page19 (1/2)

"Not a bad name here Ender Finisher Hey"

"Hope so"

"Ender, you the bugger in your launch?"

Ender shrugged

"I noticed you eating all alone Every launch has one like that Kid that nobody takes to right away Sometimes I think the teachers do it on pur-pose The teachers aren't very nice You'll notice that"

"Yeah"

"So you the bugger?"

"I guess so"

"Hey Nothing to cry about, you know?" He gave Ender his roll, and took Ender's pudding "Eat nutritious stuff It'll keep you strong" Mick dug into the pudding

"What about you?" asked Ender

"Me? I' I'm always there, but most of the time nobody knows it"

Ender smiled tentatively

"Yeah, funny, but no joke I got nowhere here I' to send me to my next school pretty soon No way it'll be Tactical School for et to be leaders have a shot at it"

"How do you get to be a leader?"

"Hey, if I knew, you think I'd be like this? How uys my size you see in here?"