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“Happy birthday, Angel!”

It was Thursday evening and I’d just walked into the cafeteria for dinner to find Frankie holding a cupcake with a candle on it. Bo, Mike, Wally, and Hala stood around her clapping and smiling. Jax and Kira were missing, as usual.

“You remembered my birthday?” I said stopping in the doorway.

“Of course we remembered. Come on and blow out your candle.”

Embarrassed by all the attention, I walked forward as they sang “Happy Birthday.” After they finished, I blew out my candle. Everyone wished me a wonderful birthday and then Frankie brought out cupcakes for the rest of the group.

“Where did you get these?” I asked Frankie, biting into the cupcake. Chocolate exploded on my tongue.

She took a bite and sighed, closing her eyes. “Oh, I conspired with Suzanne a week ago. She was so kind and agreed to make some for me. Wasn’t that sweet?”

I frowned, puzzled. “Who’s Suzanne?”

“What? You don’t know Suzanne?” She looked over her shoulder. “She’s the sweet girl over there who serves us dinner every evening. She’s twenty-one years old and studying forensic anthropology. She works part-time here, helping to pay for school. She has three younger brothers and a dog named Rex.”

“Do I need to ask how in the world you know all that?”

“We see her every day, for heaven’s sake, Angel. Why wouldn’t I talk to her?”

“You really do talk to everyone,” I said, sighing.

I looked over my shoulder at Suzanne. She noticed me staring, so I pointed to the cupcake and mouthedThank you.

She grinned and gave me a thumbs-up.

Although we’d eaten our dessert first, we got our dinner and sat at the tables. This time Bo pushed together a couple of tables so the six of us could eat together. Other than Jax and Kira, the rest of us were becoming a solid unit.

Frankie whipped something out from underneath the table and handed it to me. “Happy birthday, Angel. I hope you like it.”

It was wrapped in tissue paper. I unwrapped it and pulled out a blue T-shirt that readHave you tried turning it on and off?

I held it up against me and everyone laughed. “Thanks, Frankie. I love it.”

She gave me a hug just as Wally passed me an envelope. “It isn’t much, but I know you’ll like it.”

I ripped it open and found he’d bought me thirty dollars of credits onHidden Realm. Whistling, I gave him a high five. “Sweet.”

“Thought you’d like it.”

As we ate, the conversation turned toward tomorrow’s trials.

“What do you think the trial will be this week?” Wally asked around a mouthful of fried rice. “Skydiving? Fighting terrorists? Playing poker?”

Mike snorted. “I hope itispoker. I’m unstoppable at poker and even better at chess.”

Wally dipped his head toward me. “If I were you, I’d be scared of Angel. To her, everything is a mathematical calculation. She’d be formidable in a game of cards.”

“No way could Angel be formidable,” Frankie said. “She has a terrible poker face.”

“Hey!” I said in mock outrage while everyone laughed.

“Yeah, and she’d still have to get the cards.” Mike speared a piece of sweet and sour pork and ate it. “Luck does play a role, you know.”

We threw out a couple more ideas until Hala held up a hand. “Guys, I think we’re on the wrong track here. I bet it’s going to be an intelligence test of some kind. Strategic thinking or teamwork.”

“Reaction and response,” said Mike, nodding. “A series of events we have to react to and respond.”