Chapter 44
The common room was bustling as Jax made his way through the large dormitory on his way to The Challenger’s gym to find his sister. Cecilia and Megan were in the kitchen preparing their lunch, chopping vegetables for crudités. Connor was patiently showing Spencer the controls of a fighting game that he was playing against Ralph, who looked to be enjoying his win a little too much, and Bobby and Joel were sitting in the reading nook whispering about lord knows what. Jax marveled at how everyone was adjusting to the experience: away from their homes, friends, and families, having cameras focused on them at all times, and battling for the most sought-after job on the planet. The combatants might have turned dark and belligerent long ago, but everyone here had shown some amount of grace and compassion toward each other. Even Bailey and Ashley were working through their issues.
Now, their ability to work together under the bright lights during the trials was entirely another issue, and one Jax was currently focused on addressing. He knew it was probably a waste of time but walked over to the room that June shared with Bailey and Ashley and knocked on the door. He heard music playing, muffled through the door.
“Hold on!” Bailey said loudly.
Before long, the door opened, and Bailey stood smiling on the other side. “If you’re looking for June, she’s not here.”
“Probably at the gym,” Ashley said from out of view.
Bailey rolled her eyes, “she’s probably at the gym.”
“Heading there now,” Jax responded. “You two good?”
“Oh yeah, we’re fine. She’s lecturing me on the dangers of using plastic straws, and I’m being productive, studying my ancient texts.” She held up a Latin dictionary.
“I heard that,” came the disembodied voice of Ashley.
“I figured!” Bailey shouted back over her shoulder. “Please tell me you have something totally fun and interesting going on.” she pleaded.
“Sorry. Just looking for my sister.” Jax thought for a second, “Although I might have something soon, standby,” he smiled and headed off to the gym to chat with June. He wanted to run an idea past her.
When he arrived at the workout room, June was taking out all her aggression on a huge punching bag that hung from the ceiling. On either side of her was a foam dummy sticking out of the ground. She was practicing fighting multiple surrounding opponents.
“Forward, forward, left, right. Forward, left, right, left.” She grunted under her heavy breath. “Why, didn’t, he, help? That stupid, turtle, fucker.” Clearly, June was working through her issues with Ken in the only way she knew how.
After the challenge, June had told Jax about how she had kissed Ken before he had pulled her out of the challenge against her will. Jax didn’t blame his roommate for using the panic button and accepted that he had every right to use, or not to use, his meta ability any way he saw fit. But June had not been convinced. She had expressed the betrayal she felt from the whole ordeal quite forcefully, and Jax had understood. Ken and his sister had been growing closer and closer in the weeks before The Healer Challenge, but his actions during the trial had changed everything for her.
Now, though, June was just stewing. Jax needed to get her to a point where she could at least be okay working with Ken in the next group challenge. And theirs wasn’t the only relationship Jax was worried about. Joel had fucked up royally, which had resulted in Bobby being expelled from the trial prematurely, Ashley and Bailey had what could most favorably be described as a tense relationship since, basically, The Culling, and the rest of The Challengers were egotistical loners with huge chips on their shoulders… except Ralph, of course. Jax figured Ralph just needed someone to take him seriously.
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“Hey, sis!” Jax called out to his sister. “Wanna take a break and come chat?”
“Not, right, now, bro. Still, need, to, punch,” she answered back in rhythm with her strikes.
“And kick,” he inserted. “Don’t forget the kicking.”
His joke had the desired effect, and June laughed, disrupting her flow and causing her to stop for just a moment.
“See,” he said. “Time for a break.”
June nodded, grabbed a small towel, and wiped the sweat from her forehead and chest. She took a drink from her water bottle and strode over to Jax, who was leaning against a bunch of stacked weights that hovered over the red weight bench June proceeded to sit on.
“So, uh, I noticed Ken upstairs, avoiding the gym today, which is sorta unlike him, don’t you think?” He was trying to tactfully get his sister to open up, knowing that she rarely got all touchy-feely.
“Weird,” she answered dismissively.
“Yeah, super weird, right?”
“Jax! Stop!”
“Stop what?” Jax feigned confusion, “Just stating facts.” He smiled, trying to contain his laughter. His sister’s frustration at discussing even her most obvious skin-deep feelings amused him. He wasn’t trying to make light of her feelings, but attempting to get her to open up was like pulling teeth.
His bottled-up laughter, in turn, lightened June’s mood. Her brother had a way of making things that seemed so dire and grave seem obviously silly mere moments later.
Noticing her shoulders relax, and a smile play at her lips, Jax continued, “I get it if you are pissed that Ken cut short your performance by using the panic button. But, if you are mad that he didn’t let you save me, just look at me. I’m totally fine. A fucking building almost crushed me, yet I made it out without a scratch.”
“But that wasn’t guaranteed, Jax! You got lucky!” her concern was ratcheting up her tone.
Jax maintained his calm voice, “Listen, I know I didn’t train for this like you, but I did prepare. I’ve had the same lessons you have had. It’s not like I was completely ignoring Mom when she taught us how to defend ourselves and use our powers.”
“Coulda’ fooled me,” June interrupted.
“Shut up, you are missing my point,” Jax started
“No, Jax, you are missing my point!” June stood up as she became more passionate and forceful. “You didn’t focus on training like me. You just didn’t! And now, we are both in this dangerous game with incredibly high stakes, and it’s my responsibility to keep you alive!”
He understood why his sister felt this way. While she was looked at as the heir to Summerset, he was seen as the screw-up, the black sheep. He was “June’s brother,” who “has so much potential” but was too lazy, or spacy, to live up to expectations. Jax knew exactly how everyone viewed him. And that was the very best view. At worst, Jax was simply a failure. That’s why it was so hard for June to wrap her head around Jax, the successful, capable competitor who managed to survive The Culling and crack the Top Ten leaderboard in the first challenge.
“Even if that is true, which current standings might disprove, Ken doesn’t know our history. He likes you. He was worried for you, and trusted that I could handle myself. He made a judgment call. And, yeah, maybe it was colored by some feelings developing with you two,” Jax averted his eyes. Talking about his roommate potentially having feelings for his twin sister was super awkward for him, “but he made the call he thought was right. And maybe it was the right call. Maybe the building would have crushed both of us had he not done it. I mean, everything worked out okay. Right?”
“Not perfectly.” Her frown tilted upward at the edges, “I mean, I only have zero points, which, let’s be honest, is a travesty.”
June stood up and hugged her brother. “Thanks, bro. And you deserve your point on that leaderboard. Just don’t get used to being ahead of me for long.” She released the hug and winked.
“Yeah, yeah,” he said, smirking. “Oh, hey! I wanted to run an idea by you. I’m thinking of organizing a little team-building event tomorrow, and I need your help.”