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Jake looked down.
“Sorry, Lieutenant sir, we were just having some fun.” The carefree tone Jake had been using for the past hour was gone, and he was now nervous and maybe even a little scared.
Mason said angrily, “This is boot camp; there’s no time for fun. You’ve earned twenty laps around the assault course. Keep your hands to yourself.”
“Yes, sir!” Jake remembered.
Mason walked away, standing tall and straight. “Twenty around the assault course, that’s a bit much, isn’t it?” Jake relaxed his posture, and I agreed with him. The course of attack was deadly.
By the time we got back to the riverbank, Seth had tied two logs together with some rope. The guys did the heavy work while Amber and I tied the knots. We all sat on the edge of the river and took a break when the raft was big enough.
I asked them, “What made you both go to bootcamp?” I already knew Amber’s story: she broke into the homes of famous people and stole from them.
“I ran a drug empire,” Seth said in a casual way.
Jake told us, “I hot wired cars, changed the license plates, and sold them.”
“I wish I knew how to hot wire a car,” I thought as I stared off into space. It always looked so cool in the movies, and even though I probably wouldn’t use it, it would still be useful to have.
Jake put his arm around my shoulder and said, “I’ll teach you.”
“Attention!” Mason yelled from behind us. We all jumped in fear, but we quickly got to our feet and stood at attention.
“You’re just sitting there,” he said, pointing. I was about to say something, but then I thought better of it and closed my mouth.
I couldn’t see Mason because I wasn’t allowed to turn my head, but I knew there would still be disapproval in his eyes.
“Did you tie these knots, Jake? They’re awful.” I shut my eyes in anger.
Don’t say anything back.
Don’t say anything back.
Don’t say anything back.
Mason walked in front of Jake and looked him up and down. His eyes were far away and cold, with no warmth at all. I think Mason didn’t like Jake personally, but let’s be honest, he doesn’t like anyone.
“Drop and give me fifty!” he yelled, and we could all feel how strong his words were. Jake fell to the ground and began doing push-ups. He seemed to do them easily, which was not the case for me two days ago.
He stood back at attention after finishing all fifty, which didn’t take long, and he didn’t seem to have broken a sweat.
“Twenty on the assault course, twenty on the track, and I want one hundred more push-ups from you. Your team can finish the raft.”
Don’t say anything back.
Don’t say anything back.
Don’t talk back.
“Lieutenant Sir, may I speak?” Jake asked.
“Permission denied,” Mason said coldly before walking away.
“That guy is such a jerk. What did I do?” Jake said. He asked, “You know what?” and linked his arm with mine. I shrugged in sympathy. “I’m going to teach you how to hot wire a car tonight. His car.” He pointed his chin at Mason. “Meet me outside shed thirty at nine o’clock. We’ll take his Lamborghini for a late-night drive.”
He gave me a sly smile, and I felt a fire inside of me. It was the same fire that gets my adrenaline pumping when I break the rules. But I was torn between keeping my promise to Mason to be good and having fun with Jake.
“Okay, Jake, that’s enough!” Mason yelled. “I’m calling for a disciplinary slip.” Jake let go of my shoulder right away.
He asked in a harsh voice, “For what?”
“Did I let you talk?” Mason yelled as he stormed over to us, standing tall and looking scary.
“Sorry, Lieutenant,” Jake said, looking down.
That was when I knew what I wanted to do. Mason was a jerk who was on a power trip, and I didn’t have to keep my promises to him. Jake and I were stealing his car tonight and going for a ride.
That idea made me very excited.
It was dark outside, and the solar panel lights on the sheds lit up the numbers. I followed the lights to shed number thirty.
“I was beginning to think you wouldn’t come,” Jake whispered. He was already outside his shed. He waved for me to follow him, and we quietly went through the hedge and around the staff buildings.
“Stop,” I said as we looked out from behind the shower block. We saw the commander walk down the path and into a group of offices. We couldn’t help but giggle like two bad school kids.
We drove into a small gravel parking lot. The back row was full of army tanks, and the next two rows were full of staff cars. Jake walked past all of them and stopped in front of a gold Lamborghini.
He moved his eyebrows up and down at me in a fun way, and then he looked at every square inch of the car. Jake did this out of spite. I ran my hand over the smooth, metal surface of Mason’s car.
I liked the Lamborghini and the colour that went with it.
“Is he rich?” I said, admiring the car.
Jake said, “He’s the Lieutenant,” as if that explained everything. Honestly, I had no idea how much these people made.
Jake slid a thin, black piece of metal into the window frame, and the car unlocked. He grinned at me in a playful way before opening the door.
I was already impressed that the doors opened up like butterfly wings instead of out.
“Easy! Now you try it on the other side,” he told me.
I walked around the car with the metal, copying Jake’s every move, but the car didn’t unlock.
“Keep it straighter and firmer,” he said in a whisper from the driver’s seat.
The car unlocked when I did what he said. I felt a rush of excitement go through my body. This adrenaline made my blood heat up. I got in the passenger seat and put on my seatbelt.
Jake pushed some buttons on the dashboard, and the roof started to move away, leaving us both exposed to the warm night air.