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Master Alcántara strolled back to the front of the classroom, casually leaning against the top of the teacher’s desk. Was it a trick that made it seem like his eyes were aimed straight at me?
My cheeks burned. Why did he stare at me as he mentioned music? I hoped mind-reading vampires were just the stuff of books, and that he didn’t, in fact, know about my hidden iPod.
“You’ve become acquainted with crude infiltration and reconnaissance techniques—locks, wiretaps, hacking. Now, tell me: In what way can the most basic mathematic principles be applied to espionage?”
His eyes didn’t waver from me. But there were other kids in the class. He was staring at me—I was sure of it now. But why?
Everyone else was silent. Were they looking at me, too? Was the question directed at me? I couldn’t tell—nor could I bring myself to look away.
“Acari Drew, is it?” Master Alcántara gave me a half-lidded smile. “A spirited name. I like spirit. Tell me, Acari Drew, do you need to decline the question?”
My eyes felt locked to his. Like he’d hypnotized me.
“Yo, D. ” Yasuo’s voice was a harsh whisper at my left side.
Tracer Judge cleared his throat. “Drew?”
The interruption broke the moment, jolting me back to myself. “Um, yeah. I mean, no. I can answer it. ”
I rocked at math. Only I was acting like a girl who hadn’t studied her times tables. I forced myself to focus.
“Sorry. A way math could be used for surveillance . . . ” I shifted in my seat, feeling pinned like a butterfly in a glass case. My words came out in a rush. “Well, a mathematician could use graph theory. For example, you could apply a mathematical structure to phone records in order to determine enemy cells. Like, if each node represented a caller, and you graphed it out, you could identify central players, hierarchies—that kind of thing. ”
“Very nice. ” Master Alcántara’s eyes grew warm, lingering on me. I found myself uncomfortably aroused. A fly drawn to the deadly spider. “This sort of critical thinking”—he gave me a courtly nod, and I thought I might catch fire—“reflects an understanding of how the basic elements of learning become relevant in the world at large. ”
He expanded on the thought, but all I heard was blah, blah, blah, because he’d enthralled me. Like a snake charmer. And he still seemed to be staring. At me. Even now, I felt that glinting gaze like a buzz on my skin.
“And it’s precisely the sort of thinking that will earn top honors and this semester’s Directorate Award. ”
Finally, he glanced away. At the word award, I sat bolt upright. They gave out awards here? I wondered if I could win myself a single room.
“As you know, only an elite selection of young women will advance to the next stage of Watcher training. ” Master Alcántara scanned the room intently. “What you don’t know is that the top Acari will earn the privilege of shadowing me at the end of this semester. On a mission off-island. ”
There was a collective gasp among the girls, while the low hum of guys’ complaints rumbled through the room. An award available only to the female students, and the prize was a ticket off the island.
“To determine this semester’s winner, there will be a test in one of the four disciplines. A challenge. Participation is voluntary, though we would expect any Acari with an ambition toward becoming a Watcher would choose to compete. ”
A bright light flared to life inside me. You bet I was going to compete. I’d spent the last twelve-plus years at the top of my class. I could win the award, win a shot at traveling off this rock. I didn’t know what was more appealing—shadowing Master Alcántara or a chance at escape.
I’d win, spend some time with an ancient mathematician—a prospect chilling but oddly seductive, too—and then I’d find a way to run away. I didn’t know where precisely off-island was, but surely I could sneak out and find a boat. I could make a break for it.
He smiled then, wickedly. “But Acari should strive to be the best in every discipline, be it languages or fitness or the social arts. And so we will not disclose the test subject until the semester draws to an end. ”
My bright light wavered. A test in fitness? Social arts? Crap.
I stole a quick look at the rows behind me. Only Acari were eligible, so my gaze skipped over the boys, weighing my female competition. There was the leggy Valkyrie who always gave Master Dagursson a run for his money on the dance floor. The gang girls who fought dirty, and the butch ones who didn’t need to. There was Lilac.
Every one of them was stronger than me in the other subjects. But nobody could beat me in academics.
Did that mean I was a shoo-in? Surely they wouldn’t choose a nonsense class for the test. How would you compete in social graces, anyway? No, it was sure to be something like phenomena. A topic in algebra, maybe. Or an essay test. Like, on Norse mythology.
“She who accomplishes these things shall find herself rewarded in a manner heretofore unfathomed. ” He seemed to direct the words at me, his eyes pinned once more on me. They glimmered, like he was a predator toying with dinner.
A thrill crackled through me, sweeping across my chest. Never had being good at school entailed the possibility of unfathomably awesome rewards. The thought of what that might even mean made my breath catch in my throat.
The combat, the stupid ballroom dancing—I vowed I would find a way to excel at all of it. Even so, I suspected that surely the challenge would be in an academic discipline.
I looked up and he was still watching me, almost expectantly. I shivered. Could he read my mind? Was he confirming my thoughts?
