“The rooms we live in here are tiny, aren’t they.” She said, making her hands look like they were a box as I nodded, “Last year it took forever for me to adjust to the feeling of being in such a tiny little room, but this year it’s better.” She said nodding.
“Were the rooms ever bigger?” I asked tilting my head.
Alissa shrugged.
“They have never been bigger than an envelope.” She said and shifted her backpack that had threatened to fall from her shoulder as we dodged a pack of girls that giggled and eyed every boy they passed.
My mind suddenly caught on her words as we approached Mr. Sheplar’s class.
“Hey, I wrote your sister that letter!” I said as I reached into my bag and pulled the folded envelope out.
Alissa caught sight of my camera within my bag as I handed her the note.
“So, you’re a photographer!” She said with a smile.
I rolled my eyes and shook my head pulling out my little camera for her to see,
“Not much of one with this thing, I just like taking pictures to remember moments.” I said with a soft smile, I realized as I looked at the camera that I had not taken one photo yet at La’ket.
For some reason as I put the camera back into my bag I wanted one of the first pictures to be of Keten. Yet I knew that was crazy as I shook my head and Alissa shook her head.
“That thing is so old...” she said with a slight laugh.
I nodded and a wisp of laughter escaped my lips.
“My father doesn’t like technology.” I said and Alissa’s brow knitted.
“He doesn’t like you SkyJumping, he doesn’t like technology, what does he like?” She asked kindly as she counted on her fingers as we paused before Mr. Sheplar’s class room.
I smiled as I realized the one thing and looked to Alissa,
“Me and after that maybe his truck.”
We both burst into a kind laughter as the bell rang.
“Come on, we’re going to be late!” Alissa said and pulled my arm as she dashed into the class.
Coming into the room, the net above was back in place and Mr. Sheplar seemed to already have everyone in a line against the wall as Delphine stood farther back.
Hurrying over I felt my cheeks heat up as the teacher glared at us with a face of stone that even my father could not match.
“Glad you could make it, Miss Deshion and Miss?” He waited, eyeing Alissa over.
“Depsey.” Alissa stammered gulping down what I knew was a lump in her throat.
Mr. Sheplar eyed us both over before turning to the class.
“Don’t think you can slide in every time with no consequence.” He said and glanced back once at us as if to make that perfectly clear.
When his back was turned, Alissa scowled and stuck her tongue out at him as if she was a three-year-old and I had to try and control a snicker from escaping my lips.
“Miss Depsey…” he said and we both froze as he turned to face us, “…What would you say would be your hardest part of this course?” He asked.
I saw that she had almost collapsed, he had not been calling on her because of what she was doing but wanted her for a question.
“Ah, well… the rope tunnel or the jump to the trapeze?” She said, unsure, glancing at both.
Mr. Sheplar nodded his head slowly and motioned to the course as again Delphine seemed to just watch for the moment as she had done the day before.
“Today, you’re going to start on the things that your nervous about doing, excluding the fighting which you will learn once you can prove you deserve such training.” He said nodding stiffly.
A girl on the front row raised her hand and out of everyone present looked the most unafraid of the group.
“Yes?” Mr. Sheplar asked.
“What if we don’t know what we should work on?” She asked truthfully.
Glancing up I knew exactly what I wanted to work on, that jump was my only problem.
Mr. Sheplar nodded to the girl,
“For anyone that did not participate yesterday in a trial run you will take on all of it and whichever part of the course you find hard or Delphine and I see you struggling with will be your section to work on for the next two and a half weeks.” When he finished the room audibly murmured as we glanced at one another.
Hushing the students, Mr. Sheplar motioned for us to quiet.
“As for the rest of you who participated yesterday, come talk with me and I’ll assign you your section of the test to work on.” He said and then motioned with a swipe, “Let’s go!”
Immediately the class became a moving body of students. Alissa looked to me as we both moved slower to get in line with the rest.
“I thought this would kinda be fun...” Alissa said glancing at me with hesitation and I knew her gaze stopped on my cheek that was still slightly swollen.
Glancing ahead as Mr. Sheplar and Delphine separated people into groups to start or be told where to go, I felt slightly hesitant as I realized a few ropes dangled from the ceiling if you wanted to jump to them.
“Ya, I’m starting to wonder about this.” I said, slightly taken by it all as we both set our bags by the other students.
“Let’s just both not die, okay?” Alissa said with a slightly worried grin.
I nodded with a huff and started over to Mr. Sheplar who directed one of the boys who had gotten stuck on the Skyjumping wall back to it.
Stepping up to him as the boy walked off with a scowl, I felt Mr. Sheplar eye me over.
“So where do you think you should practice, Miss Deshion?” He asked and for the first time it felt weird to have teachers call me by my last name as I looked up and nodded to the rope dangling in the air.
“My swing to the trapeze needs work.” I said nodding.
Mr. Sheplar seemed disappointed in my answer and I had no idea how I could possibly know what else he could have wanted me to say. My swing had failed to get me over to the trapeze.
“You’re going over to work on those.” He said and pointed.
Turning my head, I found him pointing to the blocks you came down off of from the trapeze, my mouth fell to a soft frown as I turned back to him.
“But…”
He folded his arms and raised one eyebrow to me and I felt there was nothing more but to shut my mouth and go.
Turning, I started over to the blocks and glanced back at him a few times, at first, I was confused but then I felt annoyed. Why would he make me do the blocks?! I hadn’t even made it to them! I thought as I went to the far side and looked up at the odd shaped rising columns with the smallest one before me that came easily past my waist.
Glancing back again I saw that Mr. Sheplar had started the first group of people who hadn’t gone up as I realized another person was working on climbing the blocks, it was one of the twins who had tried to trip the girl last time.
Scowling I looked back and felt betrayed, he had put me here with this boy as a punishment, I was absolutely sure.
Looking up at what was before me, I sucked in my cheek in distaste.
If this was how it would be then so be it, I would prove to Mr. Sheplar I deserved to do this test.
Starting up in a rush I moved my arms but the first set of blocks was slightly more work than I realized as I had to maneuver my body to get up. I wasn’t going to let these dumb blocks stand in my way as the other boy started down them in a jumping jog.
“Just wait tell I get to there,” I said in my mind as I pulled myself up the next block. It felt higher as my arms clawed at the smooth surface for stability, it felt strange compared to the ease of a Skyjumping climb.
By the time I reached the fourth wave of blocks the other boy was hefting himself up and might I add, he was at least a foot taller than me as he almost sprang up the block I currently faced that was as high as my shoulders.
Looking before me I tried to pull myself up but felt strange not being able to stabilize my feet on anything but air that did nothing to hel
p me.
Panting, I looked up at the next block that was now just above my chin.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I said, at the same moment the boy came jump jogging down and I watched him go with ease as if he was a gazelle and I was some lazy sloth.
It had to be his second or third time going down and I had yet to reach the top.
Looking up above me as I stepped back, I saw three more blocks that continued to grow larger in size as I shook my head. Why would he send us this way when the test went the opposite direction?!
Glancing behind me I saw Mr. Sheplar scowling at me and point to the wall in the same instance I saw Alissa tilting her head at where I stood.
A scowl crossed my lips as I turned back to the block before me and walked up to it and grappled for the edge to pull myself up. It was hard but not uncommon to do in SkyJumping as I rolled onto the top of the large block and felt my head beat with hot sweat.
My eyes caught movement below and found the boy already on his rebound back up at me. Thrusting myself over I got up and looked to the next block and could still barely reach as I pulled myself up again with my shoes trying to use the slick wall to climb.
Rolling over once again I heaved out breaths as the odd climb was wearing on me, the boy in my moment of trying to stand back up was already pulling himself up.
I had to get a move on or I was absolutely going to lose!
Rushing to the next wall of a block I started up and found even with reaching I could not touch the edge.
Coming up without even stopping, the boy ran to the wall and easily jumped and grabbed the edge, finishing by pulling himself up.
If my jaw could have fallen anymore it might have come unhinged as I looked up again, shook my head and jumped, grabbing for the edge desperately. Catching it, I pulled myself up again and felt my legs annoyed as they flailed trying to find an easier way of doing this.
Rolling again onto the top of the block I heard cries and shouts for students on the SkyJump wall, I blocked them out and came to the next block.
My eyes looked up at the wall before me and I felt completely and utterly defeated. How in the world could I accomplish this? The block was well over my height and cast a shadow over me as if to say I would not make it.
I tried jumping up, reaching for all I was worth, but my hands could not reach this last enormously high wall of a block.
Why could there not have been an object to climb? How in the world could anyone do it? I stepped back from it and wondered how the boy had done it.
Looking behind me, I saw he was only one block down. I acted as if I was taking a breather as he came up and then backed up on the edge of the block we stood on. Watching from the side wondering what he would do, when without one thought he raced at the wall and literally ran up it and grabbed the edge. Once he pulled himself up I tried to pull my jaw off the ground as I blinked trying to understand how in the world he it did as it replayed in my mind.
Just as quickly, he jumped off the top block, landed in a roll onto the block I stood and then jumped down the next block though he did not roll this time.
I turned back to the wall of a block; wide eyed,
“Ah, Quil, you can totally climb this thing.” I said, softly gulping down the lump in my throat.
Taking a breath, I stepped back to the edge and for once noticed that some of the other students were all over the walls, net and ropes but had yet to reach the trapeze. It made me feel slightly better about my current situation.
“Here goes nothing.” I said and in one bound I tried to do as the boy had done and climb the wall.
My shoe touched the slick surface and my legs went under me as my hands stupidly tried to grab for the wall.
In seconds, I was on my back and hearing a few snickers from the students on ropes as Mr. Sheplar yelled at them to keep going.
Laying on my now bruised back; I squinted my eyes as I shook my head and sat up, putting a hand to the back of my now throbbing head that only added to the pain in my cheek.
“Aw.” I moaned softly.
Looking up at the wall I realized that the boy was back and without even glancing at me he ran up the wall again with ease and was jumping from the top and rolling down in seconds.
An audible groan caught on my lips as I looked back to the wall. Getting up, I started to step back when my mind failed me as I stepped back off into air.
Before I knew what happened I was staring up at the celling from the block below.
This time, laughter could easily be heard. I felt stupid and every kind of dumb imaginable. For the hundredth time the boy passed me, and though he did not stop, he smirked when he glanced at me as I quickly, though painfully, sat up.
Blush held my cheeks as Mr. Sheplar yelled at the class and then yelled again that it was time for everyone to come back to the ground.
Standing up was both painful and hard as I felt completely humiliated.
“I was an idiot!” I thought to myself.
Some of the teens smirked before they dropped to a net below them. For once I had no desire to try and risk falling down the rest of the blocks. Moving to the edge as all the students were over by the wall we had started at.
Looking to Mr. Sheplar I looked to the ground and he pointed to the blocks.
“Down the same way you came up.” He said, nodding with no room for movement on the subject.
My face fell inward as I looked to the blocks, still feeling the pounding in my head.
“Maybe she can fall down them.” One boy snickered.
Mr. Sheplar scolded him harshly, but I still felt the sting of his words.
In one way I wished they knew how good I was at Skyjumping because now all I would be was the girl who couldn’t even climb boxes.
With the higher boxes I lowered myself, though my shoulders throbbed. Once I was low enough, I jumped down each one and nearly managed to slip into a kneeling position on the last one.
Again giggles passed my ears but by now I just felt like I could fall down and die.
By the time I made it back over to Alissa, the twin boy had finished climbing down. Mr. Sheplar waited until I was standing in the line again. In that moment as he spoke about gaining strength from our weaknesses, I hated him for the way I saw the other students glance at me, and most of all, I hated the way I felt about clumsy little me.
Chapter 15
“The Breakdown and Fire Breathing Goats.”
By the time we were out the door I felt close to tears. I tried to make it through lunch with Zac and Alissa, but all I wanted to do was curl up somewhere far away and pretend I had not looked like the biggest idiot ever to be in Mr. Sheplar’s class.
“I’m not feeling so great… I think I’m going to lie down until next period.” I said and without really listening to what Alissa and Zac said I left for my room.
Once there, I closed the door behind me and slumped to the floor as tears laced my cheeks. I cried for what felt like an hour as I thought about every stupid, idiotic thing I had done. Honestly, how hard was it to climb some boxes when you were a Skyjump? I questioned, angrily remembering their laughter but most of all Lucy’s words about how I shouldn’t be here.
Checking my watch, I found the bell was going to ring at any moment. I tried to clean up my ruddy face as both my nose and eyes were an ugly crimson.
My English class felt like a blurry movie as I hardly listened and just felt lost in my own mind. By the time I was in Math, the numbers did not even dare enter my mind. When the teacher had called on me, I again, made the class laugh as the teacher corrected that I had said the equation backwards.
I was certain this day could not have gotten any worse, that was, until I got back to my room and found Lucy blocking my door with two of her friends as if they waited for my return, their faces held in moody cat grins.
Swallowing down a lump of coal in my throat that seemed to become lodged in my lungs, I walked up to them and tried to go around them. Lucy stepped int
o my way and squinted her overly eye shadowed, narcissistic eyes at me.
“Had some trouble with big kid climbing today?” She asked in a baby voice that graded on my nerves almost as much as Mr. Deplen’s voice did.
I felt too tired to fight her or do much else but feel numb.
“Please move, Lucy.” I said with no emotion in my voice.
She raised her eyebrows at me and then glanced at her friends that snickered.
“I’m sorry, did you say something? Baby talk is just so hard to understand.” She said with an evil grin. Her friends giggled like the stupid school girls they were.
My lips twitched and I was sure for one moment that I felt my necklace glowing and my ears buzzing before I shook my head and turned away.
“It’s not worth it.” I said under my breath and started to walk back the way I had come.
Lucy called after me as I went,
“Where you going?! Not going to leave like you should have, I hope!”
In seconds, I was sprinting for my life away from her and hoping I could make it to an empty room before my eyes let tears stain my cheeks again.
Passing faces and people as I ran I did not pay attention to where I went or what room I would find until I saw the four doors lining the hall to the library and slipped in quickly to find it, as I suspected, completely empty. When everyone had a glass screen that could pull up information; who needed books?
Throwing my bag to the ground, I stepped down one of the seat levels and just stood there as I felt tears escape the sides of my eyes and slip down my cheeks in scalding agony of human emotion.
For two days I had managed to act cool and make it, but now I felt completely hopeless. How could I do any less then fail the rest of what time I had here at this rate! I considered as I squeezed my hands into fists.
I wanted to run, but knew I couldn’t. My mind caught on the waver of fire, I wanted to burn something though I knew it would do no good.
Sky Jump Page 16
