He said there was nothing he could do about the demerit, but he suggested that declaring regret for my actions to my teammates would go a long way tow...rd restoring my status as a valued team-player. I agreed to do it at practice that day.What was I thinking? I had never apologized to anyone before. Saying I was sorry to thirty-nine fellow players and three coaches would be the hardest thing I had ever done, especially since I was not really sorry. I needed help...At lunch I passed a note to. What’s yours?”“My name was assigned by those our ship trained in earlier attempts to build a crew. We were named based on our ranking. I’m Al, short for Albert, but Al is also short for Alpha, the first letter of our alphabet.”“I asked your name, not the minutia of your immaterial existence. Is your species unable to follow a logical discussion, concentrate on the topic presented, or focus on life and death decisions?”As Quichoq switched between friendly banter, insults and belittling. If any answer was forthcoming, Ellie didn’t have the time to wait for it, because as she turned her head she saw Audrey coming in the door. She waved to get her attention and, as the teacher worked her way through the crowd, the salesgirl quickly finished what was left of her beer.“I didn’t think this place would be so packed this early,” Audrey said as she squeezed into the space next to Ellie at the bar. “Normally it doesn’t get crowded until about eight, but I passed their competition a. Before taking a shower, Lucy opened the blind on a bedroom window that looked out on some thick bushes. Nick told Lucy that he was going to arrange for a few of his friends to join him “spying on” Lucy. Of course, Lucy knew the boys would be there, and Nick knew that Lucy knew. But the other boys thought they were secretly peeking in her window. Lucy took a long shower and was aroused thinking about what she was going to do. She got out of the shower, toweled her hair, and headed to her room.