The Woodlands (#1 THE WOODLANDS SERIES) (COMPLETE)

12. CONSTRUCTION

I burst into the Class on the first day. Bleary-eyed, wiping my nose with my sleeve,smearing snot across my face. I was the last one in, of course, and they all stared at me in surprise. Their wide eyes tracked me for two reasons: one, because of my disheveled and unsettling appearance, and two, because I was the only girl in the Class. I was about a foot shorter than everyone and tiny by comparison. These boys were big and burly, like Joseph, except for one. There, standing on the end of the line, was Rash. He looked concerned and motioned for me to pull my hair out of my face and wipe my eyes. I allowed myself a small measure of relief at the familiar face and stood next to him.

Our teacher slammed through the doors about two minutes after me, scanner in hand. The big, heavy doors nearly hit him in the back of the head as they hit the wall and rebounded towards him. He scanned our wrists and told us not to be late. It was so hard not to point out his hypocrisy but somehow I managed to bite my tongue. He introduced himself as Thiago Gomez. He was a strong-looking man himself, with no hair and a grimacing face. Short and stocky, I was the only person he didn’t have to look up at to make eye contact with. He hid his surprise well, but he scanned my name twice before beginning the first lesson.

*****

Mister Gomez held a two by four in his hand, clapping it into his palm as he spoke for emphasis. “In this Class you—thwack—will learn every skill required for building—thwack—fitting out and also repairing a Woodland home—thwack.”

It sounded dreadfully boring and I was sure I would be terrible at it. Creating things, building things, was not my forte. I always thought I would be much better at destroying.

“This will range from concrete pouring to cabinetry. This is important and I expect you to pay attention and work hard.”

I rocked back and forth on my heels, thinking of how I could get out of this Class.

“It will be back breaking, grueling, and you’ll develop callouses in places you didn’t even know you had, but if you boys, er, students, listen and pay attention, you can make a good career from this Class,” Mister Gomez said, pacing in front of us, gripping the two by four plank and waving it around the class. “Don’t disappoint me.”

We all leaned back from the swaying plank as it grazed past our noses but his actions weren’t threatening. He then gave each of us a hammer and a box of nails and set us to work on framework for walls. The boys all clanged and clamored around like they had done this before. I hung back and observed. Observed nails being bent and Rash making an idiot of himself. I held the hammer in my hand—it was heavy, reassuring in a way I hadn’t expected. It was simple and aweing in its purpose and it was perplexing. What made them think this was for me? I stared down at it for a long time like I was waiting for it to tell me something. It didn’t.

I returned to the dorms after dinner, feeling lost. This was so very far from what I had anticipated. I walked through the garden with Rash, kicking dirt and playing with my hair distractedly. I could tell he was as surprised as me.

“So... construction... who’d have thought?” he said, breaking the silence.

“What were you hoping for?” I asked.

“Um, I wasn’t really hoping for anything. This is already more than I could have dreamed,” he said, not joking.

“Really?” I was surprised.

He kicked some loose stones and a plume of dust clung to his grey pants. When he planted himself on a wooden barrier, near the pens I had picked out as animal housing from the air, his expression was somber. It didn’t fit.