Free Runner (House of Night Fanfic)

Chapter 5

Kai

Once I was out the window and dropped down the fifteen foot wall in a crouch and tumble, I gazed at the meeting point of where the rest of us should be meeting.

Not long after I came out, Ryan dropped next to the tree trunk in a crouch to absorb his controlled fall. "Where are the others?"

I looked at him. "I was just about to ask you that. You see them in the hallway before you jumped?"

He shrugged. "Badge should be here soon. Pete said he'll take the liberty of escorting them. I just wanted to get out of there. I don't feel safe indoors."

I nodded.

After about three minutes of listening to Ryan and my own breathing, Vic opened a window close to the one that I jumped out of, summersaulted and tumbled out the window, landing on both feet and arms out to balance.

I scoffed at him. "Showoff."

He turned and smirked. "Why? I thought you could pull that off."

I scowled. "I only show off outside the gate." Even though I was frowning, Vic and Ryan knew when I was joking. Friendly intuition.

"Anyway, can we eat yet," I was about to rip off Ryan's head for whining but then I heard my stomach let out a groan.

Vic's smirk deepened into a closed-mouthed grin. It didn't really show anything but false amusement but it still irked me. "I'll take that as a yes and Pete can catch up with us."

Ryan fist-pumped and then, like a child, fisted a hand out in front of him like Superman and charged ahead to where the food hall was. "Hey Badge?"

Vic grunted. "What?"

"What are you going to have, the Poutine or pasta?"

"Does it matter what I want to choose at this moment? Why can't I choose when I get there?"

"I for one, am taking both and then some," I chimed in.

Vic raised an eyebrow at me. "Hungry tonight, aren't we?"

I scowled then looked away. "I forgot to eat last night. We got in so late that I didn't get a chance of a nibble before I passed out from exhaustion."

I sneaked a peek at Vic and he scowled right back at me, obviously irritated that I didn't eat last night. I knew that it always did but I never wanted to pick a fight with him after what happened last time I did that.

It ended up with Chris butting in, defending me for forgetting one measly meal and Vic threw a punch at him, yelling at him for taking my side and not his. He wouldn't talk to anyone for about a week after that, before Chris picked a fight with him again and they had a full out battle-brawl before Vic called a quits and shook hands on it. That was all because I forgot to eat one meal. Can I say D-R-A-M-A-T-I-C?

I looked away again, not wanting to meet Vic's gaze. I knew I was going to be put in the dog house sometime tonight.

Speaking of dog, I heard a bark when we were nearing the food hall. I whistled for the four legged figure that barked.

"Zero! Here boy!"

Almost immediately, a white German Shepard husky mix bolted out of the building and started to run circles around the three of us.

"Zero, heal."

The dog zeroed in on me and stood in front of me, waiting for the next order.

"Where's Leo, Zero? Search for Leo," I barked out.

Zero barked and trotted to the food hall entrance, waiting for the three of us to follow him in.

Leo was seated at our usually table in the far corner of the huge room with a plate of Poutine in front of him and a cup of water next to it.

"Good boy. Search for Chris and wait for him, Zero. Go," I stated to the mutt. Zero nudged my leg then went back out the building the way that he came.

About ten minutes after we got out food and sat down with Leo, Chris came in with a tray full of food just like me.

"Where's Zero?"

Chris waved me off like I was worried. "I sent him to your room to rest and eat. Don't worry, I made sure that Kaylee filled both bowls before I made my way here."

I nodded in comprehension. Kaylee was my room mate but that didn't mean that we were buddy buddy. Quite the opposite, really. We never really talked, but she was an animal lover at heart. me? Other than my dog? not so much. That was the main reason why we didn't get along. She's a veggie, whereas I am not. Not the greatest combination when all the veggie talks about is how cruel it is to eat another thing with a face.

I didn't really talk much during dinner after that. I was too busy trying to finish my food and refueling my stomach to make up for not eating the other night. Chris, Leo, and Ryan bickered about the amount of food that Chris piled on his tray and why it wasn't healthy for someone to eat that much. Vic was switching his gaze from me to people watching as he quietly munched on his pasta.

A thought might occur to most people in this dining hall. Why was Chris, a professor, still sitting in the student dining hall? Two words. Teachers fight. That's exactly what happened to the Warrior Trainer, Markus and Chris when Markus was talking about how dangerous it was for the students to practice parkour. That didn't exactly sit tight with Chris, the Parkour teacher. Long story short, Chris refuses to even be in the same room with the Warrior Trainer; that includes the placement of where the two of them eat.

When I was finished eating, I let out a relieved sigh. Damn, I really needed that.

"All good to go," Vic asked with a smirk. His hands were twined together and holding his head up on his elbows on the table, gazing at me.

I raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"We  have practice in forty-five minutes. You weren't listening to Pete talking?"

No, I thought. I was too busy shoving food into my mouth to pay attention. I shook my head.

Chris took that moment to chime into the conversation. "We're going to do some free running around Skid Row in West Vancouver. It'll be easier to explain why people are seeing us jumping from building to building. We'll do the smaller stuff in the gym. I know that you, for one, need to get outside the gates. A bunch of the others in the class want to, as well."

I nodded. "Well, you're right on one account."

Chris smirked. "Oh, and one more thing, Red."

I scowled at him in question.

"Our guests will be joining and watching our routine in the gym first thing."