WE ARE THE D.S (Somos la D.S - English version)

8. THE INITIATION

Bernard has not stopped caressing the right side of my face with his hand as I use the grass of the campus lawn as a carpet for my bottom and lean against his body. Being in his arms while the sun is warm on my face makes my desire to sleep intensify, but I cannot see myself encapsulated by his touch, but must focus on my D.S. decisions.

Luttia and Malton argue to my right about shoe trends for this winter, they are the two beings most trained to talk about fashion, of that there is no doubt.

When I meet the remaining circle, Roman's eyes find me for a second and I linger on him as it looks like something is about to break loose from his lips, but it doesn't. The boy in the red and black shirt once again plunges into an agitated conversation with Talissa and François, who at this point I have no idea what they are talking about.

I stand up suddenly and move to Bernard's side, removing myself from between his legs. I intone my voice so that they observe me and in a second everyone seems to understand.

"I've been thinking about where the D.S. is going."

"Baelee" Luttia catches my attention and cuts my speech short. "Why are we talking about this now?" She points to the clear presence of Roman.

"If you mean Roman, he knows everything, he is the reason why Malton is not worm food right now," Malton can't help but laugh as Luttia bats her eyes in the wind. "Back to my initial point, after last week's accident, this Friday and no other, there will be a purification ceremony."

"What?!" Luttia and François almost utter in unison.

"Why the surprise? You can consume whatever you want but without having to go to the dam as a requirement."

Deep down, even if I try to talk some sense into them about our sneaky trips to the dam, I understand them. The six of us have always been cautious about drugs. It's nothing new for us to go out of our way to hide them in a pocket, dissolve them in a glass at a club, and light up a cigarette far away in the wee hours of the morning when the nicotine aroma becomes imperceptible and everyone is asleep. It's not even an option to have our purification sessions and games, which often end up in situations I'd rather not remember. We all camouflage ourselves here as angels of the day, with academic virtue and responsibility, we are all heirs to something here. Therefore, drugs in the light were never an option.

"And what else?" Talissa asks. My decisions always tend to be a long list of countless rules, but this time I've only made two decisions.

"I've decided there's only one way to smooth things over."

"And what's that?" Malton inquires.

"I know that winter is coming and the waters of the dam are getting colder at night."

"What are you getting at?" François cut.

"My condition for establishing stability, is that the purification Fridays cease to exist and that Roman becomes a member of the D.S."

...

No one objected at the moment I decided to put Roman in the D.S. Everyone obeyed the orders despite the surprise it meant, even for Roman, to be part of all this. The truth is that this is the only way to keep him close and prevent him from chasing me if I decide to escape in the middle of the night or disappear for days.

Roman is now part of my life and if he wants to be part of the great elite, frequent the places we go, he must be an active member.

The D.S. plan was never to shut down and not accept new members. The plan was always to pursue our motto.

Our motto? "To be better than the best".

I know Roman is, he has always been brilliant with numbers, even more so than Luttia who carries the highest averages in the group. I know my stepbrother is up to the task and why do I know that? Because even though Luttia is responsible for christening the D.S. with a name, the idea for all of this is mine. The idea that Roman finds himself undressing at the edge of the dam in early November to complete his initiation and his test of strength is mine.