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path was clearly drawn through the Diamond Peak area, with a checklist of things to put eyes on or be aware of.
    The other scouts milled about, talking with Mom and the council members while Tony and I stood at the edge of the room still wondering what the blank sheets of paper meant. Finally the scouts herded themselves outside to begin their two-week journeys. Tony and I didn’t move from our spots.
    “Tony, Evan, come sit down,” Deena said, waving us over to the chairs closest to Mom. “You probably are wondering about the blank sheets,” she said after we sat down and the other council members pulled chairs in a semi-circle around us.
    “Have we done something wrong?” I asked. I had a fleeting moment of fear that we were about to be banished for some infraction, or maybe even for exploring the dropship crash.
    “Heavens no,” Mom said with a laugh, and everyone else joined in. “Evan, how long have you been here?”
    “I don’t know. Nine years maybe?” I replied, unsure.
    “What about you, Tony?” she asked my partner.
    “Twelve years.” He was as tight as ever with his words.
    “And have either of you ever broken any of the rules here?” Mom asked us.
    I looked at Tony, who just shrugged at me. “Yes,” I answered. I expected gasps of surprise or shock, but I decided if I was about to stripped and put out on the road, I wouldn’t go out a liar. No one gasped or even tittered. A couple of them smiled, while Ben Valera reached over and patted me on the back.
    “I figured you two would be honest enough to pass that test,” Mom said, shooting a look at Kim So. Apparently Kim hadn’t been so sure either of us would answer the question honestly.
    “And what rule or rules did you break, Mr. Galliardi?” Dana asked.
    Here it comes, I thought. The trial and the confession. Except they didn’t act like a pack of wolves about to tear us apart.
    “I punched Jed Myers in the face five years back after too much drinking and him turning me down for sex. I ate extra calories when I was a gardener.” Tony’s confession came out wooden, stilted. But he didn’t shy away from the truth.
    “And you, Mr. Greggs?” Dana asked me.
    “I beat the daylights out of Manny Rosa my first year as a gardener for getting too handsy with Cara Templeton,” I said.
    “That was you?” Tony asked me, surprising me.
    “Yep. Manny put his fingers where they weren’t welcome while in the dorms, and I put my fists where they weren’t welcome in his face.” I saw some of the council looking curiously at me, so I added, “I don’t think any person is obligated to give up something like that against their will under any circumstance.” When they nodded or just kept staring at me, I finished up my confession. “I ate extra calories all three years I was a gardener. I had sex with another man’s wife. Twice. Two different wives I mean. And I stole extra coffee rations on my third scout.”
    This one got a gasp from more than a few council members, followed by stern looks or whispers between each other. Coffee is the one thing they keep a close eye on, and even scouts are only allowed so much.
    “Oh knock it off,” Mom said to everyone. “Like none of you have done it.” This got her some accusatory stares, as if any of the council would ever stoop so low as to steal coffee, or break any rule for that matter. “None of you would be councilors if you hadn’t sat where those two are sitting, thinking, like you did, that they are about to be banished.”
    I looked at Tony with even more confusion, but he had the beginnings of a smile on his face. A few seconds later my brain finally put all the pieces together and I realized why we were given blank assignment sheets.
    “Yes,” Mom said to both of us. “I’ve had my eye on both of you for a few years now. Why do you think I paired you together as a scout team?” We stared at her, not knowing what to say. “The fact that you two found the crashed ship sort of made