I grab my stuff and head towards the door with my bag and my coffee, Tyler and Logan are already waiting for us by their door. It’s a routine; they’ll wait for us every morning and walk us to our classes, even when they’re not in them.
“Morning sunshine,” Tyler laughs at me and pulls on my ponytail. I slap him upside the head but he runs ahead laughing at me. Mornings aren’t exactly my strong suit.
“If I’d had my coffee, I’d make you regret that, I’ll just save it for later.” I wink at him with a devious smile on my face. His smile drops for a second then returns. He knows I’m not coming for him today. I have to deal with Noah.
“Morning Logan, sorry, that idiot makes me grumpier than normal. You ok?” I ask. He’s been quiet the past few days. I think he’s nervous about the Evals, but I’ll be damned if he’ll tell me a thing. Ever since Livvy started dating Peter, Logan’s’ retreated. I knew he liked her, I guess I just didn’t realise how much. And Liv, well she’s clueless, and head over heels for Peter. No idea why. I think he’s a total douchemonkey, but if she’s happy then I can put up with his lame ass.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just distracted ya know. These Evals are going to kick my ass,” he shrugs it off, but I can see the worry in his eyes.
“Oh, come on dimples,” I bump into his arm and give him half a hug, “You’ve got this. You’ll see.” He smiles, and those infamous dimples come out, he grew up from that awkward little boy stood in my doorway all those years ago, to a lean, muscled tree of a man. His sandy brown hair is cut short on the sides and longer on top. I’m sure he only keeps it that way so he can run his hands through it when he’s stressed. His dark green eyes are flecked with brown, and they look old, it makes the girls fall all over him, all except the one he wants. He wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me close.
“Careful Addie, someone might think you’re actually being nice,” Logan chuckles as he teases me. It’s common knowledge that I’m not the friendliest of people to those outside of my circle. I’ve learned the hard way that ninety percent of the population suck, humans, Vampyrs and Fae alike, so it’s easier just to not let people in. It helps me focus.
“Ha ha. You’re funny. No-one would ever mistake me for nice dimples, don’t get carried away.”
“Oh come on Addie, you know you love us really,” he whispers to me.
“Yeah, yeah. You three are different though. You’re my family. Anyway loser, this is our stop. You ready for the Basics Eval?” I ask
“Not a chance. If I walk out of here with a pass, it will literally be a miracle.”
“Cheer up Sunshine. What’s the worst that could happen?”
Logan groans at my nonchalance. At this point, if we haven’t got the skills we need, it’s too late. We won’t be leaving the Academy, and we’ll be held back a year. The only person that wants to stay here is Livvy, and that’s only because she’s still determined to teach. I watch him wander over to his desk with his head down. I really hope he’s ok.
I walk over to my table which Tyler is currently sitting on with the biggest, goofiest grin on his face. Oh god, what’s he up to?
“Tyler… what are you doing?” I ask cautiously, that smile makes me nervous!
“Oh nothing, just you know, getting ready for my Eval with my table buddy.”
“Oh hell no, Tyler! Go back and work with Logan, I work best alone,” I exclaim, he can’t honestly think today is the day to work with me? He jumps down from the table and takes a seat in the normally empty chair next to mine, just as Mr Fitz walks into the room.
“Take your seats ladies and gents. Today is Eval day, pair up if you’re not already in a pair and prepare yourself for the next two hours of your life.” I groan as I take my seat. I don’t know how he knew, but as I see Livvy sat with Logan, I realise there might be more to Tyler’s actions than I first thought.
“You’re sneaky, you know that right? You knew he was crapping it about today?” I ask him quietly.
“Course I did, he’s been a quiet mess ever since her and Peter hooked up. I figured he needed her today, plus this way, I get to work with your cheery ass, meaning I might actually pass this Eval. We both know without you, I’m a total lost cause.” I hear the girls on the table behind us practically swoon at him. Just, gag. I get that he’s pretty to look at, but the way girls go stupid about him drives me nuts. I forget how nice Tyler is underneath it all, mainly because he’s normally just a pain in my ass. He hides this side of himself well, and now I feel bad for thinking the worst of him. Jeez.
“Fine Tyler, you can work with me on the Eval, but if you screw this up, I’m totally going to kick your ass. You hear me?”
“Yes ma’am!” he replies smiling at me, like he knew I’d never make him go away anyway. I settle in next to him while Mr Fitz writes on the blackboard at the front of the room, detailing the steps of our Eval.
I get focused and start gathering the bits we need for our first step, sciences, oh the joys. And they picked Chemistry, I have no idea why. I’m never going to use this when I leave here. I head back to the table and start going through the steps with Tyler, who amazingly, actually seems to be taking on board what I’m saying. I guess he wants out of here as much as I do.
We work through the Eval faster than I thought we would, and Tyler is surprisingly helpful. Who would’ve thought? We’re just about to finish up when there’s a loud bang and a flash of light, followed by a squeal. My head shoots up to Livvy and Logan, whose table is currently smoking. Logan’s head is in his hands, and Livvy looks like she’s going to cry. Oh man, I don’t even know how they managed that. The entire class is laughing, and Mr Fitz looks like his face is going to explode, it’s so red. I want to go over to Livvy, but she looks over at me and shakes her head. She wants to fix it herself. It kills me not to help her. It’s what I do. Tyler puts his hand on mine, I look down at our hands and then up at him, he removes his hand and just shrugs. I guess that was his way of telling me to keep my ass in my seat too.
“That’s enough of a show for now, get back to your Eval, you have ten minutes to finish part one,” Mr Fitz announces, his face slightly less red than it was. I look at the clock and finish off what I was doing, as Tyler writes up the steps of what we’ve managed to do. Next is Mathematics, then Literature of the old world. The bell rings to signal the end of the Eval, and I silently hope that I don’t have to redo Basics. I drop my head on the desk. This next month couldn’t go fast enough.
***
The bell rings signalling lunch, and I don’t think I’ve ever been as thankful for that sound as I am right now. All those all-nighter study sessions with Livvy had better pay off. I put all of my things back in my bag, and put in on my shoulder as Ty stands up waiting for me, before we head over to Logan and Livvy. At least she has a smile on her face.
“Let’s go get some food,” she says as she loops her arm through mine. “I’m starving!” We all walk to the mess hall and queue to get our lunch. I love how cliquey the Academy is. This room literally looks like something out of a movie, from the old world. We might be split into colours, but the room is a sea of groups. You have the athletes; the ones who all want to be in the Red Guard, the book nerds; who mainly want to be teachers. Then there’s the ‘popular’ group; a mix of girls and guys who, for whatever reason are at the top of our crazy hierarchy. I have no idea how they got there, but I’ll put it down to them being the ‘pretty people’. I grab my lunch and head over to our table, followed by the others.
“Well, well, well. I’m surprised to see you up and walking today, after the beating you took in Defence yesterday. I didn’t think I’d see you for a few days,” Noah sniggers.
Man I hate that guy. I don’t know what crawled up his ass, but he’s had a problem with me since day one. So what if I can kick his ass. He needs to learn to deal with it.
“Oh please Noah, like you actually think I didn’t let you win. Poor baby, it must really suck to get your ass handed to you, by a girl no le
ss, every single day. I figured your ego needed the boost,” I throw back.
“If you say so, I guess we’ll see later today won’t we. You won’t beat me again.”
“Oh Noah, you wound me,” sarcasm is an instant reaction to this guy, I swear. “Now go and stroke your ego some more with your little friends, before I destroy you. Bu-bye.” I turn back to my food to see my entire table with their heads down, trying not to laugh out loud. My battle with Noah isn’t exactly a secret. I hear Noah huff behind me before he stomps away.
“Seriously Addie, he just wants to do you. I’m sure if you let him, he’d leave you alone. Or you know, become your undying love,” Tyler jokes.
“That’s just gross! Ugh. Not even if he was the last guy on earth. I’d rather kill off humanity than that!” I exclaim in disgust.
“Oh come on, he’s not that bad,” Livvy pipes up in his defence. I can see it on her face that even she doesn’t believe what she’s saying. She’s just too nice to say a bad word about anyone. It’s just one of the reasons I love her. She’s nice enough for us both. I make a noise and shoot her a look to tell her I know that she’s lying. She giggles and finishes her lunch.
“You could always put him off by dating me you know Addie. You know you want me,” Tyler says with a shit eating grin on his face.
“Keep dreaming Ty, you couldn’t handle me. I’m going to head to Defence early and practice with my Sai. Catch you guys later.” I stand up from the table and dump the rest of my food and my tray in the trash, and head to the Defence gym.
There’s no one else in here yet, so I head to the weapons cabinet and pull out the box with my name on, they’re the only thing that I was left with when I was abandoned. What sort of people leaves a baby with a weapon on the steps of a Nursery? Damned if I know, but I was given them back when I left the Nursery, and I’ve worked with them since my first Defence lesson. I lay it on the floor and kneel back in front of it. I open the box carefully and look at them. I love working with my three pronged daggers. Working with both hands simultaneously isn’t easy, but it just feels natural to me. Most people choose to fight with a Katana. I get it, they’re long swords, they give you distance, they’re easier to learn, and they’re good for offensive fighting. But these are special. I respect them, and they respect me back. Oh god I sound insane, but I still stand by it. I stand up and take them out of their velvet setting. They feel like extensions of my arms. I start to work through my basic stances and techniques with them. I rest my forefinger along the blade. Not many people fight with Sai like this all the time, but they balance better for me this way. It’s the perfect way for me to fight offensively and defensively, all at the same time. I totally zone out, so much so that I don’t realise that Dimitri is watching me from his office, until he clears his throat behind me.
“Getting in some extra training Addie? I’m pretty sure you don’t need it,” he says to me. Dimitri is my favourite teacher here, probably because he gets me, and encourages me. He gets my want, my need to be part of the Red Guard.
“I always need the extra training D. You know me, I won’t be happy till I’m passed out into the guard. Until then, it’s not good enough.”
He laughs at me. “Addie, you’ve been top of your class pretty much since you started at the Academy. I have no doubts about you getting into the guard. It’ll be a historic moment, that much is for sure.”
“That’s what I’m worried about. What if The Eight don’t let me in because I’m a girl? There’s never been a girl in the guard before. I don’t understand why, especially since there are girls in the Elite Guard, and yes I know they’re Vampyrs, but that’s not the point. Or is it? Sorry, I’m rambling. Can you tell I’m nervous?”
“You’ve got nothing to worry about. Now put the Sai away. We’re doing hand to hand again today, and I get the feeling you and Noah have a score to settle,” he smiles at me. He’s all too aware of the competition between Noah and I. I don’t understand it fully myself. Noah isn’t even in the top five in our class, but he’s had it out for me from day one.
“That I do D, that I do. Maybe I’ll just let Ty kick his ass like he offered,” I laugh, shaking my head. We all know I’d never let Tyler fight my battles. It’s not the way I’m programmed.
“Just don’t hurt him too bad,” he says with a laugh and heads back into his office to prepare for class.
***
I can’t deny the elation I woke up with today, knowing that Noah got put squarely back in his place yesterday. Today we get the day off because it’s D-day, or donation day as most people call it. Today’s the day we all get to line up for an age in the medical wing, so we can donate a pint of our blood to the banks. Every single human has to do this once a month – it helps the Vampyrs stay alive, and stops rogues like they had in the old days just feeding on and killing humans, so you know, I’m all for it. Yes, I hate needles, but if the choice is this or being drained, I know what I’d pick. Every. Single. Time.
I actually woke up before Liv today, it’s that time of year, the anniversary of her parents’ death, and she tends to get a bit sad for about a week. After that it’s like she realises her parents would hate her being sad, so she picks herself up and carries on living. But for now, I’ll leave her to grieve.
I get up and dress for the day, pulling on my favourite skinny jeans and black t-shirt. I straighten my hair and put it up, before I have to wake Liv. She’ll hate it if we’re late. I walk over to her and nudge her which makes her stir.
“Morning sleepy head, time to get up, otherwise we’ll be late for D-day,” I tell her. Her eyes pop open and she bolts up.
“Shoot! I hate being late!” she screeches as she runs around the room getting herself dressed and ready. She puts on a pair of denim shorts and a black tank along with a black hoodie, before straightening her blonde hair. Finishing up with her calf high chucks, she looks at me expectantly. How she achieves what she does in such a short amount of time amazes me sometimes. I’m exhausted just watching her, but I pull on my black leather boots and leather jacket and join her as she walks out the door. She bangs on the boys’ door to make sure they’re up too. She totally mothers us, but without her we’d all be screwed, so thank god for Livvy. Logan opens the door and mumbles some nonsense that I can’t quite make out, before they both shuffle out of the room.
“Late night boys?” I laugh. It’s nice not to be the grouch for a change! They both just groan back at me, which makes Livvy giggle.
“Come on you pair,” she laughs. “Let’s go get you some food and caffeine before we head out.” They nod and follow behind us, as we head to the mess hall. I head straight for the coffee bar and get us all a round, knowing that one of them will grab me some food, then work myself over to our table. I get there first and practically inhale my coffee. Strong and sweet, perfect! Ty drops down next to me with a tray holding two plates. Dropping his arm around my shoulders, he leans his head on me.
“Aw thanks Ty! You know just how to make a girl smile,” I say to him, the sarcasm dripping. But really, I’m drooling over the plate; poached eggs, turkey rashers and a bagel. My favourite! He grumbles something at me about his coffee, so I pass it over to him as Logan and Liv drop down across the table from us, and I can’t help but laugh at the sorry state that is half of our table.
“What did you guys even do last night? You look like death warmed up!” I ask
“Benny had the guys over, and we played some stupid drinking game, Ring of Fire. I swear to god, never again. I feel like my brain fell out my nose, and my stomach out my ass,” Ty replies, his head laying on his arms on the table, eyes closed. “Seriously, the light feels like needles in my eyes.” I can’t help but laugh harder, which makes them both groan even louder. I see Benny and the guys come through the mess hall entrance, and everyone but Benny looks like they feel the same as Logan and Ty. Benny swaggers in our direction with a smile on his face, as the others head to get food.
“I’m going to guess that Ben
ny won?” I say, just as he sits down on the other side of me.
“Damn straight girlie. These boys should know better than to play with the master!” I laugh at his cocky comment. He leans over and takes food from Ty’s plate, and Ty pushes it over to him. I guess he really does feel like crap!
The rest of the guys join us as we finish up, then head to the medical wing for donation.
“Are you guys even going to be ok to donate?” Livvy sighs. “I can’t believe you’d be so irresponsible.” The disappointment in her voice is evident, and I’m really glad she’s not talking to me. Disappointing Livvy is like denying a sad puppy. It makes you feel like shit.
“Oh come on Livvy, we didn’t mean for it to get so out of hand,” Benny says as he squirms under her gaze. He’s a gentle giant really, underneath the swagger. The rest of them look just as uncomfortable with her disappointment in them.
“Well, I guess there’s nothing to be done about it now is there? You boys just let yourselves down.” She stares at them all and then starts walking again, dragging me with her as they follow behind, heads hanging and I can’t help but giggle. She looks back and sees them before joining me, as we giggle the entire way to the medical wing. Once we get there, I’m glad she drags us so early every time. There’s hardly anyone queued up here yet, which means we should get most of the day to ourselves.
The doors open and we troop in each taking an empty bed. Liv and I get a bed, but the few people who arrived before us are in the others, so the boys get to stand and wait until we’re done.
I lie back and close my eyes. I really freaking hate needles. I swear the nurses here are Demons, not Fae, it’s like the get some sadistic pleasure from sticking us with the pointy metal.
“Are you ready dear? You’re awfully pale, are you sure you’re okay?” the Fae nurse asks. I roll my eyes behind my lids. I mean really? Do I look okay?
Descent (The Immortal Chronicles Book 1) Page 2
