The Alternatives

3 | Listen and Punch

Lauren and Ronnie sat on the leather couch at the reception area of the Parall Government Building waiting to be escorted into the training room.

"You nervous?" Ronnie whispered.

Usually Lauren would've had some witty comeback, but this time she just said, "Yeah."

Ronnie checked the time on her phone, 8:57 a.m. Three minutes until training starts. She had dressed herself in a pair of black leggings, a white muscle top saying in a blue font, 'I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP' and a red hoodie, her thin blonde hair up in a ponytail that spilled down her back. Lauren had dressed similar, the main differences being that she had on a black tank top and a blue jumper. Her chocolate brown hair was in a plat.

A boy sat opposite them on the other couch, staring at his phone. He was typing like a madman and didn't pay much attention to what was around them. His almost black hair was close cropped around his brain, and he was wearing a green top and navy blue shorts. He carried a briefcase instead of a backpack even though he was around the girls' age. They could only assume that he was in the Alternatives programme as well.

"Hey, um... what's your name?" Ronnie asked the boy.

He finally looked up at his screen, acknowledging the two girls.

"Hi, I'm... Connor." He said, shaking hands with Lauren, and then Ronnie, then continued to look at Lauren. "Are you guys... uh..."

"In the Alternatives programme?" Lauren guessed. "Yeah."

"That's... uh... not what I was going to say." Connor said, awkwardly. Ronnie and Lauren stared. "But... uh... yeah. So am I."

"Cool..." Ronnie said. We will be looking at death in the eyes whilst being accompanied by Mr Socially Awkward over here.

Thankfully, two people (a man and a woman) they assumed was their instructors came in.

"Hey! You guys are in the Alternatives programme right?" The woman asked. She had pitch black choppy hair cut around her head, and was wearing army boots, loose pants and a black tank top, so you could see the tattoos laced across her deeply tanned wrists and shoulders.

"Yes, are you our instructor?" Connor asked.

"Yes, that is correct. I'm Ruth."

"And I'm Luke." The man standing beside her said, dressed in the same uniform as Ruth, and had his long black hair in a ponytail. He shook hands with Ronnie.

"I'm Ronnie."

"I'm Lauren."

"I'm Connor"

A boy sprinted in. "AND I'M PYRO." He looked pleased with himself, but the once room filled with chattering voices was now dead silent and staring at him. He looked handsome in the sense that he looked like bad news. He had sandy blonde hair and a grin on his face, tanned summer skin and deep brown eyes. He was wearing basketball shorts and a blue racerback top.

He caught up. "I'm Pyro." He shook hands with Ruth, who was a head shorter than him.

Lauren's eyes narrowed. "Pyro? That's an unusual name."

"That's because it's a nickname. Nicknames have to be earnt. Do you have one?"

"No, because I'm not a sissy when it comes to something as simple as a name." Lauren retorted. Ronnie was silently crying with laughter. This was the Lauren that she knew. Sassy, clever Lauren.

Pyro stepped back and wore a look on his face that said, 'Clearly I have been defeated.'

Ronnie took a deep breath. "Well, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Ronnie." They shook hands. Pyro's hands were surprisingly warm. Ronnie gagged at the thought. Pyro grinned.