The Leader

6

"You feeling okay?" I ask Tera as we make our way to the training room.

The bruises along her jaw have somewhat faded, but they are still noticeable. They will probably decorate her face for a while.

"Yeah," she says with a nod. "I finally got rid of that killer headache."

"I'm glad."

I push open the door to the training room and look around. My eyes meet his familiar cool blue ones before I break contact and turn toward my spot against the wall. I sit and stretch my legs to warm up.

I sneak a glance in his direction and our eyes meet yet again. I quickly avert my gaze and duck my head to hide my blush.

"He is staring at you," Tera says, nudging me in the side.

"Who is staring at me?" I ask, pretending to play dumb, even though he is the only male in the room.

"You know who," she says, raising a brow before continuing. "Why is Eric staring at you?"

"I dunno." I shrug my shoulders and look away. "That's a question for him, not me."

The door to the training room flies open and the other transfers pile in the room, saving me from further questions.

"Listen up, initiates," Eric says, his voice as loud and powerful as usual. "Today we'll be learning how to load and fire a gun."

"I don't see any guns," Jillian says.

"Excellent observation, Captain Obvious," Eric deadpans, causing me and Tera to chuckle. "They're on the roof. Now follow me."

We follow Eric up many flights of stairs to the roof where Four is waiting for us. He demonstrates how to load and fire a gun before having us find a target and practice.

We've been shooting for around two hours, and Eric has only flipped his lid once. Jillian was having trouble hitting the target, even after Four helped her with her aim, and Eric got irritated. It was kind of funny watching her squirm.

"All right, initiates," Eric calls out. I lower my gun and turn my head toward him. "You are free to leave. Be back in the training room at two. Better not be late."

I return my gun to Four and stand off to the side to wait for Tera, who actually did well today. She hit the target every time, and even got close to the center a couple of times.

"Rori," Eric says, "stay back for a second."

Jillian and the other transfers ooh and I roll my eyes at their childishness.

"I'll meet you at lunch, okay?" Tera tells me as she brushes past. I nod and turn to face Eric.

He keeps his face blank until we're the only ones left on the roof. "You did really well today."

"Oh, uh, thank you." I honestly did not expect that.

"Fighting continues tomorrow," he says. "I'll train with you after supper if you still want help."

"That would be great," I say with a nod. "I need all the help I can get."

"You have two hours until lunch," he says after checking his watch. "Might want to take advantage of the free time."

"How much did you pay for that tattoo?" I ask, my eyes flicking to the tattoo on his arm.

"About forty points, why?" he says with a smirk. "You wanting to get tatted?"

"I've thought about it," I say. "I want something cool, but meaningful."

"I can take you to look around if you want," he says, rubbing the back of his neck. "That way you'll have an idea of what you want before you get points."