The Talents by Inara Scott Page A

reason, as Hennie.
    I nervously adjusted my shorts as we walked up to the practice fields where the coach had told us to gather. It had poured the night before, so the field was soft and damp, but the sun had been out for a few hours, and tiny tendrils of steam were actually rising from the ground. Soccer season wasn’t until the spring, but a bunch of guys were playing a pickup game. The fields were tucked into the far corner of the grassy area that surrounded the school, bordered on one side by tall evergreens. The sun hovered right above the trees, bright and hot.
    I bent over and retied my shoelaces. Although I liked to run on my own, I’d never tried it with a team, and I had a horrible feeling I wasn’t going to be able to keep up.
    â€œSo, is this the new Delcroix cross-country team?”
    I froze. Cam had walked up directly behind Hennie. She turned around, eyes wide, and then backed up so he could stand next to me. I struggled to remain calm, with him only a few feet away.
    How did he get better looking every day? He was wearing black-and-white-striped soccer shoes and shin guards, and with the sun beating down on him, I swear he looked like a superhero—even taller and stronger than I remembered. The light caught red and gold highlights in his hair, and sparkled on the gold Delcroix crest on his T-shirt.
    Esther responded first, naturally, flipping her hair back with a grin. “I don’t know about that. Someone might need to call 911 if I have a heart attack halfway through the run.”
    Cam smiled, and the corners of his eyes crinkled in the most adorable way. “You shouldn’t worry. I bet Dancia can give you some pointers.”
    I swallowed hard. Did Cam really remember that I liked to run? “Um, I guess.”
    Brilliant. Sparkling conversation.
    Hennie and Esther looked at Cam, then at me, then back at Cam.
    â€œHow far do you think they’ll make us run today?” Hennie asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She twisted her hands as she spoke.
    Esther hadn’t been kidding when she said Hennie was shy around boys. Just yesterday I’d tried to get her and Yashir to talk when we were studying in the commons together, and she’d actually snapped her pencil in half, she was so freaked out.
    â€œMaybe a couple of miles,” Cam said. “They start the freshmen out pretty easy. You can jog at first, to get used to it. I don’t think they do speed work for a week or two.”
    Esther looked horrified. “A couple of miles? As in, actual miles ?”
    I had to laugh. “What did you expect when they said the average course length was five kilometers, Esther? That you’d be running inches?”
    Esther threw a hand across her forehead. “That’s it. I’m definitely going to die out there. You might as well call my mom now. Or maybe call a helicopter. Does Delcroix have a helicopter? I’m going to need immediate transportation to a hospital. You should put them on standby.”
    â€œI’m sure Dancia will get you out. Just make sure you don’t get stuck on the wrong side of the wall, Dancia. I’m not sure Esther would make it over in her weakened condition.” Cam gave me a knowing look, like we were sharing a private joke, and I nearly choked.
    Cam must have talked to Trevor about me. Or at least about our team. That’s the only way he would have known that we did the wall.
    â€œWhat wall?” Esther asked. “You mean the wall Dancia’s team climbed during orientation? I heard about that. It sounded awful. Why does the school have all those things out there in the woods anyway? Poor Hennie’s team had to jump off a platform from thirty feet in the air.” Esther’s nose wrinkled with distaste. “Tell the truth: is it all just an elaborate system for punishing incoming freshmen?”
    â€œIt’s mostly for that,” Cam said, deadpan. “We tried other ways of