Then Arkon’s gentle touch appeared on my shoulder.

“Eri,” he whispered, the tone of his voice now kind.

“Hmm?” I mumbled.

“It’s time to get ready for class.”

“Do I have to?”

“Yes.”

Chuckling, Arkon pulled back the blankets.  Heaving a big sigh, I sat up.

“What about my clothes?”

“I brought a spare shirt and pants.  They will be too big, but they will work.”

“Okay.”

Pulling out a duffle bag from behind his chair, Arkon unzipped it and took out a set of clothes. Standing, I felt a little better but weak.  Handing me the clothes, Arkon turned his back to me so I could change.  Wincing as the stitches pulled, I dressed in Arkon’s clothes, kicking my ruined pants away from me.  When I was done, I coughed to let Arkon know.  Turning around, Arkon chuckled again.

“You look silly,” he admitted.

Giggling, I agreed, holding his pants up with both hands.

“Hold on,” he continued to chuckle.

Kneeling, Arkon rolled the pants’ legs up evenly, then removed his belt and looped it to help hold up the pants.  Having him so close made my heart skip and my body tingle.  Raising his eyes, Arkon beamed at me. Licking my lips, I felt overwhelming nervousness.  Would he kiss me?  If he did, did I want him to?

“All set,” he grinned, patting my leg then standing.

The moment was gone.  My nervousness changed rapidly to embarrassment.  What was wrong with me? Offering his hand, Arkon stood.  Tentatively, I took his hand.  Pulling me up, Arkon lifted me briefly in the air with his sheer strength.  Not prepared for such a pull, I toppled forward as my feet touched the ground again.  Quickly, Arkon caught me, encasing me in his arms and pressing me against his chest. Blushing Arkon quickly separated from me. 

“We must be going if you are going to make it to class on time,” he coughed, not looking at me.

Leading the way out of the nurse’s office, Arkon still held my hand.  Smiling sheepishly, I stared at the ground as we walked, delighted that he still held my hand.  A part of me felt guilty for liking Arkon so much.  He belonged to the Reformers and that made him my enemy.  Yet he was so kind and gentle, I had trouble aligning him with the Reformers.  In my mind, he was just Arkon, not Arkon the Reformer.  Briskly we made our way through the school, passing scores of soldiers.  Most nodded or saluted Arkon, who bobbed his head in recognition. No one spoke to me.  At some point we passed by Ruben, who talked with Sly and another man didn’t know.

The man with Ruben and Slay held a sour-looking disposition.  Of Asian descent, his skin was a pale tan-yellow with faint sunspots scattered over his body and face.  Wide, but thin-haired eyebrows rested over small, slotted eyes with puffy bags. A short flat nose ran down his face to a very feminine-looking mouth, which looked like a curved bow and a longbow pressed together.  A visible receding hairline justified his closely shaven hairstyle and was balanced by a manicured curved bow mustache and facial hair that only lined his square jaw and jawline.  Glancing at me, the man gave me a look that told me in no question that he seriously disliked me.  It was hard for me to understand why, since I had never met the man. 

Ruben, seeing Arkon holding my hand, narrowed his eyes.  Bowing my head, I focused hard on the floor as Arkon flew past them.  The last thing I wanted to see was Ruben and his condescending expression. 

It took only a few more minutes to reach my class.  Knocking, Arkon waited until my teacher answered the door. Bowing and smiling politely, Arkon apologized for my mild tardiness and ushered me into the room.  Once I was seated, Arkon disappeared.  Pressure from my classmates’ eyes weighed heavy on me.  Ignoring them, I tried to focus on the board which held that day’s assignment.  Clearing her throat, my teacher began talking as if nothing had happened.  At the time I was amazed at how even with the events only a few hours before my teachers were pushing forward like normal.  Now I realize that they weren’t.  They were just too scared to show their fear.  They were simply following orders. 

As my teacher talked, her back to us, Maria, Kristy, and Summer leaned close to talk.

“Are you alright?” Kristy whispered, her eyes searching mine.

“I am a little better now.  Arkon let me sleep a bit,”’ I nodded, realizing my slip up too late. 

Summer’s eyes widened and I swallowed hard.

“Who?” Kristy asked, confused.

“That soldier who escorted me here,” I quickly explained. “He told me his name is Arkon.”

“Oh…he didn’t hurt you…did he?”

“No!  He was very nice.”

“I don’t understand what is going on,” Maria interjected. “How do they expect to get away with this?  Like people aren’t going to tell their parents or the police or something.  I mean my dad is definitely going to find out and he’s in the Army.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Summer shook her head, glancing around. “They were able to get over two hundred men into our school with no one noticing.  Plus, no help has come and they have been here for hours.”

“Dr. Benedict seems to know them too.  When I was in his office, it appeared as if he was waiting for them,” I admitted, searching our classroom too.

“Dr. Benedict? The principal?” Kristy asked, dumbfounded.

“Yes…I knew something was wrong, but I never imagined…then they showed up...that guy who held me…uh…Kukri is his name I think…he came in with a couple of other men to Dr. Benedict’s office.”

“So the principal is in on this?”

“I guess so.”

“Well, I’m still telling my dad,” Maria shook her head stubbornly.

“Be careful, Maria.  You heard what that guy on stage said.  People who don’t keep the secret will be punished in the ultimate way,” Summer said, her voice trembling.

“What can they do?” Maria sniffed, but I could see her hands shake.

“They shot six people today and technically Eri, even if it was just a scare.  What do you think they will do to you?”

Maria stared at Summer, unable to find a response.  Holding her hand, I nodded to tell her I understood.  We paused our conversation to take a few notes.

“What I can’t believe is that Günter volunteered,” Kristy finally said.

“Günter?” I asked, distracted by my notes.

“Günter Heinrich.  Eri, he’s in our math class together.  He sits right behind you,” Kristy said, rolling her eyes. “He’s only had the biggest crush on you for forever.  Jeez, you are oblivious.”

“What?  I didn’t think anyone liked me but David and even then he only wants me because he can’t have me.”

“No…David is the only one who tells you he likes you.  Günter is really shy and smart.  He’s like a top honor student. A’s in every single subject. He’s originally from Germany, but his family moved here when he was in sixth grade.”

“Oh yeah, he could barely speak English back then.  His English is so good now!  I totally forgot.”

“Yes, his English is very good,” Summer agreed, blushing a little as she wrote. “I always thought he was cute.”

“What?” Maria, Kristy, and I asked in unison, shocked.

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?” Marie pestered.

“He is shy and he likes Eri.  It seemed silly. You know I have just always liked the quiet, smart type.”

Bewildered, I couldn’t believe I didn’t know that Summer liked Günter.  Never in my wildest dreams had I thought Summer would like someone like Günter. Sometimes the people closest to us have the most surprises.

“I never thought he’d volunteer though,” Summer sighed. “He isn’t a fighter.  He is an intellectual.”

“He’s a very kind-hearted boy,” Maria said sadly.  “He just couldn’t stand to see Eri being hurt.  Same for Mr. Gutierrez.  David probably did it for attention.  I saw his face when Günter ran up first.  He looked as if someone spat in his coffee.”

“David wouldn’t be stupid enough to just volunteer for show.  This is serious,” I disagreed.

“Don’t underestimate his ego,” Kristy smirked. “And, of course, all his lackeys followed suit because David did it.  They are going to regret it, I’m sure.”

“Not Ramiro,” I shook my head. “He volunteered before they even started torturing me.”

Quietly I told them about what had happened with Ramiro and Kukri in the classroom.  Summer gave me an intense look as if to warn me not to give away too much about our home situation.  Yet I wasn’t stupid.  I knew better and I kept the story sounding as if I was clueless as to why Kukri harassed me.

“I knew Ramiro was a sick bastard,” Maria cursed angrily.  “This just proves it.”

“He always makes me nervous.  Remember when he dated that slutty girl, Theresa?  A month after they started dating, she dyed her hair blonde and straightened it.  Then she began to lose a lot of weight, became really withdrawn.  I heard she had to get counseling after they broke up,” Kristy whispered conspiratorially.

“She dated the devil.”

“He’s not the devil,” I objected. “He’s just crazy.”

“You are way too nice,” Maria sighed annoyed with me. “He beats on you all the time.  Don’t think we haven’t noticed.”

“He doesn’t beat on me.  Well, he does get kind of rough and I guess he did beat on me today.  I don’t know why.  I figure he just hates me.”

“He doesn’t have a reason to,” Kristy frowned.  “You have been nothing but kind and tolerant to him.”

“Maybe he doesn’t hate you,” Summer said hesitantly.

“What do you mean?” I asked, unsure of what she was saying.

“Maybe he likes you,” Summer said slowly as if the idea was vile.

“Likes me?  That’s crazy.”

“I’m just saying…maybe he is one of those sick guys who thinks beating on a woman shows affection. He was there the day you broke your arm on the playground.”

Shifting uncomfortably, I really didn’t want to get into that day.  I didn’t want to tell them it had been Ramiro who had broken my arm.

“I remember ‘cause he held your hand the whole time you were crying, just staring at you. Maybe he’s being mean because he can’t have you,” Summer continued.

“That’s sick,” Maria grimaced.  “I hope that isn’t true.”

“It isn’t,” I insisted.  “Kukri offered me to him and he turned the offer down.  He seemed disgusted by the idea.”

“Least he did one right thing,” Kristy sneered. 

 We all nodded.  With that, the discussion was closed.