by Pixie James
We only make it halfway down the cherrywood lined hall before a really pissed looking Nix stomps up to me. “Where were you yesterday? I waited for you after class for our session and you never showed.”
“Eh, not sure what your deal is, but we don’t have time for this. Out of our way.” Tia pushes past him, but when I try to follow, he blocks my path. He’s dressed to the nines, no doubt because his dad and mom are coming and he has to look pretty for the camera. And even though I’m royally pissed at the tone of his voice, I can’t stop staring at his eyes. They darken when he’s mad and churn like the clouds during a storm.
It takes me a second to shake out of my fog and match his glare. “I was busy helping Tia.”
“And what, you didn’t take a second to consider letting me know? I wasted an entire hour I could have been practicing for the games waiting on your ungrateful ass.”
“Ungrateful? What exactly should I be grateful for? You’re not tutoring me out of the goodness of your heart or charity for the new orphan girl. You’re doing it for brownie points with your dad and his rich friends. So bite, me. No, I didn’t tell you, because half the time you don’t show up anyway.”
He licks his lips, and I’m drawn to the action with a serious thirst. Those lips…that face… What is wrong with me? His tone wavers slightly, my words breaking through his anger-fueled holier than thou act. “I’ve done better, showed up every time since I…”
“Since you what? Spent nearly a week hassling me and making me feel stupid?”
He swallows hard and plays with the bottom of his tie. “Yes.”
We stand there a minute, neither of saying anything, just staring awkwardly at each other until he jerks his chin toward my mark. “How is it? You have any luck with the wall thing we talked about?”
Feeling instantly self-conscious, I pull up the slight dip in my sweater and press a hand against the mark. It suddenly feels very personal, and I’m not sure why, but I feel incredibly exposed.
“Yeah, it’s helped a little. Dulls it when it’s at its worst.” His eyes flick to the mark then up.
“Sometimes, when something bothers me, I sit in my window at night. The fresh air helps.”
My jaw nearly drops, so I clench it tight, hoping he didn’t see the surprise I felt. My window is the one place I feel even remotely at home, and to know he does the exact same thing…
Ugh, now this is just pissing me off. He needs to stop having things in common with me.
Tia taps her foot anxiously. “Cherise? We need to go. My parents are already here.”
I spend a second absorbing the torment behind his eyes. How did I never notice it before? It echoes what I felt when I relived his past, and every fiber of my being swears he needs something from me. That I can somehow ease the violent waves of emotion he keeps so tightly contained. But I can’t, and I’ll be better off letting it go. “Thanks. Are you going to let me pass, or what?”
He nods, straightening the crisp white button up underneath his navy blazer. “Meet me tonight? We can get in the session you missed yesterday, then resume like normal tomorrow.”
“You really think that’s a good idea? Aren’t your parents going to be here? And your dad? He wasn’t exactly nice to me.”
“Yeah. But we didn’t practice yesterday. I agreed to help you, and I’m going to see it through.”
Ah, there it is. His altruistic desire to make sure he keeps all his boxes checked so he doesn’t lose the chance to check “helping the poor, deprived orphan” to his record. To think for a second, he had me convinced he might actually care about my wellbeing.
“Well, rest assured, you can help me just as well tomorrow morning. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go hang out with people who actually want to be around me.”
“Cherise!” he calls after me, but I throw up a hand and keep walking.
Not today, Satan. Not today.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Butterflies tumble around, turning my stomach into mush as Tia and I hurry toward the school’s gates. The headmaster holds all the parents there in a bunch of fancy canvas tents while they wait to get processed and given clearance to enter the school. It’s not just him they have to go through, but the US government, too. Anyone who’s been to the DMV can tell you, they take their sweet time.
An explosion of light and laughter assault us as we plow through the doors and swing around the side of the main building. Hundreds of students are outside—some with parents, some still waiting for them to pass through the gates—and it’s standing room only in the quad. Everyone’s laughing like we weren’t just under threat of attack. Well, I guess it’s easy for them to relax because they weren’t, not really. I’m the only one who gets that prize.
“Do you see them?” I ask, hollering over the chatter. Tia jumps up and down, bumping into the three older Xebulin women in front of her. She lowers her chin and presses a hand to her forehead, a sign of respect, then waits for them to acknowledge her apology. One of the women smiles and scoots over to allow us to pass.
“There! I think I see my mom!” Tia forces her way through the throng until she’s pressed herself against the iron bars of the gate, searching the line of people trying to get in. I rise up on my tiptoes, trying to help her look without a description, when a tall woman with magnificently wavy hair blue hair already inside runs toward her with open arms. Tia tears off toward her and they hug—Tia’s arms straining with the strength of their embrace. Her father looks on, the gleam in his eyes reflecting his happiness as he watches his wife and child reunite for the first time in months.
Once she’s back on her feet, Tia wipes her eyes. “Un’Gra, Un’Gre, this is Cherise, the girl I told you about.” A thin stream of tears cascades down her mother’s face as she stares at me. She reaches behind her and grasps her husband’s hand. They lock eyes, engaging in some unspoken conversation then both turn back toward me. “We are so pleased to meet you, Cherise. We’ve waited a very long time for this. Can we… Can I hug you?”
I open my arms without thought, missing the warmth of a mother’s embrace, and she approaches me, caution slowing her steps. Locking her hands behind me, in what I’ve learned is a sign of respect to ensure your memories are not being unknowingly violated, she holds me, trembling slightly before pulling away.
She wipes her eyes again. “Tia, you didn’t tell me she was so beautiful.”
“Mom. You’re being awkward…”
Throwing her hands up, she laughs. “Forgive me, I’ve lost myself. Cherise, this is So’Tan, Cherise’s father, and I am So’Lis. Thank you for being such a wonderful friend to our daughter.”
“She makes it easy.”
The crowd around us shifts, forcing us closer together and Tia’s dad presses a hand against her mom’s back. “Why don’t we move somewhere a bit quieter. So’Tia, your dorm, perhaps?”
Both of us grimace in unison. “Eh, our room is a biohazard right now. My Raska is shedding.”
Tia’s father stands a bit straighter. “Tia told us you were selected by the Dan-A-Tish. It is quite the honor. You should be proud. We certainly are, and it is further proof of how beyond worthy you are of our little girl’s friendship.” There is something odd about the way he says worthy, and I know it has to go back to the social order thing.
They once were Tys, both of them, and it’s obvious the rank is still embedded in them by the way they carry themselves. Not pompous or elite like Nix’s dad, but regal—deserving of respect—almost as if they know their own value so well they’ve learned how to appreciate the people around them.
After giving me a tight nod, So’Tan straightens and leads us through the mass of people toward an outcropping of flowers with a few unoccupied benches off to the side. “This will do for now. Tia, what do you wish to show us first?”
“I spoke with the headmaster this morning and he promised me that the games would be at least ninety percent set-up and ready for the tour, so we can go do to that before the r
est of the crowd makes their way in.”
I pause to look at my watch. “Wait, that doesn’t start for another hour, right? Didn’t the announcement we heard on the way over say the grounds opened at noon?”
“Sure, for everyone else. But those of us who spent hours sweating to help set it up get first dibs.”
Tia’s mom smiles, her gaze locked on her daughter. You can tell she’s proud of her—can practically feel the love oozing out of her pores. Seeing her look at my friend like she’s the center of the universe hurts more than it should. There was a time I’d have given anything to get my mom’s attention.
Now, I just miss having one.
“It pays to be friends with the overachievers,” I say, laughing in an attempt to ignore the sad thoughts creeping in.
“If that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black, I don’t know what is. You’ve managed to catch up almost completely with most of your studies and your touch manipulation skills are on par with the rest of us. You’ll ace the placement test next year, and probably leave the rest of us in the dust.”
“That’s very impressive, Cherise. You’ve a knack for quickly absorbing things?”
“No, not really. I just like it here. And a big scary test that decides your fate is excellent motivation.”
Tia’s mom gives me a tight smile. “It is unfortunate our kind are so restricted, but with our gifts it is understandable that the humans fear us as they do. To hold the keys of truth in the palm of your hand is a dangerous thing, especially in a world run by men with silver tongues.”
Tia’s father presses a hand to her mother’s lower back, then whispers tenderly in her ear. “Do not frighten the poor girl with talks of politics. Today should be a fun, relaxing day.”
“Women in this world do not have the luxury of ignorance, my love. We must teach them young, so that when they are faced with adversity, they are not left floundering. It is with knowledge they gain a foothold and are able to stand against the things that wish to tear them down.”
Tia pretends to gag as her father kisses behind her mother’s ear. “Always the brightest star in the galaxy.”
“Always the strongest current to guide us home,” she says with a chaste kiss to his cheek.
With one finger curled around the edge of her sweatshirt, I follow as Tia speeds up to avoid whatever her parents say next. She leads us through the huddled masses until we break free on the opposite side of the school. I forget how many people actually go here. It’s crazy to think that I could have been living alongside Xebulins for my entire life, never knowing they existed.
It’s doubtful. There isn’t much to spy on in a town so small the gas station is the grocery store, but you never know.
Two giant stone pillars stand at the entrance of the gardens, white marble from the looks of them. The bushes rustle, and Tia throws out a hand to push me back in a protective kind of way. “What was that?”
“No clue, probably just a squirrel. Let’s wait for my parents, just in case.”
A chill creeps down my spine, and the whole area seems surprisingly… empty. “Are you getting the same feeling I am?” I ask, backing away after the bush moves again.
She nods, eyes locked on our green, leafy enemy. “Mmmhmm.”
It rustles again, and then suddenly stops. Tia’s parents walk up, hand-in-hand. “Is something wrong, Tia?”
A squirrel jumps out of the bush, and Tia and I burst into laughter. “Nothing, we’re just being dumb. We thought… Oh, never mind.”
I run over and chase it off. “That little guy nearly gave us a—Ah!”
“Cherise!” Tia yells, but by the time I register her voice, my head is already spinning. Something heavy tackles me from behind, and I brace for the impact, but it’s softer than I expect. Huey. His tail protected my mark. Warm wet licks slide down my cheek and a heavy case of Raska breath assaults me.
“Huey, get off me you big brat!”
“Beloved Xebulin, your defense skills are lacking. You will now pay the price!”
A honking laugh—probably Tia’s—explodes somewhere on my right, and I struggle under Huey’s weight. “Get…off. You weigh a…ton…” I manage, shoving at him, trying to get all hundred plus pounds of him off me, but he doesn’t budge.
“Yield, Beloved Xebulin. Accept your fate.”
“Ugh, fine.” Several more slobber-filled kisses later, he rolls off of me and sits up. Dirt and grass cling to me, and when I finally get to my feet, there is a crowd of onlookers enjoying the show. “Geeze, what’s gotten into you?”
Cheeks purple from laughing so hard, Tia sucks in a deep breath. “I guess he got a little extra energy after he shed all that weight.”
As if he just noticed who was there, Huey lowers his head and bends a knee in what I’m guessing is a sign of respect toward Tia’s parents. Tia gasps slightly and covers her mouth, tears glistening in her eyes.
Tia’s mom is just as affected—her father, too. So’Tan clenches his fist, then presses it to his forehead, then his heart. “The honor is mine, Dan-A-Tish.” Her mother echoes the sentiment.
Slightly confused, I lean in close to Tia and whisper, “Has he not met them before?”
She shakes her head, almost as if she is too emotional to talk. “No, before you, Huey didn’t really pay attention to anyone. Just kind of trotted around and did his own thing.” Her eyes get all watery again and she sniffles as she watches the three of them. “The greeting he just gave them? It’s a formal Ty greeting, one I’ve never seen him give anyone else. Huey is treating them as if they were never stripped of their title. It means a lot. Especially coming from him.”
I love Huey. I mean I always have, save for the first few minutes of our initial meeting, but now, after this, I love him even more.
“I have deep emotional reactions to you as well, Beloved Xebulin.”
After I give his head a scratch, Huey leads the way into the gathering area for the games. The garden is outfitted with rows of tables and chairs, each one assigned its own big screen TV at the far end. They’re huge, close to eighty inches, maybe?
“Those are for the parents to sit and enjoy themselves during the games. This event isn’t just for us. The parents network and spend a lot of their time drinking and bragging about our scores. They’re live streamed on the big TVs. By lunch most of the dads are tipsy and this place sounds like a college football game.” Tia checks her phone and puts it back in her pocket. “Hey if we’re going to make it through by the time the first wave of food is ready, we need to get a move on.”
“Well, we couldn’t possibly miss the food, could we?” Tia’s mom chuckles and we push through the parents’ area. It seems to go on forever, but after we reach the end there are several brightly colored flags off to the right and what looks like a starting line. My forever guide, Tia continues to explain everything to me.
“So, we start here. The reason grades are so important is the professors sort the initial group you compete with by your current scores. After you’re sorted, you’re assigned a color, and that’s the group you run with first. The winner of that group faces the other, and you get it from there…”
“I thought you said there’s a boy and a girl from each year that wins, how does that work if they compete side by side?” The thought of Ki’Lin and Nix sharing a podium makes me want to vomit. I’ve managed to avoid her since our interaction in the gym, and it’s been great. Now if I could just manage the same thing with Nix…
Or convince myself that I want to.
“Yes. In the final trial, the males and females compete together, but each gender is scored independently. I swear, some of them think this is the Hunger Games, trying to join forces with each other, but those teams always lose. These games are every Xebulin for themselves.”
So’Tan pats Tia on the back as if he couldn’t agree more. “There is no true measure of skill in dishonesty. This is meant to be an exercise of endurance and control, utilizing another student in an effort to che
at the system does both parties a disservice.”
Tia meets his gaze, her face a wash of pride, then continues to show us around. We pass several obstacle courses reminiscent of something you’d see on a military training video and I can’t help but gawk at them. Mud and ropes and walls, I can’t picture half the girls in school doing this. “Those are intense.”
“Yeah, they are. Last year, I nearly broke my ankle because my leg got caught in the last rung of one of the rope walls.”
The sun shifts in the sky, forcing me to cup my hand over my eyes. “This might sound dumb, but I don’t understand what obstacle courses have to do with memory retrieval. I’m sweating just thinking about it.”
“You and me both.” Tia jerks her chin toward her mom who’s still trailing gracefully behind us. “She had to stay with me for three days after last year’s challenge because my muscles were so sore I could barely lift a spoon. It was pathetic.”
Her mom chuckles. “It was not that bad, and I enjoyed the company.”
“She did,” Tia’s dad confirms. “So’Tia may not share my love of strength and agility training but she understands the importance. It is the fatigue aspect that plays a role. Only when the body is at its weakest, can you fully explore the limits of raw mental strength.”
“Oh, so basically they want everyone to do all the exercises, completely wear themselves out, then try to read the Neuris gloves.”
“Ding ding ding!” Tia claps her hands sarcastically, and I elbow her in the side. “Last year there were five courses and three rounds. First two focused on images and riddles only, the last was truth differentiation. They rank you based on your times.”
“All that for what? A little recognition? Seems extreme.”
“I know it’s difficult to understand, but it’s hard to stand out when you’re also trying to fit the mold. Because we are monitored so closely, we’re limited in how much we can set ourselves apart. In how well we can reap the benefits of our hard work. The games give you a little bit of that back. Plus, it looks great on your work application at the end of the year after you test into your chosen field.”