“You shouldn’t be speaking to him like that,” Rei says snootily. “Spider is our squad leader.”
Spider waves his hand. “A bit of informality and mild flirting is acceptable. But I expect you all to make it to the final test. If you survive, it reflects well on me.”
“Why is their squad bigger?” I ask.
Orion has five people on his side. Also, Clover seems to be helping him out. That doesn’t seem fair.
“We both got to pick six each, and Ender got the final choice.”
Orion got six, but one attempted to escape, leaving him with five. I do the math quickly before I respond.
“So,allof his picks were selected, and just four of yours?”
Spider’s cheeks flush, and he folds his arms across his chest defensively.
“Look, Orion is a kiss-ass. He would unzip Ender’s pants and suc?—”
“Whoa,” Knox says. “What the hell did I walk into?”
“She asked why Orion’s team is bigger, and I had to tell her about Black Star history,” Spider says. “Oh, also, Clover is obsessed with Ender. She was devastated when she found out that your sister was picked to be his wife.”
“Can we keep the gossip to a minimum?” Knox asks. “Ender told me to supervise your squad because he doesn’t trust you.”
“What?!? How could he say that about me?” Spider demands. “I’m capable of managing three little ones.”
“Four,” I correct.
“Four little ones,” Spider says.
Knox turns to us, ignoring him.
“You’re expected to make it to the end,” he says. “You’ll have to work togeth?—”
“How can we work with a Common?” Rei cuts him off. “I don’t want to be on this squad. She’ll slow us down. She is not strong enough to keep up.”
“Nice cut.” I nod at her lip.
That was a parting gift from me yesterday. Rei takes a step forward, but Spider comes between us.
“You’re on the same side,” he says. “And that Common was picked by the Commandant. So, unless you want to speak with him and explain why you refuse to work with her, then be my guest.”
He steps aside and points to the stairs that lead to the deck. Rei swallows and looks away first. She wouldn’t dare complain to Ender.
“Take a seat on the bench. All of you,” Knox says. “We’ll be doing one-on-one sparring sessions soon.”
We sit down, and I do my best to ignore my new teammates.
“What’s your name?” the curly-haired boy asks.
He has freckles on his nose, blocky brows, and an interesting face. One that tells a story.
“Common,” Rei bites. “She’s not one of us, Flint.”
The boy, Flint, quirks a brow.
“Is that your name?”
“Don’t care to make friends.” I fold my arms across my chest, spreading my legs in the hopes that it intimidates him.
