The Recruit (6 page)

Jaz glanced to Ryan. His arms rippled with muscles as he did chin-ups, the motion smooth as if he was weightless. Yes, she was procrastinating. With a sigh she tore her eyes away and went to work.

‘So are you nervous?’ whispered Taylor as he came up behind Jaz. She jumped a little, but Taylor’s smooth voice instantly set her body at ease. His shoulder touched hers as they watched the crowd moving into the school gym to find seating on the stands.

‘Hmm, so many people.’

‘You’ll be okay, Jaz. Stick with me and you’ll be right.’

‘Well let’s go see Anna before I get changed. She’s got a front row seat cos, get this, she doesn’t want to miss any of the action,’ said Jaz.

‘She’s a funny one. I think she’s played too many of those fighting computer games,’ said Taylor, cracking up.

‘Tell me about it.’

Together they walked further into the gym to the grandstand on their left. Anna was at the end, saw them and waved frantically, scooting across the bench seat to make room for them.

‘How much did you pay for these seats, Anna?’ asked Taylor with a chuckle as they sat down.

‘Nothing, I just got here early that’s all.’ They both gave her a funny look. ‘Besides when your two best friends are going to win, it is well worth the effort.’

‘Ah, team Aramis can win!’ said Taylor impersonating coach Belmore, causing both girls to laugh.

‘My bet is on Taylor to win, no offence Jaz, but you’re like, nearly the only girl in the competition,’ said Anna glancing across the room. ‘Oh, besides that large girl for the other team with the short hair, who I only just realised was a girl.’

‘Don’t count Jaz out, Anna. She is nimble and quick and she serves my arse on a plate to me at training more often than not.’

Jaz felt her cheeks glowing from Taylor’s praise.

‘Alright ladies, as team captain I better head off before Coach starts calling me over the PA. Catch ya in the rooms, Jaz,’ Taylor said before pointing his finger and waving it like a sword, just like Coach Belmore does at training.

‘What a tosser.’ Jaz laughed as Taylor walked away, past the large crowds, his head high.

‘Yeah right, and you’d shag him any day,’ said Anna bumping her shoulder against Jaz’s. Jaz didn’t have to reply, Anna’s words were true.

Anna’s hand latched onto her arm and squeezed. ‘OMG, Jaz. It’s the hunk of spunk,’ squealed Anna as quietly as she could before putting her arm up and waving frantically.

God, had she not taught this girl subtlety. Jaz snapped her head in the direction Anna was waving. ‘Oh! What’s he doing here?’ It was him, the one with the scarred body.

‘Maybe he’s a scout, you know, come to recruit people for national teams and stuff.’

‘Anna, I think you watch too many movies,’ said Jaz.

Ryan lifted his arm in a wave when he got closer, causing his shirt to ride above his pants. Hard muscle.

‘Hey, Jaz. And Anna?’ he said.

Jaz could feel Anna mouthing the words ‘he remembered my name’ behind her before Anna stood up and held out her hand.

‘Hi Ryan, great to see you again.’ Anna shook his hand.

Jaz rolled her eyes at Anna’s choice of words. Not to seem like a rude person, she stood also, but it wasn’t a greeting that came out of her mouth. ‘Are you like stalking me or something?’ She squinted her eyes and probed his brown ones for answers.

‘Pure coincidence, I swear.’ He raised his hands in surrender. ‘I saw a flyer and thought I’d check it out. It’s not like I had anything else to do. What are you guys doing here?’

‘Um, this is our school,’ said Anna.

Ryan’s eyebrows shot up. ‘School?’ He glanced at Jaz, his eyebrows bent as he revaluated her. ‘How old are you two?’

Jaz almost laughed at the surprise on Ryan’s face. ‘We’ll be eighteen soon, last year of school. Why, how old are you?’

‘Old enough to know your mothers wouldn’t like me hanging around, or the teachers,’ he said as he glanced around the gym.

‘What are you, like twenty-eight?’ probed Anna.

‘Really, do I look that old?’ Ryan shook his head and a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. ‘I’m twenty-three.’

Anna breathed out heavily, like she’d been praying he really wasn’t on the closer side of ‘old man’.

‘Well that’s alright. We don’t mind. Here, have Jaz’s seat next to me. She’s gotta go anyway.’

Smooth one, Anna. Jaz was about to move when Talia went past, her brown locks flowing over her shoulders. Talia spotted them, pulled a face at the school’s outcasts before seeing Ryan, and just about stumbled. Her head may as well been plastered on backwards for all the ogling she was doing. Jaz watched her run back to where Minka was sitting. She could see their curious glances, wondering what a guy like Ryan was doing with them.

‘Well I better head off. Gotta go Zorro,’ she joked.

‘Okay, Jaz,’ said Anna scooping her up in a hug. ‘Good luck, mate. I’ll be cheering for ya.’

‘Cheers,’ said Jaz sarcastically.

She felt strong fingers curl around her arm; she turned to face Ryan whose eyes were searching hers. ‘Are you fencing today?’

‘Ah, yeah. Are we not at a fencing tournament? Is that alright with you? Didn’t realise I had to check things with my stalker.’ She glanced at his hand. Ryan released it immediately but she could still feel the pressure of his fingers tingling on her skin. Instantly she remembered the way he’d looked at her at the nightclub, causing her to shiver.

‘Sorry, just a lot of surprises today. Good luck though.’

Jaz stepped out and watched Ryan take her place beside Anna. His khaki cargo pants rode up his legs a fraction, revealing a pair of commando boots similar to hers — well, his were way flashier. But his rating just went up a few notches on her chart. He smelt different today, obviously wearing cologne of some type. It was strong, not in the overpowering way, but sharp and alluring.

‘Thanks, see ya after.’ Jaz meant the last bit for Anna but Ryan nodded his head. She walked away still confused. Was Ryan innocent or was he really a stalker? Jaz couldn’t figure him out. She wished her gut would tell her something but it was too wound up with nervous energy. She’d have to think that through later. Right now, she wanted to impress Taylor.

Jaz changed in the toilets, as the other team was in her change room. When she joined her team, Coach Belmore was just starting his speech, and because of her interruption decided to start from the beginning again. Jaz had the feeling he’d been practising his speech in front of a mirror for weeks. Teaching them how to fence, Coach was brilliant — motivational speaker he wasn’t. Jaz totally blanked out during his speech as she was too busy watching Taylor tighten his breeches before putting his glove on.

‘Don’t forget how to deceive, extending late in the lunge, changing line and drawing a parry and changing line again. Okay, let’s get out there and show them Team Aramis means business. Alright, let’s take our seats. Greenwich, you’re up first, look lively son.’ Coach Belmore rubbed his hands together as he followed the team out to the gym courts.

Jaz followed Taylor and sat next to him in the plastic chairs against the wall where both school teams sat stationed in two sections. With a nervous yawn, she glanced across the gymnasium towards Anna, who gave her a wave. Ryan’s eyes were also watching her. She wished she had her hoodie on so she could hide inside it. Something about Ryan’s gaze stripped her bare. As if he truly saw her for who she was and it rattled her. Only Anna and Taylor were privy to that person.

Jaz felt a hand on her knee, warm, as it gave a gentle squeeze. She glanced at Taylor in surprise. He flashed his perfect row of teeth.

‘Are you nervous?’ he asked.

‘No,’ Jaz spluttered.

‘Then why are your legs jumping?’

Jaz realised he was right. How long had she been bouncing them on the spot like that? ‘Hmm, maybe just a little. I don’t do crowds that well.’

Taylor leant over towards her so she could hear him easily over the noise of the crowd. ‘You’ll be fine, Jaz. Just block it all out, and do what you do at training. You’ve got a good chance at winning.’

Oh, his words sounded so nice and his breath tickled her ear. ‘So have you,’ said Jaz finally finding her voice.

They watched the first few bouts. Greenwich lost his, so did Benson, and next was Taylor who won his in record speed. He was definitely the one to watch. His attacks were flawless.

Jaz was up next. Taylor tapped her on the shoulder and wished her luck as she walked over to the fencing strip and put on her mask. She saluted her adversary and the referee of the bout, with a wave of her sabre. Her body began to zing with nervous energy and she breathed deeply, clearing her mind. She sized up her opponent in a blink of an eye; she knew he would be slower. His weight was slightly off balance and his movements were jerky, not fluid. They stepped up to the
en garde
line. Jaz had fifteen hits to win to move through to the next round. She was determined to survive until the end. Bags called it her devil instincts. Like a Tasmanian devil, she would latch on and not let go until she had succeeded. Giving up was not an option in her book.

The bout started, Jaz lunged forward, saw her opponent attack and took a quick double step backwards, causing her opponent’s attack to fail, giving her the right of way and scoring a hit, or
touché
. In no time at all she clocked up the required hits. At the end of the bout, and another salute, she went and joined her cheering team and took her seat beside Taylor.

‘Well done Jasmine, made nice work of him,’ praised Coach Belmore.

Taylor nudged her shoulder and winked. It made her want to grin like a silly girl.

They watched on as the rest of the bouts continued. They had two fencing strips, or
piste
, so when her next bout was up, Taylor’s was on at the same time and she missed watching him win. She also won her bout and progressed onto the third round. Her third round competitor was shorter and she found it easier to target his head, and won convincingly. The beep of the electronic scorer echoed amongst the cheering crowd. Her parents weren’t here today, due to work, but it didn’t bother her. She didn’t want them to come and make a big deal out of it anyway. Her stepfather, Paul, wasn’t into sports of any sorts; he would have been just like Simon as a kid.

Taylor’s fourth bout was against a guy of similar build but with long neck like an ostrich. His white jacket had their team name, Excalibur, embroidered on the front in blue.

It was close, with both going hit for hit. Jaz’s legs had begun to jump again as she watched carefully. Taylor’s opposition matched him in speed, their hits fast, but she could almost pick ostrich boy’s next movement, his downfall being his inability to hide his intent. She wished Taylor would notice but she guessed it was easier for her as she had time to study the opposition where as Taylor was busy. The ostrich boy lunged forward in a super speed attack and Taylor stepped back but was slightly off balance and lost his footing, causing the ostrich to place a hit. After another
touché
the bout was over and Team Aramis’ chances of winning crumbled.

It was like the whole crowd in the gym breathed in at the same time, sucking in the walls. The state of the team rested on her shoulders against Ostrich Boy in the final. Crap!

She had no time to speak to Taylor, to put her hand on his shoulder and console him, which she was dying to do.

Coach Belmore wanted to talk to them in the break before the final showdown, the deciding bout. She’d never had the weight of a whole team depending on her before, and it was that thought that brought her back to the ground with a thud. It had always just been Jaz against the world. Now the expectant and hopeful faces of her team mates filled her with dread as much as it did determination. She felt duty-bound to save them all.

The team dispersed on Coach’s orders as he left Taylor, the team captain, to give the last bit of advice.

Jaz felt like every set of eyes in the gym were on them. But she found Taylor’s eager blue eyes drawing her in and filling her with a sense of strength. His voice was calm and instructional.

‘I think you can get him, Jaz. You are great at deceiving and I think that’s the only way to beat him. His body also gives his moves away; I just noticed it too late,’ he sighed.

‘Yeah, I picked that up.’

‘Okay, remember late extension and changing line and throw in some feint attacks.’

Jaz nodded obediently. She’d do what ever he asked…but he never asked the things she wanted.
Hold me, Kiss me.
Maybe if she won this bout?

Taylor pushed her towards the strip, his words of ‘good luck’ lingering in her ears.

She put on her mask and saluted the Ostrich Boy and the referees. She let him get the first hit in; making him think she was an easy target. ‘That’s the only one you’ll get free,’ she whispered.

After a few attempts, Jaz started going with her gut instinct, or tempo, as Coach Belmore called it. She had a good read on Ostrich Boy, started to choose the exact psychological and physical moment of his weakness, and made her attacks. The gym faded away into the background. No longer could she hear any cheering or chants. It was just the beating of her heart and the swish of her blade with each cut.

Triple advance-lunge/
en garde
, triple retreat-lunge/
en garde
,
balestra
-lunge recover/
en garde
. She didn’t think about her footwork, she just did it, letting it come naturally, as it did with Bags in the ring. Her body moved on its own accord, and when Ostrich Boy started to move his left shoulder she knew he was about to attack and met his sabre with a block. She could sense his annoyance with a) that he was losing and b) that it was to a chick. However, all it did was make him sloppy with his head full of those thoughts.

Jaz won another point and the crowd’s noise reached her ears. This was the final and she’d kicked her game into gear. Jaz also realised that at training she’d not fought as hard as she could, not wanted to be the one beating the boys all the time.

Only one more point to get and she already knew the move she was going to take. The beeper went off as the crowd jumped to their feet. Jaz had just won the final.