in the locker that has been assigned to me, a tag with Fallows already stuck on there. There’s a uniform and a slip of paper with the combination to the locker on it.
The other girls are all laughing and talking as they change into their uniforms and I can’t help but notice that they’re all very toned looking. I’ve never cared enough about other people’s opinions of me to feel self-conscious of my body but, hell, I’ve never been so aware of my own short-comings before.
I’m going to die.
The shorts are too short and the shirt is too long, so it almost looks like I’m not wearing bottoms at all. None of the other girls attempt to speak to me but all of them give me a once-over like I’m diseased, whispering and murmuring without even attempting subtlety.
I take a deep breath before I walk back out into the training room, just to pull myself together and attempt to find some inner strength to get through this but… nothing. There’s no secret well within myself overflowing with fortitude and confidence.
There’s a heap of grumpy and self-loathing though, so I might just pull on those instead and hope for the best.
Gabe is lounging against the wall outside the changing room, laughing and joking around with some of his friends from the football team. They all fall silent when I walk out, throwing looks around at each other like they’re all talking telepathically about how shit I am. Fuck, they might be, for all I know and care.
“I was about to come in there after you. You can’t hide from Vivian, you know. He’d just come in here after you.”
I shrug and try to hide my shock at this hard-ass Vivian being a man. Of course it would be another man here to push me around and ruin my life. Gabe rolls his eyes at my silence, putting on a show for his friends because he obviously doesn’t want them knowing how badly my rejection hurts him. It’s so obvious to me, but they all start cracking jokes about his defective Bond like I’m not standing right here listening.
Fucking pigs.
I stalk away from them, out to the front of the group, to find Gryphon standing there in Tac gear with a very old, very round man who looks like he’s mad at the world that he woke up this morning and has to deal with college students.
I recognize it because I feel the exact same way.
Gryphon looks me over with cold, disinterested eyes and then glances away, which my bond does not like at all, but I shove the feeling aside. Vivian takes way more interest in me, frowning and staring me down.
“You’re the Bond? You look about twelve years old, are you sure you’re old enough to be here?”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Nope, can I leave now?”
Gryphon ignores my sass and walks around me to start barking out orders to the rest of the class, directing them into a training circuit that I’d rather have Sage set me on fire than complete.
Vivian looks me over again as Gryphon stalks back over and says, “I was expecting more. What’s your gift? You’d better have something good for me.”
For him? That’s fucking weird. I shrug. “Nothing. I’ve got nothing for you.”
Gryphon’s eyes flash over to mine as he frowns but he doesn’t comment on me finally confirming all of their worst nightmares; a giftless Bond.
Fuck, I wish it were true.
Vivian’s eyes narrow even more at me until they almost look closed, his mouth turning down, “I’m going to work this attitude out of you, you know. You’ll break before the end of the day, I’m sure.”
God, probably. I’ll be lucky to last ten minutes, but I don’t give him the satisfaction of saying so. I just wait for him to start directing me.
It’s so much worse than I thought it would be.
Vivian makes me my own circuit to go through so he can assess where my fitness is at and my lungs are screaming within a minute. By the half hour mark, I can’t feel my legs. By the hour, I can taste blood and see white dots in the corners of my vision.
It’s only by my sheer stubborn will that I keep going.
When Gryphon blows a whistle sharply to signal the end of this part of the training, I’m shocked to find out I’m the only one still working out, everyone else is sitting around drinking water and watching