the school

Head Injuries, Hasty Decisions, and Hilarious Ultimatums

I walked James back to see Mary and told her about the switch, but I think she already knew. I showed him around the school and explained what the military does. He asked about the morning workout, the wall patrol, and outings. I also told him about the extra work we do with construction and agriculture. I tend to train on the job, so I told him about shadowing Cayden until he decides he is ready to be added to the rotation. I also explained the open and honest policy and how he could feel free to do that if he has anything to say or any questions.

I took the night shift to make up for skipping out on my shift. I was working, but it didn't feel right, so I let Brit off. Training sessions start at six, and James's first session after arriving here. He noticed that the halls are in a U shape, and the middle holds the cafeteria, auditorium, and gym. He saw the armory where we put our weapons. Since there are no weapons permitted in the building. I showed him the health room, which is being expanded to accommodate the growing population. When we walked past my room, I was tempted to tell him but chose not to. It was the last class on the west side. The windows looked out at the second entrance, which we were trying to seal up. I could see the old parking lot and the road to the front. The only thing between me and the door out of the building was the bathroom at the end of the hall. After the tour, I dropped him off in an open room and told him to report to the morning workout and that we would start tomorrow.

My room was an anomaly past its location. First, I was alone; people don't like to live alone, but I do, and even if I didn't, no one would want to live here since everyone thinks I'm crazy or scary. Second is what the room looks like; I tossed a mattress on the floor. Technically, Mary put the mattress in here. I crappily painted the walls and the door black. I tried to pull up the tile from the ground. Others brought all the furniture to me, and Owen got me the couch. The only things I brought were the tools I used to steal water from the bathroom next door to make a small kitchen. Not that I use anything in here; I'm too busy.

I managed to sleep for three hours before there was a knock on my door. We go running and do some sparing this morning. Everyone paired off today, and there was an even number I got to fight. My training mainly focuses on evasive maneuvers, but eventually, conflict must be resolved. One by one, the pairs started to attack; some lost, but they all looked like solid fights. I was partnered with James, and he studied my movements before attacking me. It was like how I fight, study the opponent, move, evade, and move again. We were the last pair up because we hadn't attacked yet and were too busy sizing each other up. We went back and forth, just missing each other. When, to everyone's surprise, he caught me, it was a square hit I wasn't expecting, so I fell to the ground. My head slammed into the pavement. I felt the warm blood drip down my face. James was shocked; this was the only expression I had read off of him so far, and it was because my face was bleeding.

"Oh my god, you're bleeding." James walked over to help me to my feet, but I was not about to let him win. When he got close, I swept his legs out from under him and pounced on his chest.

"Am I bleeding? I hadn't noticed." Everyone laughed as we both got to our feet. "Alright, everyone, we are done for today." They all left, and I sat on the pavement for a minute. The cut felt shallow, but head injuries always bleed more than other injuries.

"You should see someone about that." James was standing over me, waiting for something. "It could be serious."

"I will be fine." I got up to leave

"I don't think that is a good idea."

"And if I cared what you thought might mean something to me," I left him there. I'm not going to bother the health group with a little cut that I should have prevented. I had to get some sleep; that was what was wrong with me. No one gets the drop on me, so I must be tired. When I got back to my room, I grabbed some towels to clean up my face.

It felt like I had only been asleep for a minute when a knock on my door rattled me awake again. The sun was much higher in the sky, so I must have been sleeping for a while.

"Who is there?" I shouted, standing up. There is blood on the pillow where my head was. I guess I didn't stop the bleeding.

"Your two best friends in the whole wide world," Mary shouted

"I believe you mean her only friends," Owen said as I opened the door.

"You two are impossible," I ushered them inside. Instantly, Mary noticed the towel pressed to my head.

"What happened" As she pulled the towel away, the skin burned and stuck to the fabric.

"God, Mary, rip my face off, why don't you" I swore as she took a look. Owen noticed the blood pooled on the pillow on my bed.

"You went to sleep with a head injury. Good choices, Anderson," Owen said.

"Did you two come here for a reason, or was it just to annoy me?" I asked, sitting on the back of the couch and looking at them.

"We are here to talk about the cattle excursion. Who is going?" Mary said, grabbing one of the chairs she had placed here.

"Fuck, I knew I was forgetting something," I pressed the towel back to my head. "Let's see, you have two trucks, one in the front and one covering the back. Susan, Ethan, Devon, me, and for shits and giggles, why don't we take the recruit."

"Anderson, you know you don't have to go on this trip yearly." Mary said, "You could send Cayden."

"I don't trust her; I will go because she is always up to something," I said

"You are impossible. She is not up to something. She is simply looking to keep her people safe just like we are," Mary fired back.

"Then I don't like her methods, but either way, the decision is made, and I'm going." I walked over to the bucket I had, catching the water until I got a sink to rinse out my towel.

"You can go if you see Doc about that head of yours. That is my deal: take it or leave it." Mary stormed out of the room, putting a dramatic end to her ultimatum.

"If it makes you feel better, we would send you to Bonnie and Clyde anyway. They need more samples to test," Owen said when he saw my face.

"God, I'm not going to have any blood left when they are done with me." I stood up and dropped the towel. Owen gave me a look. "I never miss an appointment with Bonnie and Clyde."

"The room looks good like a child was left alone with black paint." Owen nodded at my wall.

"Finger paint is my specialty, but my favorite part is that you and Mary really think I didn't notice that you both signed your name in orange on my walls," I said, pointing to their names."You noticed that." he smiled, then pulled an apple out of his pocket. "Eat something." I caught the apple as we walked out. He returned to working in the fields while I went to the medical ward. As I walked, the idea of eating anything was a bit bothersome, so I carried the apple until I saw James walking to the med ward, too.