Page 12
Story: Orders and Obsessions
“Watch and learn. If you feel for this wire, it will feel about three millimetres thicker than the others. Pull it down and expose the copper inside. Then feel to the left; there’s one wire set aside from the others. Just put them together, twist them up, and—”
The engine roared to life, and Jake winked at me in a fun way. “Wallah!” he said as he stepped on the gas and the car started to move. My smile got bigger and bigger until it covered my whole face.
He drove out of the bootcamp through two big metal gates at the back entrance, and we drove down the country roads at a normal speed. I messed with the radio to find a good station at this hour.
“This car would sell for a lot of money,” Jake said with a smirk.
“Jake, we’re not selling his car. We need it to get back.” I stopped him right away.
I looked through his driving licence in the glove compartment.
“Mason Quinn. He’s twenty-two,” I said to myself. He was just two years older than me.
There were a lot of papers on the table, and I looked down at them out of curiosity.
“They drug test him at random times, and of course he passed all of them.” I said again as I looked over the negative drug sheets.
Jake told me, “They test us all for drugs at random.”
That’s good to know.
“What’s this?”
I took out a small black velvet box from the back and opened it. The prettiest ring looked back at me. It had small diamonds around the edge and a bigger round cut diamond in the middle. It shone even when it was dark.
“Wow,” I said softly.
I took it out of the box and put it on my finger, admiring how it looked on my hand.
I said to Jake, who was looking at me out of the corner of his eye, “It fits perfectly.”
“He’s engaged?” Jake asked in disbelief. I could see how shocked he was. It was hard to see Mason as a real person who had a life outside of giving orders and punishing people.
“He’s not engaged; the ring would be on someone’s finger instead of in his car. But maybe he plans to ask her to marry him.”
The thought made me sad for some reason, but I pushed it out of my mind.
“Maybe she turned him down, and that’s why he’s so cold. He was so hurt that he couldn’t be around people.”
I looked at my finger again. It was a really pretty ring. It looked like it cost a lot of money and shone like it was brand new. He obviously loved the person he bought this ring for very much.
“Let me drive,” I told Jake.
He smiled at me, and his baby face made me think of a bad schoolboy all the time. It was hard not to love his bubbly, fun personality. He had dark hair, grey eyes, and a smile that never left his face.
He stopped the car and we switched sides. I loved how the ring looked on my finger, so I gripped the steering wheel and hit the gas.
The car sped away, and I pressed harder, sending it to the floor. It sounded like a freaking race car! I could feel something pulling me back against the leather chair because we were going so fast. The wind hit our faces and blew my hair all over the place. I couldn’t help but laugh because I was so scared, excited, and full of adrenaline.
Jake laughed and threw his hands up in the air like he was on a rollercoaster. “You’re crazy, Riley!” he said.
I pushed down harder on the gas pedal and saw the small arrow dial of speed reach the end of the meter. The shape of the Lamborghini made us feel like we were going faster than we probably were.
I slowed down and brought the car back to normal speeds when we turned onto the narrower roads. I parked next to an empty field and got out of the car. I opened his trunk to see what was inside. Jake was curious and followed me outside.
“What is in there?” he asked.
“Nothing, just an extra uniform and boots.” I moved his clothes out of the way and grabbed a black briefcase, which I opened by pushing the clasp.
I said, “A gun?” in shock.
Jake walked quickly over to me and looked in the back of his car. A small black gun was in a small briefcase with foam padding around it. He looked at me like he didn’t understand, but then I closed the lid and put everything back where I found it.
“Before we go back to bootcamp, let’s find a fast food place.” He said, and honestly, it was the best thing I had heard since I got here.
This time he drove and cut through the roads like a blunt knife through butter. The car was a dream come true, but the person who owned it was a total nightmare.
We ended up at a McDonald’s drive-through on the side of the road. It was on the outskirts of town and was made for truckers and travellers passing through. I was practically bouncing in my seat after eating slop for the last few days.
“Riley, what do you want? A Big Mac and a Coke?”
“Large fries, a box of cheddar cheese bites to share, and a coke with no ice. Don’t forget the sweet and sour sauce,” I said into the intercom.
“No burger?” He looked at me like I was crazy.
I told him, “I don’t do burgers.”
“You are strange,” he said with a laugh.
We ate our food and then threw all the wrappers in the back seat of his car. Then we drove back and quietly put his car back where it was without getting caught.
He looked at the trash on the back seat.
“Should we throw it away?” Jake asked, and I smiled wickedly.
“Don’t do it. He’ll be confused and angry.” We both laughed and then got out of the car and went back to our own sleeping quarters without being seen.
Maddie woke me up and said, “The dogs are here.”
I sat up and looked around the room. The girls were getting ready in a hurry. The shed was still dark, and the sun hadn’t even come up yet.
I rubbed the sleepiness away from my face and said, “What?” A sparkle caught my eye right away on my hand.
Damn.
I took the ring off my finger and put it in my bra. How could I have forgotten to take the ring off?
“The dogs, get dressed.” Maddie threw my clothes at me, and I got dressed very slowly.
My roommates and I didn’t have to wait long before we were made to stand outside our shed in a queue. We weren’t the only ones standing at attention outside; every shed on the boot camp was doing it.
I kept my eyes on the road ahead and breathed in the cold night air as a group of guys with flashlights and sniffer dogs came up to me.
A man stood in front of Sierra and waved an electric wand over her body from her head to her toes. She didn’t move and stared straight ahead.
“Clear,” he said to Mason, who looked tired and was standing on the sidelines.
The guard did the same thing to Raven. “Clear.” He yelled again before coming to me.
He waved his wand over my body, but when it got to my breasts, a small red light came on and the wand made a loud noise. The guard turned to Mason and asked.
Damn it. Damn. Crap.
The engine roared to life, and Jake winked at me in a fun way. “Wallah!” he said as he stepped on the gas and the car started to move. My smile got bigger and bigger until it covered my whole face.
He drove out of the bootcamp through two big metal gates at the back entrance, and we drove down the country roads at a normal speed. I messed with the radio to find a good station at this hour.
“This car would sell for a lot of money,” Jake said with a smirk.
“Jake, we’re not selling his car. We need it to get back.” I stopped him right away.
I looked through his driving licence in the glove compartment.
“Mason Quinn. He’s twenty-two,” I said to myself. He was just two years older than me.
There were a lot of papers on the table, and I looked down at them out of curiosity.
“They drug test him at random times, and of course he passed all of them.” I said again as I looked over the negative drug sheets.
Jake told me, “They test us all for drugs at random.”
That’s good to know.
“What’s this?”
I took out a small black velvet box from the back and opened it. The prettiest ring looked back at me. It had small diamonds around the edge and a bigger round cut diamond in the middle. It shone even when it was dark.
“Wow,” I said softly.
I took it out of the box and put it on my finger, admiring how it looked on my hand.
I said to Jake, who was looking at me out of the corner of his eye, “It fits perfectly.”
“He’s engaged?” Jake asked in disbelief. I could see how shocked he was. It was hard to see Mason as a real person who had a life outside of giving orders and punishing people.
“He’s not engaged; the ring would be on someone’s finger instead of in his car. But maybe he plans to ask her to marry him.”
The thought made me sad for some reason, but I pushed it out of my mind.
“Maybe she turned him down, and that’s why he’s so cold. He was so hurt that he couldn’t be around people.”
I looked at my finger again. It was a really pretty ring. It looked like it cost a lot of money and shone like it was brand new. He obviously loved the person he bought this ring for very much.
“Let me drive,” I told Jake.
He smiled at me, and his baby face made me think of a bad schoolboy all the time. It was hard not to love his bubbly, fun personality. He had dark hair, grey eyes, and a smile that never left his face.
He stopped the car and we switched sides. I loved how the ring looked on my finger, so I gripped the steering wheel and hit the gas.
The car sped away, and I pressed harder, sending it to the floor. It sounded like a freaking race car! I could feel something pulling me back against the leather chair because we were going so fast. The wind hit our faces and blew my hair all over the place. I couldn’t help but laugh because I was so scared, excited, and full of adrenaline.
Jake laughed and threw his hands up in the air like he was on a rollercoaster. “You’re crazy, Riley!” he said.
I pushed down harder on the gas pedal and saw the small arrow dial of speed reach the end of the meter. The shape of the Lamborghini made us feel like we were going faster than we probably were.
I slowed down and brought the car back to normal speeds when we turned onto the narrower roads. I parked next to an empty field and got out of the car. I opened his trunk to see what was inside. Jake was curious and followed me outside.
“What is in there?” he asked.
“Nothing, just an extra uniform and boots.” I moved his clothes out of the way and grabbed a black briefcase, which I opened by pushing the clasp.
I said, “A gun?” in shock.
Jake walked quickly over to me and looked in the back of his car. A small black gun was in a small briefcase with foam padding around it. He looked at me like he didn’t understand, but then I closed the lid and put everything back where I found it.
“Before we go back to bootcamp, let’s find a fast food place.” He said, and honestly, it was the best thing I had heard since I got here.
This time he drove and cut through the roads like a blunt knife through butter. The car was a dream come true, but the person who owned it was a total nightmare.
We ended up at a McDonald’s drive-through on the side of the road. It was on the outskirts of town and was made for truckers and travellers passing through. I was practically bouncing in my seat after eating slop for the last few days.
“Riley, what do you want? A Big Mac and a Coke?”
“Large fries, a box of cheddar cheese bites to share, and a coke with no ice. Don’t forget the sweet and sour sauce,” I said into the intercom.
“No burger?” He looked at me like I was crazy.
I told him, “I don’t do burgers.”
“You are strange,” he said with a laugh.
We ate our food and then threw all the wrappers in the back seat of his car. Then we drove back and quietly put his car back where it was without getting caught.
He looked at the trash on the back seat.
“Should we throw it away?” Jake asked, and I smiled wickedly.
“Don’t do it. He’ll be confused and angry.” We both laughed and then got out of the car and went back to our own sleeping quarters without being seen.
Maddie woke me up and said, “The dogs are here.”
I sat up and looked around the room. The girls were getting ready in a hurry. The shed was still dark, and the sun hadn’t even come up yet.
I rubbed the sleepiness away from my face and said, “What?” A sparkle caught my eye right away on my hand.
Damn.
I took the ring off my finger and put it in my bra. How could I have forgotten to take the ring off?
“The dogs, get dressed.” Maddie threw my clothes at me, and I got dressed very slowly.
My roommates and I didn’t have to wait long before we were made to stand outside our shed in a queue. We weren’t the only ones standing at attention outside; every shed on the boot camp was doing it.
I kept my eyes on the road ahead and breathed in the cold night air as a group of guys with flashlights and sniffer dogs came up to me.
A man stood in front of Sierra and waved an electric wand over her body from her head to her toes. She didn’t move and stared straight ahead.
“Clear,” he said to Mason, who looked tired and was standing on the sidelines.
The guard did the same thing to Raven. “Clear.” He yelled again before coming to me.
He waved his wand over my body, but when it got to my breasts, a small red light came on and the wand made a loud noise. The guard turned to Mason and asked.
Damn it. Damn. Crap.