zed shook his head. If his mother had her way, he’d spend the foreseeable future even more isolated than he already was. Something shifted in Zed at that moment. With the excited voices of the crowd in the mess hall still ringing in his ears, he marched down the corridor, but not toward his quarters.

  When he’d planned to go to the cave, it hadn’t actually been out of any sense of rebellion, but rather desperation. He’d been desperate to give meaning to his time on Mars, desperate to save the colony’s image, and at least try for a chance at having friends his own age again.

  But if delinquent was all anyone saw in him, then why not give them the real thing?

  Turning the corner, Zed found himself at the entrance to the suit shop. He walked in without hesitation, relieved to find the space empty. With breakfast wrapping up, it wouldn’t be for long.

  He scanned the workbenches and racks where turtle suits hung and lay in various states of disassembly and repair. He identified the one he’d worn in the cave quickly enough. It was the only one with the outer suit layer all torn up at the ankle.

  Zed felt his own ankle twinge at the grisly reminder of the pain he’d endured. Pushing the feeling aside, he made his way to the suit and shoved his hand into the side pocket. He felt his fingers wrap around the lone sample container and grinned.

  He now had everything he needed for the most epic act of teenage rebellion this planet had ever seen.