PREPARATION
The rest of the morning consisted of endless wrapping paper cutting, tape dispenser refilling, and bow selection. I learned a lot under Dr. Green’s tutelage as he gave me some boxes to work on. Still, I wrapped simple, small boxes, while Dr. Green focused on the more complicated items. Each one of his carefully-wrapped gifts ended up as a beautiful paper creation like I’d only seen on television or in magazines.
Kota kept a list of who got what and who was left to shop for. He also put tags on gifts and marked which items were to go to which homes. Some were to go to a particular family’s homes, like the Korba’s or the Morgan’s. Some were for people I didn’t even know: Dr. Green’s colleagues at work, Academy members they were friends with, and family of the boys’ I hadn’t met yet: cousins and aunts and uncles. Most of them got small gifts, candy or other food items unique to Charleston.
The rest were put aside to take to Kota’s house.
“We’ll have our family Christmas there,” Kota said. “It’s tradition.”
Saying it was tradition made me feel special for being included, but also slightly alienated as well since it was my first, and I was unsure of what to expect. Wouldn’t Kota’s mother wonder why I was there with them for Christmas and not with my own family? The Thanksgiving traditions I’d experienced with them had been so surprising and exhausting, too.
Since they’d kept their Christmas plans a surprise, I was prepping myself for another unexpected and crazy day.
By the time we were close to finished wrapping gifts, I’d probably only wrapped a few dozen boxes. Dr. Green had not only wrapped faster, he’d created fancier ribbons. He’d made store-bought bows look like sparkling flowers once he was done with them. Mine paled in comparison, and you could see the drastic differences once they were together.
No wonder everyone sent their gifts to Dr. Green’s to be wrapped. I was embarrassed by the state of mine. I encouraged Dr. Green to make bows for me, to at least cover up the boxes I’d wrapped.
Before we were done, the front door opened and closed, drawing our attention to the still-unwrapped presents. We shifted in front of them, waiting for whoever it was to make an appearance from the foyer.
Mr. Blackbourne turned the bend, followed closely by Victor. Mr. Blackbourne was pristine in his usual crisp gray suit, white shirt, and maroon tie. His steel eyes were shining and vibrant.
Victor seemed a little more relaxed, more curious about what was going on. He wore his regular white Armani shirt and black slacks, the silver medallion—a heart and shield symbol—around his neck. His fire eyes were not quite a blaze, but a simmering fire. With his head high and his unyielding stance, he looked incredibly handsome.
Mr. Blackbourne, however, looked almost as intimidating as when I had first met him, his expression serious and ready to take the lead.
“I was hoping you would still be here,” Mr. Blackbourne said, looking at Dr. Green. He then turned his gaze to Kota and me. “I hope you’re finished.”
“Finished enough,” Dr. Green said. He sat on an empty space on the couch, pushing over a few empty store bags to make room. “I think the rest is mostly up to me.”
Kota had been sitting cross-legged on the carpet in front of the coffee table, using a Sharpie to mark names on tags. He finished what he was writing as he spoke. “I didn’t know you were going to come here. Should we go?”
“We all need to talk for a minute, but we’ll need to decide who should take Miss Sorenson back home,” Mr. Blackbourne said.
“I’ll do it,” both Kota and Victor said at the same time. They looked at each other with sheepish grins.
I shifted to stand front of the television so I could see all of them at once.
“You might want to hear this,” Victor said to Kota. He put his hands in his pockets, his lean arms pressing against his torso, outlining his chest and stomach. “You might even want to stay after.”
“We need to be prepared,” Mr. Blackbourne said as he turned to me. His voice was much like it was in the first week of school when he’d tried to teach me how to hold a violin: sharp and powerful. “Unless you have other plans, we need you to be free New Year’s week. The entire week.”
My heart thundered. “I...” I didn’t mean to stumble, but so many questions came to mind all at once and I was trying to piece together what to ask first. My schedule hadn’t been my own practically since I’d met them. I’d go wherever they wanted me. Why would it change over New Year’s?
“Owen, she knows about the Academy introduction. Why don’t you just tell her what it is?” Dr. Green asked.
“Don’t tell her,” Kota said. “It’s still kind of a Christmas surprise, too.”
“She should be able to prepare for it,” Victor said. “It might be a little unfair otherwise. You don’t even know if she’ll like it.”
“I think she will,” Kota said and looked at me with a smile. “I don’t mean to talk around you. It’s just I don’t want to ruin Christmas.”
I blew out a breath between my lips, wanting to be supportive but unable to really begin when I didn’t know what their surprise was. I started at the beginning. “So, the Academy wants some sort of official introduction the week of the first?” I had to say official because last time they sprung a surprise on me at Thanksgiving, I’d met a lot of Academy people, only I didn’t realize they were Academy until right before I met them. I also didn’t know they were showing me off until after the event.
They’d called it an informal introduction, but apparently I’d passed the test. I imagined next time I’d actually meet them and know their names and see their faces and get to know them as Academy. The idea was intimidating; there were a lot of them.
“Correct,” Mr. Blackbourne said. He smoothed out the front of his gray jacket and then unbuttoned it, only to re-button it again. He stopped himself and then put his hands at his sides. “This isn’t just an introduction, however. This is to identify your potential for getting into the Academy.”
“Do we have to do that part?” Kota asked. “And so soon?”
“If she gets more involved with us, she’ll have to,” Mr. Blackbourne said. “Besides, she’s expressed interest. I don’t think we’d be able to mask her potential from them.”
“But she doesn’t know what she’s getting herself into,” Kota said. He turned to look at me. “I know we’ve talked about it before, and you said you wanted to, but there're more complications than you realize. Especially with you...”
“Which is what the Introduction is all about,” Mr. Blackbourne said, turning to me. “You’ll learn the details and can then make your own decision. However, we have something more important to worry about other than your future Academy career at this moment. We’re facing a delicate issue.” He turned back to Kota. “The Academy may…no. I don’t want any illusion here. They will want to try her out with other teams. And not just for a week. Most likely, they’ll insist on asking her to join another team soon after the week is over and continue with them.”
“I don’t want another team,” I said, straightening my shoulders and standing taller. “Can’t I just tell them I want to stay?”
The others smiled, even Mr. Blackbourne, for a second. He collected himself quickly and turned toward the dining room adjacent to the living room and then turned back. “The problem is, they’ll request it very early on. Not accepting a trial with another team, not being willing to at least listen to their suggestions, might make them think you are unwilling to listen to their direction at all. As well, they’ll want to know why you’re so connected with us. They’ll want solid reasons.”
I shared a look with Victor. He frowned, and the fire in his eyes was low. He didn’t like this. Neither did I.
I suspected this was part of why the plan was so important. It was why we were still trying to figure it out, even at this preliminary stage. The problem was, Kota wasn’t ready. I wasn’t sure the others were ready, either. Nathan hadn’t spoken to me about
it, even though the others said he knew about it. Silas was unsure, and waiting for direction from the others. Most of the time, North seemed steady in his belief that it would work, but on occasion, he seemed to second guess. Usually, that was because I was unsure about the idea. But that he could have doubts made me wonder if he was confident at all.
I was on the fence. As much as I wanted to believe it could work, I still felt guilty about it, even if I faked my courage for the others like Mr. Blackbourne had suggested.
“Because she likes us—that’s a solid reason,” Kota said. “But you’re right, it may not be enough.” He removed his glasses and with his other hand, pinched at the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes. “See, this is one of the many reasons why I didn’t want her getting this interested. She can still help us and be around us without being in the Academy.”
Mr. Blackbourne shook his head. “You can’t control another person’s interest, Mr. Lee. If she is interested, which she says she is, then she should be allowed to explore her options. All of them. On the other hand, they could just as easily ask us to give her space—because of the dangerous assignments we pick up—to keep her safe.”