“You really are,” Billie gushed.
Kitana chirped in next, “My girl’s a natural.” Her face was smug as she finished off her juice.
Griffin, who sat beside me in what seemed to be my new spot, gave me a slight nod. “Not bad for your first day.” His face was unreadable, but I swear I saw the corner of his mouth twitch as if he was holding back a smile.
I was taking that as a compliment.
Carter sat on my other side. He threw his hand around me, squeezing me to him. “Don’t listen to him, you almost had me on the floor … which is exactly where I like to be when I’m with a fit bird.” I smacked him in the chest.
“You are easily distracted when it comes to a pretty face, it doesn’t surprise me she almost took you down," Griffin said, brow raised at his friend. He called me pretty.
The rest of lunch went on like that and when we were done, we headed back to the gym again for our final stint of training. At this point, I was too brain dead to learn anything new so Kit and I hit the boxing bags again and ended with some light ab exercises to strengthen the core—I had a feeling I was going to need it after all of this. Lugging a sword around was hard work.
Carter, Billie and Griffin went on to spar, Sienna following them like a pet dog. I watched the two of them spar together and by the way they were around each other, it was pretty clear they had something going on. Whether it was current or in the past like Griffin had said, I wasn’t too sure. It seemed obvious that Sienna was more into him though, running her hands along his body at every opportunity. When she seemed a bit too clingy or excited at his slight attention, he swatted her away in what seemed like an attempt to distance himself. But compared to when he sparred with someone like Billie, Griffin did occasionally leave his hands lingering on Sienna—almost subconsciously, as if he was just so used to being a massive flirt that he couldn’t help himself.
Obviously that wasn’t the case with his childhood friends. He clearly saw them in a different light. I made a mental note to ask the girls about it later. Not that I cared. But I needed to understand the dynamics around here because so far it was quite confusing.
Dinner time was a hazy blur to me. I was probably more reserved than usual given how tired I was. I listened and laughed as everyone talked. I caught Griffin watching me a few times, especially when I was extra quiet or zoned out. But I was basically a walking zombie by that point and couldn’t wait to hit the sack.
And as soon as my head hit that pillow, I was knocked out.
CHAPTER 17
Day after day passed of training and more training. It had been a week and I was finally getting into the routine they had going on. The dreaded 6am wake-up began the day and then it was straight to the communal showers—miraculously our timings did not go the way Griffin had hoped and we continuously missed each other. Then 6:30am breakfast and 7am gym followed by one hour of sparring or boxing. At 9am, it was almost a sin if you didn't stop for protein shakes or juices of some sort. Between 10am-12pm we split up and either did combat or weapon training—where I clearly needed the most work. I had tried the bow and arrow, staff and nunchucks this week to no avail. The sword still seemed like the closest match for me.
After that, we usually had lunch followed by a break until 3pm. From 3pm-4pm we’d do another hour of whichever we didn’t do in the morning: sparring or boxing. Or, if it was a hectic day, they’d have strategy based classes instead. Dinner was at 6pm, giving us enough time to finish up and take another shower before gathering together to eat. The weekends were free for us to do as we pleased.
Patrols were apparently a thing here. Which made sense given the whole mission of the academy was to protect people. The team going on patrol for the week would usually sleep for most of the day and start some light training after dinner, before they headed out for the night. Lights were off by 11pm for the rest of us during the week. But that didn’t mean we had to sleep. It was clear many of the members here lived by their own rules. The leaders didn’t force you to do anything. If you were here it was expected you did the work, but they would never waste their time babying you. You showed up for yourself and for the squad. It was hectic and tiring, and my body was beyond sore. But I loved that I felt like I had a purpose already, even though I was nothing but a newby recruit—meaning I didn’t see any real action and was basically at the bottom of the food chain. Nevertheless, I was learning and doing something meaningful. My life before was too perfect. I was sheltered from too much.
Thankfully, there wasn’t any ranking system or leaderboard here. You wouldn’t get kicked out unless you broke one of their few rules: listen to your squad leader in battle, don’t engage in a fight without a partner, and don’t attack your fellow squad members outside of training. Oh, and don’t do drugs—they were pretty big on keeping your mind clear and focused here, which was essentially vital to keeping yourself and others alive. Surprisingly, there were no rules about smoking. The consensus was that it was frowned upon but that didn’t deter the few people like Carter, who had zero fucks.
Basically if you were in, you were in. They needed people to fight on the side of good; to protect the vulnerable in our world. So as long as you were not so incompetent that you’d get yourself killed, they’d be willing to train you. And thank God for that, otherwise I could kiss my spot here goodbye.
On Saturday, Kit and Billie took me shopping. Apparently, all recruits got a small allowance each fortnight. It wasn’t heaps but it was enough to treat yourself to a few outside meals, new clothes or if you were Carter, weekly drinks. Most of our basic needs were already met at the academy, so the pocket money wasn’t necessarily needed but it was a bonus I definitely appreciated. The Grays privately funded most of the operation, but they also had help from other prominent and wealthy families and investors that were keyed into everything. Which was why the facilities and equipment were all state of the art and high-end. Once basic training was finished and you passed recruit status, officially becoming a titled ‘Gray Knight’, you’d get an increase in that allowance. For most of these guys that would be around now, if not in the next year or so. And if you worked your way up the ranks, you’d make a generous salary—or so I had heard. No more needing to work at a cafe or pick up photography gigs, which I was not mad at. I would have done this for free. At least I finally had a sense of direction. Not having to work on top of all the training was just an added benefit.
I picked up a few more things for my limited wardrobe and got to witness Kitana at work. I didn’t think she could do anything better than she could fight, but boy was I wrong—the girl could shop. She picked out a few pieces for me that I might not have chosen for myself in my old life, but new and improved bad-bitch Venus was going to rock them: a few low cut halter neck tops; some new leggings, including a stunning leather pair; a couple more training shorts and track pants; a pair of cute shit kicker boots with a raised platform heel; some bodysuits in black, grey and khaki; cropped baby tees in various shades; as well as a black satin mini dress. The star of the show though was a gorgeous red latex number that hugged me in all the right places. It was one of the first things Kit spotted and made me try on. As soon as I did, I needed to have it, along with a pair of ruby red pumps to match.
There was no stopping that girl when she saw something she liked. Not to mention, she bought me an array of risqué PJ sets, camisoles and lacey intimates that I did not need but sure did make me feel sexy. It was a long day of shopping, but someone had to do it.
In the evening we hung out with the boys in the Chill, eating popcorn and watching movies until Carter decided it was time to head out for his weekly—if not daily—fun. I was informed that usually they would all go out together on a Saturday night but I was so dead after my first week and my body was way too sore to get off the couch, so the girls decided to stay back with me and I was so grateful for the company. After a lot of convincing, Griffin joined him but ended up coming home early to find us unmoved on the couch where he once again re-joined us. Things were starting to get comfortable here. Not the training—that was very uncomfortable. But the people. The place. This amazing little group I was now a part of.
???
“So, what’s the deal with Griffin? He’s really not with Sienna?” The girls and I sat on the couches facing the window in the Chill on Sunday morning. I had been meaning to get the low-down on Griffin all week. I needed to know what was up with the guy. Don’t ask me why. Curiosity often got the better of me. At least that’s what I was chalking it up to.
“They had a thing.” Kit nonchalantly responded as she painted her toenails while Billie braided my hair. “Griff never really dates but she followed him around like a lost puppy and basically pushed herself onto him. And well, she’s hot, he’s hot … you get the drill.”
Billie chimed in, “Things get super dull around here. Dating outside the academy is basically impossible. I mean, how do you even explain what we do to a normal human? And dating inside can get tricky when you basically grew up with everyone around you, not to mention live with them. Carter seems to make it work and so does this one, not that they date so to say but rather sleep around.” She nudged Kit who poked her tongue out in response. “But it was only a matter of time before Griff and Sienna slept together. He is a guy after all. And like Kit said, she threw herself at him.”
“She’s a total psycho though,” Kit chirped in. “She’s just not a nice person and Griff surprisingly is. He couldn’t be with someone like her. Not properly. He just has his fun. Although, she doesn’t seem to get the drift.”
“Probably because he keeps going back to her whenever he gets bored,” Billie suggested.
“That would do it,” Kit shrugged.
“And there’s been no one else?” I prompted. I hated how much I sounded like I cared but my line of questioning was already too deep so there was no point stopping now. Plus, I knew these girls wouldn't judge me.
Kit finished with her toes and moved onto her fingernails. “Nothing substantial. He sleeps around for sure. Him and Carter go out almost every weekend … well Carter goes out almost everyday but Griff is a lot more … controlled.”