The next morning was icy and the cold wind cut through even the thickest of coats. Evan walked into the Felix Center at around 7:55 am. Since it didn’t open until eight o’clock, there were people in the waiting room. Only around 10 people were in that early, considering that it was a Sunday morning. If anyone had come, it was usually because they had to or they were falling behind and needed extra hours to train. Since Hayes was very far behind the others, they would have to train from eight to around six. Evan honestly hoped that he was a fast learner.
A few minutes passed in silence among the people in the waiting room. Evan checked her watch and it read 7:58. If Hayes wasn’t there in two minutes Evan would go find him wherever he was staying. She thought of how she would be able to find him. He didn’t have friends that she knew of, so that only left her the option of reporting his absence in training. She did not want to get him in trouble so she decided she would cover for him until he arrived. Evan looked at her watch again, 7:59.
Just then, the door opened, letting a chilling breeze attack the rooms’ occupants. Hayes stepped through wearing a black hoodie and grey sweatpants. He quickly scanned the room and found her with an angry expression. She looked at him then hissed, “Where were you? You are almost late and I would have had to cover for you.”
He glared at her, “If you must know, I slept in on accident. Not everyone around here is an insomniac like you.”
“How did you know about that?” She questions him. Nobody knew about that except for her friends, the people she trusted with her life.
“I can read people,” he shrugs, making the intensity of the conversation vanish. Evan is about to make a rude comment about personal space when a loud click sounds in the small room. A scanning device slips from an opening in the wall and the people form a line leading to it. Evan and Hayes end up in the middle. “What is this line for?” He asks.
“Watch,” Evan says and a young, thin girl- maybe thirteen- slides her left hand under the scanning device. It flashes a red light and a grey door opens just long enough for her to get inside. “You put your writing hand under the scanner and it will recognize- or not- if you are allowed inside,” she explains. She pulls her right hand from her pocket and shows Hayes her palm. Imprinted on it is a gold star. “You will have the outline of a star on your writing hand,” she says and he pulls his right arm from his hoodie and looks at his palm. Just as she said, there is a faint outline in the shape of a star.
They are next in line and Evan is behind Hayes because she has to make sure he gets in. He slips his hand under the scanner and, when the door opens, steps inside and waits for Evan before going any further.
Evan shoves her hand under the device and hears several gasps from behind her. Its unusual for a gold to be so young and people took notice. She turns away from them and rolls her eyes before walking through the door. Hayes is just barely inside and looks at her as she enters. She starts down the hall and knows Hayes will follow. Soon enough she hears his heavy footsteps- she’d have to work on that.
They soon enter the main training room. It is large and bright with weapons in one corner, weights in another, an obstacle course in the third, and in the last corner, a large mat. There were two doors on one wall that said either male or female locker rooms. On another wall, a door had a sign with the word Pool neatly written on it. Evan shuddered while looking at the emboldened word and began to walk toward the female locker room door. Hayes quickly followed.
