Christina giggles. “Kick his ass. I know you can.”
There’s my girl. “Totally.” I hold out my fist and bump hers.
Not wanting to waste any more time, I walk onto the mat next to Mr. Cox. “Come on, Jeremy. I don’t have all day.” That’s one thing about Charlie. He’s always worked with me to make sure I can take care of myself if something were to ever happen to me.
“Actually.” Mr. Cox turns to me and smirks. “You do. You’re all mine all day.”
“Technicalities.” I wink at him.
“I hate to have to beat a girl’s ass, but when they ask for it.” Jeremy walks over to me and holds up both arms. “Let’s get this over with.”
“All right, the first person down loses.” Mr. Cox grins at both of us and walks away.
I haven’t sparred with Jeremy in a while so I’m not sure how his fighting has changed. The trick my brother always taught me was to let the other person strike first, especially if they’re bigger. That way you can see their style and where their weaknesses lie.
Jeremy rushes in at me and attempts to grab my waist.
As he grabs for me, I spin to the left, causing him to wind up catching air.
He stumbles when there isn’t any resistance like he expected and almost falls to his knees. “What the hell?” He somehow catches his balance right at the last second and rights himself.
His best friends burst out laughing. “Dude, she’s faster than you.”
“Shut up.” His voice echoes through the gym and he turns, breathing hard. “You will pay for that.”
Wow. I learned a lot about him in the first minute of our fight. Not only is he a hot head, but he’s impatient, and his moves are deliberate and obvious.
Not wasting time, he rushes me again, but this time aims for my feet. When he grabs my leg, I raise my arm, forcing my elbow in the back of his neck.
His head falls forward, hitting the mat.
“All right. It’s over.” Mr. Cox walks out. “Beth won. Jeremy’s body touched the mat first.”
Christina laughs as I rejoin her. “That was a little harsh, don’t you think.”
“Well, it was either that or me kicking him in the face.” I think I picked the lesser of the two evils. Now I just hope, he doesn’t try to get even.
6
Later that day, Christina walks into my room. She comes over to where I’m sitting on the floor with some textbooks opened and plops down beside me.
I bump my shoulder into hers. “We’re back to normal now?” I push the book back I am looking through.
“Yeah, don’t feel like I had to this time.” She glances down at the book. “Really? You’re reading up on how to transport. You know reapers can only do that to and from a job that’s assigned by the council.”
“Just hoping the textbook contradicted our lectures.” I mean our teachers can be wrong every once and awhile, right?
“If they are,” she reaches over and closes the book, “I doubt it would be about one of the main staples of reaping.”
All right, she’s got me there, but can’t a girl hope?
“I can’t stay too long. It’s late, but my parents are out. Apparently, the reaping happens tonight.” She pulls out her cell phone and checks the time. “When I got home, my parents were in the kitchen looking over some paperwork. I walked in and they went quiet, which isn’t like them.”
That’s interesting. “Do you think it was the prison reaping?”
“I know it was.” She places the phone in her lap with the face up. “I asked them what was going on. They normally share this kind of stuff with me. They want me prepared for my role and like to tell me everything down to the most basic details.” She rolls her eyes.
It’s not surprising. It’s insulting. “What did they do?”
She sighs. “They became really tight-lipped, so I had to tread carefully. But Dad did mention that the council wants to try something different. Something new.”
This is so frustrating. Why does the whole thing have to be so top secret? We’re a freaking community for crying out loud.
“I had to play my cards right.” She pops her fingers. “I had to play the part of an interested teen but not let on I knew what was going on. But I did manage to ask the right question and see a list of names of people who will be involved. There were about forty. It was the piece of paper they were looking at.”
And there she is. My best friend who always comes through. “First, I have to know what you asked your dad. Second, were there any names that stood out on that list?”
“Well, I just asked him how this was so different than the normal ways and he went on and on about the beginning of time and how reaping has evolved over the centuries.” She shakes her head and pinches the bridge of her nose. “A few names stood out. Charlie, of course, and then my parents were on there, as well as Brad.”
Even Brad is getting to go. I’m dang jealous. He’s my future boyfriend even if no one knows it.
“This isn’t good.” Christina’s forehead is lined and her eyes strained. “The council doesn’t like change. Like Dad mentioned it but didn’t really catch on in his own explanation that these changes take centuries. The council is making one huge change all at once.”
“Maybe something big is happening and they just need to?” I don’t know why else they would do something like that, and honestly, I don’t care. I just need to figure out what’s going on with me.
Her hand reaches out and touches my arm. “Something big is going on and they aren’t filling us all in. Something is off, and everyone is blindly following them. The elders never do anything unless it benefits them in some way.”
I’ve never been hesitant
