Safety is Relative

Chapter Eight- Cold Hands, Warm Heart

I look in the mirror, sighing. ‘I can’t believe I’m doing this,’

Nina appears behind me, laughing. ‘Oh stop moaning!’

I watch as she deftly pulls her hair up into a bun.

‘But I’m going to be rubbish,’ I whine.

‘So?’ Nina turns to face me. ‘It’s your punishment for trying to trick me.’

I feel really guilty for a moment before I see her eyes laughing at me. I shove her backwards, and she collapses into giggles.

‘But everyone will leave me behind,’ I continue, ‘even if I wasn’t so stiff and tired from yesterday.’

‘It’s only going to be like this at training, Rue,’ says Nina, tying her laces. Her trainers look fancy and designer, a whole lot more impressive than my shabby ones. ‘Think of it as a preparation exercise.’

‘What?’ I sit down with a thump. ‘We have to do that again?’

‘Training is both mental and physical,’ says Nina, standing up again with a jump.

‘Why do you have so much energy?’ I moan.

She offers her hand and pulls me to my feet. ‘You’re like an old woman, you know that?’

‘I feel that,’ I say, walking outside with her.

A woman in a tracksuit is blocking the exit whilst she struggles to pull various sticks out of a cupboard. A couple of younger girls also wearing the PE uniform are waiting awkwardly behind her, presumably wondering whether they should help her.

‘Oh Nina,’ says the coach, ‘could you take these please? And you lot, you can help too.’

Nina shoves some of the poles into my arms and I follow her outside. There’s a huge AstroTurf stretching out before us, with various figures standing around and chatting in groups. She leads us over to the far side, where a 100m track stretches off.

‘Okay, just dump your stuff here, please,’ says Nina, indicating the pile of sticks by her feet.

We all drop them there and the two younger girls run off.

Nina starts to unfold them, revealing a hurdle.

‘Oh, hurdling is what you do, right?’

‘Yeah,’ she says, ‘Pass me that one, will you?’

I pass her it, watching as she expertly sets them up.

‘It should be 400m really,’ she tells me, ‘but there’s not enough room for it. Or enough time- the sprinters won’t be able to run today.’

Someone catapults into the back of me, using my shoulders as they jump upwards. I stagger sideways and am greeted by Louis, who flicks his blond hair out of his eyes as he pulls me over to Nina. Nate and Lysander arrive a few seconds later, running over to join us.

They’re all wearing the PE kit, which is hideous at the best of times, but they actually make look quite good. Then I am shocked, and stop myself staring. Because the one I think looks the best is Nate, and he can’t know that. It’ll probably explode his already overlarge head.

‘Look who it is!’ says Louis, slapping me on the back. ‘Didn’t think you’d actually show up,’

‘I had to,’ I say.

‘I arrested her after Biology,’ explains Nina, pulling a face. ‘Jessica got away though.’

‘Thank God,’ says Nate.