Fire & Ice

ch. 5

JAMIE

"Ready for this?" Izzy looped her arm through mine, walking with me towards the elevators after we hopped out of Daniel's truck.

"Beyond ready," I called back, grinning. It was finally Exam Day, and so far, I felt nothing but pure confidence surging through me.

Maybe it was because it was my birthday too.

"How does it feel to be thirteen?" Izzy asked.

"It's going to feel like I'm on top of the world when I pass this exam today."

She gave me a high-five. "I like your confidence. Mind sharing a little with me?"

"Catch!" I pretended to throw some of it to her, and she played along, "catching" it and spreading it all over herself.

"Did it work?" I asked.

She shot me a devilish grin. "Let's test it out," she said. She took off, launching into a roundoff back-handspring right there in the parking garage.

"Please be careful, Isabel!" Natalie called from behind us, right on cue. She walked alongside my brother. For the past week, he'd been extra nice to me, but whenever the Grants came around, he would shoot me a warning glare as if I was going to open my mouth and expose him at any given second. He was doing it now as I smirked, looking back and forth between him and Nat.

Little did he know, I had decided to wait and use my leverage against him for a little while longer. The fewer dishes I'd have to wash, the better.

Izzy and I continued to goof off in the parking garage on our way to the elevators. Once we were close, I ran up towards the buttons and did a kick-flip off the wall, using my foot to hit the up button and landing smoothly as it opened.

"Quit it, Jamie. Save your showing off for the judges," Daniel said, rolling his eyes.

I made a face at him.

"Do you two know where to go this morning?" Nat asked after we'd all loaded in the elevator.

"Third floor, through the first gate for check-in and room assignments," I answered, checking my phone for the time. The written part of the exam started this morning at 8 AM, but we'd made it at 7:30.

"And for the physical exam, where do you go?"

"Through the second gate into our assigned simulation rooms," Izzy said, pulling her hair back into a high ponytail like mine. "Don't worry, Nat. We got this!"

Nat hugged her sister, looking proud. "We'll be watching both of your physicals together in the viewing rooms."

"Of course you'll be watching together," I mumbled, just loud enough for Daniel's ears.

"Shut up," he hissed in my ear.

We finally reached the third floor, and Izzy and I stepped off of the elevator, leaving our siblings behind. ELITE officials were spread everywhere and many potential new recruits were trying to figure out where to go. All of them were dressed head-to-toe in black combat gear, just like Izzy and I.

We flashed our ID cards to the two officials on guard and they allowed us access through the front gate. The next few officials instructed us to get in line for check-in, so we stood together, still arm-in-arm.

During a pause in our conversation, I caught a few words from the two people directly in front of us. One was a girl with blonde hair who was talking excitedly to a boy with similar but a shorter crop of hair.

"Yeah, I studied all night, so I'm definitely going to pass this part," the girl was saying. I realized with dread that I recognized her snooty voice.