Chapter 20

One Month Later

I swung my head from side to side, stretching out my neck muscles, as Grant and I approached the First Year corridor, each of us holding up one end of our hanging platform, carrying it back to our room after using it in another practice session with Larry and Laney. Two platforms were needed for that.

Grant watched me closely. “How’s it feel?”

I grinned. “Getting better. My neck was killing me the first few days, but I’m getting used to the extra weight. We can add some more tonight.” I would spend part of my neck trainer time that evening with extra weights hung from my waist, preparing my neck muscles to hold much more than my own body weight while hanging. Grant would do the same in his trainer. We did that every evening, while afternoon sessions were spent in Larry’s and Laney’s room, with our Second Year friends spotting for us as we worked out some choreography for our “pairs hanging.”

I stopped suddenly as we entered the First Year hallway, throwing Grant off balance. Grant began, “What...” Then he realized what I was seeing, or not seeing. “Huh.”

I frowned. “Yeah. Where is everybody?”

Classes were over at this time of day, but it wasn’t unusual for much of the dorm’s population to be missing—gone to the gym, or the library, or the pool, or one of the game fields, or simply relaxing in the courtyard taking in some sun ... But since the start of the year neither of us had ever before seen it as a ghost town, utterly without sound or movement.

Grant frowned. “We must have missed an announcement. Or could we both have forgotten a meeting we’re supposed to go to?”

I shrugged, wide-eyed. “Let’s get this put away,” I jiggled the platform, “And start looking around.”

We looked in the demo room first, but it was likewise deserted. But once we got within earshot of the cafeteria, it was obvious where everyone had gone. My eyes lit up. “One of the teachers must have been sold!”

Grant frowned in puzzlement. “Seems like we would have heard about that in the Second Year dorm.”

The caf was nearly wall-to-wall boys: it appeared all of the First Years were there, a few upper class boys, more Third Years than Second, and more red “graduate” uniforms were present than I had ever seen in one place—as far as I could tell, all of the living graduates were there. There were clusters of boys around tables with half-filled pizza boxes and cans of soft drinks, and one large knot of boys near one end of the room. I tried to see who the focus of attention was, but couldn’t figure it out. I walked into the room with Grant and tapped a classmate named Rita on the shoulder. “Who?”

She quickly swallowed a mouthful of pizza and laughed. “Where’ve you been?”

“Second Year dorm. Who’s the party for?”

Rita glowed at the chance to impart exciting news to someone in the dark. “Gil!”

Grant and I both gasped. I stared at Rita, my mouth wide open. “You’re kidding!”

Rita shook her head. “For real! He’s over there. Go say hi.” She gestured vaguely with her pizza at the largest knot of students.

That explained the composition of the crowd in the room. Only a few of the upper-classes knew Gil, and he or Bridget had probably invited the ones who did individually, but no First Year would miss a party for one of our dorm parents.

I began cautiously shouldering my way in apologetically, leading Grant by the hand. Gil’s distinctive chuckle stood out above the chattering voices occasionally. At last the way parted and Gil was in front of me, standing with Bridget beside him, and several other graduates nearby. Gil was talking to Jackie, with Erland, quiet as usual, standing next to him. Gil’s face lit up on seeing us. “Hi! I was just thinking I hadn’t seen you two!”

Jackie gave me some room, and I grinned and gave Gil a tight hug. After I let go, Grant looked uncertain for a moment, then put his arms around Gil and gave him a squeeze. Grant would probably never be the hugging type outside of sexual play, but he knew what was expected. I saw Jackie giving Grant his usual skeptical look. Grant had seen the look as well out of the corner of his eye. Grant’s jaw tightened slightly, and his hand reached out for mine again and gave it a crushing squeeze that told me Grant was trying not to react any more visibly. It was a sign of Grant’s progress that it had been weeks since Grant had needed this outlet for his tension.

I was almost dancing with excitement, imagining myself in Gil’s place, the hanging he had trained so long for now so imminent. “So tell me all about it! When are you swinging?”

“This Saturday! I can’t believe it’s so close now. The carpenters and other crew are already supposed to be over at my owner’s house, putting up the gallows and my prep tent and all that in her yard.”

“Oh, so a woman bought you...” I frowned. “Ummm, her name’s not Grace Millan, is it?”

Gil and Bridget both laughed. Gil sputtered, “Oh, Amy, you got Grace at the party, didn’t you? I felt like we should warn all you guys about her, but Bridget said there was no point, if she wants you, you have to take her anyway. But no, Grace didn’t buy me. I’m hanging for a really sweet lady named Barbara Costman. She owns that chain of clothing boutiques, ‘Now Girl,’ and she’s doing this as a treat for her store managers. And I’m sure she’ll invite close friends too—you know how it is. She says I’ll have a pretty big crowd to watch me die.”

“Which scene are you going to do?”

“Well, I wound up with the ‘Runaway Slave.’ When I first started looking at scenes I leaned toward the ‘Assassin’s Execution’ thing, but Bridget convinced me I didn’t look mean enough to be an assassin.” He giggled and rubbed his shoulder fondly against his roommate’s, who laughed. “Anyway, Bridget is going to be my executioner, of course, and I’m taking along a couple of Third Years, Terry and ... what’s her name, Aubra. They’ll be other slaves, and they’ll do all this weeping and wailing when they see me brought back to be punished for escaping. That’s a new thing they’re doing this year. The Dean wants upper class students to participate in a hanging before they graduate. He hinted he got the idea from one of the incoming students, of all things!”

“Uhhh...” I wasn’t sure how to respond. “How about that.” I didn’t feel a need to claim credit. Just knowing I had put my mark on the process was enough. “I wish we could get some of your thanerone, but I know it doesn’t work that way.”

“Oh!!” Gil’s eyes glowed. “It’s funny you’d mention that, I was just going to say. Barbara knows how all of us over here get really close, and she’s going to send a double share of my thanerone back to the Academy! It will have to be stretched thin, only half a vial for each First Year. But it’ll be me!”

I impulsively hugged him again. “That’s great! And you know it doesn’t matter how much it is. It’ll just be nice knowing we have a little of you. We already do, really, from your teaching, but I mean physically.”

Gil brushed aside a tear. “Thank you, that’s so sweet. And...” He hesitated, looking now back and forth between Grant and me with a serious face. “Listen, I was hoping to get a chance to tell you two. I’m sorry I had to come down so hard on you, that day. I mean, that’s my job, but it’s not easy for me to be like that.”

I laughed. “It is when you get as mad as you were.” I unconsciously rubbed my hand against my butt, almost feeling the swats again and pushing aside the memory.

Gil nodded and laughed. “Well, yeah.” He looked at Grant, who hadn’t spoken yet. “So are we okay?”

Grant blinked, seeming surprised at the question. He reached out and took my hand again, rubbing his palm against mine and lacing his fingers through mine. “Gil, that was ... the best thing that’s ever happened in my life.” He looked to the side and locked eyes with me, while reaching out to give Gil a one-armed hug. Then he looked back at Gil and gave him a sincere smile.

Gil looked at him wide-eyed, momentarily speechless. “Ummm, okay then.”

I was also looking at Grant in surprise, feeling a sudden strong urge to throw my arms around Grant and kiss him. I fought it down—it would be rude to take the attention away from Gil. I shook my head to clear it, then looked at Gil’s roommate. “Bridget, you’re not going to be dorm parent by yourself, are you?”