Chapter Eight

I'm ready and waiting for Justin at 4am. Well, I was ready at about 3am, but I'm not going to tell him that. I think I might have gone overboard with the training in the night, because my arms feel a little heavy right now. Either I did too much or I've been slacking off and I'm paying the price after a good session. Either way, I know I need to keep up this level of training to be able to fight properly when the time eventually comes.

Justin is right on time when he opens my door. He mutters a good morning and ushers me down the stairs before grabbing some items out of the refrigerator. I eye him cautiously as he retrieves eggs and sausage meat, along with various vegetables.

“We're going to make omelets, sausage and pancakes. You ever made any of those?”

I shoot him a look and chuckle as I say, “Really?”

“What? I'm just asking. I want to see how much experience you have...”

I can't help myself and I quip, “Oh, way more than you know...”

I burst out laughing at his confused look. At my laughter his look morphs into one of recognition and he chuckles, “Ok, you caught me on that one. I wasn't expecting that.”

“I thought you said I couldn't get anything passed you...”

“A joke is hardly important, is it? When it matters you can't get things passed me.”

“Whatever.”

He eyes me cautiously and asks, “If I ask you to cut these vegetables, can I trust that you're not going to use that knife against me or anyone else?”

I scoff, “I don't need a knife. If I want to do damage, I'll just use my fists.”

“Maybe not today, seeing as your arms are tired...”

“Everyday, dude.”

“You're not even going to ask how I know your arms are tired?”

“That would suggest I care, which I don't. So, no.”

“I heard you in the night. I hear you every night. You want to talk about why you don't sleep for more than 2 or 3 hours? Why you always spend the rest of the time exercising and training?”

“You've read my file, so you tell me all about it.”

“Believe it or not, not everything is in your file. The basics are there, but not what happened without the system knowing. You seem like the type to keep things to yourself. It'll only consume you if you don't talk to someone about it...”

“Really? It's a good job I'm just fine then, isn't it? There's nothing to talk about, thanks for your concern.”

“Why do you have to be so stubborn and closed off? You're going to be here for a long time, especially at the rate you're going currently. You may as well make the most of it.”

“Thanks for the advice, but I'll pass on that. I don't know any of you people and I have no intention of making friends.”

“It'll make things much easier if you just tried to get along with people...”

I chuckle but say nothing. I just continue to chop the vegetables. After a few minutes of silence, Justin breaks the silence, “So, tell me something about yourself? Something that's not in that file you keep talking about...”

I narrow my eyes and try to figure out what his game is.

“What are you doing? Why are you asking me questions?”

“I told you, I'm teaching you life skills. That includes learning how to converse with people without ripping their heads or fingers off...”

I chuckle, “That's the best kind of conversation...”

“You really are something else...”

“I know. People tell me that all the time. I like to take it as a compliment.”

He shakes his head and asks his previous question again. I decide to humor him and play him at his game. So, I pretend I'm thinking for a minute or two and then I respond, “I burn water, but I've recently discovered I can cut vegetables. I also like long walks on the beach and my favorite food is salad....”

I see the moment he realizes I'm being sarcastic. I laugh at his annoyed expression but then he seems to realize I'm feeding off his annoyance, so he steels his features and just stares at me.

“Can't you be serious for even a few minutes?”

“Depends. I'm deadly serious when I'm smashing someone's face in. Does that count?”

“Again with the sarcasm. I'll let you in on a small piece of information. You're here until I think you're fit to release. If you think you can play this game and finish your time here, then you're very mistaken. The more you cause trouble, the longer you'll be here. It's your choice. Being civil to people is obviously something you struggle with, so we're going to work on that.”

I chuckle at that and mutter, “Good luck with that...”

After I finish cutting up the vegetables, Mike and Todd appear in the kitchen. The guys all greet each other but I say nothing. I turn my body to face the guys as they walk passed me. This doesn't go unnoticed by Justin and he raises his eyebrows at me. He doesn't comment about that, but he does hold his hand out and say, “Knife.”

I hand it to him straight away and reply, “I told you, I don't need it.”

Mike shoots Justin a look that I can't quite decipher and then looks at me before saying, “Morning Ariya.”

“Yeah, hi.'

Todd breaks the peace by stepping toward me and asking, “You cooled down now? Or do these guys need to dunk you again?”

I actually growl at him. I can't help myself.

Before I can even move or say a thing, Justin speaks up, “Watch it, Todd. Stop trying to get a beating. Ariya, chill. Remember what I said...”

“Am I done now? Can I go?”

“We need to cook the food. Todd, go feed the horses that are in.”

I watch Justin cook, adding ingredients and stirring and flipping things as he tells me to. I close my eyes briefly and lose concentration for a little bit as I recite, “Oday Aboushi, Antonio Allen, Jace Amaro, Colin Anderson...”

My eyes fly open when I feel someone's presence behind me. I jump away from them and grind out, “What is your problem?!”

“The pancake is burning... I did call you...”

“Whatever.”

I move out of the way completely and tuck myself into a corner where no one can sneak up on me. Justin eyes me suspiciously and once he has everything under control again he stands in front of me and whispers, “Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you...”

I nonchalantly say, “You didn't.”

He nods, but I know he doesn't believe me. I wouldn't believe me either. I just don't like people sneaking up on me. It's the fighter in me. I don't like not having the upper hand and not having a full view of all my surroundings.

Because he doesn't believe me, I decide to cover myself by saying, “I was trying not to sleep.”

“That's what the reciting was about.”

It's not a question so I don't respond. Not that I would have answered a question anyways.

“Can I go now? I'm not hungry.”

“Ariya, you need to eat. You can't keep starving yourself...”

“I did eat; last night. I don't need food every day.”

He knows I've just revealed something so he looks at me carefully before whispering, “You're homeless, aren't you?”

“Nope.”

“I'm not judging you...”

“That would be nice if I cared. But I don't care. I just want to go and sit by the glass doors. Can I go now? Is all the burning, I mean cooking, done?”

He smirks at my reference to my lack of cooking skills and then he says, “Yeah, you can go. I'm not pleased about you not eating though.”

“Duly noted.”

I jump off the worktop and head for the living room, passing Louise on the way. She mutters a good morning, but I just walk straight passed her. She seems to think I care, but I don't. I hear Justin greet Louise and then hear him whisper, “Don't worry about Ariya, she's just having a rough morning.”

“Do you need me to do anything, sir?”

Oh my gosh! Does she ever stop with the sickly sweet politeness?

“No thanks, Lou. Just take a seat. Everything is done.”

Todd walks in at that moment and they all sit. The next few minutes are quiet, except for the sounds of knives and forks scraping and chewing. After a little while, Todd's voice breaks the quiet, “Justin, you burned my pancake, man.”

I snort at that. No way Justin would have burned anything; he's too meticulous for that. That would be my pancake. Although, Justin did put it on Todd's plate.

“Sorry man, I took my eye off the pan.”

I roll my eyes at him taking the blame and I can't resist the urge to wind him up. I call out, “Actually, I burned it. I think I might have sneezed on it too...”

I chuckle at his face as he spits out the bite that's in his mouth. Mike chuckles and Louise takes that as a signal she can laugh too, so she joins in.

“Dude, you are disgusting!”

“Relax, Todd. She's just yanking your chain. She didn't really sneeze on it.”

Todd mutters something but I don't hear it. I do, however, hear Justin's response to whatever that was.

“Shut your mouth, Todd. Don't talk about a lady like that. Have I not taught you any manners in your time here?”

“Seriously?! She's not a lady! Have you met that girl over there?! There's nothing lady like about her, except for her body shape...!”

Ordinarily his comment wouldn't have bothered me, but I already hate Todd and now I can make a few guesses as to what his muttered comment was. I jump up out of my seat and cooly say, “Todd, if you want to say something to me, go ahead and say it, but let's do it outside so I can hand you your backside without destroying the house. If you haven't got the bottle to say something to my face, then don't bother saying it at all.”

Mike is at my side before Justin, seeing as his seat is closer to me. He calmly says, “Let's go outside, hey, Ariya?”

“What? You act like I'm angry. I'm not angry. That would mean I actually care about what he says. I don't care about that. I just don't appreciate cowards. If he isn't prepared to accept the consequences for his words, then he shouldn't say them. Be a man, not a coward...”

“I'm not a coward...”

I scoff at that statement and Justin appears in front of me.

“Mike, go finish your breakfast. Ariya and I will start cleaning the stalls.”

He ushers me out of the house before Todd and I can lock heads any more. He moves the horses while I start cleaning the stalls. Surprisingly, I'm not that angry. I'm sitting just above my normal level of anger. I've been called all sorts, so Todd's words don't faze me. What annoys me more is the fact that he's not brave enough to actually say things to my face.

Justin stands in the doorway of the stall I'm in and he says, “You need to learn to ignore what he says. He's looking for a reaction and you're giving him exactly what he wants. Just rise above it and he'll stop.”

“It's not what he says. He's a cocky, chauvinistic little turd and I want to rip his head off. That's got nothing to do with what he says. Although, he is a coward. Just say it to my face if you've got something to say. I hate cowards.”

“Not everyone is brave enough to speak their mind. Not everyone is like you.”

“Well, aren't you a genius?”

“I like to think so.”

I chuckle at his retort and then say, “You all should be thankful everyone is not like me.”

“Are you always so down on yourself?”

“I'm just a realist. I know no one likes me; it's not like I care. At least no one can accuse me of lying or pretending to like people. I hate fake people.”

“Yeah, well sometimes you have to pretend. You can't go around hitting everyone you don't like...”

“I don't. I haven't hit you or Mike or Louise... yet...”

Justin grinds out, “You lay a hand on Louise and I'll make you regret the day you ever even thought about it.”

Oooo, I've hit a nerve here. He has a soft spot for Louise. Either she's related to him or he has 'feelings' for her. I smirk at the realization but don't ask about it, in case he thinks I'm actually interested in the details. I just make a mental note to watch their interactions carefully.

“I'm not gonna hit her, not unless I absolutely have to. I prefer my opponents to be a better match. Or at least a challenge.”

“You really are quite confident in your fighting, aren't you?”

“It's got me this far in life. Why do you think I've been in trouble so much?”

“I think you've been in so much trouble because you can't control your temper or keep your mouth shut...”

“Probably that as well.”



I stop talking and carry on working, letting him know the conversation is over. I know he thinks he's getting through to me because I'm more talkative, but he doesn't realize I'm just playing the game. Anything to get me out of this place quicker.