little restless in my lap. I
mentally shook my head and put it on the back burner to mull over later, when I
was alone.
"But
you're not really one to zone out," Brooks continued, like I hadn't just
reconsidered my entire life so far and where I fit into it. "Not fully,
anyway. When you appear to zone out, your mind doesn't go blank, it
overloads. You'll need to train your mind to stay more focused."
"How
did you know that?" I asked.
"Normally,
when you stare into space and someone calls your attention, you don't have to
'snap out of it.' Your eyes shift to the person talking and you immediately
jump into the conversation without having to catch up or ask questions. You
may have been wading through your personal, unrelated thoughts, but you never
fully left the room."
I
stared at him, musing over how we would never be able to throw a surprise
birthday party for him because nothing got by him.
"You
have an active mind. It's a good quality to have."
"Not
when I'm trying to fall asleep at night," I countered.
He
tilted his head to the side in a touché gesture. "So from now on,
I want you to practice memorizing a room and retaining that knowledge for as
long as you need it. But don't let it cloud your mind with too many
details."
"Okay,
Teach."
He
smirked and shook his head. Then he dropped an arsenal of information on me
about all kinds of interesting things. Like the best places on the body to
conceal weapons, when to be direct and when to be discreet, and how to spot a
tail and then lose it. He ended the lesson on slight of hand techniques. I
showed him my methods, and he showed me a few I'd never thought of. When I'd
get excited over something, he would smile or laugh, encouraging me.
Brooks
was such a badass and he was getting a kick out of helping to broaden my
horizons.
This
was so much better than a normal college learning experience.
Later
that evening, Ollie knocked on my door and cracked it open to stick his head
in.
"So
I take it you're not up for a gaming session?" Oliver asked from my
doorway.
I
was lying on the cool hardwood floor of my bedroom with ice on my arms and
legs.
I
looked up at him and said, "Nice try, kid but I will never admit
defeat."
I
slowly but surely removed all of the ice bags and sat up. I pushed off of the
floor with my hands and lumbered to my feet. Oliver walked inside my room and
swiped a few of the ice bags. I followed him to the living room and collapsed
on the couch. My body may have been exhausted, but my mind was up for the
challenge.
"You
think you'll be able to keep up?" he asked.
"Watch
your mouth," I said tiredly.
While
we were playing, I realized that while I was getting thorough exercise every
day now, I missed practicing yoga.
"Does
anyone here do yoga?" I asked Oliver.
He
laughed in my face. "No. We're more punchy than stretchy."
I
laughed and threw myself into the game, making myself a worthy opponent.
August
and Spencer wandered into the room, probably attracted by the sounds of
repetitive gunfire from the game. August sat down beside of me and Spencer
fell on the closest couch. When I died, I tossed the remote to Spencer and let
him take a turn. I adjusted my bags of ice to be more comfortable and looked
at August.
"So
why are you guys here at the compound?" I asked her.
"You
mean why aren't we in regular schools or with our families?"
"Yeah.
I know Brooks brought me on because of some philosophical bullshit but also
because I'm a thief. What about you guys?"
"None
of us have families, and we're homeschooled here. Spencer is talented with
anything physical. He's got really impressive hand-eye coordination and picks
up anything that requires use of his body within minutes or hours. He's
usually the first of us to master a skill in hand-to-hand combat. Ollie is a
genius. Literally. He eats, sleeps, and breathes technology, which is one
reason why we don't like playing video games with
mentally shook my head and put it on the back burner to mull over later, when I
was alone.
"But
you're not really one to zone out," Brooks continued, like I hadn't just
reconsidered my entire life so far and where I fit into it. "Not fully,
anyway. When you appear to zone out, your mind doesn't go blank, it
overloads. You'll need to train your mind to stay more focused."
"How
did you know that?" I asked.
"Normally,
when you stare into space and someone calls your attention, you don't have to
'snap out of it.' Your eyes shift to the person talking and you immediately
jump into the conversation without having to catch up or ask questions. You
may have been wading through your personal, unrelated thoughts, but you never
fully left the room."
I
stared at him, musing over how we would never be able to throw a surprise
birthday party for him because nothing got by him.
"You
have an active mind. It's a good quality to have."
"Not
when I'm trying to fall asleep at night," I countered.
He
tilted his head to the side in a touché gesture. "So from now on,
I want you to practice memorizing a room and retaining that knowledge for as
long as you need it. But don't let it cloud your mind with too many
details."
"Okay,
Teach."
He
smirked and shook his head. Then he dropped an arsenal of information on me
about all kinds of interesting things. Like the best places on the body to
conceal weapons, when to be direct and when to be discreet, and how to spot a
tail and then lose it. He ended the lesson on slight of hand techniques. I
showed him my methods, and he showed me a few I'd never thought of. When I'd
get excited over something, he would smile or laugh, encouraging me.
Brooks
was such a badass and he was getting a kick out of helping to broaden my
horizons.
This
was so much better than a normal college learning experience.
Later
that evening, Ollie knocked on my door and cracked it open to stick his head
in.
"So
I take it you're not up for a gaming session?" Oliver asked from my
doorway.
I
was lying on the cool hardwood floor of my bedroom with ice on my arms and
legs.
I
looked up at him and said, "Nice try, kid but I will never admit
defeat."
I
slowly but surely removed all of the ice bags and sat up. I pushed off of the
floor with my hands and lumbered to my feet. Oliver walked inside my room and
swiped a few of the ice bags. I followed him to the living room and collapsed
on the couch. My body may have been exhausted, but my mind was up for the
challenge.
"You
think you'll be able to keep up?" he asked.
"Watch
your mouth," I said tiredly.
While
we were playing, I realized that while I was getting thorough exercise every
day now, I missed practicing yoga.
"Does
anyone here do yoga?" I asked Oliver.
He
laughed in my face. "No. We're more punchy than stretchy."
I
laughed and threw myself into the game, making myself a worthy opponent.
August
and Spencer wandered into the room, probably attracted by the sounds of
repetitive gunfire from the game. August sat down beside of me and Spencer
fell on the closest couch. When I died, I tossed the remote to Spencer and let
him take a turn. I adjusted my bags of ice to be more comfortable and looked
at August.
"So
why are you guys here at the compound?" I asked her.
"You
mean why aren't we in regular schools or with our families?"
"Yeah.
I know Brooks brought me on because of some philosophical bullshit but also
because I'm a thief. What about you guys?"
"None
of us have families, and we're homeschooled here. Spencer is talented with
anything physical. He's got really impressive hand-eye coordination and picks
up anything that requires use of his body within minutes or hours. He's
usually the first of us to master a skill in hand-to-hand combat. Ollie is a
genius. Literally. He eats, sleeps, and breathes technology, which is one
reason why we don't like playing video games with
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