Juli didn't sleep that night.
He stared at the ceiling of his pod. His eyes were still puffy from crying. His chest hurt. Not from the fight. From the crushing weight of failure.
No qualifiers. No tournament. No chance.
He rolled over and punched his pillow.
"Stupid Vela. Stupid rules. Stupid cat boy."
Morning came too fast. Juli dragged himself out of bed and headed to the mess hall. Kade was already there, sitting alone at a table with his head down. His ears were flat against his head. He looked miserable.
Juli sat down across from him.
They stared at each other.
"This sucks," Juli said.
"Yeah," Kade said.
Silence.
Then Pam sat down between them. She set her tray down and took a sip of her drink.
"You two done moping?"
"We're barred from the qualifiers, Pam!" Juli shouted. "How are we supposed to not mope?!"
"By finding another way in," she said simply.
Juli and Kade both perked up.
"Another way?" Kade said.
"There's always another way. You just have to figure it out."
Juli leaned forward. "How?! Tell us!"
Pam shrugged. "I don't know. You're the ones who got yourselves into this mess."
"But you're smart!" Juli said. "You know stuff!"
"I know you're both idiots."
Kade groaned and slumped back in his chair. "We're doomed."
"Wait," Juli said, snapping his fingers. "What if we sneak into the qualifiers?"
"They'll catch you immediately," Pam said.
"What if we disguise ourselves?"
"You're blonde and loud. Kade has stripes and a tail. How are you going to disguise that?"
Kade's ears perked up. "What if we bribe someone?"
"With what money?" Pam said flatly.
"Okay, okay," Juli said, pacing now. "What if we... uh... what if we..."
Kade grinned. "I got it. What if we challenge Vela to a fight? If we win, we get back in."
Juli's eyes lit up. "That's genius!"
"That's suicide," Pam said.
"No, wait, hear me out," Kade said. "We team up. Two on one. She's tough, but if we work together—"
"She'll flatten you both in three seconds," Pam interrupted.
Juli deflated. "Okay, fine. Bad idea."
They sat in silence again. Then Kade leaned forward with a sly grin.
"I heard there's a secret entrance exam. If you pass it, you get automatic entry."
Juli gasped. "Really?!"
Pam sighed. "There's no secret exam, Kade."
"Yes there is! I heard some upperclassmen talking about it!"
"You're lying."
"I'm not!"
Juli was already standing. "Where is it?! Tell me!"
Pam reached out and grabbed his arm. "Juli. He's lying."
Kade burst out laughing. "Your face! You believed me so fast!"
Juli's eye twitched. "You bastard."
"Okay, okay," Kade said, wiping a tear from his eye. "But seriously. What if we... uh... what if we ask nicely?"
"You mean beg," Pam said.
"I don't beg," Kade said.
"You were literally crying last night," Pam pointed out.
Kade's face turned red. "That was different!"
Pam set her cup down and turned toward them. Her silver eyes stared forward. "If you want back in, you need to make up for what you did. Talk to the instructors. Apologize. Prove you're serious."
Juli crossed his arms. "I'm not apologizing."
"Then enjoy scrubbing floors during the tournament."
Juli groaned. "Fine. We'll talk to them."
Talking to the instructors turned out to be harder than expected.
Instructor Vela was always busy. Always moving. Juli and Kade spent the entire morning following her around the academy like lost puppies.
"Instructor Vela!" Juli called out.
She didn't stop walking. "No."
"But we didn't even ask yet!"
"The answer is still no."
Kade jogged to catch up. "Please! Just give us a chance!"
"You had your chance. You blew it."
She turned a corner. They followed.
"We'll do anything!" Juli said.
"Anything?" Vela stopped and turned. Her yellow eyes gleamed. "Fine. Clean the sparring hall. Every inch. By tonight."
Juli and Kade exchanged a look.
"Deal!" they said in unison.
The sparring hall was a disaster. Scorch marks on the walls. Dents in the floor. Equipment scattered everywhere. It looked like a war zone.
Juli stared at it. "This is gonna take forever."
"Stop complaining and start cleaning," Kade said, grabbing a mop.
They worked in silence for a while. Then Juli spoke.
"You know, you're not that bad. For a cat."
Kade smirked. "You're not that annoying. For a loud blonde idiot."
"I'm not loud!"
"You're literally shouting right now."
Juli threw a sponge at him. Kade caught it and threw it back. They both laughed.
By the time they finished, it was late. The sparring hall gleamed. Every surface was spotless.
Vela inspected their work. She nodded. "Acceptable."
"So can we—"
"No."
Juli's jaw dropped. "What?! But we did what you asked!"
"And now you'll do more. Report to Instructor Carn tomorrow morning. He needs help in the armory."
The next three days were hell.
They helped Instructor Carn organize weapons. They assisted Instructor Helia with maintenance on the training bots. They even scrubbed the cafeteria floors after lunch.
Every time they finished a task, they asked. Every time, the answer was no.
On the fourth day, they cornered Vela outside her office. Both of them dropped to their knees.
"Please!" Juli begged, hands clasped together. "We'll do anything! We've worked so hard!"
"We're sorry!" Kade added, also on his knees. "We messed up! Just give us one more chance!"
They looked pathetic. Like two impoverished children begging for scraps.
Vela stared down at them. Her shell ridge twitched. Was she... amused?
"Get up. Both of you."
They scrambled to their feet.
Vela crossed her arms. "I'll consider letting you back in. On one condition."
Juli's heart raced. "What condition?!"
"There's a problem at the academy. A thief."
Juli froze. His blood went cold. The uniform. The storage room. Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no.
She knows. She definitely knows.
Kade noticed Juli's expression. "You okay? You look like you're gonna pass out."
"I'm fine!" Juli squeaked.
Vela continued. "Someone has been accessing restricted areas and attempting to steal confidential data. We don't know who the thief is or what they're after. But we believe they're planning to sell the data to an enemy faction or the black market. If you two can find the thief and stop them, I'll let you compete in the qualifiers."
Juli let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Not about the uniforms. Okay. Okay. He was safe.
Kade stepped forward. "What kind of data are they after?"
"That's classified. You don't need to know. Your job is to find them and report back to me. Understand?"
"Yes, Instructor!" they both said.
Vela turned to leave, then paused. "And Weiper?"
Juli stiffened. "Yes?"
"Stay out of the storage room."
His face went white. Kade burst out laughing.
Later that evening, Juli and Kade stood outside the dorms. The sun was setting. The academy grounds were quiet.
Kade held out his hand. "Truce? Just for the mission."
Juli stared at the hand. Then at Kade. Then back at the hand.
"Fine. But only because I have to."
"Same here."
They shook hands. It was the most reluctant handshake in history. Their grips were weak. Their faces were disgusted. Neither of them wanted to touch the other.
"This feels wrong," Juli said.
"So wrong," Kade agreed.
They let go and immediately wiped their hands on their pants.
"Okay," Juli said. "Let's catch this thief and get back into the qualifiers."
Kade grinned. "And then I'm gonna kick your head in at the tournament."
Juli's eyes blazed. "Not if I kick YOUR head in first!"
They glared at each other. Then they both started laughing.
Pam walked past them, shaking her head.
"Idiots," she muttered.