Station 2-14: Chapter Nine
Ley faces her mistakes
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Chapter Nine: Tessa
The footage of Ley’s match replays again and again on the screen in the Library. Every angle of her defeat is shown, turning eight seconds into hours of content to be dissected by experts and audience members alike. Voss pours himself a drink while he watches the footage. Ley is curled up in her chair on the corner, peering out over her knees at Avery, waiting for her punishment. She looks on the brink of tears.
Tessa has no doubt that she’s thinking about her mother. Wondering whether or not this is the end of the road. She knows that Ley is powerful but all she sees now is how small she looks.
She wants to get up and give her a hug, to show her the kind of comfort that she prayed for at that age. But she can feel Avery spiralling next to her as she stares into the fire, failing to contain her rage.
There’s no way around it.
Ley lost. They all lied.
Now they must suffer the consequences.
‘You told me you were trained,’ says Pangere.
‘Avery—’ starts Tessa.
‘No, don't Avery me, you lied to me. All of you. We're a joke.’ She makes a point of looking at each of them, noting their averted gaze. Then her eyes settle on Ley. ‘Nothing to say?’
‘I’m sorry. I needed to compete—’ Avery raises a hand, forcing her to be quiet.
‘No, you need to win. You don't get anything if you lose. You should know that. And so far, I have lost all faith that you can.’ Before anyone can stop her, Ley runs from the room.
‘Shit, Avery,’ says Tessa. ‘She's just a kid.’
‘It's no excuse.’
‘Oh, come on. It's double elimination, right?’ Says Voss. ‘So she has another shot. All she has to do is not lose again.’
‘And you think you can train her before her next match?’ She scoffs.
‘Course we can,’ Says Voss. ’Besides, everyone knows she's got eight bands - so her losing is the best thing that could have happened. People were expecting great things and now she's lost.’
‘So no one knows what to expect,’ says Tessa.
‘Exactly,’ says Voss. ‘We can use this to our advantage.’
‘I don't like being lied to,’ says Avery with a sneer.
’And I don't like not getting paid,’ says Voss, pouring himself another drink. ‘So don't worry, she'll win - right, Tess?’
‘Right.’
Tessa leaves Voss to do the talking, knowing that it’s what he does best. She wouldn’t be surprised if he somehow convinced her that this was all their big plan to begin with. But Tessa wanted nothing to do with that. She was more concerned about Ley.
She finds her room empty and when she checks on her mother, she sees that she’s sleeping alone. Ley is nowhere to be found. The penthouse might be large but there was only so many places that she could go.
One by one she checks each room looking for Ley until there’s only one place left for her to go.
Tessa opens the door to the roof and finds Ley sitting right by the edge and looking out over the station. She sits down next to her and relaxes into the quiet, waiting for Ley to talk. The lights of the station stretch out into the distance with the dark of the desert beyond. But at this height, she could almost convince herself that they were completely alone in the world.
‘I guess I should start packing my stuff,’ says Ley.
‘Oh, please,’ says Tessa. ‘You're fine. Avery's just pissed because she looked stupid for a second - maybe even for the first time in her life. But she'll get over it. We just have to do better next time.’
‘That was the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me.’
‘I'm not surprised.’
‘What?’ Tears glisten her eyes but Tessa can’t help but laugh.
‘Ley - you were pushed across the boundary line by a puff of air.’
‘How was I was supposed to know he could do that?’
‘I know, I know. And he's been training for months - he knows how to win this thing.’
‘I don’t - I lost.’
‘So what? It’s double elimination, you know this. You get another chance. Sure no one has lost their first match so quickly before. And now you’re leading the losing rank. But, so what? All you have to do now is win you're way back to the finals and beat this thing. I mean, those bands on your arms don’t mean anything once the match starts. It's all just up to you and how you use it.’
‘But that’s just it. I don't know how. I thought I could beat you and I lost and then I thought I could win against him but I didn’t even get the chance!’
‘It’s okay,’ she says. ‘That's why we’re here. I can help you with your control and Voss is going to go the other games and work out a strategy.’
‘No offence, but I don't think that's going to help me.’
‘Don't underestimate him. He taught me.’
‘You listened to him?’
‘Ish… But he did know how to play to my strengths - he was the one who taught me the Trucker's Hitch. He just has a unique way of going about things. It’s going to be okay, we all want you to win.’
‘I guess I don’t have much of a choice.’
‘Nope,’ says Tessa with a smile. ‘We’re it. Look, you may have dragged me into this and we may have been wildly unprepared. But we’re here now and the three of us are going to win this thing.’ Tessa gets up and offers her hand to Ley. ‘Come on, let’s get to work.’
