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I’d thought at first Mr. Duncan had called the tall man Mr. Bubble, but then stop shorter than expected. It made me secretly giggle to myself that such a serious man would have a funny name.
Mr. Duncan continued. “Every morning, your team manager will be at a designated spot where you will join them at the appointed time. They’ll interview you to see how you’re doing, and will be available if you have any questions. You can join them for the day’s activity planned with new recruits, or you may go to one of our groups. No matter what, remember your team manager, his or her name.
“He or she will guide you throughout the week. Listen to them. They’ll answer your questions in full. We’ve got scheduled hikes and other times where you’ll be able to get our full attention and ask all the questions you’d like as we explain to you the true Academy way.”
“If the girls will go with Mrs. Rose,” Mr. Buble said.
“Why are we getting split up, too?” one of the guys asked.
Mr. Duncan answered. “We felt it might be more comfortable for you all to have a same sex team and manager. However, if you really wish to go with Mrs. Rose, or if you girls would like to join the boys on the other teams, that’s fine. We just ask that you please wait until tomorrow. We’ve got specific things we need to go over today, and we can’t have you hopping teams right now.”
I pressed my lips together, eager to get started yet worried at the same time. Was I going to be able to handle a week of translation for Mrs. Rose? Also, I wouldn’t be able to switch out teams after I’d promised to stick by her.
I waited as Mr. Buble counted off, almost random, among the boys.
The girls naturally came together, except for one girl who stood alone, looking worried. She appeared younger, smaller, but had to be fourteen since she was here and not with the younger group. Something was different about her though I couldn’t place it.
Mrs. Rose touched my arm to get my attention. She signed to me quickly. “Tell her to join us,” she said and pointed to the girl.
I bit my lip. With Mrs. Rose unable to speak up, I would have to be her voice, and in a way, in charge.
I stepped closer to the girl and caught her attention. She looked at me with imploring eyes. Her sweater was pink with purple hearts, and she had short black hair around her face, cut at the jawline. She wore some makeup, too, lip gloss, eyeliner, and mascara, making her eyes stand out.
There was something else, too. A darkness above her lip. Like she shaved it. I knew some girls developed hair in places that weren't typical, but the closer I got, the more I realized her face resembled a boy’s.
Was she a boy dressing as a girl?
It was easier to address a stranger when it was Mrs. Rose who told me what to do. “Pardon me,” I said quietly, clasping my hands behind my back. “You’re joining us, aren’t you?”
She smirked. “I wasn’t sure.”
“I guess you can pick a team eventually,” I said. “But for now, join us?” I glanced at the group of girls: there were six others. “There’s plenty of room.”
The girl nodded and slid over on the bench until she was sitting next to the other girls.
I returned to Mrs. Rose and looked over the group. While we might have been close in age, there was one in particular who seemed older, maybe seventeen. The girls studied one another carefully. Some were more tomboy, and a few wore makeup.
Mrs. Rose started signing quickly, and I struggled at first to catch up with what she was saying. “Mrs. Rose...wants to thank you all for coming,” I said.
“Louder!” one of the girls called out.
I bit my lip, but Mrs. Rose continued. I watched her hands, focusing on her, and then talking as loud as I could. “Ah, she...wants to know if we’d like to go on a hike.” I paused as Mrs. Rose continued but she got to one I didn’t know, and I had to stop her to ask her to spell what she meant.
She did, but even then, I wasn’t sure she was serious. “She says she’s hoping we’ll spot a bear today?” The question was more for her, but Mrs. Rose nodded enthusiastically and gave me a thumbs up. I had gotten it right.
“I don’t have the right shoes,” one of the girls said. “No one told me we were going camping. My friend just put me in the car and said it was a surprise.”
The boys had almost done similar, except they’d given me Christmas presents to at least warn me I was camping. I assumed she had met someone like the boys, who brought her along as a surprise.
I thought of Kayli getting a lecture about secrecy. I wondered how many people were like me. If my parents knew, they wouldn’t understand why I was here. Maybe they didn’t have nice parents either.
Mrs. Rose signed. I translated. “Does anyone have shoes to share...” I paused and then continued on after Mrs. Rose had stopped, seeking out the girl who had spoken.
“What size?” I asked. She said and then I nodded. “That’s my size,” I said. “I’ve got sneakers. Almost brand new.” I was sure Gabriel had packed more than enough. “You can even keep them if you’d like.”
We were supposed to share, right?
Mrs. Rose had me check with everyone about clothing and shoes. We were directed to go back to our respective camps for now, and would meet at the latrine in a half hour to go on our hike. Mrs. Rose promised we’d be able to join the others after lunch in the normal camp activities, but she had to go over Academy basics and try to answer as many questions as possible.
When I was finished translating for the moment, I swallowed, my mouth dry. I was going to need lots of water if I was going to continue talking so much.
As girls began to drift away from the group, I checked in with Mrs. Rose. “Do you need me now?” I asked. “Otherwise, I’ll go get those shoes.”
She shook her head and waved me off, and then gave me another thumbs up with a smile that I knew meant I’d done a good job.
I breathed out a puff of air, relieved. She was nice but I sensed she’d be hard to keep up with all week.
I checked in with the girl who needed shoes; she was going to follow another girl to her tent for better clothes for hiking and would meet me at the latrine after.
I was finally on my way to check in with my team when I noticed the girl that seemed to be a boy standing alone by herself. She pressed her lips together, looking uncomfortable.
Mrs. Rose asking me for help made me feel like I was her assistant of sorts. I waved to the girl and motioned to her to follow me.
The girl smiled and moved up the slope until she stood beside me. “Sorry,” she said in her husky voice. “I don’t have a tent set up yet anywhere. I was sort of brought along at the last minute.”
I wondered exactly how many of them were at least told they were camping. Did their friends, the teams that brought them, not bring anything for them?
“Do you need better hiking clothes?” I asked, looking at her dark jeans, the pink and purple sweater, and then the black boots. “Are you comfortable in that?”
“I guess,” she said. When she blinked, it revealed very black eyeshadow covering most of her upper eyelid, making her seem dark and dangerous. “What’s your name?”
“Sang.”
She tilted her head and made a curious face. “Sang? Is that your real name?”
I nodded.
“I’m Lake,” she said, brushing her hair back from her face. Her nails were manicured, painted black.
I blinked at her. I had strange name myself, and often got questioned on it, but I wanted to make sure to get it right. “Like...the water? Lake?”
She nodded.
I wanted to ask if that was her real name, too but didn’t want to offend her. Did it matter? As long as that’s what she wanted to be called. “Did a team bring you?”
“It was my psychologist,” she said. “She said there was a school for people with gifted abilities, but without means to afford a private education. She asked if I wanted to come to this.” She motioned to the area around us. “Crazy school enrollment, isn?
??t it?”
She was told this was like a private school?
Didn’t I think it was in the beginning?
I wondered if, by simply being around the guys, I knew more than most new recruits.
Not wanting to let on that I knew anything, and still not sure how much I even understood, I nodded and continued up the steps. “If you want to follow, I just need to go back to my tent.”
She did follow, but I suddenly regretted bringing her when I looked up and found Gabriel, Kota and North standing at the top of the path, waiting for me. I couldn’t see the others. I wondered if they’d left to do camp things.
I cringed, realizing I might not be able to say much now with her beside me, not knowing how much I could say.
When we got close, Kota smiled. The others were smiling, too, but Gabriel shifted on his feet, and North’s smile was tight. Something was bothering them. Were they nervous?
Only Kota seemed at ease. He’d rolled up his sleeves, and was holding a stack of paper maps. “How’d it go?”
“Not bad, I guess,” I said. While I wanted to tell Gabriel and North about Kayli and what she’d said, I knew it would have to wait. “I need to go back to the camp and grab shoes for one of the girls who didn’t bring anything.”
“Sounds good,” Kota said. “You’re staying with the girls today?”
He made it seem like my choice, but I hadn’t been given the option to join my team. “They asked if I could help Mrs. Rose translate,” I said, shifting, looking at North and Gabriel.
Their smiles faltered, just a fraction, but they recovered.
“Aw,” Gabriel said. “Who’s going to be my camping buddy now?”
“It’s just...”
