Orientation Week

by Ruby Vincent

  The minute she was gone, he pounced on me. “What was that?”

  “Me? I was going to ask you that. Why didn’t you talk to her? She was standing right there.”

  “She was there talking to you,” he replied. “Are you guys friends?”

  I shrugged. “Yeah. I guess we are.”

  He threw up his hands. “I’ve been trying to get her to notice me since preschool and you become her friend after a couple of days.” He carded his hand through his curls, somehow not messing them up. “I know it’s my fault, but my brain turns to mush whenever she’s around.”

  I know the feeling, I thought as I spotted Landon walking into the cafeteria. I didn’t have an apple for him today, and my silly heart twinged with regret. If this is what crushes were like, I certainly understood Adam better.

  “Give it time. She’ll get to know you and see how amazing you are.”

  Adam laughed. “Alright, Mom.”

  I winced. It was harder to control these slipups than I thought it would be. Time to change the subject.

  “Are you ready for the running trials?” I asked. “Michael said yesterday that he was going out early to warm up. Maybe we should too.”

  “Early for Michael is four a.m.”

  “That’s because he’s a true champion.” We hadn’t noticed Cameron sliding up to our table. His shadow, Santiago, was right behind him. “Everyone expects him to win today and he’s not going to let us down.”

  I noticed that wasn’t a question.

  “Did you need something, Cameron?” Adam asked.

  “Yes.” He held out his hands. “Your phones. We’re giving you our numbers.”

  Adam and I shared a look. I couldn’t think of a reason not to hand over the phone. Actually, it would make it easier to pelt him with the questions I still had.

  I passed it over. The boys typed their numbers in, handed it back, and moved on to Landon’s table.

  “Do you think the administration knows?” I asked Adam though my eyes remained fixed on them. “About the Elite Network? Or their recruiting tactics during orientations?”

  “No, they don’t.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  “My mom is friends with Argyle. She would have told my mom something like that and then Mom would have told me. More than that, she wouldn’t have enrolled me in this school.”

  “But how can they operate under everyone’s noses like that?”

  “By making sure people are too afraid to talk. It’s worked before.”

  I shifted around and faced him. “Why did you say yes to Cameron that night? Are you hoping that the Network will get you to where you want to be?”

  “No. I know that I don’t need them to get far in life. Either way, I’m taking over for my dad and bringing the company to new heights. The only question is if getting there will be easy or difficult, and saying no to Cameron Dupre is the quickest way to make it difficult.”

  I swung my head back to the handsome, smiling boy. There was nothing in that perfect face that said he would make trouble for anyone, but I trusted what Adam and my own sense told me. I was more than happy to keep him smiling. Making an enemy of Cameron was not what I came here to do.

  The two of us finished our breakfast and went up to our rooms to change. I was doing this trial and even though I didn’t expect to place anywhere near the top, at least I could get points on my score.

  Owen and Justin caught up to us when we stepped onto the lawn. Together the four of us headed out to the track where most of the boys were already huddled in front of the bleachers.

  “Ready, Owen?” Justin asked. “Time for you to come back hard after yesterday.”

  “I’m ready. This is the one trial I should be able to do without a problem. There’s no way I’ll be able to get into A Class, but at least I can become a C.”

  Adam squeezed his shoulder. “Where you’re placed isn’t where you have to stay. You’ll only be a C for a semester. Then you’re with us.”

  Owen beamed, standing a little taller. “Thanks, man.”

  I smiled. Adam is amazing. Melody will see that.

  “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” I piped up. “Don’t push yourself too hard. Your arm needs to heal properly.”

  Owen laughed. “You sound like my mom. I’ll be fine, Zeke.”

  I cleared my throat. “Right, yeah, of course. Tough it out.”

  If I keep this up, Mom will be my nickname, not Homeschooler.

  “Boys, your attention, please!”

  The call brought our chatter to a dead halt. Together, we formed a group around a slim man with a cap and whistle. The cap was pulled low on his forehead, casting shadows on his eyes, but his smile I could see without a problem. It was wide, beaming, and showed off all of his teeth. The guy was brimming with excitement for the trial to come.

  But he doesn’t have to do the running, I thought while he rattled out instructions. But at least he seems nice. All of the other coaches so far have been so serious.

  “—is Coach Potts,” he announced. “Today is simple. You’ll race in groups of five. The winner of each group will move on to the next race. The others are done for the day. This will continue until the last five students have raced and we’ve determined the number one in the class. Understood?”

  My eyes drifted off Potts and sought Michael in the crowd. I finally found him in the back next to Cole. My heart thumped at the sight of him.

  His running clothes hung loose, but still his shorts and tank did nothing to hide his sculpted body. Every inch of him was lean, hard muscle and it tantalized like the look on his face as he laughed with Cole. Beams of light fell across him and made his copper skin gleam as he tossed his head back.

  Wow. He is so—

  Michael lifted his head and our eyes met.

  I jerked. Oh my gosh. He caught me looking. What do I do? What— He’s coming over here!

  “Alright, everyone,” Coach Potts sounded. “First five, take your places. The rest of you grab some bleachers.”

  My class set off in the opposite direction while Michael kept coming toward me. I stiffened with every step.

  He’s coming. What do I do?

  Just play it cool, my internal voice said. Stop acting like a lovesick teenage girl. He’s not that hot.

  Michael jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Zeke, come sit with us.”

  “Okay.” I practically tripped running after him. Who was I kidding? The guy was so hot that looking at him too long would burn out your retinas.

  Michael and I sat down next to Cole on the bottom seat, giving us the perfect view of the race. We watched as the five students took their positions. Some looked confident. The others looked like they wanted to lie down and give up right there.

  Coach had just sounded his whistle when a slight nudge on my arm made me look away.

  “When you go, remember to breathe properly,” said Michael. He spoke to me but kept his eyes on the race. “No quick, shallow breaths. You have to breathe steady and deep. Also, keep your head straight and don’t hunch your shoulders. You need to maintain the right form.”

  I pulled a face. “Are you giving me tips?”

  “Obviously,” he said with a chuckle.

  “Why?”

  “You said your homeschooling mostly consisted of sitting at the table with a math book glued to your hand. Breakbattle might not think so, but I don’t think it’s fair that you have to compete against all of us when you haven’t done much running.” He nudged me again. “Besides, if we’re really going to be Elite, we have to help each other.”

  “Is that a good idea?” A smile played at my lips. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll blow past you in this trial?”

  He grinned back at me. “Not even a little. I’m winning this one, Zeke. Everyone knows it.”

  I might have teased him about being arrogant if it wasn’t for the matter-of-fact way he said that. It didn’t sound like bragging. Michael spoke like one who simply knew that th
ey were the best and pretending otherwise was a waste of time.

  “Okay,” I said instead. “Then, I’ll take all the tips you’ve got. I read last night that you shouldn’t clench your hands, but you also shouldn’t let them flop. So what are you supposed to do?”

  “Right. You want to hold your hands like this and...”

  Michael and I chatted through most of the trial. It was halfway in that I felt something on my neck and turned around to find Owen practically on top of me, listening in. He wasn’t the only one.

  Michael looked amused at the sight of them. “You guys have questions too? I’ll answer them.”

  The tide was unleashed.

  “Michael, how do I run faster?”

  “Michael, what’s the right way to strike the ground?”

  “Michael, how do I improve my breathing?”

  In ten seconds flat, I was shoved down the bench and five guys were between me and Michael.

  I stood to get away from the shoving when Coach called, “Next group! Manning, you’re up.”

  Four other guys got up from their seats and joined me on the track. None of them were in my orientation group, so I didn’t know how good they were or how screwed I was. I wasn’t moving on to the next round without beating them and I needed big points to make up for sitting out the swimming trials.

  Just focus on what Michael said. Face forward, hands relaxed, shoulders back, and breathe. I can do this. I repeated the mantra to myself as my heart slowed. I can do this.

  “On your marks!” Coach bellowed. “Set!”

  “Eeeek!”

  I took off. The track lay before me, stretching into a sea of reddish-orange and white lines. Beside me, my opponents huffed and puffed. Their arms swung wildly like they were hoping to sprout wings and soar to the finish line.

  “Face forward, Zeke. Don’t look anywhere but ahead.”

  I heeded Michael’s voice. Turning away from the others, my world narrowed until I could see nothing but what existed between my white lines.

  In. Out. In. Out.

  My breathing centered me as I curved around the first bend. I wasn’t choking or gasping to fill burning lungs like the other rare times that I ran. I felt fine. No, I felt good.

  I put on a burst of speed, just to see if I could go faster, and my legs responded to the challenge.

  Beads of sweat collected on my forehead, but I couldn’t risk the distraction of brushing it away. My heart pounded in time to my feet and my body felt perfectly in sync for the first time in my life. So this was why people ran.

  I curved around the final bend and—

  “Eeek!” Coach blew sharply on his whistle, startling me to a stumbling halt. “Winner! Zeke Manning.”

  What? I won?

  I whipped around and saw the others trailing me, still running around the final curve. I had done it. I won.

  Cheers went up in the stands. Adam, Owen, Justin, and Michael were on their feet, whooping. I zeroed in on Michael, and before I knew it, I was off the track and throwing myself at him.

  “Nice job, Ze—” I grabbed him and squeezed hard enough to hear a grunt. “Okay. We’re hugging now.”

  “That was amazing!” I gushed. “I did everything you said and it worked. I can’t believe it!”

  Michael laughed, although he didn’t hug me back. “Course it worked, but you’re not so bad. A natural.”

  “I loved that,” I said as I released him. “It was like being in my own zone. I never got why people woke up every day to run around in a circle, but I totally understand it now.”

  “Don’t get too excited.” A drawl to my left drew my attention. Cole gave me his patented scowl. “You haven’t advanced to the final race yet.”

  He had a point, but I wasn’t letting him pop my bubble. Everyone here had a top subject and a top sport. Even if I never got on Michael’s level, running could still be mine.

  “Next group,” Coach called. “And you, Manning. Hit the water station.”

  Michael and I went in opposite directions. I headed over to the cooler while he stepped up to the line. I stood there sipping the chilled water as Coach put the whistle to his lips.

  He blew and I almost choked on the drink. Michael shot off in a torrent of gasps from the stands. My eyes widened as I watched him pull so far ahead, I knew there was no chance his challengers would catch up to him. At that moment, I knew what everyone else did: Michael Young was winning this trial.

  “MICHAEL WAS AMAZING. Coach actually pulled him aside after and said he expects to see him on the team in the fall. None of the other coaches said anything like that.”

  Adam pulled ahead and pushed open the door to the dorms. He held it for me. “They’re not supposed to. We can’t get any clue to how we did on the trials until after the scores go up, but everyone knows Michael plans to follow in his mother’s footsteps. Coach Potts isn’t missing his chance to train a future Olympian.”

  “It’s like a whole other world over here,” I said as we climbed the stairs. “I’ve lived in places where all that needs to be achieved is feeding your family, building your home, or finishing your education, but here people are working to take over companies, represent their country, or be known as the best in the world. Everywhere you go, we’re all the same, but still so different.”

  Adam didn’t reply right away. I glanced over at him and spotted his amused smile.

  “Sorry,” I said. “My cousin said I like to get poetic. It’s just that being here makes me wonder what I want out of my future. There’s so much I can do with math, but I haven’t sat down and thought about what.”

  “You might have a career as a runner if the math doesn’t work out. You made it all the way to the final fifteen. Not bad.”

  It wasn’t so bad considering I came in third behind the guy who won that race. Coach even thumped my back and sent me off to the showers with a smile. I didn’t leave even though all the other students who completed the trial left at the first opportunity. I hung back and watched the final race between Adam, Michael, Cole, Derek, and a kid named Lars Johansson. Michael finished long before them, but the other boys’ times were impressive.

  “Tomorrow is basketball,” I said as we entered our room. “Are you secretly brilliant at that too?”

  Adam laughed. “No way.” He stepped up to his bed and reached for the hem of his jersey. I immediately turned my back when he peeled it over his head. “I played with my dad once when I was six. He tossed it at me, I missed, and it hit me in the face. I ran crying to Mom and never played again.”

  I burst into giggles at the mental image. “Not even in your gym classes?”

  “Got out of it by practicing with the swim team. Things don’t fly at you in the pool. I’m all for that.” I heard movement behind me. “I’m going to hit the shower unless you want to go first?”

  “No, you go ahead.”

  I waited until the door closed before sitting at my desk. I had gotten an idea while I was talking with Michael, and now, I finally had a chance to check it out.

  I pulled a notebook out of my desk and then sat down at my computer. When Adam came out of the shower, there were three notebooks in front of me and twelve tabs open.

  “What’s all this?” I sensed a presence over me and my nose was filled with the scent of pine and sandalwood. “Are you studying for the placement test?”

  “No, I’m studying for tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow? How can you study to play basketball?”

  “Adam, it’s so cool.” I swung around in my seat and found myself inches from his bare chest. I quickly swung back, cheeks hot. I didn’t like Adam like that. What was the point when he was smitten with Melody? But it was still strange for me to be around guys with their shirts off. I had lived in a lot of places, but Mom had kept me pretty sheltered.

  I need to talk to him about getting dressed in the bathroom.

  “What’s cool?”

  I cleared my throat, focusing on my notes. “Michael was giving me
tips before the race, and while he was talking, I thought this was just like math. You have rules. There is a right and a wrong way to run, just like there’s a right and wrong way to solve a problem.” My voice got higher with excitement. “So what if instead of thinking of sports as something you can or can’t do, you think of them as math problems.”

  “Uhh. You lost me.”

  “Look, look, look.” I got up and shoved Adam into my seat. I pointed to the screen. “I found a bunch of websites that say the same thing. People don’t think about it, but there is math in basketball too. Dribbling and making shots is all about geometry. You need to understand arcs, distance, and height.”

  Adam took a minute to scan the website and look over my notes. “This is pretty smart,” he finally said, “but I don’t think that’s all there is to it, or every math whiz would dominate the court.”

  “Trust me. Math is in everything, and once you understand it, the rest falls into place.” I patted his shoulder. “This will work.”

  IT DIDN’T WORK.

  I huffed down the court, trailing my team as they chased after Derek like lost ducklings who spotted their momma. I don’t know how good the guy was at math, but he was incredible at this.

  I watched through my sweaty bangs as he jumped, toes hovering inches from the ground, and tossed the ball over grasping fingers. It dropped through the basket with a swish that couldn’t be heard over his whoop.

  Zachary from my team snatched up the ball and ran it back to our side. I hurried to keep up. Skirting the other guys, I skidded to a stop on the edge of the court while my team surrounded Derek and the other side went for Zach.

  Over their heads, Zach locked eyes with me.

  No. Oh no—

  “Manning!” Time slowed as Zachary tossed me the ball. Out of instinct, I lifted my arms above my head and it smacked into my palms. As soon as I brought it down to my chest, all eyes turned to me. Maybe it was a mix of exhaustion and dehydration, but I swear those eyes were glowing like beings from below.

  Swiftly, I spun toward the basket and lined up my shot.

  You can do this, Zela. One minute to go and no one in front of you. You’re four inches over five and six feet from the goal. If I hit the exact angle with the correct force, I’ll make it.