Endgame (Book 3)

Chapter 23

I finished breakfast without incident, checking every step to avoid getting close to Ashley, and sat by myself in the corner to eat in peace.

Admittedly, I needed the alone time.

Ben sat in the seat I occupied yesterday. I probably took his normal place. No wonder he was so angry.

Once in my room, I wrote another note to Cassie, making it a little bit longer for her to get some idea of what I was going through. I told her everything that happened, all truth.

After hiding the notebook under my mattress again, I realized that doing my homework wasn't something for me to put off. Even if other kids were chilling at home, the grind never stopped for me.

Besides, some people were probably helping with cleanup, anyway. I hoped that's what everyone at home was doing. If they were looking for me, I wouldn't know what to do. They didn't have a chance at finding me.

I dreaded going to train under Ashley today. The time had crept up on me without me knowing, and I spent most of it staring at the wall. I used more time to think than I took to actually do things.

I glanced down at the page numbers scrawled on the sticky note on top of my book. Maybe another time.

I strolled down the hallway in as controlled a fashion as I could manage. What the people passing me didn't see were my sweaty palms, shaky breath, and tense posture.

Ashley waited for me in our previous location. Her hair was tied back with a purple band in a ponytail, and form-fitting black clothes with purple edges had me thinking she might work with me instead of on me today.

However, I still noticed the tight expression on her lips, and I warily kept at least five feet between us as a precaution if she lunged for me.

No "hey." No "hello." She skipped straight to the training. After stretching, she forced me to do identical exercises to yesterday, with five more of everything added on.

Meanwhile, I watched her out of the corner of my eye. She looked at me with disgust and contempt, and it hurt to know that nothing I did could change her opinion about me.

Afterward, lunch came, and we parted to eat. I took my place in the corner, she with her friends and Ben. I saw him shooting noticeable looks in my direction, but I pretended to be oblivious to his staring for both our sakes.

When Ashley and I met up again, she told me she would take me to the field we visited yesterday. I nodded my head silently, agreeing and looking forward to my training.

However, it didn't turn out the way I expected at all.

When I stepped out, the first thing I noticed was the intense heat of the sun on my back. It was so strong that I was tempted to get back in the car.

Ashley had the opposite reaction. She seemed to drink the sunlight in and some spring appeared to come back into her step. Her voice was chipper as well when she spoke.

"We're going to do something a little more specific this afternoon. No flight training."

"Awe," I said, my voice muffled through my shirt. The moment I realized I could be taking the opportunity to absorb some energy, I decided to get as much exposure as possible without getting close to streaking. I pulled off my shirt and threw it in the car before shutting the passenger door, then rolled up my shorts to an arguable length for a guy.

As we walked, she explained what we would be doing.

"This will be a limited combat assessment. Jeremiah requires me to give you and Ben these once a week," she told me. "Or any other metahuman I'm working with. Now, it's just you two, so I have more freedom to choose when we do this."