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His eyes sparked with amusement. “You’re going to walk away after they spent all those favors and money?”
I was still now, looking at him, unsure. “It might cost so much more if I...”
“It’s always a lot of favors when you take in a new recruit. If you walk away, though, it will all have been for nothing.” He leaned in closer, and his voice lowered. “They’ve gotten you this far, haven’t they?”
I nodded again.
“Well? If they’ve done this for you, then they must care a lot about you. Besides, you’ll get favors when you join, right?”
“Right...”
“Think, dummy?” he said, reaching to poke me in the forehead with a long finger. “Wouldn’t you spend the money and favors on them?”
I nodded, seeing his point.
He beamed and retracted his hand. “Same thing. You’d do it for them. Let them do it for you. Besides, if you’re a girl, you’ve got a bargaining chip.”
“What do you mean?”
“Girls are worth more,” he said. “You can negotiate jobs pretty quickly, even before you’re official.” He blew a breath upward toward his hair that was falling in his eyes again. He brushed the strands further back with his hand and nodded toward the cabin. “I was hoping she’d go through with something like that, but I can’t even get her to take camp seriously. They won’t give her a job if they can’t trust her. You might have a chance, though.”
I considered what he’d said. “What can I say?” I said. “How do I ask for a job?”
“You just say you’re willing to do anything at all to ensure the cost of putting you on your team is covered by you alone, and not your team. Or something like that. My buddy Raven had to do that before they let him in. We were too low on cash to bring him over.” Marc put a palm over his heart. “God, he was easy street compared to trying to get Kayli in.”
“Maybe she doesn’t want in,” I said. “You’re not pushing her, are you?”
He sat back now, shrugging. “I don’t know. She says she wants in, but I don’t think she’s the team player type.”
I looked at the cabin. It seemed so quiet—I couldn’t imagine what was going on in there. “You’ll go in to vouch for her? Is that normal?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Family lead does that. They’re supposed to go in after the council’s had a chance to talk to them.”
I gulped. It was why Kota had come for me. He knew he’d have to be here.
I sunk in my seat, sure that Kota wouldn’t be able to say the words now. Not after what he saw. He probably didn’t think I was Academy material now.
“Hey,” Marc said. He reached back and pulled out his phone. “Can you...would you mind giving me your phone number?”
I blinked at him. “Why?”
He laughed lightly. “Not for what you’re thinking. I just want to see how you’re doing down the road. Maybe compare notes? Seems like we’re in the same situation.”
I wanted to tell him about Lily, although she might not want to be contacted. Maybe I could find a way to ask her if it was okay to give him her contact information so he could talk to her about her team. “If you’d like.”
He nodded. “Sure.” He paused and put his phone down in his lap. “Oh wait, maybe I should ask your doc. I don’t want him thinking I’m flirting with his girlfriend.”
I winced. In a few minutes, it might not even matter, in which case I wouldn’t have any insight for him, except not to kiss Kayli unless he’s sure his other team members were on board.
Still, I told him my number. “You can still ask him, if you want. I don’t have my phone on me right now, so I can’t take your number.”
“It’s okay,” he said and typed out a message. “I’m just going to send you a quick message so you know it’s me.”
That sounded reasonable.
He finished his message and sent it, but before I had a chance to say anything, the door to the cabin burst open, slamming against the side of the cabin with a bang.
Out walked Kayli, clenched fists at her thighs, stomping down the steps, glaring around until her narrowed eyes settled on Marc.
Marc whistled low. “This isn’t good.”
“Good luck,” I said.
“I’ll need it.” He stood up and walked toward Kayli. He said a few things, pointed my way as I hunched down in my chair. Kayli glared at me and said something to him. He said something back, patted her on the shoulder, and headed toward the steps.
Kayli headed in my direction.
I tried not to cower. She was in properly-fitted jeans, a white T-shirt, black leather jacket and black boots. Her hair was straight, brown.
She was North as a girl: beautiful but angry, more terrifying.
I held tightly to the chair, swallowing. She stood over me, peering down. “He told me you have a guy team.”
I looked down and nodded.
“You’re with North, aren’t you?”
This caused me to look up, blinking at her. “Yes?”
“I was talking to him yesterday,” she said. She shifted and sat down where Marc had been. She bent forward, with elbows on her knees, like boys sit, and looked at my face. “Marc said he got your number?”
I nodded again, uncomfortable with the way she was staring at me. “I’m not...I’m not...” I was going to say something but I didn’t want to say it wrong and make her angry.
“You’re not interested in him,” she said, an eyebrow going up. “Romantically? Is that what you’re trying to say?”
I nodded, feeling like my head was going to bob off my neck. “My team...I have enough…” I paused, feeling weird and not wanting to go into those details.
She backed off and sighed. “I’m not interested in North,” she said. “Believe me, I’ve got enough, too. And I don’t date kids.”
I pressed my lips together at her calling North a kid, but I didn’t say anything.
“Marc said I should talk to you, but I’d rather talk to North,” she said. “We kind of had a conversation last night and I’d like to continue. It’s about…it’s complicated. Do you mind? It’s just talking.”
“I don’t mind,” I said. This seemed like a fair compromise. I wasn’t interested in Marc, but it would be nice to talk to someone going through the same struggles. Liam and Lily and their team were so far ahead, so much older. It was helpful, but knowing another team made it feel less...not normal. “I wouldn’t mind talking to Marc.” He was nice. “Just to...compare notes.”
“On a girl joining a guy team,” she said, her eyes going dark. “I told them I wouldn’t even be interested in being on any other team. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t even be here.”
“You don’t have to join,” I said quietly, unsure if she wanted to hear it.
She stared at me. “They make such a big deal about it.”
“But you knew about it before you came here? Maybe helped them a little?”
She stuffed her hands into her pockets and laughed, though I didn’t know why. “Yeah, you could say that.”
“Now that you can see a little of what the inside is like, could you live with going back to how it was? Knowing sometimes they won’t be able to tell you things, or running off into the night without you?”
She pressed her lips together, not answering.
Those were the questions I was facing as well. I’d learned a lot about the Academy, but I was lacking a lot of the details, and if I quit now, I may not ever be invited back.
But I faced a much worse dilemma than Kayli, or at least I thought I did.
I stole a look at her, and then simply knew we’d come to a delicate truth. We were aware of each other and were possibly following the same path.
We’d eliminated the potential for any future surprises and jealousy right away. I trusted North, and she trusted Marc, and we knew that line would never be crossed by either of us.
We were Academy. Maybe we’d even have to work together someday.
The
door opened and out walked Marc, his hands in his pockets, gazing at his feet as he stepped down the stairs and headed our way.
Dr. Roberts was at the door. “It’s the only way,” he told Marc as he left.
Marc frowned but ignored him as he continued walking from the cabin.
Kayli stood up in a shot, fists clenched at her sides. “What?” she asked. “I’m out, aren’t I?”
“No,” he said, still frowning, as he continued, toward the path. “But you’re not going to like it.”
