Six Days With Denver

CHAPTER THREE

Lounging on the Well’s couch, I tried to catch popcorn with my mouth.

Yeah, it wasn’t working out so well.

“So tell me again why you’re here instead of being in school?” My 21 year old Senior Master asked me just as a piece of popcorn hit me right in the eye.

“Danny, I already told you over ten times! I felt like kicking Madison’s butt, so I did what Dylan always tells me to do and I walked away.”

Damn, the salt stung.

“What were you two arguing about anyways?” Dylan, my other 20 year old Senior Master, asked me as he walked out of the kitchen and into the living room with a bottle of soda in his hand.

I sighed and gave up on the popcorn, looking longingly at Dylan’s soda.

“Nothing, he just pissed me off.” I told him, smirking when he caught me looking at his soda and drank it greedily.

Danny looked unconvinced but Dylan just shrugged and kept on drinking, turning up the volume on the TV.

“Hey, no! None of that nonsense! If she’s gonna skip school, the least we can do is make sure she’s ready for her test!” Danny argued, turning the TV off.

Both Dylan and I groaned but turned to face him anyway.

“Okay. Name the ranks that us Hunters have. In order!” he read off of a stack of papers that was lying on the worn coffee table, next to Dylan’s feet.

“Okay, lower to highest: Trainee, Apprentice, Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Master, and Elder.” I answered.

This stuff was easy.

“What is the lowest rank you can be to be able to have a Trainee?”

“The lowest rank you can have is Senior Hunter.”

“What are the age limits to start your training?”

“Youngest is fourteen and oldest is twenty… twenty two.”

“What is the limit of Trainees that a Hunter can have?”

“Uh… Four…?”

Dylan rolled his eyes as Danny hit me on the head with his stack of papers.

“Hey, no need for violence, bro. And it’s three, Denver.” Dylan spoke, grabbing a handful of my discarded popcorn.

“The exam is tomorrow, Denver, and unless you wanna get stuck being an Apprentice for another year, then you better get every single damn question right, do you hear me? I will not have my first Apprentice fail her exam!” Danny exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes, but Dylan wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

“They grow up so fast!” he cried into my neck. “It feels like it was just yesterday that she found us staking that vampire at Nighttime club! Remember that, Danny? How after we told her the truth she begged us to train her?”

“How can I forget? It was the longest year in my life! One year as her Trainers, then another as her Masters! Only two more years left and then she will be a Junior Hunter and won’t need us anymore. If she passes her exam tomorrow, that is.”

“You guys have no faith!” I accused them.

“You need to study, Denver! You need to know this stuff by heart!”

“I don’t understand what for, though! I already passed my physical exam with flying colors, why do I need this too?”

“No clue.”

“Dylan, shut up. And Denver, you need to know everything about the Hunters. Every single detail counts! Everyone knows you are good in the attacks and defenses, that you have good instincts and reflexes, but they need to know that you are smart, too! That you will make the right choices!”

I looked at Dylan, who nodded.

“It’s true, Den. But don’t worry, you only need a seventy out of a hundred and eighteen to pass the Verbal exam. I would know because that was my score.” Dylan informed me, sounding very matter-of-factly.

“Wait, A HUNDRED AND EIGTHEEN? As is questions?!”

Danny nodded, ignoring the worried tone of my voice.

“Yeah, but even if you don’t know the answer to a question, try to sound as sure of your answer as you can. Pretend that you know what you are talking about even when you have no frigging idea what the heck is going on. Got it?”

It was my turn to nod.

“Chill, Dan, you’re freaking her out! Don’t worry, Denver, you will do great. And afterwards I will take you over to Jordan’s place so you and him can spar a bit before he heads of to his first Hunt. How about that?”