The New Apprentice

Chapter 2: The New Pairing

I set the first counter against Tessa cleanly, then took my mask off and waited for Coach to say whether my timing had been good enough.

"Again," he said.

Tessa lifted her weapon. I checked my distance. Behind her, Miles was working with Graham on the same sequence Coach had planned for us.

I lost the next point because I saw Miles shift his feet in the corner of my vision.

"Your eyes are wandering," Coach said.

"I know."

"Then fix it."

Tessa glanced at me through the mesh of her mask. "Ready?"

I nodded. We reset.

This time I held my focus. Tessa came forward too early, giving me the opening I'd taught her not to leave. I took it. The blade tapped her shoulder.

"Better," Coach said.

I expected to feel pleased. Instead, I kept looking toward the windows after we finished.

Miles was packing his bag.

I caught him by the water cooler. "Can you give me five minutes?"

"No."

"You don't even know what I'm going to ask."

"I know."

The certainty in his voice stung more than the answer.

"You've been avoiding me since Monday."

He turned the cap on his water bottle. "I've been busy."

"You've been busy standing five feet away from me and pretending I'm not there."

His gaze lifted to mine. I saw a faint mark along his jaw, a narrow white line I hadn't noticed before. It looked like an old scar, but I couldn't remember when he'd gotten it.

"What do you want, June?"

"For you to tell me what happened."

He looked past me, toward the front desk. "Nothing happened."

"Then why did you stop being my partner?"

"I think you're better off with someone else."

The words sat between us, too tidy to be true.

"Who told you that?"

"No one."

"Did I do something?"

"No."

"Then what is it?"

His jaw tightened. For a second, I thought he might answer. Then he screwed the cap back on the bottle and put it in his bag.

"I can't be around you right now."

I moved aside before he could brush past me. "At least that's honest."

He didn't respond.

*****

The following Tuesday, Coach taped a new pairing chart to the equipment-room door.

My name was beside Tessa's. Miles's was beside Owen Grant, a senior fencer who had been asking for a better training partner since the start of the season.

I read the list twice, hoping I'd mistaken the order.

Coach joined me at the door. "You and Tessa have been getting good results. This gives you both consistent practice."

"Miles and I were supposed to prepare for the regional trials together."

"Plans change."

I looked at the chart. "Is he the one who asked to be moved?"

Coach's face gave me nothing. "The decision is made."

Across the room, Miles was helping Owen adjust the strap on his glove. He didn't glance my way.

I felt something inside me go very still.

That afternoon, I stayed after practice and asked Coach to review my trial schedule.

"You need a partner who'll be there for the work," he said.

"I have one."

"Then make the most of it."

I left without asking for another answer. At the door, I turned back once. Miles had his mask on and was facing the strip. The wire hid his expression, but I knew the way his shoulders looked when he was trying to hold himself still.

I walked out alone.