The Adventures of Teen Island

Training

Emma's POV
I woke up being shaken by Tony. "What?" I groaned tiredly. "You have to get up before Carter wakes the others" he said. "Why can't I get up with the others?" I asked, sitting up. "Because Carter likes you more than the others. She expects more from you" he said. I sighed. "Ok" I said. "Plus, todays the first day of training, and you didn't hear this from me, but Carter is actually nervous" he said. "Why?" I asked. "She's never been the trainer before. Only the trainee" he shrugged. I yawned. "Ok, get out so I can get dressed" I said. He left and I stretched. I wiped the sleep from my eyes and looked over at my alarm clock. It's 6:47 AM. I'm gonna yank Tony's tail. This is absurd. 

Carters POV
I looked myself in the mirror. Can I really do this? Can I really teach all of these kids to be bandits? I probably can, but I doubt Ill do as good as my own teachers did. I took a deep breath and walked out of my room. I walked to the kitchen to find Emma with her head down on the counter. She's fast asleep. I looked up at Tony whos on his phone and drinking coffee. "Did you wake her up?" I asked. "Did I wake your prized pupil? Yes" he said. "My prized pupil?" I asked with a laugh. "Yeah. Taylor took you under her wing when you were the youngest. I figured you'd do the same for Emma. You seem to like her" he said. I looked at Emma. Her hair is all over her face. She's gonna have a big red mark on the other side when she gets up. "Wake her up. I'm about to bring some Taylor into this piece" I said, cracking my knuckles. "You're what?" He asked with a laugh. I picked up a pot and a frying pan. "Get her up before I do it" I said. He sighed. "Honestly, I did not miss Taylors wake up call" he said. "Feel lucky she took the air horn with her" I smirked.

Emma's POV
Clanking pots and pans together probably wasnt the best way to wake the others. They're all groggy and mad. Siren and Clay are about to pass out. Oliver and Stephanie are pissed. Courtney is a little tired, but seems fine otherwise. "Ok bandits. Todays your first day of training. First things first, I need you all to promise not to shoot each other" Carter said. We all just stared at her. She raised an eyebrow. "Ok" we said. "Great" Carter said. She walked into the hallway and came back with a box. She put it down in the middle of the living room. "Everybody grab a gun. You're gonna need it" she said.

We did target practice for three hours. I don't think this is the best way to make a team. Now we're all exhausted and sweaty. "Carter?" I asked. She looked over at me. "I don't think this is working. They're gonna end up hating you" I said. She raised an eyebrow. "Why?" She asked. "Well, you woke them up with pans super early in the morning, and you made them do target practice in the hot sun for three hours" I said. "Do you hate me?" She asked. "Well... no, but that's for other reasons" I said, looking to the side. "Other reasons?" She asked. I panicked. "Yeah. I... uh... I trust you. I know you're only doing what's best. I just don't think that they know that" I said. She looked behind me at the distorted team and then back at me. "I know. That's part of the training technique. They have to hate me a little. Tomorrow will be better, you'll see" she said. "I don't know if I believe you" I crossed my arms. "Come into my room later. If it makes you feel better, Ill explain the process to you" she said. I blushed and then laughed a little. "As long as you're in clothes this time" I said, poking her chest. "No promises" she smirked.

I'm nervous. I don't know why though. I'm only talking to her about work. I knocked on the door. "Yeah" she called. I came in and closed the door behind me. I was relieved to see she's fully dressed this time. She looked over at me. "Come here" she said. I sat next to her on her bed. She handed me her phone. "This is Taylors team photo. Taylor was the last leader. The one who dubbed me the new leader" she said. I looked at the photo. Carter looks so happy. She's actually smiling. Not her normal grin, but a real smile. "You're happy" I said shocked. She huffed out a laugh. "Yeah. I was with my family. My best friends." She said. "Why are you showing me this?" I asked. "Because, that entire team hated Taylor. They would talk shit about her and mess with her all the time. At the end of the day though, they respected her. They were friends" she said. "How? If she treated you guys like you treated us today..." she cut me off. "That's the thing. You have to do the hard stuff first so that when you get to do the easy stuff, its a relief. Its like a vacation. You don't go on vacation before your biggest project at work. You go after, so that way, you can enjoy it that much more" she said. "Oh" I said. "Taylor was definitely a little harsh. I don't plan on being exactly like her. She barely gave us any time off. That's why tomorrow-" I cut her off. "We get time off?" I asked. "Ha! No. We'll be doing team bonding. We cant just be skilled fighters. We also have to trust each other. Plus, I have to rebuild the fighting obstacle course" she said. I smiled. "If you need some help, I'm happy to do it" I said. She smiled at me. "No thanks. It has to be a surprise for everyone." She said. I got up to leave. "Emma" she said. I stopped and turned to her. "Taylor picked me, despite all my flaws." She started. My eyebrows went up. "You have flaws?" I asked shocked. She laughed as she walked to me. "I have so many! I was the youngest in the team. I was the only human. I was stupid. I was shy. I was bad at talking to people. Now though, I'm a lot better, because Taylor took me under her wing" she said. "You're still not very good at talking to people. You are the queen of mixed signals. You are the least open book I've ever met" I said. She frowned. "Not my point." She growled. "Then get to it, kid" I said, mocking her. She rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't let the others in my room. I wouldn't let the others in on what I'm doing. For some reason though, I trust you. I see something in you." She said. My eyes widened and I blushed. "When I leave, you will be the next leader of the Teen Bandits. To do that, I have to take you under my wing" she said. "Seriously? You hardly know me. I've been here for two weeks" I said. "And yet, in two weeks, you've saved this whole island by keeping the bandits together" she said. I'm speechless. "But you just became the leader" I said. "Exactly. So this will be new for both of us" she said. I smiled. "Thank you Carter" I said. "Don't thank me yet tween. Thank me when I leave in a few years" she smiled. I hugged her. She stiffened and I backed up. "Sorry" I said looking down. "Don't apologize for acting on your feelings. Especially when its not a bad feeling. Im just not one for hugs" she said. I smiled. "See you tomorrow" I said. "Night tween" she said.