First Kiss: The Ghost Bird Series: #10 (The Academy Ghost Bird Series) (32 page)

Heads shifted as I pointed, and then one of them, a woman, pulled a compass from her pocket. “She’s right.”

“How did you do that?” Mr. Duncan asked. “We’re surrounded by trees. The sun isn’t visible to tell direction.”

“She helped make the map,” one of them said before I could answer. “She’s been here before, so she probably knows. She has a great memory, right? That’s what you’re saying.”

Dr. Roberts stepped forward, shaking his head. His hands were clasped behind his back like mine were, as he addressed the group. “This girl can find her way north in the middle of a pitch black night. A testimonial from Mr. Lucian Taylor, validated by several members of her adoptive family.”

“She can identify direction by feel?” one of them asked. “Like a sense?”

“Correct,” Dr. Roberts confirmed. “As you know, research shows we have more than five senses, like our sense of balance for example. Miss Sorenson here seems to have a highly developed sense of direction.”

“And knows sign language,” Mr. Duncan said. “That’s an asset. She’s already got a head start.”

“And she can do a lot more,” Dr. Roberts said. “I’ve been following her progress for some time. We’ve barely scratched the surface with this one.”

I bit my lower lip, unsure of what else to say. Dr. Roberts was interested in my abilities? I didn’t know he’d been paying attention, or even that I was interested in the Academy. I’d only guessed him to be Academy after the others had mentioned the hospital he worked at was Academy.

“Then perhaps you’ll grant us a favor,” Mr. Duncan said to me. “You see, we’ve been assigned to be managers for the new recruits. We’re about to split them into starter teams.”

“I want to lead a team,” Mrs. Rose signed. “But my translator is busy; your doctor volunteered for the first aid tent this year.”

My doctor. She had to mean Dr. Green. Luke could read sign language, too, better than I could. I wondered why they hadn’t asked him.

“I’ll help if you need me to translate,” I said. Was that good? I’d be helping out and showing I could support the Academy in whatever way they needed. If I had an assignment and participated in the different activities, the week would be over in a flash. Then, at the end, they’d ask if there was any team I’d like to join, and I’d just say what Kayli had said...only nicer.

Perhaps I wasn’t the best interpreter, and I was nervous, but maybe it wouldn’t be so hard. Why had the guys made such a big deal about it? I wished I knew sign language as well as Luke, though. I was getting better, but he occasionally had to spell things out for me.

Mrs. Rose smiled brightly and then nodded at Mr. Duncan. She signed to him, “I believe I have my volunteer.”

“Take good care of her,” Dr. Roberts said, giving her a small salute with a single finger. “And I trust, she’ll take good care of you, too.”

I pressed my lips together, forcing a smile. I hoped I appeared sincere, even if I was incredibly nervous.

Mr. Duncan clapped his hands together. “Okay, then let’s pick out our temporary teams. Miss Sorenson, stick by Mrs. Rose this week. Don’t let her talk her team into going into caves or doing anything crazy.”

I glanced at Mrs. Rose, who was grinning, a wild look of excitement in her eyes. She had soft white hair tied into a bun in the back of her head. She wore a bulky sweater that had pastel flowers woven into the design, gray cotton pants, and brown hiking boots. She might look like a frail lady, but I sensed that Mr. Duncan was absolutely not kidding.

Hadn’t she just gotten out of the hospital after breaking her hip?
Maybe I should keep my phone on speed dial for Dr. Green.

Where
was
my phone? I tapped around my bra and pockets as the older Academy leaders shuffled toward the collection of boys and girls waiting for them. I suddenly remembered mine had fallen in my tent and I had no idea where it might be now. Hopefully, Kota or the others had fished it out.

I hoped it wasn’t broken again. But even if it wasn’t, I was without any means of communication now.

The girls and boys sat up straight in their seats as the adults approached. I stood a little behind Mrs. Rose at first but then realized if she needed me to translate, I wouldn’t be able to see her hands, so I stepped forward. I couldn’t remember if she was deaf but she seemed to react to sounds around her. Maybe she was just mute?

“Thank you all for waiting,” Mr. Duncan said in a booming voice. I checked the stands. There weren’t any teams left, save mine, waiting at the crest of the hill for the last of us to get maps. “You’ll have a chance to find your friends and talk with them this week, but I want you all to get familiar with each other in this group. We’re going to stick together.”

“Is this our team now?” one of the guys asked. “What about—”

Mr. Duncan shook his head and spoke over him. “Hang on, and no. This doesn’t have to be your permanent team. You may pick anyone you like. We’re just keeping you together as something of an orientation so you can all learn together.”

“Just for the sake of simplicity,” Dr. Roberts said, stepping up beside Mr. Duncan. “If you are thirteen or younger, come with me to this bench to the right here.” He pointed to the far right. “And split off into two groups. Boys and girls.”

“Why are we splitting?” One of the girls asked. “I’m as good as a boy.”

“Because, among other reasons, some of us have to have a birds and bees talk later and I don’t want you embarrassed by having the boys giggling. Don’t worry. You’ll have a chance to show boys up plenty this week.”

They got a sex talk here? Then I realized this was a group of teenagers meant to sleep in tents and with lots of woods and places to hide. I thought of Ashley Waters, where there were rumors of people having sex in the bathrooms. I supposed getting a talk of camp rules in that regard needed to be done first thing.

There was a lot of muttering as the new recruits split apart.

Dr. Roberts, one of the women, and four more men went to go talk with the younger kids. Each one of the men split the boys even further, and the girls remained with the woman. They moved into their own sections of the stands and talked quietly among themselves.

“You older kids,” Mr. Duncan said, drawing our attention back to him. “You’ve all had basic sex education classes in school, right? That’s the lecture they’re getting. I’m just going to remind you about the legal mumbo jumbo. By South Carolina law, anyone fourteen and older
may
engage in sexual activity legally, but only with someone eighteen or younger, unless you’re sixteen and then it’s legal in general. But,” he said, scanning his eyes around to look pointedly at each of us in turn. “Even saying this, you should know your parents or legal guardian can press charges against another teenager or someone over eighteen if they believe it wasn’t consensual.”

“Why are you telling us?” someone asked from the group.

“We give the same speech every year simply because we can’t keep our eyes on you at every second while at camp. Also, because you should know about
all
the consequences of any sexual activity—including legal ones, not just the medical ones,” he said.

“You’re free to make the right choice for you and we encourage you to give a lot of thought to your choices, but any Academy boy will back off the moment you tell them no. It’s drilled into them. Same with the girls. They’ll never pressure you. Consent is of the utmost importance.”

“But we have to talk about boundaries,” another one of the men said, stepping up next to Mr. Duncan. He was tall and pale, with black hair sculpted to perfection around his head. He wore all black, and while the material appeared rugged, he didn’t seem to be the outdoor type. He reminded me of Mr. Blackbourne: someone who would wear a suit and tie to the park. He gave a serious eye toward the boys mostly, but also to the girls. “We do not tolerate peeping toms in the latrine, or spying on other teams in their tents. Trust me, you don’t want to find out what other teams will do to you if you’re caught.”

I glanced at the others, particularly the boys. Many had wide eyes and stern faces. They were taking this seriously.

“And you will get caught, so don’t even think about it,” Mr. Duncan said. “You know as well as I do what they’re capable of. Always be respectful. You wouldn’t be here unless we thought we could trust you, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences if you break that trust.”

“Also, hands off unless there’s consent,” the tall, pale man said. “Consult with any of our doctors if you are in need of supplies or have questions.” He paused, giving everyone a long, solid stare. “I don’t want to have to repeat myself this week on that topic. Anyone reporting that you’ve crossed a line and put pressure on anyone for sexual activity will immediately be sent home and will not be invited into the Academy. That decision is permanent.”

“Are we clear?” Mr. Duncan asked.

I supposed it made sense to get this out the first day. It was strange to me to see they accepted sex among teenagers could happen and were so frank about it. But I appreciated that they were serious about unwanted sexual attention.

It hadn’t been on my mind at all until now that it might be an issue with so many teens in one place. It made me feel safer that it was spoken out loud, and that they seemed to be taking it very seriously.

As people nodded in agreement, the tall man spoke. “However, you will be very busy every moment of the next few days, so I highly doubt you’ll want to do anything but sleep at night. This brings us to rule number two. In your tents at ten, not a moment later. Anyone caught outside a tent at that time better be on fire, or have a solid reason. Tent walls are thin; respect your neighbors and give them a chance to sleep.”

I wondered who was on his team. He had a power and directness in his eyes that I suspected only Mr. Blackbourne could match.

“Rule three,” Mr. Duncan continued, smiling. It was like good cop, bad cop with the camp rules. “We are going to split you up into teams now. I want you to remember your team manager. That would be myself, or Mr. Buble.” He clapped a hand on the tall, serious man’s back. “Mrs. Rose or Mr. Olson here.” He motioned to Mrs. Rose and the final man in turn.

I’d thought at first Mr. Duncan had called the tall man Mr. Bubble, but then stop shorter than expected. It made me secretly giggle to myself that such a serious man would have a funny name.

Mr. Duncan continued. “Every morning, your team manager will be at a designated spot where you will join them at the appointed time. They’ll interview you to see how you’re doing, and will be available if you have any questions. You can join them for the day’s activity planned with new recruits, or you may go to one of our groups. No matter what, remember your team manager, his or her name.

“He or she will guide you throughout the week. Listen to them. They’ll answer your questions in full. We’ve got scheduled hikes and other times where you’ll be able to get our full attention and ask all the questions you’d like as we explain to you the true Academy way.”

“If the girls will go with Mrs. Rose,” Mr. Buble said.

“Why are we getting split up, too?” one of the guys asked.

Mr. Duncan answered. “We felt it might be more comfortable for you all to have a same sex team and manager. However, if you really wish to go with Mrs. Rose, or if you girls would like to join the boys on the other teams, that’s fine. We just ask that you please wait until tomorrow. We’ve got specific things we need to go over today, and we can’t have you hopping teams right now.”

I pressed my lips together, eager to get started yet worried at the same time. Was I going to be able to handle a week of translation for Mrs. Rose? Also, I wouldn’t be able to switch out teams after I’d promised to stick by her.

I waited as Mr. Buble counted off, almost random, among the boys.

The girls naturally came together, except for one girl who stood alone, looking worried. She appeared younger, smaller, but had to be fourteen since she was here and not with the younger group. Something was different about her though I couldn’t place it.

Mrs. Rose touched my arm to get my attention. She signed to me quickly. “Tell her to join us,” she said and pointed to the girl.

I bit my lip. With Mrs. Rose unable to speak up, I would have to be her voice, and in a way, in charge.

I stepped closer to the girl and caught her attention. She looked at me with imploring eyes. Her sweater was pink with purple hearts, and she had short black hair around her face, cut at the jawline. She wore some makeup, too, lip gloss, eyeliner, and mascara, making her eyes stand out.

There was something else, too. A darkness above her lip. Like she shaved it. I knew some girls developed hair in places that weren't typical, but the closer I got, the more I realized her face resembled a boy’s.

Was she a boy dressing as a girl?

It was easier to address a stranger when it was Mrs. Rose who told me what to do. “Pardon me,” I said quietly, clasping my hands behind my back. “You’re joining us, aren’t you?”

She smirked. “I wasn’t sure.”

“I guess you can pick a team eventually,” I said. “But for now, join us?” I glanced at the group of girls: there were six others. “There’s plenty of room.”

The girl nodded and slid over on the bench until she was sitting next to the other girls.

I returned to Mrs. Rose and looked over the group. While we might have been close in age, there was one in particular who seemed older, maybe seventeen. The girls studied one another carefully. Some were more tomboy, and a few wore makeup.

Mrs. Rose started signing quickly, and I struggled at first to catch up with what she was saying. “Mrs. Rose...wants to thank you all for coming,” I said.

“Louder!” one of the girls called out.

I bit my lip, but Mrs. Rose continued. I watched her hands, focusing on her, and then talking as loud as I could. “Ah, she...wants to know if we’d like to go on a hike.” I paused as Mrs. Rose continued but she got to one I didn’t know, and I had to stop her to ask her to spell what she meant.

She did, but even then, I wasn’t sure she was serious. “She says she’s hoping we’ll spot a bear today?” The question was more for her, but Mrs. Rose nodded enthusiastically and gave me a thumbs up. I had gotten it right.