CHAPTER TWO

The school is buzzing over the new guy. He hasn't even been here a week and he's already a legend. Teachers are gossiping between classes. I actually heard that some girls started a Cyprian fan club. I'm not kidding. Tina said that they chased him during Weapons. There was a big fight between Varinia Phillips and a professor because she wanted to keep a signed gun. Apparently, it ended with a broken nose and three demolished shelves.

If I wasn't curious before, I'm curious now. At lunch the next day, I skip meeting Felix under our usual tree and seek out Cyprian. Varinia said she got the gun signed near the fence to the districts, so that's where I go first. I start near the school and walk the fence. The sun is blazing and I'm still in my mock combat stuff. Beads of sweat are popping up all over my forehead. The whole time, I rehearse what to say to him.

So I heard you might go Cicero on us. No, I'm not a stalker.

Varinia's nose is broken because you signed her gun. Kind of accusatory.

Wow, long time no see! Scratch that. I've never even met the kid.

I'm about to quit when I see him.

Faustina wasn't exaggerating- he's pretty cute. He's taller than me by about five inches. His straight brown hair is cut in the typical military style. His eyes are an interesting hazel color. He's in mock combat stuff, too. He's sitting with his back to the fence. His lunch is spread out all around him.

"Um… hi," I stammer. Wow. That was really lame. I lean against the fence. "You must be Cyprian." He looks up and nods. He keeps eating.

"I'm Paloma." He nods again. "Look, do you talk at all?" He looks up, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Depends. Are you going to tackle me?" His voice is nice. Creamy, almost. I feel myself melting and check the instinct to smile. I cross my arms.

"Why would I tackle you? Do I look like a district citizen or a crazed fangirl?"

He surveys me. "You're the fifth one to accidentally stumble upon me eating lunch."

"Maybe I like walking the fence."

"Or maybe you wanted to catch a glimpse of me."

"Vain."

"Stalker."

We stare each other down for a fraction of a second. I raise an eyebrow, willing him to break first. He does. He laughs. Cyprian pats the space next to him and I slide down. I feel self-conscious for a second, but I push it away. I am a Peacekeeper. I am strong. I will not go silly over some stupid boy.

"So there's an actual reason that I found you," I say seriously. "I heard that you could be the next Cicero." He looks confused, so I explain about Cicero.

"How many points do you need to graduate?" Cyprian asks.

"1,000."

"How many do you have?" Cyprian asks again.

"The sixteens, our group, have 868. Well, I guess 888 now since you broke the sprints record. You get one point for passing the tests, two for 80s range, and three for 90 or higher. Broken records get twenty points. I know it seems like a lot, but what you did doesn't happen often."

"Why do you want to graduate, anyway?" Cyprian asks curiously.

I shrug. "The districts are full of uneducated pigs. I want to keep our countrymen safe and prove myself. I want to show President Snow that I'm devoted to our country. Sometimes, I imagine getting a medal of honor." I stare him down, daring him to make fun of me. Instead, he nods.

"Exactly! Some people in the districts hate the Capitol. I want to stop that. No one at home agrees with me. I'm from Seven. They all hate Snow there. I don't see why."

I nod, excited. "That's why we need to graduate. Cyprian, you're the key!" Our excitement is broken by the sound of twigs snapping. I crane my neck and spot his fan club approaching. I stand up.

"C'mon, we can still lose them!" We scoop up his lunch and sprint towards a grove of trees about a hundred yards away. I scramble into a huge oak. Cyprian follows. We remain quiet as the girls pass under, confused.

"Where'd he go?" One girl whines. I roll my eyes. We have a Cicero on our hands and all they can see is how he looks on the outside. Eventually, they leave and we hop down.

"That was fun," he says. "Meet me here again tomorrow?"

I shrug. "I guess." I check my watch. I'm late for Fieldwork 101. The instructor, Marley, is a total sadist. We usually start the two hour lesson by running three miles with our guns. We are forced to do endless pushups, sit-ups, and squat thrusts. Marley especially enjoys standing over us and shouting abuse.

"IS THAT ALL YOU GOT, PEALE! YOU'LL NEVER MAKE IT OUTSIDE! ARE YOU TRYING TO EMBARRASS PRESIDENT SNOW?"

"SIR, NO, SIR!"

"YOU WORTHLESS SWINE! DROP AND GIVE ME FORTY!"

"SIR, YES, SIR!"

Today, Marley has special torture for us. We get to shoot at cardboard "rebels" while carrying twenty pound backpacks. I duck and roll behind a large spindle thing. I dart out from the cover and shoot at a frowning man with a spear. I sprint across the lawn and gun down a woman holding up a bomb. My friends aren't bearing well, though. Felix has fallen and he can't get up. Checking to make sure Marley is preoccupied, I run over and pull him up.

"Where were you today?" Felix hisses.

"Meeting the new kid," I whisper. "He seems legit. Maybe a Cicero." Felix rolls his eyes. He doesn't get why I want to graduate so badly. I guess no one does. No one but Cyprian. Tina runs over.

"What are you guys doing? Marley's on the warpath," Tina hisses. Her helmet starts to slip. I shoot her a hard glare and fix it for her.

"You look like a district slob like that," I respond. Tina scowls.

"We're in combat, no one cares. Now start running- I cannot afford to lose any more points in this class!" With that, she sprints for cover. I roll my eyes. Tina's such a worrywart. Besides, with Cyprian here now, we hardly need to worry about losing points. He'll make up for it tenfold. I stand up and wipe the dust off my slacks. "You good?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Felix hops up and takes off just as the whistle blows. I used to wince whenever Marley blew it, but now I'm used to it. I jump to attention.

"THAT'LL BE ALL FOR TODAY," Marley screams, little droplets of spit flying out of his mouth.

Gross.

"SIR, YES, SIR!"

"YOU ARE DISMISSED. PEALE, SEE ME AFTER CLASS."

The entire class turns to look at me. My stomach drops, and I force myself to nod. My mind is whirring. Is this about helping Felix? Did I slack during the run? It was hot, everyone slacked. Even with my earlier bravado about Cyprian making up for lost points, I don't want to lose them myself. I can't be the weak link.

The class starts to trail off, leaving clouds of dust in their wake. Faustina and Felix file out. I try to catch Tina's eye, but she avoids me. I guess she must be angry about the drill. I was just trying to help.

With my legs feeling as heavy lead, I march to Marley. I salute when I reach him. He looks me over, scanning for faults in the uniform. He won't find any. After a through check, he nods and talks in a normal tone.

"Do you know why you're here, Peale?"

"Um… no. Sir!" I add the sir as an afterthought.

"Well, it's not due to your stunning wit," he mutters. He regains his composure and thrusts a file at me. "I need you to deliver this to the office. I have an appointment with Snow's representative. I figured any of you eager beavers would do it for me."

My heart settles a little. "Permission to speak freely, sir?" He nods. Permission granted. "Why me?"

He rolls his eyes. "You were the first one I saw. Now go, soldier! That's an order!"

"SIR, YES, SIR!" I take the stack and sprint towards the office. The unforgiving sun makes beads of sweat pop up on the back on my neck. The Peacekeeper uniform isn't great for the heat. New recruits have been known to pass out overextending themselves during the summer. When I got here, I tried to jog the entire stretch wearing my uniform. I puked. I didn't want to give up- when I'm in the field, I might need to run more every day. I ran that stupid trail every day until I got used to it. I still feel like I'm going to puke whenever I pass where I ran every day.

The file seems warm in my hands. Marley wouldn't give me anything too covert, right? What if it's new recruit stuff? What if it's graduation stuff? My eyes widen and I pick up my pace. The sooner this thing gets there, the better.