Akarnae (7 page)

Five

Two hours later, Alex was
lying on the field, moaning. Everything ached, including parts of her body that she hadn’t previously known
could
ache.

With the psychopathic Finn hot on her heels, Alex had soon caught up to her classmates, but even that hadn’t been enough to please the deranged PE teacher who had continued to zap her forward. She had never run as far or as fast before in her life. And now she wondered if she’d ever be able to walk again.

“You survived, at least. That’s more than some can say.”

Alex didn’t have the strength to open her eyes and acknowledge Jordan’s comment. She could hear the amusement in his voice—she didn’t need to see it as well.

“You should stretch, you know,” he told her. “If you don’t, you’ll regret it later.”

She pried her eyes open. Even
that
hurt. “I doubt it’ll make much difference now.” She knew that he was right though, so she forced herself into a sitting position, grimacing as her muscles pulled. “Ow.”

“You’re lucky,” he said, not even trying to hide his grin. “Finn was easy on us today.”

She paused mid-stretch. “You’re kidding, right?”

“You should see him on a bad day,” Jordan said, and he offered Alex his hand. She couldn’t hold back a groan of pain as he pulled her to her feet.

His mouth quivered but he managed to suppress his laughter, sending her a look of sympathy instead. “You’ve still got a full day ahead of you yet. Including Combat.”

She grimaced. “Don’t remind me.”

“You have Archery next, right?” he asked, turning away and motioning for her to follow.

She pulled her timetable out and scanned it as they walked. “Good memory.”

He nodded. “Bear had to take off for Chem, but I still have a few minutes to get to the stables. I’ll show you where to go.”

They didn’t get far before Jordan noticed her discomfort and mercifully slowed his pace.

“It’ll get easier,” he said. “Just give it a couple of weeks.”

Weeks?
She wasn’t even sure she would last the day!

“Delta PE and Epsilon Combat will be your toughest subjects,” Jordan continued, “but with such high potential levels, that’s not surprising.” He scratched his chin. “You’re Epsilon for ES too, aren’t you? That’ll be demanding as well.”

He really wasn’t making her feel any better.

“ES?” she repeated.

“Equestrian Skills,” he clarified. “Tayla’s the instructor. She’s great—as long as you respect her horses.”

They rounded the crest of a hill that looked out over another large grassy area. It was sectioned off into three segments by thick, bushy hedges that bordered the edge of the forest.

“That’s where you need to go.” Jordan pointed to the segment closest to the main school campus. “See those people over there? They’ll be your classmates.”

She spotted the group and nodded.

“Meet you in the food court for lunch?” He waited only long enough for her to agree before he turned and jogged back up the path.

Alex mustered her courage and descended the hill, arriving at the same time as her instructor. For the next two hours she was thrilled to play around with a bow and arrow, even if she completely missed the target every time she made a shot. In her defence, she was somewhat distracted by the elf-like teacher, Magdelina Llohilas—or Maggie—who looked like she’d stepped straight off the set of a fantasy movie. Seriously.

When Alex wasn’t watching the graceful teacher, her attention was caught by one of her other classmates. The girl had thick auburn hair and the most interesting eyes Alex had ever seen; they were as blue as the sky, changing into a vivid green towards the middle. The colour was startling, made even more so by the frequent, menacing glares the girl directed towards Alex.

When lunch time finally arrived, Alex was more than relieved to leave the class behind. She had no idea what the other girl’s problem was, and she was glad to put some distance between them.

“Hey, Alex!” Bear called as she entered the food court and made her way over to him. “How was your class?”

She sent him a wry grin as she took her seat. “I’m still alive.”

Bear copied her expression. “I wasn’t sure you were going to make it, you know. Not after PE.”

She grimaced before laughing with him and admitting, “It was touch and go for a while.”

Jordan arrived a moment later and slumped into the chair beside her. “I’m starving.”

“You’re always starving,” Alex observed. “I’ve known you less than a day, but the common theme is that you’re hungry—
all the time
. Maybe you have worms?”

Bear had just taken a sip of water and, hearing her words, he spat his mouthful out, choking on a laugh.

Jordan sent them both an unimpressed look and picked up his menu, grumbling about being ‘a growing boy’. When
his meal arrived, it was accompanied by a glass of something purple and bubbly.

“What’s that?” Alex asked, pointing to the unnatural-looking drink.

“Dillyberry juice,” he answered, sliding the glass towards her. “Have a taste.”

She sniffed it and took a tentative sip, her eyes lighting up with delight. The juice might have looked funky but it was delicious. It reminded her of wild berries mixed with lemonade and coated with icing sugar. It was very sweet, but it also had a tangy aftertaste. She picked up her menu and ordered a glass for herself.

“Be careful not to overdo it,” Jordan warned when she drank half of her juice in one go.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s an energy drink,” he explained. “Very concentrated.”

Alex wasn’t too concerned. How bad could it be? The taste was well worth the consequences. She’d probably just have to make a few extra trips to the bathroom, no big deal. It might even be a blessing in disguise if it got her out of some of her dreaded Combat class later that afternoon. Bathroom breaks were a basic human right, after all.

She drained the rest of the glass as she skimmed through her menu, settling on a chicken salad wrap and another glass of dillyberry juice. Both appeared instantly and her used glass disappeared with the arrival of the new.

“Hey,” Jordan said, speaking through a mouthful of food. “I forgot to ask you earlier. How was D.C. this morning?”

Alex shook her head. “I woke up to a slamming door, no roommate in sight.”

“That explains it, then,” Jordan said, seeming satisfied. He sipped his juice before taking another bite of food.

“Explains what?”

“Why you haven’t asked Jarvis for a new room yet,” Bear answered with a knowing grin.

Alex looked between the two of them. “Is she really that bad?”

Both boys just smirked at her and continued eating.

Alex picked up her purple juice, sipping thoughtfully. It didn’t take her long to finish the second glass, but she was still surprisingly thirsty, so she ordered another. All that running in PE must have dehydrated her.

A few minutes—and another emptied glass—later, Jordan stopped her from ordering more of the delicious juice. Only then did she realise just how odd she felt. Kind of light-headed and, well…
buzzy
. The whole room was jumping up and down. Was there an earthquake? Just as she was about to ask what was going on, Jordan pressed his hand down on her shoulder. All motion ceased and she realised that she must have been physically bouncing in her seat.

Bear pointed to her empty glass. “How many of those have you had?”

“I dunno,” she said giddily, her voice slurring the words. “But they taste
really
good!”

The boys looked at each other with unreadable expressions. She tried to remember how many glasses had arrived and disappeared over the course of the lunch break and she felt tremendously pleased with herself when she was able to recall the number.

“THREE!” she yelled triumphantly. “I’VE HAD THREE!”

Jordan and Bear jumped at her exclamation and heads turned in their direction from all corners of the court.

“Oops. Sorry,” Alex apologised, whispering this time. Then she giggled.

Wait,
giggled?

She did it again.

Uh-oh.

She looked at Jordan, horrified. “What’s wrong with me?”

“Come on,” he ordered, rising from his seat. “We’d better get you over to the Medical Ward.”

Alex tried to stand but found her legs were made of jelly. She crashed noisily down to the floor, gathering even more attention than before.

“My legs are angry at me. Too many runnings.” She giggled again as her vision flickered in and out of focus. “That’s not right. Too much running. Better.”

She nodded to herself and looked up at Jordan and Bear who were standing over her. “You’re really tall,” she observed, squinting at them. She cupped her mouth with both hands and yelled, “Hellllllloooo up there!”

The boys shared another glance before reaching down to help her to her feet.

“All right, up you get,” Jordan said, steadying her as she swayed on her feet. “Easy there.”

“Wheeeeee!” she squealed, watching the room spin around her. “That was fun! Can we do it again?”

Jordan’s mouth twitched in amusement and Bear couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter as he reached out to grab her free arm. Together they hauled her out of the food court, carrying most of her weight between them.

Once they were outside, she glanced from one boy to the other before tucking her legs up underneath her. “Look at me! I’m
flying!
”

Jordan and Bear grunted as they were forced to shoulder the additional weight of her whole body.

“There must be an easier way to do this,” Bear mumbled as Alex bounced around in their arms, throwing her weight up and down and laughing hysterically. What a great game!

“There is,” Jordan replied, and in a single motion he swept Alex up into his arms, bridal-style.

“Much better,” Bear said, untangling her arm from around his neck.

“For you, maybe,” Jordan muttered.

Alex looked up at her new mode of transport in wonder. “You’re
really
strong!”

Jordan raised an eyebrow. “Don’t get used to it.”

“I wish I could do that!” she squealed, pointing to his face.

“Do what?” he asked.

“The one-eyebrow thing! I can never do it right! It makes me look like a demented monkey.”

Bear laughed and turned to Jordan. “She’s going to be
so
mad at you when she comes down from this.”

“How is this
my
fault?” Jordan demanded.

“You should have told her about the juice,” Bear answered.

“I really like that juice,” Alex said with a longing sigh. “It’s yummy. Tastes like happiness in a cup.”

“I
did
tell her!” Jordan said to Bear. “I told her to take it easy, she just didn’t listen.”

“I did too listen. I’m a good listener. I’m the best listener who’ll ever listen,” Alex said, trying to catch a butterfly fluttering across their path. Such pretty colours!

“All I’m saying is, you probably should have told her
why
she shouldn’t drink so much,” Bear said. “But then again…”

They both looked down at Alex who, unsuccessful in her butterfly-catching attempt and bored of their conversation, was wiggling her eyebrows up and down over and over again, trying to raise one without the other. Why was it so difficult?

“… there’s nothing like first-hand experience,” Bear finished.

Six

Sometime later, Alex opened her
eyes to a bright blue-coloured ceiling. She was lying on a bed under a crisp white sheet in the middle of a large, well-lit room.

“Hello?” she called out, sitting up.

“Ahh. You’re awake. Excellent.”

A man was walking towards her, clipboard in hand. He looked to be in his mid-forties, and he had a kind face with intelligent green eyes. There was a stethoscope draped around his neck, and his white lab coat had a pocket embroidered with the name
Dr. Fletcher Montgomery
.

“How are you feeling, Alex?” he asked, picking up her wrist to check her pulse.

“Okay,” she replied uncertainly. Her memories were hazy; she had no idea where she was, or how she’d arrived in the blue-ceilinged room. It
looked
like she was in some kind of hospital—which only served to heighten her anxiety, since she’d always had an irrational fear of doctors.

He nodded and pulled out a silver instrument. “Follow the light, please.”

She blinked when he aimed the beam at her eyes and did as he asked.

“Your vitals are looking much better. I think you’ll be fine to go now.” He scribbled something onto the clipboard and started to walk away.

“Uh—Doctor Montgomery?” she called out, hoping the name was right.

He paused and turned back to her, his expression amused. “So formal, Alex? I’m hurt.”

She looked at him strangely. What was he talking about?

“After all,” he continued, “it was only an hour ago that you told me I was the nicest doctor you’d ever met and if I didn’t agree to marry you, then you had no reason to continue living.”

Um… What?

He grinned at her. “I’m flattered. Truly. But it would be completely unprofessional of me to accept your proposal. I hope you don’t take it personally? I know how difficult it must be, especially considering your thoughtful—and creative—love song.”

Alex felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. She’d sung to him? How humiliating.

The doctor chuckled and sat down at the end of the bed. “If you think what you said to me was bad, just wait until you catch up with your friends again.”

Alex groaned, not sure she even wanted to know.

“What happened to me?” she asked. The last thing she could remember was eating lunch in the food court.

“Nothing too serious,” he answered. “Just a slight overdose of dillyberry juice. According to your friends, you had a few too many glasses, not knowing about the side-effects.”

“Side-effects?”

“Similar to those of someone under the influence of alcohol or narcotics,” he explained. “You were essentially on a sugar-high. Dillyberries contain large doses of glucosamine, with a glass of juice holding roughly the equivalent of a glass of sugar.”