Late to class as always, I walk along the hall at a relaxed pace. I already forgot what got my uniform dirty; the skirt is partially ripped with footprints all over it. Must have lost a couple teeth in whatever trouble that ruined my outfit.

Opening the door to the classroom, there's no instructor, but instead, that bitch Nadia. And then almost 30 more of her, each in their own seat.

"Oh Lori, Lori, what a worry," they all turn to me, smiling.

"You're dead! How the fuck?"

"And soon you will be too," they all speak in synchrony. "Time for a tit for tat."

I stand for a couple seconds, assessing my circumstance, and deciding to turn around too late a split second before yet another Nadia locks the door behind me.

They all converge to me as I run to the instructor's desk to reach for the vent, until multiple sets of hands grab me by my hair, arms, skirt, legs, and yank me downward. They all hold me down on the table while I thrash about, unable to shake the Nadias off. These replicas are all far stronger than the original ever was.

One approaches with a broken broomstick, a loose shard of composite material. Two more hold my head to expose my neck, with even more force than applied to my other limbs. She draws it around my throat, before raising it and plunging it into my trachea.

A hand slaps me. "Lori!"

Still gagging, with Beth and my pillow on opposite sides of the room, Adel is gripping me by my shoulders, examining me.

I sigh, realizing I'm naked, with my blanket wrapped around me like an anaconda.

"Ugh! Get out of here!" I push her back, only to end up pushing myself back, covering my body.

"Yeah, well, you're welcome. Just wanted to check if you were strangling yourself." She lets go of me, walking to the door. "We need to do at least two successful runs before Tuesday."

Fuck, was she just watching me? How did I forget to put on at least a shirt?

Oh, right, last night's clothes are still soaked.

Adel's waiting for me in the hangar, eating what appears to be a piece of jerky as she flips through the news on the computer, sitting with her feet on the desk.

"You see this weirdo?" She shows me a picture of some tall girl with a wild midnight purple undercut with this big streak of red down the middle, wearing sunglasses, followed by poparazzi, cameras, and drones.

"What about her?"

She shrugs, looking back at me. "Well, what do you think about her?"

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"Not much, really. Just some fucking brat. Probably thinks she's cool and overestimates herself.

"News keeps saying she's the next Hunter trying to knock you off your throne."

I roll my eyes.

"You gonna start a fight with her or something off camera?"

"If she throws hands first."

She snorts in stunted laughter and continues chewing her snack. "Just promise me you'll beat her ass if that happens."

I walk away, to the sim rig, not really giving a fuck.

~~

After I blow up the thing's head again and landing cleanly on the ground, Adel seemed impressed.

"Bravo, Lori."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Hey, be proud of your accomplishments. It's going to be a cinch tomorrow when you're live."

I don't bother to reply.

"How much ammo do you have left?"

"50 rounds on the .50, and 12 on the cannon."

"Good answer. How about your mobility?"

"A bit sluggish, but I'll manage."

"It tells me your lactate and heart rate are a bit high, you crossed your LT1 and LT2 at about 95% of your record best, with your average SMO2 at 97% of your usual level. but you're doing 2-3% better in various metrics since last recital. Vasodilation and fiber recruitment would improve a bit with more consistent REM sleep and sufficient... glycogen replenishment, but nonetheless you seem ready for tomorrow."

"You mean?"

"It's just what the analyzer's telling me," Adel chuckles and shrugs to me. "I'm your technician, not your doctor."

I barely remember any of the physiology nonsense from the years of training either.

"Okay. Cool."

She takes us out of the sim, and as I emerge from the rig, she hands me my shoes and purse. "Come on, let's go out for lunch. I'm not feeling the mess hall grub today."

"Any place in mind?"

"Not everything is a mission, dude. Anything wrong with a little walk?"

"Okay."

We scan our badges, walk the dirt path, and exit the gate in silence only to be greeted by multiple orbits of poparazzi drones, all asking about Cynthia through their loudspeakers. Within seconds I feel the hairs on my neck raise in irritation.

"Have you met her?"

"What do you think of her?"

"Do you think you can keep her off?"

"Anything you want her to know?"

"Don't lash out at them, Lori," Adel motions to sort of shield me from them, standing in front of me.

I reach in my purse for my sunglasses. One of the fucking things buzzes past me, bumping my sunglasses out of my hand, only for me to catch it a split second later.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry, Ms. Kruger," the offending drone says to me in a slurred rush.

"Keep a lid on it, Lori," I mumble to myself, biting my tongue with all my might. "Nothing good comes from letting them know how fucking annoying they are."

The questions keep coming. "Do you think Cynthia is qualified to be a Jackal Hunter?"

"Have you ever seen her fight?"

"What do you think of her style?"

Do you think the show directors will make you and her compete?"

"What does your crew think of her?"

Adel and I end up at an international diner. The others in line almost seem afraid as they are interested. Adel touches the screen for chicken Biryani, and I have a modest platter of basmati rice, mixed bean Dal, and eggplant for a total of 50HeD. We tap our smart badges to split the costs and she taps hers on the kiosk to pay.

In the corner, with the drones still hovering and looking for us through the slats in the window, get bored and fly away one by one as we wait for the food.

A couple of customers from other tables try to sneak pictures of us with their smartphones, and showing pictures of Adel and I to each other through their phones' projector fields.

Within the diner the dark red walls isolate the noise from outside. Eerie, but definintely needed.

"See, that's how you get them to fuck off," Adel mumbles with a mouthful. "Plus you need to eat anyway."

"Sure, I'm kind of hungry."

"Oh, man, this is amazing, what a find this diner is."

I continue quietly spooning one little bit at a time. I only eat food because I have to. Part of me envies how Adel can actually enjoy eating.

The other part of me knows food isn't what I really care about.

~~