The Candidates by Inara Scott Page A

walking in our direction, his white teeth gleaming and thick hair swooping back from his forehead in elegant waves. Once again I was struck by the feeling that he was way, way too attractive and well dressed to be working at a high school. Even out here, in the middle of a field, surrounded by kids in shorts and T-shirts, he looked ready to go have dinner with the president, with his fancy suit, red silk tie, and expensive-looking leather loafers.
    He smiled at each of us, but instead of making me relax, his anchorman voice made me dig my nails into my palm. “I know Dancia, and I recognize Esther. You must be Henrietta. How lovely to see you all.”
    We smiled politely. No one looked particularly comfortable, even Cam. Silence fell over the group.
    “How is everyone enjoying school thus far?” His white teeth sparkled through a broad smile. He didn’t seem to notice that he’d managed to make us all profoundly uncomfortable.
    Even Esther struggled to respond, her mouth flopping open and closed several times. Surprisingly, it was Hennie who spoke up for the group.
    “It’s been wonderful, sir, but we were just discussing the challenge course. I had no idea Delcroix utilized stress-induced leadership scenarios. Why is that?”
    Delivered in Hennie’s sweet, breathy tone, you could almost miss the underlying bite in her question.
    Mr. Judan raised one black brow. “What do you mean, my dear?”
    Oh my. From his direct tone, I gathered he hadn’t missed the bite.
    “Cam explained that the school directs us toward challenges in order to see how we react in times of stress. I find this fascinating, and couldn’t help but wonder—is there some sort of test involved here? And if so, what happens if we fail?”
    Yeesh. I hadn’t thought about it that way. I looked at Hennie with newfound respect. Listening to her quietly confident voice, I had a sudden vision of Hennie sitting across the table from her brilliant father, debating foreign policy in one of the five languages she spoke.
    Note to self: don’t mess with Hennie.
    Mr. Judan shot Cam a look I couldn’t read. Was he pissed? Was the whole challenge thing supposed to be a secret? Cam’s tanned skin developed an underlying hint of pink.
    “No, no.” Mr. Judan chuckled, and an easy smile spread across his face. “No test at all. I think Cameron may have misstated the purpose of our challenges. You see, research tells us the best teams come out of shared experiences. We want you to have a highly supportive and successful freshman team, so it makes sense to give you opportunities to take part in one of those experiences.”
    He locked eyes for a moment with Cam, who seemed to get some silent message, because he nodded a second later.
    “Now, I really must be going. It was a pleasure to meet you all. Please, join me in my office when you are finished with your game, Cameron. I have something I need to discuss with you.” He waved to the cross-country coach, Mr. Yerkinly, who was walking up from the Main Hall.
    An uncomfortable silence followed. Then one of the soccer players waved to Cam. He glanced down at his watch. “Looks like it’s time for our game. I’d better go.” He paused. “Dancia, do you have a second?”
    My heart stopped. “Um, what?”
    “I just wanted to catch you alone for a second.”
    I shot Esther a quick, semi-hysterical glance. “Sure.”
    We walked a few paces away, to the edge of the field. My heart was beating so fast I thought I might faint. When we were out of earshot from Esther and Hennie, Cam gave me one of his slow smiles. “Listen, I just wanted to say that I know Trevor encouraged you to spend a lot of time with your team, especially during the first week, but I don’t want you to think that you have to keep hanging out with them now that orientation is over.”
    I blinked and tried to focus on what he had just said. My heart slowed abruptly. Apparently he hadn’t pulled me aside to ask me to be his one true