“What?”
“Drop and give me ten.”
“No.”
“Then I’ll make it twenty.”
“What in the hell is wrong with you people?” he says under his breath.
I narrow my eyes at him. This kind of attitude is not going to fly with our instructors. “Your options are to stand up straight or do ten push-ups. I don’t care which you choose, but you need to choose right now.”
Rolling his eyes, he pushes himself off the wall. “Better?” he asks with a smirk. His arms are still crossed over his chest and his heels aren’t together, but I’ll take what I can get at this moment. By tomorrow, he’ll need to have perfect form.
“We’ll sit together in the mess hall for lunch. You need to quickly learn a few basic rules around here.”
He doesn’t say anything, so I continue. “What’s your first class?”
“Calculus.”
“Really?” I reply without thinking. Most DQs are in more remedial classes. “I mean,” I clear my throat, “me too. Follow me.”
As we start down the hallway, I steal a sideways glance. He’s about my height, maybe an inch shorter. Granted, I’m tall for a girl, so he’s likely average for a guy. He’s not very muscular, which makes me think I can probably do more push-ups than him.
“Whatever the dean told you about me after I left,” Evans says, interrupting my thoughts, “probably isn’t true.”
And his story just got even more mysterious. “He didn’t tell me anything.”
“Oh.”
I turn my head to get a better view of his face. His muscles are taut; his eyes are sad. He looks like a guy who has been beaten down by life.
After an uncomfortable silence, he adds, “I mean, you have to be a little curious…”
Yes. More than a little. “It’s none of my business,” I say, giving the response I know the dean would want me to give.
“Is that the way things work around here?”
“What do you mean?”
“Everyone keeps their shit to themselves? No gossip, no rumors?”
I wouldn’t say that’s entirely true. There’s some gossip here, but it’s not like normal high schools. Part of the issue is we don’t have much time to spend gossiping. We only have a few minutes between classes, and idling in the hallway is not allowed. The other part is we’re exhausted. With everything we have to do, it’s hard to put much energy into spreading rumors. Unless there’s something really juicy. Then it will spread like wildfire.
I have to imagine Evans’s story is pretty juicy since he’s joining us mid-semester, but I don’t want to be the one to spread it. If it comes out, I might happen to open my ears, but I’d never fuel the flames because that’d be against our Honor Code. An Honor Code violation is one of the worst things you can be accused of.
“Gossip is kept to a minimum here,” I say to answer his question.
We’re only a few feet away from the door to our classroom, so I continue. “When we get inside, follow my lead. If I stand at attention, you stand. If I sit, you sit. Do not slouch in your seat. Do not talk unless spoken to. Do not do anything but listen to the instructor. Understand?”
“Yes, sir,” he says with a faux salute and a sarcastic tone. “Be a mindless, brainwashed robot like everyone else. Got it.”
I narrow my eyes at him.
“What noooow?” he asks, stopping and holding out his hands like I’m being unreasonable.
“One, you should refer to me as ‘Lieutenant Commander Durant’ or ‘ma’am,’” I say, holding out my thumb. I extend my index finger and continue. “Two, you do not salute when uncovered. Three—”
His eyes roam down his body, and then he gives me a confused look.
“What?” I ask.
“From my vantage point, I seem to be fully covered. Is there something I need to know?”
I bite my lip to prevent the smile that threatens to come out. It’s easy to forget how our terminology can be confusing. “A cover is your hat. Uncovered means your hat is off, which it must always be indoors.”
“Oh, right. Of course. Because using the word ‘hat’ wouldn’t make any sense.” He rolls his eyes again, and I realize this is something I’ll need to work on with him. Senior officers do not respond kindly to eye rolls.
“Anyway, as I was saying—three, your salute was woefully inadequate should it have been a situation where you were required to salute. And four, if you mock our customs again, you’ll earn yourself two laps.”
“Two laps of what?”
“The track. Each lap is a quarter mile.”
His eyes open wide. “You’re gonna make me run half a mile for an innocent, sarcastic comment?”
“Your innocent, sarcastic comment is an affront to thousands of men and women who have dedicated their lives to preserve our freedoms. I will not tolerate it.”
He closes his eyes, shakes his head, and mutters, “This place is out of control.”
CHAPTER 3
LOGAN
Ta-ta-ta, ta-ta-ta, ta-da. The damn bugle blares again, making me feel like I’m at a horse race, not a penitentiary pretending to be a school.
My roommate flips on the light and rushes out of the room. I roll over and pull the wool blanket tighter around my shoulders. It’s only day three, and this place is already killing me. I have fifteen minutes’ “hygiene” time—which is ridiculous, who can get ready in fifteen minutes?—then it’s one thing after another until the bugle signals it’s time for bed. I seriously need to find where they store that thing and send it on a farewell voyage down the steep mountain cliffs I passed on my way here.
As I’m imagining the chaos I could cause with one simple act, my roommate returns. “Dude, you have five minutes,” he says.
“What would happen if I just stayed in bed all day?”
“Are you sick?”
“No.”
“Then they’d make your life miserable.”
“It’s already miserable.”
“It can always be worse. Much, much worse.”
I roll my eyes, but his words convince me to leave the comfort of my bed and throw on the uniform. I know he’s right after what happened my first day. I thought I could disappear for a few hours, but the dean found me hiding in the woods and then wouldn’t let me out of his sight, which meant I spent the first night sleeping on a cot in his office while he took the sofa. I didn’t even get a blanket. It was probably the worst night I’ve ever had.
At least I got a bed and a blanket last night.
After a quick trip to the bathroom, I stand in the hallway waiting for inspection.
Noah is across the hall from me, next to his room. I met him during personal time last night, and we immediately hit it off because he was also forced to come here. He let me complain about this place the entire two hours without once threatening me like Lieutenant Commander Durant. Paige. Noah told me her first name when I said how ridiculous it is for me to call a girl my same age by a title and her last name.
I lift my chin in greeting to him. He does the same.