"Change of plans, they need each other."

"What?"

"Vlara and Ender, they need each other. She needs to be absolutely loyal to him. She needs to be his best friend."

"Why should we let that happen? If they're meant to grow, they need isolation, not friends."

"But we don't want to break the boy."

"It was you who said they needed to be separated, and I agree now."

"We could just let them be and let them develop a relationship on their own."

"Oh, but where's the fun in that?"

____________________________________________________________________________

Dinner seemed to go on forever. Vlara found a spot next to a few of the older boys, though they just ignored her, except for when they demanded that she give them some of her food. She didn't mind, she hadn't expected anyone to talk to her anyways. As for the food, she had learned to get by with much less than what the boys left for her. She had intended to sit by Ender, but she realized that them being seen together would've made them both a bigger target.

She spent the free hours between dinner and bed studying the Desks they had been given. It was obvious that the kids were meant to break into each others files. The security systems were barely strong enough to maybe keep uneducated children from breaking into them. But Vlara had no interest in any of the other kids. She set up a stronger security system for herself so no one got in and trashed her files, but then she spent the rest of the time trying to see what the teachers were doing with her and Ender without triggering some kind of alarm that would notify the adults of what she was doing. She got no where. The I.F. took a great deal of care in trying to avoid anyone getting into the files, even genius children.

After lights out, she remained awake, disturbed by the sounds of crying that filled the room. She wondered what it was like to miss home, and to have a family that loved you that you would cry for. She never had that. Her father didn't want a child to love and care for, he wanted a son to be in the military. From the moment she was born, Vlara wasn't his daughter, she was his son that would be either sent to battle school, or she had no purpose to him.

So as the other boys cried for their parents, Vlara was nothing but grateful to her father, for preparing her for this, and she cried, not because she missed home, but because she was scared. Everything rested on her being what she was raised to be, a soldier. She would follow orders, no matter the cost, but when she was left to decide what to do by herself, she would be extraordinary.

A few minutes after lights out, Dap came in to the room, walking slowly from bunk to bunk, comforting the kids, although his soft gestures only made them cry harder. When he finally reached her and Ender's bunk, she flinched away from him, and stopped her crying. She didn't mean to, because she really did trust Dap, but it was automatic. Soldiers don't cry, soldiers aren't scared. But she did cry, and she was terrified, but none of that could show.

Dap stayed by her bed a bit longer than he had any of the others. He brushed back her hair, which she hadn't gotten a chance to cut short before she left, away from her face. She tried to force herself not to flinch, but she did anyways, and Dap gave up, letting out a small sigh before leaning down to check on Ender, who she hadn't heard cry at all. Then finally, after an hour of staring at the dull ceiling in the room, she fell asleep.

They were introduced to the Game Room the next day. Vlara had never really cared for games, considering how simplistic they had been back home, but here, they were different. The games the older boys played where strategic and complex. Though whenever she got close to one, she was shoved out of the way.

Finally she made it to the controls of a game, but before she could start, she was grabbed by the collar of her uniform and pulled back.

"Ya know, I heard we got a new set of buggers on board, but I didn't know they were bringing a pansy along. Thought they would've learned after Arkainian that girlies don't belong here" An older boy said. He was wearing a dark green uniform trimmed with orange, with the symbol of a salamander embellished on the front of it.

"Oh shut up Kitty, I could whoop your ass and you know it." A voice said from behind the boy.

"All you are is a sharpshooter Petra, take away your gun, you ain't any better than the rest of us."

The girl he had called Petra stepped into view, wearing the same uniform he was. Vlara decided that the uniforms represented the teams, or armies as the older kids called them, and the symbols corresponded with the names that were up on the huge scoreboard in the Mess Hall.

"I woulda thought that with the rankings Salamander's got, you'd have more to do than sit around and pick on the new kids all day." Vlara said, mimicking the care free way of speaking that the kids carried.

"Looks like Lady Doll's got a voice!" Kitty said, laughing.

"What's your name kid?" Petra asked.

"I'm Vlara." She replied.

"That's not a name" Kitty said

"And Kitty is?"

"His name's not Kitty, It's Lenny Catinol, but we've been calling him Kitty since we were launchies. A bit of an inside joke, eh?" Petra said. Vlara nodded. "Look, kid, a bit of advice, spend any free time you have in either the battle room or here. School's important and all, but if you're planning on being a commander, the adults couldn't care less how quickly you can find the value of x."

Vlara nodded again. Petra and Kitty left her, halfheartedly promising to keep an eye out for her. She played the game. It was a strategic challenge where you play as an animated rat hiding from a cat underneath furniture. Each round, the cat would search a seemingly random piece of furniture, and if you were under it, you died. After a while though, Vlara noticed the pattern, as odd as it was, it was there, and when she found it, it didn't take long for her to win the game. One of the older boys behind her noticed that she had won.

"Not fair, I've played that game hundreds of times, and it lets a damn launchy win the first time she plays?" The boy asked. Vlara shrugged and made her way out of the game room, even though there was still quite a bit of free time left before classes started. Instead, she want back to the Launchie'' room, following the strip of colors.

The room was empty. All of the boys were still in the game room. She signed on to her desk, surprised to see the words MAIL WAITING marching around her screen. Assuming it was from someone inside the Battle School, she opened it. Instead, it was short, no more than a sentance long, and it made her afraid, happy, and sad all at the same time.

Dear Vlara,

I'm so sorry.

Love,

Your father, Harry Pall.

Vlara read the note over and over again. It was halfhearted and so obviously fake, but it was there: the words she's always wanted to hear. He had said he was sorry, he called himself her father, he signed it with "love". She knew it wasn't him. There was no way it could be. In fact, it was laughable how hasty it was. Maybe it was Dap's idea, maybe it was some elaborate plot they had that would turn her into the soldier they wanted. She didn't care. It didn't matter that it wasn't real, because it was the closest thing she was going to get, and she needed it more than she'd like to admit.

She curled up on her bunk and cried for the second time in under 12 hours. She barely even noticed when someone else walked into the room, nor did she care when they climbed up halfway onto her bunk.

"Vlara?" A voice asked.

She looked up. Ender was there, standing on top of his bed so he could see her. She wiped away a tear with her sleeve and looked at him.

"Hey," She said in a half whisper.

"I got... bored with the Game Room and decided to come back and try out that fantasy game they have on our desks... What's wrong?" He asked.

"I got a letter from my father." She replied, moving so she was sitting on the edge of her bunk. Ender pulled himself up and sat next to her.

"What'd it say?"

"Doesn't matter. You'd better stop talking to me before someone else comes in." She said, grabbing her desk again, erasing the letter. Ender nodded, he understood what she meant. They were the two least liked people in the launch, and them being seen talking and becoming friends would only make things worse. He slid off of her bunk, and sat on his own for a moment, his desk in his hands, but not turned on yet.

He set it down again and stood up, looking at her. Something about the way she looked, almost relieved and happy, reminded him of how he must've looked just before the launch.

"I, uh, have a brother back home. He used to torture my sister and I. He always acted like he hated me, but all I wanted was to know that he loved me. The night after they took my monitor out, and I thought they didn't want me, he came into my room when he thought I was asleep, and he cried for me. He said he was sorry for the things he did to me, and he said he really did love me. And I cried, just like you were, so I thought..." Ender said.

Vlara bit her lip and nodded slowly, not daring to look at him. She didn't say anything, and pretended to focus on the Fantasy Game. Ender sighed and sat back down on his bed, finally signing into his desk as the rest of the kids slowly began returning to the room.

After Dap alerted Colonel Graff and Major Anderson of Vlara's behavior, they contacted her father to write a letter for them, a letter that would make Vlara forgive him, and make sure that she didn't break. When he refused, Graff wrote one on his own and sent it under the father's name, but also made sure to send it when he knew Ender would be alone with her. He needed to see how they would react together. He needed to be sure that Vlara and Ender would be friends, but in a very orchestrated way.