Recruits (New Haven Book 1), page 12
Simon apparently hadn’t seen our interaction because he started walking out onto the field before Luke’s rock landed. “I just want to get this ov …” His words were cut off by a high-pitched squeal that escaped his mouth. Yellow paint exploded up from the ground, splattering all over him. At the same time, Luke’s rock struck the protrusion and red paint flew into the air.
As Simon squealed, Luke looked at all of us. “Land mines. Try to avoid the protruding pieces of grass. Head for the stairs.” He smiled at Tina. “I’ll see you at the top.”
Tina took that as a challenge and the two of them took off, dancing over the mines. Thunder Thighs took off after them, her dance looking more painful and jerky. Theo followed, with Skinny bouncing around at his back, her shrill filling the air. He took hold of Simon’s arm and pulled him along after them.
Eric held out his hand and smiled at me. “Ready?”
Taking hold of his hand, I smiled back. “Sure.”
We took off running, keeping our eyes down and watching for the mines. We jumped around them and over them, smiling the whole time. The rain came down on us, adding to the fun. Holding Eric’s hand comforted me because I slipped a few times on the wet grass. We were almost to the end of the field when I lost my footing and almost stepped onto a mine. Eric noticed and lifted me up, pulling my body toward him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and carried me the rest of the way.
He set me down when we got to the stairs and we ran up until we got inside the building. After shutting the door, I took off my gun, my helmet, and my goggles and threw them in a pile with all the others. The floor was covered in mud and paint, along with previous Recruit’s equipment. There were a few benches along one wall and then a bunch of showerheads along another.
Tina hurried over and turned on one of the showerheads.
Skinny gasped at her. “We can’t all shower in here!” Her face reddened. “Together …”
Tina just laughed. “Don’t take off your clothes and we’ll all be fine.” She stood, completely clothed, under one of the showerheads, washing off all the mud and paint. I joined her, turning on the showerhead next to her. Eric, Luke, Theo, and Thunder Thighs did the same. Simon and Skinny just gaped at us.
When we were done, they separated the boys and girls and let us go to private stalls so we could take off our wet clothes and get changed into nice, dry, clean clothes.
On the bus ride back to the dorms, Tina and I cuddled under a blanket and talked about the whole experience. Even though it had been messy and completely draining, it had been the best day yet in Recruitment.
Aside from the falling tree. My mind wandered as we talked. Had it been cut? If it had, why? Someone had been there, so they had to have pushed it when they wanted to. Was it meant for Simon? For Dante? For me?
The thought made me shiver.
I hoped I’d be able to talk with Dee, Tina, and Eric about the tree after we got back, but I didn’t have the chance. They surprised us with a social event. Everyone was excited but me. It made me suspicious. We were only a few days into Recruitment, and they were already having a party? President Randall showed up and said he wanted to reward us for how well we were doing. Maybe I was just being overly paranoid. They could’ve had parties often during Recruitment.
We were all taken over to the Recruitment Center, where we met the first day. They had a table with a bunch of treats, like pastries, cookies, chips, and the hard candies VP Oliver used to sneak to me when I was a little girl. Seeing them brought a smile to my face. Music drifted out of the overhead speakers and they let us slow dance, but of course, we still had to have a proper distance between us, according to Recruitment rules.
All our group and dorm leaders were standing around, keeping an eye on everyone. RL Steven stayed close to our group the whole night, not letting us out of listening range, which made for an uncomfortable evening.
Eric and Luke had no idea that I was being watched, so they kept eyeing RL Steven, looking at him as if he’d gone insane.
“So, Ms. Woodard, how are you doing this evening?” Eric asked me.
We were dancing together in the center of the room, his hands on my waist and my hands on his shoulders, spaced out as far as we could go.
I smiled. “Very well, Mr. Greene. And you?”
Eric looked around the room and then at RL Steven, who walked right by us. RL Steven was making a constant loop around all our group. “I don’t think there’s a word that could convey what I’m feeling right now.”
Tina and Luke were dancing next to us, chatting away. It surprised me how relaxed Luke could become when he was around Tina. She brought out the best in him.
Dee and a friend of ours growing up, Tim, were dancing near us too. Tim was a short guy with light brown hair. I think he always felt comfortable with Dee because she was one of the few girls in our school that was shorter than him. Although with her friendly personality, you couldn’t help but love her. And I had a feeling Tim did.
“Well whatever you’re feeling, is it good or bad?” I asked Eric.
He looked at RL Steven who had just walked by. He waited until he was a little farther away. “For my general feeling about being here tonight, with the way everyone’s acting, the feeling isn’t great.” RL Steven passed by again. He stopped right next to us, bent down and pretended to tie his shoe. Eric and I danced in silence, waiting for RL Steven to finish. Finally, after the longest shoe tying session ever, RL Steven got up, sighed, and started walking again.
Eric looked me in the eye. “But with my present company, the feeling’s amazing.” A small smile formed on his mouth, making me blush a little.
“If you could change anything about tonight, what would it be?” I asked him.
“For one, we wouldn’t all be wearing the same clothes.”
“I didn’t know guys cared about clothes,” I said, laughing.
“We do. Trust me.” Eric paused for RL Steven and then continued. “We all want to see the girls in different clothes.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Different?”
Eric looked me up and down, taking in my long sleeve shirt and pants. “You wouldn’t be so … covered up.”
RL Steven still hadn’t made his way back around so I took the opportunity to slap Eric upside the head.
“Hey!” Eric said. “You’re the one who asked. Don’t ask if you can’t handle the answer.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. What else?”
Eric’s fingers drummed my waist as he thought. “The music would be different. Maybe a little louder?”
“A lot louder,” I said.
“Okay, a lot louder.” He looked at RL Steven who passed by. “There wouldn’t be sharks swimming all around us, that’s for sure. And you,” he said, his thumb stroking my side, “wouldn’t be so far away.”
I blushed.
“Have I ever told you that red is a good color on you?” Eric asked, smiling.
I told myself it was because the color of the day was red, but deep inside I knew it was because my cheeks matched my outfit.
A throat cleared next to me. “The song’s over.” It was RL Steven.
He, Tina, Luke, Dee, and Tim were all staring at us, Tina and Dee clearly trying not to laugh. It made me wonder how much they’d heard.
“Bathroom break?” Dee said to me and Tina.
“Yes,” Tina said, taking me by the arm.
Dee came to my other side and took my hand. I looked back as we were walking away and saw RL Steven looking conflicted. He honestly couldn’t have been thinking about coming with us. To answer my question, he pulled something out from his pocket and held it to his mouth. So, DL Jen would be coming with us.
Sure enough, when we got to the bathroom, DL Jen waited inside.
“Hello ladies,” DL Jen said as we walked in. She was leaning up against a sink, her arms folded, not trying to hide the fact that she was just there to supervise.
“Hi,” I said.
“Having fun?” DL Jen asked us.
“Tons!” Tina said, giving DL Jen a thumbs up. I could tell from her tone and gesture that she was joking and from DL Jen’s face, she could tell too.
Disappointment washed over me. I wanted to talk. Dee had suggested going to the bathroom in the first place so we could. So, the three of us just washed our hands and then pretended to fix our hair and make sure we looked good before we headed back out to the social. Right before we walked out, a loud popping sound came from outside, followed by some screaming. A voice came from DL Jen’s pocket and she pulled out her device.
“Jen, we need you out here, now,” RL Steven said.
DL Jen eyed the three of us. “On my way.” She gave us one last look and left us in the bathroom.
Once the door closed, Dee spoke. “Should we go see what happened?”
I shook my head. “All I want to know right now is if RL Steven’s going to follow us like that all the time now. Could he have been more annoying?”
“I want to know what’s going on with you and Eric,” Tina said, raising her eyebrows at me.
My cheeks flared. “Nothing, obviously.”
Dee tilted her head, making her curls bounce a little. “Obviously?”
I tucked my hair behind my ear. “Because we can’t date during Recruitment. You two know that.” Before I could touch my hair again, I put my hands in my pocket so I wouldn’t fidget.
“The only thing that’s obvious is how much he flirts with you,” Tina said with a smile.
“Who’s flirting with you?” I turned to see Amber standing in the doorway with her two sidekicks, Stacy and Tiffy.
I sighed, stuffing my hands farther into my pocket.
Amber’s two friends were opposites in looks. Stacy was short and stocky, while Tiffy was tall and slender. They weren’t opposites in attitudes, though. Or in the way they did anything and everything Amber did. They had even cut their hair short like Amber.
“You need to stop following me to the bathroom, Amber,” I said, forcing myself to keep my hands in my pockets. Only this time it was to keep from punching her. “It’s really creepy.”
Amber huffed. “Please, Emelia. I wouldn’t follow you anywhere. I came to check the bathrooms. We’re being evacuated.”
“Evacuated?” Tina asked. “Why?”
“Some technical malfunction,” Amber said, waving her hand in the air. “One of the speakers blew out and its spark started a small fire. They’re overreacting, but whatever. The dance was boring anyway.” Amber folded her arms and shifted her weight to her hip.
I pouted. “So, I take it no one would dance with you?”
Amber’s cheeks flared, but she tried to sound casual as she talked. “I wouldn’t dance with any of these pathetic boys anyway. I prefer older, mature men.”
“My Grandpa's available,” I said. “I could introduce the two of you if you'd like.”
“That’s not what I …” Amber took a deep breath, calming herself. “Never mind. We need to leave the premises.”
“Whatever.” I moved toward the door, but the three idiots stood there blocking the exit. I looked at Amber. “Uh, apparently you don’t know how this works, but you have to move your butt if you want us to leave.”
Amber grabbed me by my shirt just like she had a few days earlier, only this time she didn’t throw me against the wall. She pulled me down to her face, only inches away. “You better watch it, Emelia. We don’t want a recap of the other morning.”
I laughed. “What? Where you punched the ground? I don’t need to be here for that. How’s your hand doing, by the way?”
Amber grunted while she let go of my shirt and threw her arm back ready to punch me. I didn't want to have another fight. I tried to move out of the way, but she nailed my chin. The sudden need to defend myself overwhelmed me.
Before she could connect with my face again, I threw my whole weight into her body, knocking her to the ground. I got off two punches, one to her eye and one to her nose, before Stacy and Tiffy grabbed me by my arms and pulled me off her.
I tried to shake them off me, but they wouldn’t let go.
“Are you okay?” Stacy asked Amber, who was lying on the ground, tears falling from her eyes. Dee and Tina were trying to pull the girls away from me.
“She broke my nose!” Amber yelled. She stood up and glared at me, blood dripping down her lips. She gave a yell like she was about to head into battle and ran at me.
Before she could reach me, Dee slammed into her. Amber stumbled to the side and into a stall door. The door opened and Amber fell, her head barely missing the toilet.
Stacy shoved me and went for Dee, taking a few swings at her. I tried to squirm away from Tiffy so I could go help Dee, but Tiffy held on tight. As I twisted my arm to get free of Tiffy, she dug her fingernails into my skin, the sting of the long scratch forcing me to take a quick gulp of air.
Tina jumped onto Tiffy and threw her arm around her neck, making Tiffy release me. Scrambling over to Stacy, I put my arms around her waist, pulling her away from Dee. I looked at Dee, who was lying on the ground. A small cut ran down her lip, blood streaming down her chin.
“Dee!” I went to her side, but as soon as I got to her, Stacy came up behind me, took me by my hair and pulled me away. “Let go!” I twisted my body so I could face Stacy and punched her in the stomach. She grunted but didn’t let go. I grabbed her free arm and bit down, making her scream.
“She bit me!” Stacy yelled, shaking her arm out. “The brat actually bit me!”
“You wouldn’t let go!” I yelled back at her.
Back up on her feet, Amber took the opportunity to jump on me, sending me to the ground, knocking the wind out of me. I banged the back of my head on the tile, causing spots to appear in my vision. Amber punched me over and over again in the stomach, making it harder for me to breathe and causing me to gasp for air. Dee tried to get back up to help, but Stacy jumped on her and pinned her down. I could hear Tiffy and Tina still going at it, but I couldn’t see what was happening.
I put my hands around Amber’s wrist, trying to stop her from hitting me, but the lack of oxygen made me weak.
A few moments later, the bathroom door opened. The next thing I knew, Amber was being pulled off me. I looked up to see DL Jen holding onto her, trying to keep her from coming at me again. A few other group leaders came in, breaking up the other fights. I just lay there on the ground trying to get my breath back.
“Let go of me!” Amber screamed.
“Stop squirming and I will,” DL Jen said. For someone so petite, she held onto Amber quite well.
I closed my eyes, feeling a slight throb in the back of my head where it had hit the ground. I put my hand on the spot and immediately noticed it was wet. When I pulled my hand in front of my face, it was covered in blood.
“W ill you stop moving if I let you go?” DL Jen asked Amber.
“Yes!” Amber whined. “Just let go!”
DL Jen sighed and finally let go of Amber but kept herself braced in case she needed to grab her again. Thankfully, she didn’t. Instead, Amber went off. The crack in her personality grew bigger by the day.
Amber pointed to her face. “Do you see what she did to my nose?! She and her stupid friends …”
DL Jen held up her hand to silence her. “Enough. I’m not listening this time. It’s out of my hands.” She looked around at all of us and shook her head. “This was really stupid of all of you. You’re in Recruitment. Since RH Johnson has had limited supervision, it’ll be President Randall you'll have to answer to. Stupid, stupid girls.”
“But—” Amber said.
“No,” DL Jen said, her voice not inviting any more interruptions. “Just shut up. I don’t want to hear another word out of any of you. Follow me.” DL Jen turned and stormed out of the bathroom.
I slowly stood and went to Dee, putting my arm around her waist.
“Are you okay?” I whispered to Dee, as we hobbled out of the bathroom. We stayed far back from DL Jen so she wouldn’t hear us talking.
Dee forced a smile. “Couldn’t be better.” She wiped some blood off her chin.
The bathroom door opened, the other girls stepping out.
“Oh, Emmie, your head!” Tina came up to the other side of me. “That doesn’t look good.”
I grunted. “It doesn’t feel good either.” I looked at her face. She had a couple of scratches and her left eye was a little swollen. “That’s going to be a nice shiner tomorrow.”
Tina grimaced. “You should see Tiffy.”
A laugh almost escaped my mouth when I got a good look at Tiffy. Her nose was bleeding, her left eye swollen, her lip cut, I think she was missing a patch of hair on her head and when she opened her mouth … “Is she missing a tooth?” I looked wide-eyed at Tina.
Tina rubbed the back of her neck. “I didn't mean for it to happen. I was trying to stop her, but she's so feisty. I used a little too much force trying to push her off me and she landed against one of the sinks.”
I took my free arm and pulled Tina close to me. “I'm just glad you're okay.”
Tina sighed and leaned the side of her head gently against mine. “Me too.”
“I'm so sorry you both got involved in this,” I said to them.
Dee put on a real smile. “Emmie, we'll always be here for you, no matter what.”
We moved down the hall, heading toward the exit. Complete silence filled the Recruitment Center, which meant everyone had already been evacuated.
The minute we stepped outside, hundreds of heads turned to look at us to see what had happened. The Recruits had all been gathered around outside, probably talking about the evacuation. The noise stopped abruptly when they saw us.
The cold air stung against the scratch on my arm. I pulled my arm away from Tina so I could look, turning my head too quickly, causing my world to spin. As I rocked a little where I stood, someone took my hands to steady me.
“Easy there,” Eric said, holding onto my hands tightly. Luke and Tim stood near us. Eric looked at my scratched arm and then at my face. “What happened in there?”
