NOAH
Dinner at the academy was, as usual, a questionable affair. I poked at the watery sludge on my tray, frowning at what looked suspiciously like a half-dissolved carrot. “Do they water this stuff down with old boot water, or is it just me?”
Ben, the largest guy on Alpha team, snorted, nearly choking on his bite. “Boot water? That’s gourmet compared to this. I’m convinced they’re just swiping water from the janitor’s mop bucket.”
Laughter erupted around the table, and Jack, ever the joker, held up his spoon with a grimace. “Look on the bright side. If we eat this, we’ll be too sick to fight—problem solved!”
“Then I’ll just leave it to you to handle the puking,” Sam quipped, elbowing him. “We’ll cheer you on from a safe distance.”
The laughter built, and for a second, it almost
