by A. A LEVINE
No one else moves, because we all know that jab was directed at me. “Okay, suit yourselves.” He looks at his clipboard. “Your appointment for your badges is in five minutes. Lucky for you, it’s in the building next door. When you’re done that you all head to the science building for your coding class.” I get in the line to file out of the building, when he calls me to a stop. “Not you Forbes.”
“Loser.” Someone fake sneezes.
When everyone’s gone, the senior hands me a new class schedule. “Seems you’ve already had this computer class, so you won’t be taking it with everyone else.”
“I don’t mind.”
His smile is the opposite of friendly. “I’ll bet you don’t. Academics is a part of the rankings. If we let you take it, it gives you an unfair advantage.”
Oh, and the bridge sabotage didn’t give them a leg up, asshole? I’m glad he can’t tell what I’m thinking. I doubt he’d take it gracefully.
“What’s this EPE?”
“That means you get an extra hour of Physical Education, while the rest of your group is learning basic coding. Report to the gym, in Building 104.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I have to go back to where I started.
My shoulders slump when I think about how much easier they could have made this by giving me my real schedule right away. His voice calls out to me. “By the way, you’re late.”
I wouldn’t be if I didn’t have to waste time coming here. “What about my badge?” I ask. He ignores my question and I have to decide on my own whether to go next-door or head to class. The nerd in me wins out. Class is the priority, even if it’s gym.
Maybe part of the training here is learning to be an inconsiderate asshole, because he doesn’t offer to drive me or write a note for my tardiness. I run walk as fast as I can and follow the road the long way around. There’s no way, I’m going for another swim right now. The whole trip, takes me seventeen minutes twenty-seven seconds. If I adjust for my wet clothes, uphill and my previous exertion level I would have made it to medical five minutes late.
My PE instructor doesn’t want to hear excuses for why I’m late and to help me understand the importance of punctuality he has me doing suicides. Twenty-five of them, hitting each line on the basketball court. By the time I get to lucky number thirteen; I’m ready to puke.
By the time lunch rolls around, I’m worried my legs will lock up on me if I sit, so I stand at the beverage counter.
“Where do you think we are?” I overhear someone say on his way to a table.
I know where, we’re not. We’re not in Kansas or a spa, or anywhere remotely fun. My run through the campus grounds this morning established that. I’m three-bites into my turkey club when my least favorite John steps into the cafeteria and announces lunch is over. “Hope you had a chance to fuel up. “One-mile run. Let’s go.”
The groans are deafening and this time I join in. I feel like I’ve already run ten miles today. The thought of pounding more pavement makes my legs spasm, but I fall into formation with everyone else. We run as a group, at a pace slow enough to be considered a jog. I feel myself starting to relax until we reach the end of the mile and I realize that the job was just a warmup. The end of that exercise leads to a climb. I’m a climber. Stairs, counters, cars, if it goes up high I can usually figure out a way to get to the top. But, right now my legs are so rubbery I’m using upper body strength to scale the face of this mini mountain and my hands are taking the brunt of it because nobody issued us gloves.
“Fear is the thing that holds us all back from reaching our full potential, and weakness puts us in jeopardy.” Fantastic. Who the hell gave John a bullhorn? “Some of you are thinking you can rely on your powers, if you get in trouble. You think you’re strong, tough. But I’m here to tell you what no one else has before. You’re weak.”
He paces in a circle. “It’s not your fault that you’ve been told you’re so special. That all your life people have given you a false sense of self worth because you’re an evolved being. True power and strength comes from pushing yourself to the limit and then giving it a little more. It’s rising up in the face of adversity. It’s not quitting just because it’s hard.”
I’m getting closer to the top, when Xander takes over. “For the next four months we’re going to push you and push you and push you. And I guarantee you’re going to hate us every single step of the way. But, if you stick with it, I promise you. We’ll make you strong.”
Chapter Four
Holli
Chloe plops down on my bed sending my Greek book flying. She stretches her neck towards me and pokes at her cheek. “Can you tell there’s a bruise?” She caught an elbow in our self-defense class yesterday and has on a ton of concealer on to hide it. We’ve been on the compound for three weeks and I’m still wondering what the hell I’ve gotten myself into.
Family day is today, and it’s the first time since opening assembly that I feel anything other than exhausted and out of my depth. Rankings will be published any minute now and somebody’s one step closer to going home. Each week I’ve been in the bottom ten percent in physical activities. I admit I suck at all the physical stuff, but my GPA is the highest on my team. When those numbers are factored in, it puts me just one spot above the red line.
I brush some gloss on my lips and slide my feet into my ballet flats. I have blisters on the soles of my feet and wearing anything else is out of the question. “No, it’s covered. Your family won’t know the difference.”
We’ve been warned not to give our parents any cause for alarm, so bruises stay hidden. If they can’t be concealed, then we explain PE is intense. Alex lectured us for an hour last night. Under no circumstances are we supposed to admit that we’re expected to pummel the shit out of each other as part of our training program. Right now, we’re learning basic grappling moves, but I’ve seen a few of the upper classman leaving the gym, looking like they’re professional boxers. Full on fights are definitely in our future.
Chloe and I descend the stairs together and walk to the library where our families are waiting. She spots hers right away and I weave through the crowd looking for Aiden and dad. I’ve lapped the room twice and still haven’t spotted them. On the right side of the room I see John, Alex and the sadistic recruit from the first day, watching me. I know, before they even make there way over to me, I know. Nobody’s coming. I stand here listening to Alex explain the message came in through the administration office moments ago. Aiden can’t leave his internship and dad can’t get away from work.
They’re looking at me, the way they do every day. Like I’m fragile and prone to burst into tears at any moment. I thank them for the message and tell them I’m heading back to my dorm.
I hear Alex say, “She shouldn’t worry, she’ll be home with them soon enough.”
I look over my shoulder, to see whom she’s making that prediction to, but she’s already out of sight.
Three weeks without contact with my family, and if I make it through this week, it’ll be another four before I have the chance to see them again. If I make it through this week. It’s a tall ask, even without factoring in the endurance test on Friday. If it involves anything running related, I’m in trouble.
I change into workout clothes when I get back to my room. Since I have some time to kill, I might as well spend it on the treadmill. Each night I run for an hour. I’m up to 3.4 on the speed and can go for thirty minutes without feeling like my chest is about to explode. It’s an improvement from where I started but not much. I’m still the slowest person here and my classmates are calling me turtle. I have Shane to thank for that nickname, and the TO's have adopted its use.
Xander walks through the gym with a towel draped over his neck and a water bottle in his hand. “What are you doing here?” He says walking over to watch me set up the timer.
“Going for a run.” I look around. I’m the only student in here and it’s my first time coming to the gym this early. “Is the gym
off limits to the students during the day?” That thought hadn’t occurred to me because we’re usually busy, even on Sundays.
“You’re supposed to be in the library with your family.” His eyes flick over me before refocusing on the act of wrapping his hands with tape.
“They didn’t show.” He stops what he’s doing and gives me the full weight of his stare. I feel my neck heat under his scrutiny.
“You’re not on speaking terms with your folks?”
What a strange assumption to make. “No. We are. It’s just that my brother Aiden has his own internship in Bio-genetics and my dad couldn’t get off of work.”
“What about your mother?”
I look away suddenly fascinated by the buttons on the treadmill. It always makes me uncomfortable when someone brings up my mom. Things with her are... complicated. I know there’s not a lot of information about her in my academic file and I’m never sure how much I should tell people when they ask. I don’t know him and I don’t know what he already knows, so I settle on my usual response. “She travels a lot for work.”
Xander turns his attention back to his hands and I plug my ears hitting start on my iPod and the treadmill. My heart leaps into my throat and extra sweat breaks out on my neck when he walks over to watch me run. It’s bad enough I’m on display when we’re in formation and now I can’t even practice in peace.
“You’ll never get faster.” I hear him say over my music. “Not like that.” He pushes the button raising the incline to four. “You need to do wind sprints. Run as fast and as hard as you can, for as long as you can, then bring the speed down to lower your heart rate and then back up again.” He ups the speed to eight. “Keep doing it in cycles. It’s the only way to get faster.”
“I can’t keep up this pace.” I huff.
“When you really can’t go any longer you dial it down.” He watches me for what feels like five minutes although it’s only been sixty seconds, then lowers the speed. I catch my breath and he nods. “Again. Each time your right foot lands breathe in. When your left foot lands breathe out.”
He cranks the speed up and I’m running too fast again. One minute later he lowers it back down.
There’s a noise behind us that gets his attention. “Keep at it.” He says before joining John and Alex across the room.
I hear her say something about wasting time on dead weight, before turning the volume on my music back up. They’re still talking too loudly because I hear Xander ask if any other parents didn’t show up. I could’ve answered that easily. Nope. Just me buddy. In the mirror I see John look over his shoulder and narrow his eyes as if I’m eavesdropping. I’m not. They’re just loud.
John chuckles. “Well, she doesn’t have to worry about it next month. She’s never going to make it past the first trials.”
They’re so callous they’re talking about me while I’m still in the room. Hot tears burn my eyes, which just makes me madder than I already am. I’m not a weakling. I’ve just never been a runner. I know I can get better; I just need time. I feel my heart beating rapidly against my chest as I crank the speed up higher. My ear buds must be have a short in them. I hear the sound of electricity snapping through the air accompanied by a strange hum. Please, I plead to the digital gods. Please let these earphones last until this run is over. I don’t want to hear what else they’re saying or electrocute my ears.
I think about Aiden and wish like I have every day since the beginning, that he was here. We’d be able to do this together. The room seems to drop away as I imagine his face. His eyes that are half a shade darker than mine, his crooked grin, and the half dimple in his cheek that’s just like my own. I have a mirror one on mine. I imagine the way he’d probably snatch my artwork out of my hands and tease me to catch him to get it back. I can see his face clearly, as if we’re in the same room. He’s got that cautious and overprotective look he always has when he’s worried about me.
Aiden got into biology and genetics research, because he wanted to understand the science behind why he didn’t get a mutated gene. Sometimes I wish he were the breaker instead of me. If he were, he’d rock at this physical fitness stuff.
“Holli!” The sound of my name being called louder than the space calls for brings me back to the present. Chloe is standing beside me and Xander and his horrible friends have moved further away.
I blink clearing my mind of thoughts of my brother. “Chloe, you’re finished visiting your folks already?”
“Yeah. The baby was getting restless, so they only stayed a little while.” She’s looking at me strangely. “You okay?”
“Yup. Why do you ask?”
“You were running like a maniac but seemed to zone out. The belt was making so much noise, I thought it was about to snap.”
“Was it? I didn’t hear anything. I guess my volume was up louder than I thought.”
“You about done here, or you want to see if you can literally burn rubber?”
Chapter Five
Holli
I’m a little envious at the ease at which Shane and his crew make it through the physical challenges. I spend a lot of my free time studying because our grades are part of the equation for determining our ranks. Studying is what I should be doing now, instead of watching the guys toss around a football, a few feet away from me. As the brown leather pigskin soars through the air, I think about Aiden. He loves the game but I doubt he’ll have time to play this season.
Olivia, a senior, and her minions walk by waiving flirtatiously at the boys. One of them throws a long pass showing off, and it comes dangerously close to hitting me in the head. Shane jumps in its path at the last second and steps all over my books.
“Oops.” They all snicker and jostle each other like it was the funniest thing they’ve ever seen. I smooth the page that’s now tatted with Shane’s muddy footprint.
Oops my behind. I know he did it on purpose. Everyone has the potential to be an honor roll student, but the musketeers are used to getting by on their athleticism and charm, and have never met a class that they’ve earned more than a B average in. This is their attempt to affect my GPA. Little do they know I can read through the dirt on the page. Olivia moves on and Gwynnette walks by next. She flips her wavy hair over her shoulder when she passes.
The first week was tough on her. Her amazing sweet tooth and the inability to satisfy it had her cranky and miserable while she was detoxing. She’s finally on a more even keel. I thought after that we’d form a roommate bond, but I was wrong. We share a room, but we’re not friends (or even frenemies). She literally pays me no attention at all. Her position here is solid. She’s one of our fastest girls, and she’s crazy strong. Volleyball and cross-country made her an awesome athlete, and academically, she’s in the top twenty percent of our class. I’m higher than her, in the top 5%, but she’s still out performing me over all.
Shane gives her a chin tip and Wes stares at her butt as she walks away. They should both probably spend more time studying for our pre-calculus class and less time studying the female anatomy. At least until we get to that part of the lesson in our physiology class.
“What are you looking at turtle?” Wes taunts and pump fakes like he’s going to throw the ball at me. “See something you like?” He gives me a devilish grin that’s supposed to make my heart flutter and readjusts the hold on the football to make his bicep pop.
Yeah, as if I’d ever go there, even if I didn’t know he’s setting me up as the brunt of a joke. I stand gathering my books. “It’s not your noodle throwing arm, or this poor excuse for a football game, that’s for sure.” It’s time to move; things rarely go well when they address me directly. I hear the warning and duck to the right seconds before the ball goes whizzing past my left ear. I whirl around to glare at Wes and to thank the person who warned me, but the only people out here are the douche brigade.
I scan the field trying to figure out who came to my aide. The four musketeers are the most popular boys in our grade level and they c
an be relentless when they’re trying to make your life miserable. If he’s not trying to draw attention to himself, it makes sense that he must’ve ducked behind a tree. I don’t set out to put myself on their radar either, but Shane and I have had this war going on since sixth grade when Aiden decked him for putting gum in my hair.
Aiden was also one of the best players on the freshman football team and hooked up with Tiana Eckardt ninth grade year even though everyone knew Shane was planning to ask her out. So no matter what I’m in his crosshairs and his lackeys are just following suit. Orion says they support an inclusive environment and frowns upon the formation of cliques, but come on, it’s still high school and high school kids are gonna do what high school kids do.
I look over my shoulder on my way to the dorms. I really would like to thank the person who yelled on your left.
Xander
I push back from the camera and walk to the coffeepot on the other side of the room. I’ve read her file. I’ve read all her files, and I still can’t get a read on her. Holli’s the slowest recruit we have this year. Hell she may be the slowest we’ve ever had. But she’s lucky as shit. She beat lockdown with literally seconds to spare on that first night. She also scaled a tree and was the first person to make it to the bottom of the cliff wall, which gave her a few points over the five people that came through the door before her. That trick shaved three minutes off her time and put her in the fifth position below the red line that first night. Her grades have kept her hovering in the first position below the line in these last three weeks. After endurance trials, Orion will officially cut ten percent from the junior class, regardless of ability or specialty.