Fractured | The Portal Series book 1

Chapter 16 - Jessica

6:32 a.m. SET – 8/5/341 U.M.

6:32 p.m. BTS – 8/4/341 U.M.

It is now Thursday, three days after Jack showed up in Competition Class. His team arrived late last night, and consists of four, strong–looking, eighteen-year-old guys. Their names are Howell, Mac, Lucan, and Kit.

"Welcome," Zarek says rigidly, looking over the class, which is now fifty percent bigger than it was a week ago. Tess and I don't usually talk to the other classmates much, but by the whispering and murmuring we have heard in and out of class the past few days, they feel just as strongly as us that we are being invaded by the transfers. "Today," Zarek continues, "we are going running."

"Where, sir?" Jack asks, sounding completely uninterested. He is standing in front of his four teammates like a general in front of troops.

Everyone raises their eyebrows. It is a known fact that

when you go running here, you just follow the leader—literally—for however long they see fit.

While Lio is explaining this to the newcomers, the rest of us lace up our running shoes and grab bottles of water.

Destiny, who is sitting next to me while we tie our shoes, whispers to me, "Two weeks and two days until the Competition! Excited?"

I glance over to Jack.

"Sure," I reply.

We finish up and follow the instructors across the glass bridge and into the forest, going the opposite way of Perdeceo.

Feeling pumped up, I catch up to Tess, and we run side by side. Jack and his team look like they are having trouble with the fact that they don't know where, or how far, they are going. I used to hate that too, but now I don't care as much. Especially now that I am watching them struggle.

As usual, there are three groups. The slower people, the fast ones, and the ones in between. Tess, Dan and I are in the fast group, led by Zarek; Sam, Percy, and Keat are in the middle with Lio: and Destiny, Jan, Haya, and Pamela are in the back with Georgia.

Jack and his team join us in the front. Every once in a while, one of them goes faster than Zarek, and gets rebuked.

We all could go faster, but we would run out of gas, to use an old Earthian term.

It doesn't take long to get tired of listening to Zarek chastise Jack's team, even though I enjoyed it at first. It goes on for sixteen kilometers, before we finally get back to the Floating Isle.

Undisciplined, I think to myself.

By now, it is lunchtime, and Zarek dismisses us, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Jack haughtily leads the way, looking self–righteous, along with his team.

Tess and I roll our eyes, before realizing that they stole our usual spot. The place that we have sat, at every meal, for the last month. They are using the extra chairs to prop up their feet.

"Excuse me," I say, going up to them, "Would you mind if we sit here?" My voice may be sweet, but my face is not.

"Sorry," Jack says, trying to fork his food into his mouth (and jabbing himself in the cheek in the process) "we got here first." He raises his eyebrow, as though waiting for an argument.

I don't give him the pleasure, and instead narrow my eyes and turn on my heel.

"Nice guy," Tess comments under her breath as we choose alternate seats across the cafeteria; as far as possible from Jack's team. "Forget that we helped him on his first day."