The Race

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I was in a pretty bad mood for the rest of the day.  Even Isla stayed away from me once I snapped at her in second period.  Pace was even a little wary of my attitude.  If only I could keep this up for the Race.  With all my anger wanting out, I’m sure that I’d finish the Race in less than a week. 

When the day was over, Pace led me to the SUV in front of school.  Reporters were crowding around us, trying to get me to say something.  They were lucky that I didn’t have any of my weapons on me or they would have gotten a story. 

As I got in the SUV, I saw Isla was sitting in the back, watching all of the reporters through the windows.  She didn’t even seem to notice that I had gotten in. 

When Pace got in the driver’s seat, I looked around outside for Franco. 

“Where’s Franco?” I asked.

“He’s bringing Kier right now,” he said, nodding toward the entrance to the school. 

Reporters were hounding Kier as Franco tried to pull him toward the SUV.  Unlike me, Kier seemed to like all of the attention, talking to the reporters as they walked.  He even had them laughing. 

“Your father hired us to watch both of you,” Pace continued.

Franco opened the backdoor and Kier got in, putting his bag between his feet in the floorboard.

“Whoa, is it always like that?” Kier asked me, looking over at me with that crooked smile on his face.

“Yeah, so you’d better get used to it,” I said with narrowed eyes. 

“Oh, I definitely will,” he said, laughing.

I sneered, shaking my head in exasperation.  “You know, it’s cockiness that will get you killed in the Race.  You think you’re better than everyone until they corner you,” I said.  “I would know, since I’ve been the one to get rid of the cocky players more than once.  And I see the same thing in you.”

He raised an eyebrow as Pace pulled the SUV away from the school.  “Oh, really?  I’ve seen what you do when they broadcast the Race on television.  You play head games with the other contestants.”

“No, I don’t,” I said.  “I just play around and have a good time.”

“And when you get them to trust and like you, that’s when you strike,” he said, grinning.

“That’s what you’re supposed to do,” I said, rolling my eyes and sighing.  “I guess I can’t fool you now, can I?”

“I don’t know.  You might still could, though you’d have to be very convincing.”

“Oh, I can be,” I said, leaning toward him.  Let’s just see how he can deal with my ‘head games’ as he calls them.  “You know, I saw something when you were looking at me today at the assembly.”

“Really, and what was that?”  He seemed to be playing along.  He had leaned forward so that only about six inches separated our faces from each other’s.

“There was admiration in your eyes,” I said quietly, looking into those eyes I was speaking of.  “And fear.  That’s what I saw, wasn’t it?”

I leaned in just a little more, so that our noses were just an inch apart.  He didn’t say anything, though.  But I knew that what I said was correct.  I could see the truth of it in his eyes. 

His eyes dropped then, but he didn’t pull away.  And his gaze didn’t shift from me, just down to my lips.  My gaze dropped to his and my heart started beating faster and faster, like when I was just about to pass the finish line.