The Green Ones

Episode 5, Part 7

Neca smiles wide. “Need a little help?”

“No.”

He raises a brow.

“Yes. I mean, what are you doing here?”

He helps me reestablish my footing. “Same thing as everyone else, about to test for placement in Masa Academy.”

My brain sticks, as if submerged in a pool of molasses. Not sure what’s happening or what to do about it, I blink the rain out of my eyes and start climbing.

Neca keeps pace beside me.

“That’s impossible. You’re too old.” I tug at the reins of my mind.

“Did you ever ask?”

“What?”

“How old I am?”

There’s a long pause. Finally I answer. “No.”

“Well are you?”

“Am I what?”

“Going to ask?”

All my romantic notions of Neca are dashed in fifteen seconds—the time it takes to have an infuriating conversation with the boy. “How old are you?”

“Sixteen.”

“That’s too old!” I scream.

“In eight days.”

I use the soaked sleeve of my uniform to mop the rain out of my eyes. “You’re two days younger than me?”

“Really?” Neca mocks surprise before winking. “Well then, happy early birthday.”

“Neca? Is that you?” Zorrah shouts across me.

“Zorrah!” Neca chimes back. “I never got a chance for a proper goodbye, and I owe you a mango.”

“Only half—”

“Welcome to Masa Academy, class of 2027!” An announcer interrupts. His voice booms across the stone court and cuts through the drowning rain. “And welcome New Teo’s newest masazin!”

Scattered cheers breach the rainy curtain as the more eager members of my class express their readiness. I keep climbing while helping Zorrah.

The announcer continues. “Half of you have now entered the playing court. In two minutes we will begin the placement tests determining your barracks for the entirety of your enrollment. Will it be the yellow of the Coyote Barracks? The blue of the Eagle Barracks? The red of the Butterfly Barracks? The black of the Jaguar Barracks? Or the Green of Serpent?”

As I push Zorrah up and brace her foot, someone from above pulls her onto the narrow landing. In her absence I see across to Olin. I’m about to call to him when the announcer interrupts.

“Stay on your toes, the gods are watching!”

Olin reaches the top the same moment a hand extends down to help me.

“Yetic.” I receive his hand gratefully.

He pulls me onto the ledge next to him. “What the hell is he doing here?”

“I don’t know.” All I can do is watch as Neca drags himself onto the ledge and stands, the western hoop directly above him.

“Neca! How come you didn’t tell us?” Zorrah rushes past Yetic and me and jumps into Neca’s embrace. “Now it’s 2,000 minus six!”

Neca laughs. “Nice to see you too, but I’m afraid I must have missed the joke. Am I the minus, or the six?” He puts Zorrah down.

Olin moves around me to grip Neca’s arm. “She means it’s now the six of us against the rest.”

“Six if you include Cera,” Zorrah adds.

“Enough.” Yetic steps forward, pointing a finger at Neca. “I’m the leader of this group, and I don’t remember inviting you.”

“I’m not saying you would remember if you had, but you didn’t. I’m just visiting friends.” Neca winks, flicking rain off his eye lashes.

“Enough with the jokes, Nightmare. You can’t possibly think there’s still a place for you here. Five legs makes an awkward table.”

“Not if it’s shaped like a pentagon,” Neca says.

Before Yetic can respond, the announcer’s voice booms across the court. “The first test begins now!”

A whistling sound overhead alerts us. Every neck cranes upward in time to watch dozens of heavy, rubber pelotas rocket toward the center of the court.

The announcer continues. “Every student to possess a pelota receives a mark. Every student in possession of a pelota when the buzzer sounds receives an additional mark. Physical contact with other participants, beyond the incidental, will result in loss of all marks.”

“That’s it?” Yetic stares at me.

I’m staring past him and Neca both, all the way to the game clock. “Three minutes and counting.”