while the red takes the right. I stay towards the back of the group, mostly to stay out of the way, but also so I can see exactly where people are going. The aim here is to run the whole course and not be taken out and I’m at a disadvantage to everyone else right now, so whatever edge I can give myself will help.
There’s a group of guys at the front, jostling and jeering at each other with that over-exaggerated bravado that has my eyes rolling, and a bunch of girls giggling over their antics. All of them are dressed in teeny-tiny shorts and tight tank tops, with a whole lot of toned skin on show. I’m jealous, honestly, of how great they all look, while I’m over here looking like a sack of potatoes in the oversized uniform. I’ve always cared about my appearance but being here, surrounded by the whispers and judgmental stares of everyone, I’m suddenly hyper-aware of every last one of my flaws.
My ass looks nothing like the amazing one the girl eyeing Gabe is rocking. He meets my eye over her head for a second before he winks at her, constant in his efforts at baiting me into jealousy. My bond isn’t happy but I shove it down in my chest again because fuck him.
He’s already made it clear he doesn’t want me, all of his antics to get a rise out of me are just freaking childish.
I’m still busy picking out all of the features I’d love to have from the other girls when a buzzer sounds and the doors open. Gabe is one of the first guys to enter the course, bounding out of the room and disappearing into the thick cluster of trees right at the door. I approach slowly, glancing at Vivian and Gryphon’s broody figures before I finally cross into the course.
It’s so much bigger once you’re in it.
I’d known that it covered a lot of ground, the fences went on for miles, but the moment the door shut behind me with a resounding thump, I know I’m in way over my head.
The only upside is that we’re not supposed to use our gifts, so it's an even playing field for me. Wait, no, it’s still not fair, because everyone else has run the course before and knows what to expect and there’s also the small fact that they’re all ripped and I’m not, but at least no one is going to be throwing fire balls at my head or shapeshifting or, fuck, becoming invisible and slitting my throat.
Okay, that last one might be my dramatics coming out.
The first thing I have to do is jog down to a river that I’m sure can’t be real. The funding that must have gone into this program is insane. If I didn’t already know that the Dravens are freaking filthy rich, I would now. The other students are all crossing it together, laughing and joking with each other because it’s all normal shit to them, and I glance down at my shorts and shoes in sadness.
Running the rest of the course in wet shoes is going to be actual torture. I could take them off, who the fuck cares about the time that’ll take me, but what if there’s sharp rocks or… creatures in there?
If I think about any of the creatures that might be in the water, it’s entirely possible I will run away screaming, which is too freaking embarrassing, so I guess I’m leaving my shoes on, soggy feet be damned.
I wait until everyone else has made it through the water, watching them as they make it across. There’s a sinkhole if you head straight through the middle of the path, and everyone is avoiding the left-hand side, so there must be a reason for that.
Once they’ve disappeared through the thick trees again, I get to work, wincing at the freezing temperature but gritting my teeth and just walking straight in. I really, really hate it. The mud is thick enough that I can feel it seeping into my shoes and when I finally get to the other side, I have to pull my shoes off to attempt to empty the slime out.
When I’ve done my best to empty them and tied my sneakers back on, I glance up to find Gabe bounding off into the trees, as if he’d stopped to watch me. My bond crows in my chest, like it’s a victory that he gives a fuck