"Are there no beaches on this backward, benighted planet?" Asu demanded sometime later. Her stuff was mostly unboxed now; the joint room was awash in things, as was every available flat surface in the bunk room and most of the floor. She looked tired and sounded tireder, with a side helping of torqued off.

Theo, who was tired herself and not feeling exactly calm, couldn't work up much sympathy for her, especially since she'd seen the taller girl eying Theo's extra space.

"That," she'd said, pointing at her shelves and built-ins, "is my storage. Yours is down below."

"There is less down below!"

"There's exactly the same amount of storage space for high bunk and low," Chelly said grumpily from the doorway. He shook his head in, as Theo read it, equal parts amazement and disgust. "What's with the beach? You thinking you earned a vacation?"

Asu turned her back on him. "I am thinking that Jondeer's picture was taken at the beach, and that he is garbed appropriately," she said icily. "Surely even the youngest student here has been to the beach."

"If it was a picture of the beach with a guy in it, that maybe would've passed," Chelly said, and it sounded as if he really was trying to explain the problem. "This is a picture of a guy that happens to have some beach in it. Whole different perspective."

Theo snorted, and Chelly turned his head to glare up at her.

"You wanna finish out the course, you better lose some of that attitude, Waitley."

This from a guy who'd been making her life miserable for the last—Theo sat up, face hot. "What's the matter with my attitude?"

"That's what!" he yelled. "You think nobody noticed you daring Wil to come dancing, there at baggage? You think maybe you don't already have a note by your name that you got aggression problems?"