Chapter 35: Looking for Trouble?

"Curious, aren't you, Cadel?" Ms Reina said, her voice taking on a more teasing tone. "But some questions are best left unanswered for now."

I wasn’t surprised by her response, but it didn’t stop the disappointment from creeping in. Still, the fact that she didn’t outright dismiss the question or reprimand me made me think she had an Ability worth keeping under wraps.

Before I could dwell on it any longer, Scarlette spoke up, breaking the tension. “So… what do we do now? Just sit here until the rain stops?”

Ms Reina leaned back, her posture relaxing slightly. “For now, yes. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to continue with the rest of today’s activities due to the ground being muddy and slippery, so maybe you guys caught a lucky break.”

“Guess this is one of the few times I’m actually glad it’s raining,” Scarlette muttered. I realised that rain might be a vulnerability for her, as it could smother her flames.

“Just to check, we didn’t get penalised for the run, right?” I asked.

“I can’t disclose such information, sorry,” Ms Reina replied.

“If you keep pestering her, she’s gonna penalise us anyway!” Kaede whispered to me.

“My bad.”

As the minutes dragged on, the rain was relentless. I noticed Kaede fidgeting again, her discomfort growing more apparent with each passing moment.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

She blushed. “Say, there wouldn’t happen to be a bathroom nearby, is there?”

Ms Reina spoke up. “You need the bathroom? We have one a short walk away, but with the weather, it may be a little tricky to get to.”

I had a suggestion, but I realised it was a little awkward. Rain was not a problem for me, since I could literally control the direction of the raindrops. If she were a fellow boy, I would’ve readily offered to accompany her.

“Cadel, we could use your help here,” Ms Reina said.

I blinked. “I don’t mind, but are you su—”

“Don’t worry, I’ll accompany the two of you. Furthermore, I’d like to reconvene with the rest of the teachers, so your help would be greatly appreciated.”

“Oh, alright.”

“Looks like I’ll be stuck here alone then,” Scarlette said, a hint of playful frustration in her voice.

The three of us left Scarlette behind as we set out. I activated my Ability, diverting the raindrops away from us. Drawing in more energy from the surroundings, I created a gentle upward force, allowing us to float just above the slick ground. Everyone had their tents fully closed to keep out the rain, so no one could see us. We soon reached the bathroom, which was just a stone’s throw away.

It was a small shed in a clearing, elevated slightly above the ground, with granite walls and a few stalls. I was surprised to find a bathroom here at all. I figured the District must have deliberately constructed these facilities at the campsites. After all, we were still students, not military recruits, so I guessed they wanted us to have at least some basic privileges.

“These are for the girls; the boys’ bathrooms are just a bit further in that direction,” Ms. Reina explained, gesturing off to the side at a similar shed as Kaede headed for the one closer to us.

A short while later, we were ready to leave. As Kaede expressed her gratitude to us, Ms Reina gave me directions to the teachers’ camp.

The path was slick and muddy, but with my help, we remained completely dry. We soon arrived at a park shelter in the middle of the woods where a bunch of adults were gathered. A few tents were pitched nearby. I spotted a couple of teachers—one of them was Dr Connor.

The now torrential downpour masked our approach. We stopped a short while away.

“I think it’s best for everyone if the two of you avoid being seen,” said Ms Reina. “Cadel, your Ability can reach the shelter from here, yes?”

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I nodded. Was she just being considerate for me, knowing I wanted to avoid drawing attention from the teachers?

As Ms Reina reached the shelter, I noticed Dr Connor’s eyes swivel in our direction. I was partially hidden behind a tree, but we still made eye contact. A sinister smirk spread across his lips. I felt the air around us erupt with tension, the forest holding its breath.

I quickly turned away, not wanting to cause trouble.

“Let’s go,” I motioned to Kaede.

“Did he see you?” she whispered as we quickly set off.

“Yeah. It’s fine. He already knows what’s up with me anyway. Either of us pretending won’t do us much.”

I had disclosed to Kaede a few days ago that Dr Connor had taken a particular interest in me, along with a brief glimpse into my backstory. Like Scarlette, she’d been surprised, but true to form, she had kept a level head and promised to keep it secret. Jonah and Mira were still in the dark, and truthfully, I wasn’t sure if I could trust them yet.

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Back at our tent, Scarlette was lying down, seemingly trying to take a nap. Upon hearing us enter, she sat up.

“About time.” She waved her phone. “The signal out here’s so bad. This is literally hell—I can’t connect to anything.”

I noted the walkie-talkie Ms Reina had attached to her hip earlier. That was probably how the teachers used to communicate if they were unable to get a connection.

I lay down in one corner of the tent as well. Might as well rest while we could.

“I wonder what Mira and Jonah are talking about,” Kaede said.

“I don’t know. It’s probably a bit awkward over there,” remarked Scarlette.

I shrugged. “Nothing much to do until the weather clears up.”

“Yeah…” Scarlette sighed. “Some start to our camp.”

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As it turned out, the rain didn’t let up until near evening. Ms Reina’s voice resounded from outside our tents, instructing us to collect our dinner from the food truck, with all activities put on hold till tomorrow.

We stepped out of the tent, the scent of damp earth lingering in the air. The hum of the food truck’s generator provided a comforting backdrop to the evening, softened by the warm, almost pinkish glow of the setting sun.

“Let’s go see what they have,” I suggested, stretching as I stood up. We made our way towards the food truck, the ground squelching beneath our feet.

“How was your time with Mira?” Scarlette cheekily whispered to Jonah.

“It was pretty chill. She had some downloaded videos on her phone, and I spent most of the time lazing around. I think I fell asleep for a bit. There wasn’t much thunder, and the raindrops were oddly therapeutic. You should try it next time.”

Scarlette tilted her head. “Er, thanks for the detailed response.”

Dinner tonight was spaghetti and meatballs, surprisingly good for a school camp meal, especially given the sombre mood Dr Connor had left behind. The contrast made it taste even better.

I wish we could take our time to savour it, but we were given strict timings on when to use the bathroom to wash up. With the limited number of stalls, our classes had to take turns. Class 1A was told to wash up before dinner, so while they showered, the rest of us ate. Soon after, Class 1B was hurried along, followed by our class.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough fresh clothes to constantly swap into, so after finishing in the bathroom, I changed into my spare set. My plan was to air out the clothes I’d worn today in case I needed to wear them again. It was a simple strategy: wear the dirty ones during the day and sleep in clean clothes at night. Tomorrow, we’d probably be in our Abizium suits instead of our tracksuits anyway. I recalled we were getting another fresh set on the third day as part of the resupply package as well. Still, the camp would last five days, so it would be better to be conservative.

I rewrapped the sash around my wrist and returned to the campsite, where the sun was setting rapidly. A number of lamps were placed around our tents, possibly by the teachers. They gently illuminated the area.

My friends weren’t back yet, so I wandered around the campsite before coming to a stop in front of Kazen’s tent. The cover was closed, but I could make out the silhouette of a large boy inside, probably using his phone. It seemed Daxston was done washing up as well.

“Looking for trouble?”

I turned around, coming face to face with Kazen. His hair was dripping wet, his signature scowl on his face.

“Nothing much, how’s camp so far?”

“Would be better if you weren’t here. How’s your team doing?”

I wasn’t expecting him to inquire about my team. “We’re doing alright, yours?”

“Meh, we’ll manage.” He flicked his head, indicating for me to step aside.

I got the message and moved out of the way. His enquiring about my team actually reminded me to look for Eric. He had been hoping to form an alliance with us, and I had thought of a way to test him.

I found Eric’s tent with the cover open, so I peered inside. He was laughing with two of his friends and noticed me right away.

“Excuse me, guys,” he said, stepping out of the tent.

We moved to the side. “I meant to look for you during dinner, but things were a bit rushed. So, I take it you all have made a decision?” Eric glanced over my shoulder. “By the way, where’s your leader?”

“She asked me to pass along a message. She wants to ask you something. Alliances hinge on trust, right? So, it’s only fair to test how much we can rely on you,” I replied.

He nodded, signalling for me to continue.

“Tell me where and how you’re protecting your egg. Also, give us all your sashes. We’ll return them to you on the last day.”

I was aware that demands were completely unreasonable. To be honest, I wasn’t interested in forming an alliance at all; I hoped these ridiculous requests would be enough to deter him from us. I had shared my plan with Scarlette and Kaede while we were in the tent earlier, and they decided to trust my plan. I had also briefed Mira and Jonah on it during dinner, making sure everyone was on the same page. Ideally, I would have preferred to keep things under wraps and acted solo, but I didn’t want to catch any flak for hiding things from my teammates again, especially not so soon after the last incident.

Currently, his response should give us further insight into his motives. With that said, I closely observed his reaction.