“How did you get here first?” Spider asks suspiciously.
“Skipped lunch,” he replies.
Knox whistles loudly.
“Damn, Ender, did you start training harder?” Knox asks. “Your lats look insane.”
“You’re such a suck-up,” Spider mumbles.
“There’s a reason I get to ride front seat on missions,” Knox says. “Ender, did I mention your hai?—”
I spin around.
“Shut up, both of you,” I snap. “Where the hell is Clover and Orion?”
“I’m here,” Clover says.
Orion follows close behind her. He’s looking at his tablet. Fair hair fluttering into his eyes.
I don’t get the chance to speak before the squabble begins. I put this unit together six months ago with some of the strongest and most talented Gifted, who impressed me with their skill and grit and who passed my conditioning program. But the friction has beenunbearable. Spider and Orion hate each other, Spider and Knox compete with each other, and Spider and Clover trade insults every couple of minutes.
The common denominator is, of course, Spider.
I feel like the father of a horde of misbehaving children, and I don’t know how to fix it.
Spider reclines in his chair, eyes darting between Clover and Orion, struggling to decide who to fight with first.
“Don’t even,” Clover warns. “We don’t want to hear it.”
Spider smiles, revealing his pearly-white teeth.
“I wasn’t going to say anything,” he says. “Your hairstyle speaksvolumes.”
“Here we go again,” Orion says with a deep sigh. “You can’t keep your damn trap shut.”
“As opposed to you and your brooding persona?” Spider raises a brow. “On Ender, it works, but with you, it’s just overplayed. Do girls claim to like it?”
“What would a virgin like you know about girls?” Clover sniffs.
“Does Ender know you’re disgustingly in love with him?” Spider asks. “I, for one, was delighted to learn of his engagement. He deserves far better than a witch like you.”
Clover slips out her gun, turning off the safety.
“Enough,” I bark. “One word out of anyone’s mouth andIshoot.”
I drag my gun out, placing it flat on the table with a loud clang, and the room grows silent at last.
“I would like to point out I spoke no ill words to anyone,” Knox says.
“Ass-licker,” Spider hisses.
“Did you hear that, Ender? He called me an ass?—”
“I heard,” I say. “One more word, Spider, and I shove this gun so far down your throat you won’t be able to eat without tasting gunpowder.”
“Is that a threat or a promise?” Spider grins.
“Degenerate,” Orion murmurs.
