The Scumbag's Guide To Heroism novel Chapter 288

Chapter 288: 288 | Being Obviously Smart is Boring [PS BONUS]

Felicity released my arm and positioned herself at my other side, creating a loose semicircle that faced the field. More students continued arriving, filtering into their respective groups with the slow inevitability of people who would rather be anywhere else. I tracked the arrivals with half my attention while Caden launched into a detailed breakdown of the tactical decisions he would have made differently during yesterday’s matches.

Camille appeared at the edge of my vision.

She walked with the same aggressive confidence she always carried, her two-tone hair pulled back tight and her expression locked in something that refused to acknowledge I existed. Her gym uniform fit her the same way it fit everyone else, which meant it emphasized everything and concealed nothing. The compression fabric outlined the full curve of her chest and the defined line of her waist and the substantial hips I had spent a portion of yesterday pressed against. She did not look in my direction. She did not adjust her trajectory to pass near me. She found a spot on the opposite side of the gathering area and began stretching with the focused intensity of someone who had decided physical exertion was preferable to emotional processing.

I understood the impulse.

Petra arrived three minutes later.

Her entrance was more subtle than Camille’s, which somehow made it more noticeable. She walked with the perfect posture of someone who had been trained from birth to occupy space correctly, and her black hair caught the light as it fell past her shoulders in a way that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe to maintain. Her emerald eyes found mine immediately, held for exactly one point three seconds, and then dismissed me with a deliberate turning of her head that was somehow more aggressive than Camille’s complete avoidance.

She positioned herself near the equipment rack, alone, maintaining distance from both Camille’s group and my own.

"Okay," Felicity said quietly. "So something definitely happened. Because Petra just looked at you like she was trying to decide between murder and something significantly more complicated than murder."

"Told you. Complications."

"You need to tell me everything."

"I really don’t."

"You really do. Later. Over food. With details."

Steele’s voice cut across the morning air before I could respond.

"Alright. Everyone form up. Three lines, staggered spacing, facing me. You have thirty seconds to make it happen."

The gathering dissolved into organized chaos as students scrambled to comply. I found myself in the middle of the second line, flanked by Caden on my left and a student from 1-A whose name I hadn’t learned yet on my right. Felicity ended up two rows behind me, which I could tell from the warmth of her presence without looking. Camille was somewhere to my far right. Petra was somewhere to my far left. Neither of them was close enough to cause immediate complications.

Small victories.

"Morning conditioning," Steele announced once everyone had settled. "For those of you who slept through orientation, this is a joint session between Class 1-A and Class 1-B. We run together. We suffer together. The point is not to break you. The point is to establish a baseline of physical capability that will serve as the foundation for everything else you learn at this institution."

She began pacing, her steps eating ground with easy efficiency.

"Today we start simple. Three mile run around the perimeter track, followed by obstacle course rotations, followed by partner conditioning exercises. The run is not timed. The obstacle course is not scored. The partner exercises are not competitive. Anyone who treats any of these activities as an opportunity to show off will be running additional miles until their legs fail. Questions?"

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