The Other Side

Chapter 5

A week of school had already gone by.

Her father had gone his first away mission, to one of the boarder cabins. Surprisingly, he had been okay with it. He'd only called her once a day, at night. Even though she knew that in a case of emergency, he could have been back at the school in few hours, she didn't like having him far away. Being alone in the apartment was lonely and it made her anxious. She felt like she was being watched.

Jordan was relieved when he had returned a few days later, but now it was already Wednesday. The day of the running trial. And there was no way that Maggie would be able to do 5 miles. Which meant that they would have to take a punishment. She could barely make a mile; they didn't have a prayer of making it.

She stood with her group, off to the side of the field. Jacob and Ronan were leading them through the warmups.

Ronan had continued to keep up the mysteriously quiet side. She had noticed him take a few people off to the side and explained to them how to run better. When she'd overheard his advice, she had decided that he was actually helpful. Even if he didn't talk much, he knew what he was doing. His confidence was reassuring to her. But in a week, he hadn't spoken to her once. She'd catch his gaze every once in a while, but that was all. Jacob was the one who tried to speak to her. Thankfully Maggie was able to deter him.

And because of that, Jordan was ready to forgive Maggie for being out of shape. She didn't care about the consequences if it meant having her for a friend. Unfortunately, they only had these three classes together. Maggie was taking advanced witch classes like spell casting, the origins of spellwork, and ceremonies 310. Meanwhile, Jordan had to have the core classes. The only class that she had that was species specific was Shifter's Laws. The rest were open for any species. They weren't so bad for classes. But they were lonely. Now that she had someone who liked to chat to her for hours on end, even if she didn't respond, it was hard to have classes where no one addressed you.

"Alright," Jacob's voice broke Jordan from her thoughts. "It's time for the run. Today will be five miles and anyone that fails will have to stay after class for further instruction. Remember, if your partner doesn't make it, you fail as well."

"We'll be taking one of the trails. If you guys fall behind, just follow the markers. Or wait for me to come back and get you. Just know that if you fall behind, or get separated, that is an automatic fail," Ronan warned.

After that, the group set off. Jacob took to leading the pack and Ronan stuck to the back. For the most part, the pairs stuck together. The only ones that stayed separated were Aaron and Cody. Aaron took up a place somewhere in the middle and Cody was at the front, right behind Jacob.

Soon they entered the forest. Thank god, it's cool in here, Jordan thought. The canopy of trees had cast out the sun from the forest floor. This left it cool and damp, it was a relief compared to the burning summer sun that beat down on them out in the field. Especially for Jordan whose clothes were anything but cool when she was exercising.

It didn't take long for the others to start to separate from each other. They must have only been a quarter of a mile into the forest when partners started to drift from their pairs.

Maggie was trying to keep her breathing steady, and compared to their other practices, she was doing great. Her motivation was up there, and Jordan guess that through pure determination, she might make two miles. The idea of punishment for failure was giving Maggie the extra push. But Jordan knew that she just didn't have the necessary muscle to do this.

Still Jordan kept pace with her.

When Maggie spared her a look, Jordan flashed a smile. You're doing great, Jordan thought. She hoped that she could figure out what she was thinking. Or at least saw it in her smile. But she didn't want to distract her with any communication. If Maggie started to talk, her breathing rhythm would be ruined.