Groom Wars

41. Sneeze on Me One More Time-

The Groom War's mansion was filled with dangerous wasps. Cadmus felt his enemies watching his every move and knew he had to work hard to avoid being eaten by them. The eleventh elimination round had set clear divides between the Dryads and Les Braves Hommes. The conflicts and little fights between them became so commonplace that Director Chen had assigned them to different floors. The two major alliances were even assigned separate gym times to reduce strife. And after a group of Les Braves Hommes had, as Leandro had suggested might happen, tried to attack some of the Dryads in the bathroom, the first-floor bathrooms and kitchen were reserved for the Dryads alone.

Cliques had formed, knitting together young men who wanted to stand against the overwhelming influence of the nobles. Even Cadmus, who had disliked people, had a group of people he worked out with and ate breakfast alongside.

Though the days were tense, Cadmus felt a strange warmth, a strange sense of belonging that he didn't want to feel. He suspected that Adriel had told the members of their alliance about his tendencies because they left him to himself most times and only approached him when he seemed open to communicating with them. The more he contemplated the strange ways people approached and tried to read his mood, the more he was sure Adriel had something to do with their peculiar actions.

At first, being antisocial had made him something to be scorned. In the past, he had often got into fights with kids at his high school, but the Dryads were different; they came from all different walks of life, some poorer, some richer, but they were all trying to elevate themselves. After being stuffed into a house of strangers, they had adopted a unique disposition that allowed them to listen to others. Connect with them on a level they might not have been able to do otherwise.

Another challenge day arrived with substantial rifts between the two major alliances. Any misstep by the Dryads would result in one of theirs being sent in. After stepping off their respective buses, Cadmus and the other young men followed a muddy trail that cut through towering trees towards a lake. The glossy dark waters reflected the trees and slate sky. It was a chilly day, and Adriel had a runny nose and kept scrunched up tissues in his pockets to deal with the dripping mucus. Roughly a hundred metres into the lake, the participants spotted a circular platform raised far above the water and balanced on tall metal legs. Murmurs permeated the silence.

Appearing at Cadmus' side, Mike, a fellow member of Cadmus' alliance, hurried to tie back his blonde hair as the wind whipped it about and said, "I don't like the looks of that."

The staff handed the young men life jackets that further added to their apprehension. Cadmus studied Leandro as the young man gazed at Adriel, Leandro's expression switched between anger and something softer. Something like love, but Cadmus didn't know much about love, so he wasn't a fair judge. Instead of pondering what was going on between his two allies, Cadmus tried to remember if he liked heights as the platform they were headed to was at least twenty metres above the short, choppy waves. Cadmus remembered going bungee jumping once. His heart had caught in his throat as he had fell, and he had wanted to scream but had struggled to find his voice. After careful consideration, Cadmus decided he neither liked nor disliked heights. He glanced at his partner.

Adriel fixed the zipper of his Groom Wars' black pullover, drawing it up to his chin. After a few months, Adriel's hair on top had grown into long curling spirals that spilled over his forehead, while the overgrown sides crowded his small ears. Adriel had some glow to his skin that made him alluring. He would have been considered one of the more attractive players if he were anyone else but Adriel. The mischievous boy ducked behind Luke, a tall boy with ebony skin who busied himself with putting his long reddish-brown locks into a ponytail. Hiding from the cameras, Adriel twisted pieces of tissue paper and stuffed the columns into his nose. He gave Cadmus two thumbs-up and grinned.