I wasn’t sure how this was possible—I’d guessed on so many of the questions—but this was it. I’d saved myself. I’d bought time. This was everything.

“You said no one ever passes, so how did I score so high?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never even seen anyone pass it. Been here for two years. And you did it fast, too. Time to spare, even with the time I took off the top. I don’t know where you got your education, but it’s a good one.”

I closed my eyes. I’d been homeschooled since I got to Albuquerque. It’d been too dangerous to let me go to school. Jorge helped Mom get the books that she requested, and she pushed me to go beyond the minimum. To learn everything I could.

Thank you, Jorge. Thank you, Mom. You guys just saved my ass big time.

I gave the man a hug, nearly toppling him over. “Thank you!”

He laughed awkwardly and patted me on the back. “I didn’t do anything, kid.”

I stepped back, holding his shoulders as he got his balance. “You let me take the test even though I was late.”

“You’ll still need approval from Carl Millander before you can officially transfer. He says no, I still get my dessert.”

“Mister, you can have all the dessert you want. I’ll even put in a good word with Della for more.” Right then that frustrating old fart could ask me for anything, and I’d probably give it to him.

“You’d really—”

A throat cleared, and I turned to find a red-haired SpaceTech officer next to a back entrance to the simulation room. His medals glinted in the light, and the way he was pinching his lips together and narrowing his eyes meant that he was pissed. I didn’t recognize him, but I knew this had to be one of Jason’s guys.

I spun on my heel and started running. Nothing and no one was going to take this away from me. I might be stuck on this godawful planet for now, but I was fixing this completely shitty situation.

My eyes burned and the smile made my cheeks ache. I wanted to cry because I had real hope.

This was it. This was my break. My big win.

For the first time in what felt like eons, I had hope. I had a real, shiny hope burning deep in my soul, and I wasn’t about to let anything or anyone mess that up.

Chapter Thirty

I raced through the hallways to the med unit so fast that it felt like I was floating in Zero-G. My heart pounded, and it wasn’t because I was running. It was because I had hope. Shiny, sparkly, golden hope. Almost enough to wash away the horror of that stupid suit.