Gabrielle whispered to me as we stretched with the other new cadets of H Company.
“What?” I asked, only half listening. We stood inside a huge, drafty building called the Field House. Here we’d soon be doing push-ups and sit-ups for the P.T. test.
“ You know. Cadet Aussprung. Fourth Squad’s squad leader? Cadet Daily’s roommate?” She closed her eyes. “The guy with the slate-gray eyes?”
“I know who Cadet Aussprung is, Gabrielle.”
“He’s really gorgeous. Especially when he’s mad.”
“You’re really sick. You know that?”
She smiled and bent over to touch her toes.
Cadet Aussprung, the Hollywood Hero. I thought he was cute, too, the first time I saw him. I remembered him leading four other new cadets and me out of the gym and across North Area on the first day of Beast. But the second he’d opened his mouth, any admiration I’d had for him evaporated.
“There are tons of cute guys here. Don’t you think, Andi?”
I shrugged. “There are tons of guys here, Gabrielle.” Guys were just about the last thing I needed to worry about right now. I sat down to stretch my legs.
“Even the new cadets. Some of them are okay, too. And Cadet Daily—”
I looked up. “What about Cadet Daily?”
Gabrielle checked over one shoulder, then the other, to make sure no one could hear her. “He’s a doll .”
A doll? I had never thought about him like that. A prison warden? Yes. An overbearing tyrant? Definitely. A bullying big brother? Maybe. But a doll? Never! It was almost incestuous. I looked at Gabrielle. I just could not figure her out, sometimes.
Cadet Daily suddenly appeared and motioned for Third Squad to huddle around him. “Okay, Third Squad, pair up. I want you two”—he pointed at me and Gabrielle—“to split up.”
Gabrielle glanced at me before scooting next to Ping.
Hickman snatched McGill as his partner right away. Bonanno, Boguslavsky, and Cero hesitated, looking at each other.
“Today, Third Squad,” Cadet Daily yelled. “Today!”
I felt a twinge of panic inside, just like I used to feel in gym class whenever the kids got to choose teams, fearing I’d be picked last. Take a chance, Andi. I turned to Boguslavsky, the preacher’s kid. He’d braved the hallways and the door-open-at-ninety-degrees-when-both-sexes-are-in-the-room policy more than once to polish boots and brass with Gabrielle and me after dinner. Maybe he’d be my partner.
“Uh, hey, guys,” Boguslavsky said, nodding at the others. “Go ahead. I’ll pair up with Andi.” He looked at me. “Okay with you?”
I smiled and nodded, relieved.
“You’re gonna count push-ups and sit-ups for your partner and write the number of completed repetitions on the scorecard,” Cadet Daily was saying now. He held a stack of narrow cards. “Take one and pass it around. . . .”
“HARDCORE COMPANY, AT EASE! ” yelled a voice above the low rumble, and a female cadet leaped up onto a P.T. stand at the end of the room. “My name is Cadet Barrington, Hardcore’s Athletic Officer, and I will be administering your very first Cadet Physical Fitness Test, otherwise known as the CPFT!”
Hu-ah! and other barbaric grunts erupted in the Field House.
Cadet Barrington smiled. “I’m glad to see that you are motivated. But . . . are you all fired up?”
“FIRED UP, FIRED UP, FIRED UP, MA’AM! ”
“Okay!” Her skin was so tan that her white socks seemed to glow. “The CPFT is a three-event test, consisting of two minutes of push-ups, two minutes of sit-ups, and a two-mile run. The purpose of this test is to determine your level of fitness during Week 3 of Beast Barracks. In order to pass, you must achieve a minimum score in each event. During the academic year, an actual grade will be attached to your score.” She raised an eyebrow. “But today, Hardcore, we’re going to do it just for fun. ”
More war whoops filled the Field House. I whooped, too. It was contagious.
Cadet Barrington had a very
“What?” I asked, only half listening. We stood inside a huge, drafty building called the Field House. Here we’d soon be doing push-ups and sit-ups for the P.T. test.
“ You know. Cadet Aussprung. Fourth Squad’s squad leader? Cadet Daily’s roommate?” She closed her eyes. “The guy with the slate-gray eyes?”
“I know who Cadet Aussprung is, Gabrielle.”
“He’s really gorgeous. Especially when he’s mad.”
“You’re really sick. You know that?”
She smiled and bent over to touch her toes.
Cadet Aussprung, the Hollywood Hero. I thought he was cute, too, the first time I saw him. I remembered him leading four other new cadets and me out of the gym and across North Area on the first day of Beast. But the second he’d opened his mouth, any admiration I’d had for him evaporated.
“There are tons of cute guys here. Don’t you think, Andi?”
I shrugged. “There are tons of guys here, Gabrielle.” Guys were just about the last thing I needed to worry about right now. I sat down to stretch my legs.
“Even the new cadets. Some of them are okay, too. And Cadet Daily—”
I looked up. “What about Cadet Daily?”
Gabrielle checked over one shoulder, then the other, to make sure no one could hear her. “He’s a doll .”
A doll? I had never thought about him like that. A prison warden? Yes. An overbearing tyrant? Definitely. A bullying big brother? Maybe. But a doll? Never! It was almost incestuous. I looked at Gabrielle. I just could not figure her out, sometimes.
Cadet Daily suddenly appeared and motioned for Third Squad to huddle around him. “Okay, Third Squad, pair up. I want you two”—he pointed at me and Gabrielle—“to split up.”
Gabrielle glanced at me before scooting next to Ping.
Hickman snatched McGill as his partner right away. Bonanno, Boguslavsky, and Cero hesitated, looking at each other.
“Today, Third Squad,” Cadet Daily yelled. “Today!”
I felt a twinge of panic inside, just like I used to feel in gym class whenever the kids got to choose teams, fearing I’d be picked last. Take a chance, Andi. I turned to Boguslavsky, the preacher’s kid. He’d braved the hallways and the door-open-at-ninety-degrees-when-both-sexes-are-in-the-room policy more than once to polish boots and brass with Gabrielle and me after dinner. Maybe he’d be my partner.
“Uh, hey, guys,” Boguslavsky said, nodding at the others. “Go ahead. I’ll pair up with Andi.” He looked at me. “Okay with you?”
I smiled and nodded, relieved.
“You’re gonna count push-ups and sit-ups for your partner and write the number of completed repetitions on the scorecard,” Cadet Daily was saying now. He held a stack of narrow cards. “Take one and pass it around. . . .”
“HARDCORE COMPANY, AT EASE! ” yelled a voice above the low rumble, and a female cadet leaped up onto a P.T. stand at the end of the room. “My name is Cadet Barrington, Hardcore’s Athletic Officer, and I will be administering your very first Cadet Physical Fitness Test, otherwise known as the CPFT!”
Hu-ah! and other barbaric grunts erupted in the Field House.
Cadet Barrington smiled. “I’m glad to see that you are motivated. But . . . are you all fired up?”
“FIRED UP, FIRED UP, FIRED UP, MA’AM! ”
“Okay!” Her skin was so tan that her white socks seemed to glow. “The CPFT is a three-event test, consisting of two minutes of push-ups, two minutes of sit-ups, and a two-mile run. The purpose of this test is to determine your level of fitness during Week 3 of Beast Barracks. In order to pass, you must achieve a minimum score in each event. During the academic year, an actual grade will be attached to your score.” She raised an eyebrow. “But today, Hardcore, we’re going to do it just for fun. ”
More war whoops filled the Field House. I whooped, too. It was contagious.
Cadet Barrington had a very
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