Zoe quickly realized that this practice was more than just working on hand-eye coordination. It was developing the trust between the human and the vampire in the partnership. Looking inside the gym you could tell that some partnerships were developing faster than others. Josh and Zoe were about average. Out of the ten pairs, they were the sixth pair to get the setting and passing down pat. All the female-female pairs of which there were four had it down first, then the male human-female vampire pair, followed by Zoe and Josh. The male-male pairs still needed time to get it right, so some of the staff moved to show the finished pairs their next task. They passed, set, and spiked the ball. 

Scared of how hard Josh might hit the ball. Zoe walked up to Josh to talk to him about his power. “So, before I teach you how to spike the ball. I need to tell you or maybe you already know that if you hit the ball at me as hard as you could, it would hurt me.” Zoe warned Josh. “Plus we can’t pass, set, and spike the ball forever if you hit it to me and I can’t return it.” 

“Okay, I understand. I’ll do it lightly and then see how much you can handle.” Josh acknowledged. 

The response to Zoe’s request was just barely what she was looking for, but she decided to move on with her instructions anyway. Teaching someone how to spike a ball was harder than passing and setting because spiking uses a lot of arm motion, even though there is limited body motion when doing these paired-off volleyball practice sets. Zoe took a while to think about how to teach it to Josh and concluded the best way would be to have Josh spike it at the floor into the wall. With permission to practice at the wall, Zoe briefly showed Josh how his hand should connect with the ball and then showed him herself how to spike the ball at the floor into the wall and have it return close to her spiking hand. Trading positions with Josh left Zoe to watch him and catch the ball if it flies off the wall. The first two hits hit the wall instead of the ground because his hand hit the ball irregularly, and he wasn’t snapping his wrist. Zoe told him to remember to hit it squarely with the palm of his hand and to snap his wrist while bringing his arm down to meet the ball. Another two tries go by sending Zoe reaching for the rogue ball. But, on the third one, Zoe heard a good hit, and then Josh was on a roll spiking with consistency. 

Now that Josh could spike the question was, would he go easy on her with his immense strength? The pair returned to their original setup and started with a toss to Zoe, pass to Josh, set to Zoe, and spike to Josh, who easily passed it back for Zoe to set. Now was the moment of truth. Josh hit the ball, it didn’t go towards Zoe, but it wasn’t hit hard or very fast, so she was able to move a few steps to pass it back to Josh. Josh was so astonished that she had returned the ball to him that he just caught it in mid-air instead of setting it. Zoe walked back to her position and told Josh that he can use his non-hitting arm to direct the path of the ball. They continued to pass, set, and spike the ball, eventually able to keep the ball up almost endlessly. It would have been endless, except that Zoe became more tired the longer they went. After a while, Zoe and Josh were told that they had completed their task and allowed to rest. They completed this task a little earlier than some of the female-female pairs. 

Josh and Zoe walked off the court together and hung out with the other finished pairs. Zoe went back towards the locker room, where there were water fountains to rehydrate. When she returned, she noticed that Josh didn’t associate with anyone, including the vampires. ‘Maybe he’s a loner,’ she thought. 

“So. Do you know any of the vampires from before coming here?” Zoe asked Josh when she returned. 

“Yea, we are all from the same area” He replied. 

“Then why don’t you talk with them, are you not friends?” Zoe asked.

“They are acquaintances, so I am not close to them.”

Zoe nodded to Josh’s reply because she understood what Josh was saying. She also felt that it might be better to treat the people here as acquaintances, especially the vampires. Who knew whether a human classmate might leave or die because of a vampire? Zoe felt that the best way to meet the uncertainty here was to be detached and not emotionally involved. 

Surprising Zoe, Evan, the only other vampire that might not attack her, popped up behind Josh sliding his arm across Josh’s shoulder. Evan, who was second to Josh in athleticism judging from the physicals yesterday, seemed to enjoy being around Josh to the annoyance of Josh. 

       “Hey, Josh, You and your partner are pretty good together, huh?” Evan pointed out while looking at Zoe. 

       Josh pushed Evan’s arm off him with no comment. 

       “Well, what do you think of Josh, Zoe, is he a good partner?” Evan asked.

       “He’s a fast learner if that’s what you are asking,” Zoe responded not entirely sure what he was asking about. 

       “Josh is one of the best vampires that there is. If this program wasn’t required for vampires, he would already be vice president of his Dad’s company.” Evan said.

       Josh again didn’t say anything in response. He was maybe angry but held it in well. Honestly, he thought that this program helped keep him sane. If he had to immediately become his Dad’s pawn, he would go crazy. Even if Josh tried to escape his father, there would be no place to hide. It would be too easy for his father to twist the truth and send vampires on his trail and trick humans with cash rewards. The only reprieve is this program that all young vampires must go through. 

       Zoe, who had been questioning the college’s real purpose since she had arrived, finally had proof that there is a particular reason as to why humans are asked to go to college with vampires. “So, Evan, why are humans going to college with vampires?” Zoe flatly asked. 

       “Well Zoe, I’ve already said too much. You’ll find out soon enough.” Evan remarked, leaving Josh’s side to rejoin his partner and the other pairs. 

       “He’s something,” Zoe told Josh.

       “He needs to stay out of other people’s business,” Josh grumbled. 

Zoe nodded at Josh. She didn’t push for more information from him. His personal life was his to share if he wanted and Zoe only cared about the mystery behind the reason she was there.