Light in Dark Places

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Benedict sidles up to Joan as everyone starts walking to class. The girl is already picking out the cactus needles from her hand, the smallest pricks of blood forms at her palms.

"You... didn't cry out," Benedict offers.

"I was expecting it to hurt," Joan mutters under her breath. "So I was mentally prepared. I guess it didn't hurt as much as I was expecting. Still hurt a lot, though."

Benedict nods. "Every kid in the desert usually touches a cactus at least once to see if it'll hurt like they say it does. It's usually only something people try once."

Joan laughs weakly and brushes her bloody palms on her pants. A few seconds later she says in a very small voice, "Thanks for coming back for me."

It only makes Benedict feel even more guilty about the fact that he almost didn't.

*

After lunch is math. As with the history lesson, there is a lot of dimly forgotten knowledge resurfacing. Oh, algebra. Man, it's been forever since I last had to do long division. This reaction is slightly more unnerving than the history lesson, if only because she has a hard time picturing Seung-ri sitting at her bedside and reading algorithms aloud.

After an hour passes, Downing announces that it's time for physical education, which elicits a few cheers from the crowd and some very emphatic book slamming. Jonan tries very hard not to panic.

"Laps," Downing says, looking at all of them. "You know the drill, hop to it. Quale, Kaas, may I speak to you for a second?"

Joan gladly lags behind, a sentiment Benedict seems to share.

"What happened to your hand?" Downing asks when Joan and Benedict flock towards him.

"I, um, leaned on a cactus," Joan says.

Downing is already taking bandages from his desk and starts wrapping her hand after he motions for her to hold it out to him. "For future reference, if you must lean on a cactus, try to lean with your non-dominant hand."

Joan winces. "I'll try to remember that, thanks." She had been thinking the same thing as she'd tried to take notes during class.

Downing leans back, using his pale blue umbrella as a crutch. "The two of you do not have much experience training for active military combat, correct?"

"None whatsoever," Joan replies, as Benedict vehemently shakes his head.

"And, as I understand it, Ms. Kaas, you have not been... awake for long."

"A little over a week," Joan confesses.

"And Mr. Quale, your physiological change is still a fairly recent development?"

Benedict swallows and nods his head, not looking at his wing.

"The students of this class are usually physically affected either from birth or from when they Ash, which usually takes place fairly young for those with physical changes," Downing says, his voice extremely gentle. "By the time they enroll in the Academy, they have had plenty of time to grow accustomed to their physical differences. You have had very little time to do so, and it was against my recommendation that you should be put into this class so soon after your transformation. Your body weight, depth perception, and natural movements have all undergone a very dramatic change this past week, and it will take some time before you are ready to begin the intense physical demands in the active military tract. For now, I suggest concentrating on basic stretches that will help you grow accustomed to what you will be able to expect from the movements of your new body."