Chapter 366
For most of training, I held on to the fact that I was mad at my mother. When Tara asked me for the five hundredth time what was wrong, I finally admitted we’d had a disagreement, and she reminded me that I was lucky I have a mom. I knew what she meant; Tara’s mom died a long time ago. And since Lucy had recently lost her dad, I’d been trying not to take either one of my parents for granted. But if I couldn’t even choose what I ate for breakfast, what did I have control over?
We were outside running some obstacle courses Meagan’s trainees usually utilize when a familiar voice caught my attention, and I turned my head slightly to look at Aurora. Alex was standing next to her. If I didn’t have better coordination now than I did when I was a human, I probably would’ve tripped over my own feet and landed face first in a tire, but I recovered fast enough and tried to keep my attention on the rest of the course.
Dax must’ve noticed because I heard his familiar snicker. I didn’t turn my head again to look at him for fear I’d really wipe out this time, and the last thing I needed was for Alex to think I had two left feet. I didn’t let myself ponder why I thought that was the last thing I needed. I finished up the run and took my place in line. Lucy was sitting under a tree not far away, watching intently, and she clapped for me. I couldn’t help but smile. It was like having my own personal cheerleader. She did clap for Tara and Dax, too, though. I was glad my sister said she could come.
And I wondered why Alex was there.
I got my answer pretty quickly. Once everyone was finished with the obstacle course, Aurora got all of our attention. “Okay, ladies and gentlemen. We are going to work on approaches now. Alex has been kind enough to lend his time. So let’s fall into a line over here, and Mr. Hamilton is going to explain to us some of the best techniques for approaching unsuspecting Vampires. Alex?”
“Thank you kindly, Miss Aurora,” Alex said in his overly formal lilt. I tried not to make eye contact with any of my friends because I knew they were probably making googly eyes at me.
Alex went on to explain a few methods I’d never heard of before, all of which seemed to be very useful when stealthily attempting to make contact with a Vampire, and I watched him carefully. We all took turns trying them out, and every time I was finished, he commended my work, which brought a flush of pink to my cheeks. I reasoned that I would’ve had the same reaction regardless of who was praising me, but I could tell by Dax’s and Tara’s faces they disagreed. I chose to ignore them.
The rest of training flew by, and as I was leaving, I wondered how many more times I’d have to attend. I hoped my days were numbered because, even though I’d finished my algebra exam, I still had schoolwork to complete, and because we were having a meeting right after lunch, I’d be behind.
Lucy hurried off in front of us since she had no reason to take a shower, and I headed toward the girls’ locker room with Tara, just waiting for her to say something about Alex.
I could tell by the twinkle in her eye my friend was about to go there when we saw my sister at the end of the hallway. Hoping it would get me out of Tara’s teasing, I shouted, “Cadence!” Tara did the same, and Cadence stopped, waiting for us.
The rest of the girls headed around us as my sister said, “Hey, how was your training session?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but Tara beat me to it. “It would’ve been boring if Cassidy’s favorite soldier hadn’t been there.”
“Oh, stop!” I insisted, giving her a shove that was meant to be playful but might’ve been a little too much. She practically hit another trainee who was walking by. “It was fine,” I said to my sister. “Aurora took us out to the wooded area over by the fence, and we worked on approaches.”
“Approaches?” Cadence acted like she didn’t know what I was talking about. I wondered if she had a different name for it or if she was just distracted.
Tara chimed in, “Yeah, like when you sneak up on a structure or an unsuspecting Vampire. It was Alex’s idea.”
My face felt hot, but I tried to keep my countenance normal. There was no reason for me to change my expression every time someone mentioned Alex. There was nothing going on.
“That seems like a good skill to have,” Cadence replied. She had a little hint of a smirk on her face that made me think she’d also noticed my discoloration.
I had nothing to say, so I just looked at her, thinking she was supposed to get me out of this situation, not make it worse.
Tara always has something to say. “Especially if you’re hung up on the instructor who points out to the entire group how awesome you are, like four hundred times.”
My mouth fell open, and I stared at her. Tara’s grin was wide enough to split her face. That had not been the case! He’d been telling everyone they did a good job. “All right, friend. Chill.” I hoped my voice sounded nonchalant, but to my own ear it sounded very... chalant. “It wasn’t like that,” I insisted, knowing I was wasting my breath.
“Whatev.” Tara shrugged her shoulders, looking around like she was suddenly bored.
Cadence giggled slightly, and I was ready for my sister to move it along. She must’ve felt the same way. “I need to go talk to Roar. I’ll see you two later.”
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