Training Day
4:30am. Sunday. Standing in the middle of a sports field.
At a school.
It was still technically last night when we got here. It was a good idea in theory, our first open air training session. The field was carved down into the grounds so you couldn't see it from the street. Eli and.. no. It's Patriot and Iron Lad now. I've got to get used to using the code names. Those two are out there walking the grass. I can hear their voices even when they're all the way on the other side. It could just be the echo, but it's not.
I sit in the first row and try not to shiver. I can either control the shivering or the teeth chattering but not both at the same time. Teddy can probably here the teeth. He was the last to arrive and out of thousands of seats to sit in he chose the one next to mine. He's wearing a grey sweatshirt, and his eyes follow the guys as they debate their way around the oval.
His head swerves and he looks at me. With infinite understanding he informs me they'll be done soon and we can get started. I smile. It's good to hear, even if it is little more then speculation. Unfortunately to smile I had to clench my teeth, releasing a crawling shiver up my back and through my shoulders. He noticed. He noticed the things that had already been there but now had meaning. Thin white t-shirt flapping in the biting wind, hands wrapped around my biceps, jiggling legs.
You cold? He asks. It's nice that he doesn't just assume I'm cold, despite the evidence. I nod my head once then pull my chin down to touch my chest. I can't believe I forgot my sweater. It's embarrassing, but a little cold won't kill me. I'm gonna have to endure much, much worse if we ever get this team going and become superheroes.
Something falls across the back of my shoulders. I turn to Teddy and see as before he's watching Patriot and Iron Lad, but now his arm is spread around the top of my seat. He put his arm around me. Because I'm cold. I lean in and rest my head against his arm. Maybe we could be a special team, within a team, me and Teddy. We could always look out for each other. We could lean on each other like this.
The guys have stopped yelling, their talking in low apologetic voices. We'll start soon. For us, this will be a good training day.
End