AUGUST

August woke up at 4AM the day of so he could prepare for their departure. He’d elected to stay at his parents’ house, since it was closer to campus and he was rarely at his apartment anyway. Catarina had stayed too, for some unknowable reason.

Somehow, by the time he got downstairs in his suit, he was still the last one awake.

“Why are you three already up?” He asked, his mom shepherding him to his seat at their small dining room table. She had a fresh mug of black coffee and buttered toast waiting for him.

“We’re seeing you off,” Catarina said, voice flat. She sipped her own mug with a put-upon expression. “Mom woke us up.”

“They were already awake.” His mom rolled her eyes. “They were packing equipment and supplies for your trip. I don’t understand why you three are so emotionally constipated. You love each other, that’s not embarrassing.”

“Disgusting,” August said, swallowing his smile with expert ease. Catarina smirked into her coffee, and his father — a rare sleep-softness about him — rumbled a quiet laugh.

“I don’t know why I try,” his mom sighed. She gave a sturdy ‘pat pat’ to the backpack on the counter. “Your father and sister, no matter what they pretend, took the liberty of packing your equipment, including your earpiece and extra batteries for your phone.”

“Isn’t it an advantage to have the Dean packing my bag?” August asked wryly. His father raised a brow, mischief in his eyes.

“I am entirely unaware of the particulars of the scenario for exactly that reason. I would never interfere.”

His mother dropped a kiss onto the top of each of their heads, and August finished his breakfast, waving goodbye to his family and folding into the front seat of his car. He blasted the heat to keep out the cold bite of an early autumn morning, tapping his fingers along the edges of his steering wheel and adjusting the slick nylon of his suit.

Despite how prestigious Ifran was, their class sizes were tiny compared to other top-tier institutions. Every student on campus, barring apprentices who couldn’t get the time off from their agencies, were required to participate in the rescue scenario. 

But they still only expected 200 students at the facility, tops. That meant they were all being squeezed onto a single flight, chartered by Ifran. To save space, they were only being allowed one backpack and a small (wearable) carry-on. The entire thing was extraordinarily suspect, and August didn’t trust the administration not to pull something like dropping them in the middle of the desert at a moment’s notice.

He squeezed into the last spot in the front row of Ifran’s parking lot, and met Gabriel outside of Ambrose Hall so they could walk the mile to the field house. 

“You look organized,” August said in greeting, eyeballing Gabriel’s neatly packed charcoal backpack.

Gabriel snorted. “You can thank my mom for that one. My dad and brother are equally as useless as I am. She repacked it this morning. I would’ve happily shown up with a snack and some basketball shorts, but apparently that’s not ‘professional.’”

August shared a look with him. “They’re all sort of micromanagers, aren’t they?”

“That they are.” Gabriel grinned, gesturing to his suit. “Though I probably need it. I didn’t even get my suit until yesterday.” Gabriel tapped his ear. “You brought the earpieces?”

August nodded, rummaging through the front pocket of his bag while they walked and producing the set. “Yes. They’re on the same channel, and have pretty exceptional battery life. They should only use power when they’re receiving or transmitting and they can be charged using any external battery for a regular cell phone.” 

“Neato,” Gabriel said, immediately turning his earpiece on and tucking it into his ear. It was a clear, inconspicuous plastic that nestled tightly against the skin. “We should probably keep them in. I don’t trust that they’re not going to try to start the scenario on the way there.”

The crowd at the field house had self-divided into groups, mostly by year, but Gabriel stuck close behind August when they arrived. He could see Johann, who he unfortunately recognized on sight now, among the second years.

“How did you know Johann?” August asked. Gabriel tilted his head. 

“Oh, I met him when we were kids. My dad and the other agency heads use to have all us kids hang out during meetings. Wait, you ended up recognizing him too —” 

“August!” 

“Larissa,” August greeted, momentarily relieved for the change of topic, until his brain caught up with who he was speaking to and his heart gave a lurch. Larissa had been Nina’s best friend, and she still greeted him when the occasion called for it like nothing had happened. 

“You must be the famous Gabriel Masters.” Larissa towered over Gabriel in a pair of thick combat boots, her blonde hair in a tight, high ponytail that almost brushed the top of Gabriel’s head. Her gloves had holes cut in the fingertips, tops glazed shiny with some sort of fire-retardant. She jerked a thumb towards August. “I’m Larissa, this guy’s senior. Not that he’ll admit it.”

“You’re only a month older than me, Larissa.”

“A month older, but a year ahead!” She gave a bright grin. “The power of a summer birthday, right?”

“Hi! Yes, I’m Gabe. Please don’t call me Gabriel. He does it all the time and it makes me feel like I’m going to be court-martialed.”

August frowned. “I didn’t know it bothered you. I will endeavor to call you by your nickname.”

Larissa and Gabriel met each other’s eyes and laughed. “So earnest,” she whispered, loud enough for August to hear. She looked Gabriel up and down. “So, is it true? You’re invincible?”

Gabe pushed up his sleeve, holding out his bare, unmarked arm. “Go ahead, try it.”

Larissa wasted no time pressing her fingers directly against Gabriel’s skin, letting out a sweltering hot burst of flame. Absolutely nothing happened, the fire licking the air and dissolving into harmless smoke. Her mouth made a little ‘o’ of surprise. “Wow! Not a scratch. You’re strong too, right?”

Gabriel held out a single hand, lowering it to the Larissa’s feet with a composed bow. “Go ahead, see if you can balance on it.”

Larissa squealed, balancing one heavy boot on Gabe’s hand, the other on her ankle. He lifted her with ease, and she clapped, laugh echoing in the quiet pre-dawn air. “Incredible! You two will be a team to watch, that’s for sure.” She blew a kiss across the way to someone unknown from her perch, then neatly jump down. “Which bus to the jetport are you on?”

Gabriel’s eyes widened. “I don’t…”

“We’re on 4,” August told him, resting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “They’re not boarding for at least ten minutes.”

Gabriel swallowed hard, eyes suddenly big and glossy. “Right,” Gabe said, seeming to force his eyes, and a pained smile, on Larissa. 

“Bus 4.”