Noah came up behind me and threw an arm around my shoulder. “Collin wasn’t the first person I lost,” he said softly. “And I’m sure he won’t be the last. It happens, their number was called, we can’t let it eat us up.”
I sighed knowing they wanted me to pick myself up, brush myself off and walk on with my head up high. I was too tired. I had been strong for too long. I was too tired to continue to allow the water to roll off my back.
Luckily, Remy clapped his hand, calling class in session.
I didn’t realize that Remy and Troy secretly loved torturing us. They had created a mixed martial arts program that was no joke. We were taught individual stances and basic punches and kicks.
Then we were taught how to fall—yes, how to fall. Remy, Troy, and another instructor well versed in martial arts took turns throwing us. After being thrown for the fiftieth or hundredth time, my whole body ached down to my toes.
Jemmy finally stood up and groaned. “Why do we even know this?! We’re gifted!”
“No kidding,” Dawn lamented as she blew a piece of hair out of her face. She even sweated prettily. It was hard to dislike her, the more I got to know her.
“We know she doesn’t need this,” Michael joked as he pointed at me.
I rolled my eyes. I knew he was joking, but after the day I had, I knew I was being sensitive. “Want me to show you how much I don’t need this?” I threatened him.
“Rule number 1, no gifts allowed,” he said smugly.
I turned my back on him, but I smiled maliciously. With a little concentration I had Michael barking. When one of the instructors yelled at him, I had him barking, too. Everyone thought it was funny, accept the instructor that was getting increasingly mad.
“Blake,” Troy chided me in my ear.
“What?” I said with an innocent expression. “How do you know it was me?”
He gave me a pointed look, and I smiled sweetly at him.
Jemmy and Dawn came up to me, still giggling. “I think class just got a whole lot more interesting.”
I nodded. “I think so too.”
Poor Michael was just forced to be the butt of my difficult day. I hadn’t lashed out as I’m sure some of them expected me too, but I had lashed out. It still gave me a perverse sense of satisfaction.
Chapter 19
We decided to grab Japanese on the way home. No one was in the mood to wait to eat or cook. The restaurant probably thought we were feeding an army as we ordered three party platters of sushi, five chicken teriyakis, three shrimp teriyakis, and ten orders of egg rolls. My mouth watered at the thought of eating. I barely had time to eat breakfast this morning, and I couldn’t stomach lunch, no matter how many times Noah and Gavin got on me.
Will was home by the time we got home, and he looked older than I had ever seen him. He fondly watched over the kids as they played, but I could see the weight of the world lying on his shoulders today.
We hastily unloaded all our food on the dining room table and dug in immediately. I grabbed some sushi rolls, mixed the wasabi with the soy sauce, and dug in with gusto. I tried to shut all the negative of the day out, but Will finally spoke up after we had put a huge dent into the food.
“Blake, did I hear that you are thinking about dropping out of your classes and doing online courses?” he asked gently with an inscrutable look.
I swallowed the spicy tuna I had been eating. My chopsticks were poised over my next piece. “Yes. Today was…difficult, and I’m not sure I want to subject myself to it anymore.”
“I want to drop out too,” Alex piped up with a mutinous look. “The teacher made me read out loud, and the kids laughed at me when I didn’t say the words right.”
“You just need to practice,” Ella said sagely as she stabbed a piece of broccoli with her fork.
They were in the same class, but it was clear after day one that Alex took a little while to warm up to others. Plus, it didn’t help that his school district was one of the worst in the state, so he was slightly behind his other peers.
“How was your day?” I asked Micah, hoping to divert more attention away from myself.
He shrugged. “Ms. Tanya is great. She’s really patient and didn’t make me feel dumb.” He eye-balled the California roll I had put on his plate to try.
“That’s good,” I told him with a smile.
“Maybe it is a good idea,” Will finally said after a moment pause. “You can do your class work during the day, and if you’re caught up and bored, you can come with me to the clinic. Jace was busy all day with some of those females we brought in…” his voice trailed off.