Night School: Legacy

Then she hurried out of the room and waited in the hallway, chewing on her thumbnail.

But when Jo still hadn’t appeared ten minutes later, Allie’s heart sank.

She’s not going to do it. She’ll never forgive me.

Her head dropped to her chest, and she leaned back against the wall, propping one foot up behind her.

‘Posture fail.’ Jo’s cut glass accent was so familiar, Allie smiled at her shoes. This sounded like old Jo. Sane Jo.

‘You came.’

Crossing her arms across her chest, Jo scowled at her, but for the first time in weeks Allie saw a glimmer of amusement in her eyes.

‘I wanted to hear your grovelling apology.’

‘It was all my fault,’ Allie said. ‘I’m an idiot. You should refuse to be my friend and become very good friends with evil Katie instead. She deserves you more than I do.’

Jo fought to keep a straight face. ‘That’s an excellent start. Please continue.’

‘If I told anybody, I should have told you. It was insane of me not to, and I promise,’ Allie held up her right hand as if she were swearing in court, ‘that I will never keep an important secret from you again.’

Jo dimpled at her. ‘Now we’re getting somewhere.’

‘Will you please, please, please forgive me?’

‘Of course I will,’ Jo said. ‘I’m not a monster.’

‘Thank God.’ Allie launched herself at her, pulling her into a hug. ‘I couldn’t have taken it much longer.’

‘It is hard to live without me,’ Jo agreed. ‘I missed you, too. But no more secrets, OK? Tell me things. I’m not going to, you know, go mad up on the roof with a bottle of vodka or anything.’

‘Like that’d ever happen,’ Allie agreed.

*

In Training Room One, a rota for student patrols had been posted on the wall. They were working in shifts, alongside Raj’s hired security guards. When they weren’t out on patrol, they were trained relentlessly. The lessons were intense but practical: how to escape; how to raise an alarm; when to stay together and when to divide; how to fight someone with knife; or a gun.

Allie was asked to demonstrate the move she’d used to stab Gabe with a stake. One night all the Night School students dispersed in the woods trying to find a sharp stick like the one she’d described, which they could use as a weapon.

Even with all of that, her sense of unease hadn’t lessened, and each night she focused intently on the training – she knew better than almost anyone how important these skills could be.

The night of Allie and Zoe’s first patrolling shift, they were so nervous they both showed up early for their nine o’clock shift, arriving at the changing room to find their patrolling gear hanging from hooks on one wall. It was bitterly cold out, so the clothes left for them were black thermal leggings and tunics, black silk long underwear for additional warmth. Black hats and gloves. Black running shoes.

As she changed into the unfamiliar clothes in front of a full-length mirror, Allie studied the changes all the exercise had made to her body. The muscles in her upper arms and shoulders were defined. Her stomach was taut and flat. Her leg muscles had always been long and lean from running, now her upper body matched it.

I don’t even look like me any more.

Ten minutes before their shift was due to begin, angry voices rang out from a room across the hall. She leaned closer to the door until she could make them out.

One of the voices was Jerry Cole’s. The other belonged to Carter.

Humming to herself in a changing cubicle, Zoe didn’t notice as Allie slipped out the door.

In the narrow basement hallway, she could hear the heated discussion clearly.

‘They aren’t trained enough.’ Carter’s voice was sharp. ‘I think this is unacceptable. I can’t believe Isabelle’s allowing it. They shouldn’t be out there on their own.’

‘This is Zoe’s second year in Night School,’ Jerry replied. ‘She’s as highly trained as you.’

‘But she’s physically small.’ Carter sounded as if he thought the science teacher was being intentionally obtuse. ‘Just look at her. Her head barely comes to my chin. And Allie’s only been training a few months. No other Neos are going out. I just don’t think they should be out there alone. They should be with a more experienced student.’

Leaning back against the dressing room door, Allie stared unseeing at tiles on the floor as she listened. She could tell that Jerry was trying to calm him down.

‘Carter, I’m sure that they’ll be fine,’ he said. ‘They’ll always be given the earliest shift, and they have to check in every hour. We’ll keep a close watch on them.’

The door swung open so quickly Allie didn’t have time to react – Carter stood in the doorway, his back to her, still arguing with Jerry. He hadn’t seen her.

‘I’m sorry, but I think it’s dangerous. If one of them gets hurt …’