I feel a lot better when I wake up. My head still throbs, and I can feel my pulse in my swollen cheek, but my mood isn't so cranky. My right arm is swollen to the point I can't fully extend it. I'll have to try to get more ice on it at breakfast.

"Morning, Sunshine," Wick says when I sit at the table with a bowl of oatmeal and a napkin full of ice. "Weren't you just a ray of delight last night."

Eveia looks up from her own bowl of cereal. "Have you been waiting all morning to say that?"

Wick grins. "I have."

She shakes her head. "Donkey."

I apologize for my behavior last night, but they wave it away.

"It was a rough day for all of us," Kaz says.

For a few minutes, the only sound at our table is chewing.

"Weird, to think this could be our last day here." Wick breaks the silence.

"Shut up, Wick," Eveia says with more aggression than strictly necessary. "None of us is going anywhere."

Wick's right, though. Last night I felt pretty confident, but in the morning light, my bruises look darker and my chances a little bleaker.

We make our way to the auditorium early, trying to sit near the front. Part of me hoped they'd have the rankings written on the board, so we could get the nervous waiting over with. The other part is relieved they are not, in case I'm ranked embarrassingly low.

Suddenly, I'm sure I am. Probably at the very bottom. Sure I did well with the knives, but the other events? I got lucky, and even then, my performances weren't stellar. There won't be anything to save me; rules are rules, if I'm in the bottom twenty-five, I have to leave.

I have to die.

Finally, after what feels like forever and no time at all, Ritter walks to the center of the stage. The wall behind him lights up with four rows, and a floor leader designated to each row. It appears they've done away with F5; Ceek's name is not on the list and the rows are dotted only with numbers R1-R40.

"Welcome, Recruits, to the first Ranking." Ritter's voice echoes, and the room quiets. "You've all performed admirably over the past two weeks. Your skills in the demonstrations yesterday proved this. However, twenty-five of you will not proceed in your Kuzabn training."

He shuffles the papers in his hand and continues. "We have received your requests for specialized training, and placed you according to your rank and the leader's availability. When I call your name, I will say your rank and new floor leader. Please note these, then exit the auditorium, proceed to your current room to gather your belongings, then meet your new floor leader in the Training Room listed beside their names on the board behind me to receive room assignments and instructions."

I glance at the column of names. They're listed by floor level, Shark to Briar, and the training rooms correspond to the floor number, like they had on the first day.

Ritter begins listing names. He drones on, pausing only long enough between each name for the individual to stand. There is no ceremony for Grud, the boy who ranked first, no cheering or appreciation for any successful recruits.

"Kaz Bancroft. Ranked Seventh. Shark."

Kaz grins, clearly proud of himself, as he stands. "See ya, kids."

"Seventh, are you serious?" Eveia hisses at his back as he moves up the aisle to the back door. "No wonder he's been so calm."

Name after name is called, and I become sicker. My stomach feels like it is creeping into my throat. The only consolation is Eveia and Wick are still on either side of me.

Then: "Eveia Grimauld. Ranked Twentieth. Shark."

"Shark?" I whisper. She punches Wick lightly on her way past him, and I guess it makes sense.

"Nadia JustNadia." My stomach flips. "Ranked Twenty-Third. Briar."

Twenty-Third? And I got Briar? I'm in a trance as I rise and make my way to the aisle. Wick's name is called next. I smile while I wait for him to join me.

"Nice job," I say.

He's beaming. "I was afraid I'd be at the bottom, or worse, get stuck with Hejae."

"Hejae wouldn't have been so bad." I push out the doors and into the stairwell. "He was my second choice."

"Yeah, well, you're Viry. You'd do well using your looks to manipulate people and stuff."

I don't think it's meant to be insulting, but his comment hurts a little. Does Wick think I do this? His smile is friendly enough when he leaves me at F2 to go get his things before meeting with Kiira in T3. I doubt he realized his comment could have been taken maliciously.

I meet Eveia coming out of our room. She waits for me as I grab my rucksack.

"Where you headed?" she asks, leading the way down the hall.

"T4. You're going to T1, right?"

"Yup. So, you went with Briar over Hejae, huh? Interesting." She raises her eyebrows, a reference to last night's conversation.

"There is seriously nothing there. But I like the way I feel when I'm handed a knife. I want to learn more skills like that."

Eveia thinks this over, then nods. "Fair enough."

I hesitate, then ask the question that's been burning beneath the surface since yesterday.

"When Wick found me in Briar's room, he said you would be mad. What was he talking about?"

I figure if this upsets her somehow, we don't share a room anymore, so it won't be the end of the world. We have half a flight of stairs before we go our separate ways.

She shakes her head. "He's such a donkey." Then she shrugs. "I thought maybe you and Kaz were hitting it off. Seems like you two have gotten pretty close."

My face heats. "Oh, I don't know. He's really nice, and I like spending time with him—"

"But he's not Viry." Eveia yanks open the door to the Training Room level. "Yeah, I get it."

"That's not it at all—"

"It's cool. It's not really any of my business anyway, right?" Her whole demeanor has changed. She lets the door to T1 swing shut behind her before I can reply.

He's nice? I don't know why I said that. Kaz is nice, but I sounded too uninterested. I'm not used to this way of life, developing feelings for someone without being Matched to them. Then hiding those feelings, pretending everything is normal. Wondering if they could be doing the same.

I hope Eveia doesn't say anything to Kaz; I don't want him to get the wrong idea.

The meeting with Briar is brief. I'm relieved to discover not only is Caither also on my floor, but my new roommate as well. I won't have to start completely from scratch.

Briar welcomes us to his floor and tells us his floor rules: no members of the opposite sex in a bedroom with the door closed—I think of how he kept his door open when I entered his room—lights out by eleven p.m., no weapons in the rooms.

He seems strict, but then I realize none of his rules will really change the way I've been living these past three weeks.

"Training will begin promptly at 8:30 Monday morning in U-Gym. Don't be late, and come prepared to train. This is the only orientation to my team you will get."

Caither walks with me to F4. "I didn't realize Briar was such a task master," she says.

"He's very organized." I remember his perfectly made bed, neatly arranged books.

"Control freak, more like."

I don't know why, but Caither's attitude annoys me. For whatever reason, I'm feeling particularly defensive of Briar.

"So, Nadia." Caither flops onto her bed and rolls onto her stomach, perching her chin on her hands. "You spend a lot of time with Kaz, right?"

I shrug, unsure I like where this conversation is headed, either. "Sure, we're friends."

"Just friends?"

I think of my conversation with Eveia. I definitely don't want to talk about this with Caither.

"I only ask because I don't want to get in the way of anything. You know, especially now that we're roomies." She rolls onto her back. "But there's something about him. So if he's not with you, do you think you could see how he feels about me?"

She smiles over at me. I think I might hate her. But I smile back. "Of course."

"This is going to be awesome." She rolls to sit up. "Ready to head to lunch?"

--------------------

Why does this girl torture herself.

Sorry, more of a filled chapter. I didn't want to get too long. (Unless yall like long chapters??)

Til next time,

x zuz