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A thunderous applause erupted just then.

The man with the microphone waved once and the crowd settled. “You can meet them all through the week,” he said. “I just wanted to say hello.”

I was still scanning the crowd but didn’t see the guys. The Academy seemed bigger than Ashley Waters. How many people were here today? And how many hadn’t made it in?

“New people, this is your chance to get to know us. You were invited to our Academy for a reason. You’re smart. You’re capable. You have a desire to help others. It’s that simple, folks. I know it looks complicated from the outside, but this is your chance to learn it from the inside. We’ll help you find your place and then we’ll all work together to help others.”

“I don’t want to take up any more time unless we have any announcements?” He turned, looking at Dr. Roberts, who shook his head, but Mrs. Rose started signing at him. Her hands moved so fast and from this distance, I couldn’t make it out.

“Oh, right,” the man said and turned once again to the audience. “Most of your team and family leads will be in the cabins as we need to go over new protocols and train new leads for the year. If you need them, find the cabins. Maps will be handed out to you as you leave here. Grab two. Remember the rule of two.”

Rule of two? I didn’t know what that meant.

Also, what he’d said meant Kota and Mr. Blackbourne might be gone for most of the day, perhaps the whole week unless Dr. Green took over for Kota...

“Before everyone leaves,” he continued, “I need all the new people down here with us. We’d just like to say hello and get to know you.” He clapped his hands over his head and then spread them out. “I think that’s it. Emergency information is on the map. We’re all family here. Have fun.”

Everyone stood, including me. My heart went into a panic as people started to move. Marc went to talk to their girl, who was angrily shaking her head and pointing to Mr. Toma.

I knew I was expected down at the front, but I felt like I needed to locate someone familiar, like Kota. Looking around and not seeing him or any of the boys, I felt misplaced. Did I have to go down there by myself?

“Miss Sorenson?” came a loud voice and then as I turned my head toward it, I recognized Dr. Roberts waving to me from the stage area to get my attention. He curled his finger at me. “Come on up here.”

While he wasn’t one of the guys, I was grateful for the familiar face and scooted out of the seats.

Then he pointed to the angry girl with Mr. Toma. “Miss Winchester. Would you please join us?”

The girl frowned, said something to Mr. Toma, but then followed. But instead of going around, she walked along the benches, using them as steps to go down into the center. When she got to the end, she jumped off the first row and shuffled her way toward Dr. Roberts.

I used the designated path and ended up beside her, watching at Dr. Roberts, while he looked behind us.

I turned looked at the rest of the group assembling around me. Some of the girls were my age, and only two were older, one being the angry girl. The guys were varying ages, and there were many more of them than there were girls.

There were at least fifty of us, standing together and waiting.

I kept looking behind me, hoping for Kota or one of the others to find me.

Then I recognized one of the people handing out maps at the very top of the hill, near the garbage cans: Silas. He had on a ball cap, but I was sure it was him. Maybe they hadn’t been sitting at all. Maybe they’d been stationed up there to pass out maps.

I should have insisted I’d stay with Kota. I would have been with them and could have asked them so many things.

Mr. Toma, Marc, and the rest of their team hadn’t moved, and sat on the benches together, all eyes on the angry girl—Miss Winchester. Waiting.

Miss Winchester stood with her arms across her breasts, the T-shirt and bulky jacket she wore making her look frumpy. She was beautiful, with green eyes like mine, but hers were sharp and calculating like she could knife your soul or save it with just a look.

I didn’t recognize any of the others.

I still felt out of water, but I waited, trying to calm my panicked heart, knowing this might be my future with the Academy.

???

Mr. Duncan clapped his hands and we all turned and focused on him.

He smiled. He had a broad body, wide shoulders, and a protruding stomach, but he was friendly-looking. The rest of his body looked strong and didn’t match his stomach. “Welcome,” he said. “I know you all must be really confused.”

“Tell me about it,” one of the guys said. He appeared about my age and wore a dour expression. “I’ve got questions.”

“Me, too,” one of the young girls said. She stood tall and put her hands on her hips. “Why are we here? And what are all these rules they can’t tell me about?”

Mr. Duncan spread out his hands and smiled. “That’s what you’re all here to learn about, although it’s a lot to go over. You will be free to ask any questions you like.” When the dour guy started to open his mouth, Mr. Duncan cut him off with a hand wave. “Hang onto your questions for now until after we’re done here. We want to get to know you individually and have a discussion.”

“If you all would get in a line,” Dr. Roberts said, stepping forward. “We want to know your name, where you are from. You might have met one of us before, but we’d like to introduce you all formally now.”

Introductions. Formal ones. Like Mr. Blackbourne had said. I scanned the stadium again, seeing the others at the top, still handing out maps. Did I have to do this part alone? I thought they would be here. My hand fluttered up, and I touched my lower lip once, but then paused and hid my hands behind my back. I didn’t want to appear as nervous as I felt.

I wished I’d had some warning. Perhaps Kota had stayed behind to tell me but wasn’t able to.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw Miss Winchester’s team sitting away from her as well. A few other guy and girl teams were still in the stands, lingering and looking toward us. Maybe they were waiting to see what happened.

I started getting into line when Dr. Roberts walked by and pulled me casually out by the elbow, giving me a handshake. “Hello there, familiar face.”

As the line was assembling, I worried I was going to be late for something.

Dr. Roberts ducked his head to catch my eye and kept a firm hold of my hand. “I have some more of those candies if you’d like one.”

I almost said no thank you but then registered what he said. I nodded enthusiastically. He had no idea how much I needed something to get the taste of spicy avocado coffee out of my mouth.

Dr. Roberts handed me a foil-wrapped strawberry cream candy he’d pulled from his pocket. I opened it quickly and popped it into my mouth, suckling at the flavor. It was a funny taste at first, but soon it washed away the old flavors, leaving only creamy strawberry. It was such a relief.

Dr. Roberts glanced at the line again and then winked at me. “Sorry,” he said. “Looks like you’re last t

o get in line but don’t fret; last is not least here.”

He walked toward the line, seeming to size up the others. He guided Miss Winchester from her spot in the middle to the back of the line, putting her at the very end before he walked away quickly.

She gave him a glare before she pulled a strawberry candy out from her pocket, opened it and put it in her mouth. I hadn’t even seen Dr. Roberts give her one. Had he dropped it in her pocket, or given it to her earlier? She seemed surprised to see it.

Why did he put her last in line?

Actually, I realized he had held me up so that I was last in line. He’d been distracting me on purpose. He had placed Miss Winchester in front of me, though. I wondered about his reasoning as I followed the line down and got into place.

The younger kids were at the front of the line, and since I was in the back, I didn’t hear much of what the group of adults were saying to them. They invited the first one in and the adults closed in around him—a young boy--speaking to him privately, but still within view of anyone who was paying attention.

“This is so stupid,” Miss Winchester in a low voice. Her hands were in her jacket pockets, but even then, I could tell they were clenched, shoved far in. “Why not just tell us? Why separate us out?”

Maybe it was procedure? Weren’t we supposed to trust that they were on our side? Maybe because she and I appeared to be older, we were being held back to wait. But that didn’t make sense either because there were another couple of girls and a few boys who could have easily been our age, and they were scattered among the other younger kids.

I shifted from foot to foot, staring eagerly toward the front of the line. I smoothed down my hair, redoing it in the clip and straightened my sweater on my shoulders.

Nothing eased my nerves and it was worse being at the back. I couldn’t hear what might be asked giving me time to prepare what to say.

It wasn’t until we’d gotten through half the line that I figured out that once a kid had spoken to the circle of Academy adults, most of them would join people waiting for them in the bench seats. A team would then leave the area, new kid in tow, getting their maps and walking away.

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