LeOmi's Solitude (16 page)

She had a scoring tablet that she held up for
the team want-a-be’s to see.

“There are four tribes that play in each
match which begins at noon and continues to sunset.”

She removed the flag from the javelin, “Get
the flag before the other teams get it, and keep it.”

She held the flag up. “Get it to our corral,
on horseback or on foot.”

She handed the flag over the coral fence,
where the Emerald Flag Team stood and listened.

“Emerald has twelve riders per team and there
are four teams. First string, second string, third string and
fourth string. Those who make it through try-outs today will be on
the Fourth Team. The better you play the higher up the string you
go and the more often you play. There is no remanifesting and no
killing.”

“Today’s try-out rules are simple. Everyone
is given a flag and a horse. The object is to get past those
twenty-four people down there. They are going to do everything they
can to prevent you from passing them. You’ll have ten minutes after
the whistle sounds. Go ahead and prepare, either by horse or on
foot or both.”

LeOmi stood back and accessed all the other
want-a-be’s. Most were mounting their horses and not strategizing
with anyone but there were a few: Mark Young, Jamal Terfa, Chenoa
Day, and Nick Poparov, who were talking and trying to work out the
best means of getting through.

It was a rough looking bunch down there. She
had heard from Bekka that those were students who had tried-out in
the past, and hadn’t made the team.—But once a year at the
try-outs, this was an honor to do for the Emerald team. LeOmi was
beginning to realize that team spirit ran high in the Emerald Tribe
and the desire to win was very strong.

The whistle started the competition.

LeOmi jumped up on Fireball and she waited
for the bulk of the want-a-be’s to make it to the restraining wall
of horses, arms and legs.

She saw Mark Young among the other
want-a-be’s and for some reason, she felt threatened by him.
Fireball felt her tension and made a tight and complete circle, and
then the other way making a figure eight, right there in the left
center of the field, between Krisa and the front line.

“The dream.” It is hard to remember. “Out of
nothing, nothing comes.”

But there is something about the future—not
as an enemy—but maybe.

LeOmi watched as Mark and Chenoa followed the
pack and broke left. They had wisely given their flags to their
friends.

“Ingenious.” Fireball stood still now,
waiting.

The idea came to her as almost an
afterthought. She could use their sneaky distraction as a means of
getting around or through the experienced wall of blockers.

Nick and Jamal broke right. After Mark and
Chenoa made it around, unchallenged…the other two, Nick and Jamal
threw their flags to their friends…Chenoa and Mark.

Fireball was ready. She nudged the horse into
a full out run and since the group was preoccupied with the two who
made it through, she stopped Fireball and rolled off of her into a
summersault that knocked down two of the opposition who had
remained close to the center. LeOmi basically used herself as a
human bowling ball, plowing a hole through and across the line.

Human nature drew the attention back to the
defensive ranks, but there was nothing that they could do. There
were other students who saw what she had done to get through and
several others tried a similar approach, but the defense knew what
to expect now and the line was re-strengthened.

When Nick and Jamal reached the safety of
behind the lines, Mark and Chenoa returned the flags to their
friends.

The whistle blew.

There was a flag sticking up out of the
group,

Krisa said, “Well if it isn’t Cap’n Ben.”
Joel Benjamin O’ham crawled out on the ground, dragging his flag by
the fabric. His bright green eyes were dancing with joy.

“I did, I did it, I did it.” He skipped
around in a circle with his flag held high, and then as if he ran
out of fuel he folded to the ground, still smiling as brightly.
Later LeOmi heard that it was his third attempt to make the team.
He had used her diversion as she had used Mark’s –the parting of
the crowd to dive in. Cap’n Ben barely made it to the other side,
but he made it.

Krisa said, “I’m impressed, five freshmen.
Freshmen almost never make it.”

She rode across the front of the new members
and said their names as she passed each.
Mark…Chenoa…Jamal…Nikola…LeOmi… Cap’n Ben -- Joel Benjamin O’ham….,
welcome to The Emerald Tribe Flag Team.

Mark rode up to LeOmi. “Hi. I’m Mark.”

“I know who you are.” He made her feel funny.
Not like herself, like she was losing control. It was like there
were two voices in her head: one telling her to run, to run as fast
as she could and not look back. The other voice wanted to make
friends with him. She chose to run away.

LeOmi turned, mounted Fireball and rode off
towards Krisa. She still didn’t know what to think of him, whether
he was a friend or a foe, and after there was some distance between
them, he didn’t look like the world consuming menace that she just
mentally pictured him as.

Krisa brought her back from her distracting
thoughts. “Training and practice are Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays at four thirty. For freshmen, this takes the place of your
riding class.

“Wednesday–riding technique lessons and
practice. Friday–practice games.

“Flags Matches are on the last Saturdays,
unless otherwise scheduled.”

She stopped about midway of the group.

“I will see you on Monday, right here at four
thirty. Congratulations to you all.”

Slone, Ricky and Keith approached LeOmi as
she was heading back to the stables. He didn’t have his sword with
him today.

“LeOmi, where have you been? We have been
expecting you at our afternoon get-togethers.”

“I’m not much on socializing.”

“I can understand that, but you really should
come and just get something to eat, instead of adding to your bill
that you will have to repay in labor. There is no charge for my
food.”

Fireball had started rearing up–gently at
first and then more and more as Slone came near, bouncing higher
and higher. He tried to rub the horse’s mane to calm it down, but
Fireball wasn’t having him get anywhere near her. LeOmi walked away
from him without saying anything else, Fireball in tow.

Non-commitment may be worse than saying she
would come, but there may be some sense in what he said.

She could hear her father’s words,
“Time
will tell.”
That was something that he would say, as if there
were always hope for her mother. Maybe there was hope for Slone and
his cohorts too.

Fireball gave her a nudge and LeOmi jumped on
and they rode to the stables where LeOmi brushed her down, just
like she used to brush down Fury. All Flag Team members had
permission to go to the stables to take care of their horses before
and after matches and practice.

Bekka came around the corner just as LeOmi
was putting away the pails and brushes.

“So you made it.” She surprised LeOmi with a
quick hug.

LeOmi smiled slightly and nodded.

“The buzz is all around the school about the
largest number of freshman recruits on record to make the flags
teams, eight in all.”

Bekka counted each name out on her
fingers.

“LeOmi Jones, Mark Young, Chenoa Day, Nikola
Poparov, Jamal Terfa, Ralph Lawrence, Ricky Barns and Slone Voif.
There is even talk of making a statue of the amazing ingenuity of
the five–new Emerald Flag Team mates.”

“No, six. Don’t forget Cap’n Ben.”

“Cap’n Ben has been trying to get on the team
since his freshman year.” Bekka was so happy she started doing a
little Square Dance. She grabbed LeOmi’s arm and they spun around.
Bekka clapping her hands to the beat. She grabbed a few other arms
and before you knew it there was a small Square Dance going on
outside of the stables, until everyone else shyly backed away just
as LeOmi did, leaving Bekka clapping and stomping her foot until
she realized that she was the only one left doing it.

“I know it’s corny—but that’s just what I do
when I get happy. I have been told to restrain myself–but
sometimes–I just can’t help it.”

Smiling, LeOmi picked up her book bag, and
went over to Fireball for one last nudge of the head and she and
Bekka made their way to the school grounds and after a short jog,
they were at the Sword Shop.

“I wondered what was keeping you.” Ms. Vanmie
was swinging a weight in a figure eight type motion with her arms
extended out and her feet slightly apart.

“I waited for you as long as I could, but I
am in a tight time frame and I wanted to get my workout in. You are
welcome to join me if you like. I am on the cool down now.”

Both Bekka and LeOmi grabbed an extra set of
weights and Ms. Vanmie changed to a less strenuous weight lifting
exercise.

LeOmi said, “What are my options?”

“Well I know that you are already fluent in
some of the exercises, but in other things you are not. My
suggestion is that you come to the freshman level.”

LeOmi nodded while continuing the
exercises.

“We will get there a little early to make
sure that you can proceed past the first task. I am sure you will.
After that it may be a little bit of a learning curve, but not that
much. After you have made it to the end of the curriculum, you can
either assist the other freshmen or you can continue at your own
pace.”

Bekka said, “And there is another
option?”

“The other option is simply starting with the
second year students, but I do not suggest that.”

“Why not, she has such potential?”

At this Bekka stopped and looked at Ms.
Vanmie.

Ms. Vanmie and LeOmi started doing the figure
eight motion in front of themselves, and Ms. Vanmie said, “Well,
truthfully it seems that she doesn’t have what it takes.”

“Doesn’t have what it takes…and what would
that be?”

Ms. Vanmie continued the exercise and LeOmi
kept pace.

“What do you think LeOmi?”

LeOmi hesitated, for a second and then said,
“I think I need to learn all that there is to learn.”

“Well then, that’s settled. Freshmen, Monday
after lunch. Come early.”

Ms. Vanmie started the small lifts again and
then the stretches and Bekka and LeOmi joined her until the end.
She had cool towels in a container and she gave them each one.

“Do you know why I don’t think you are
ready?”

LeOmi shrugged.

“I have been observing you, and I see that
while others are learning to depend on one-another, you are still
jumping in and doing things on your own. That is not encouraged
here at The Seventh Mountain, and I think that you know that.”

LeOmi nodded her head.

“I know that you have had more difficulty
than most and it doesn’t seem fair how some are handed everything
they need–or want, while others must work hard for it. You know
that it only makes us stronger though. Don’t you?”

LeOmi looked up at Ms. Vanmie. She wasn’t
being cruel but …

“Now as to your equipment, do you need
anything for training?”

“I do have my own katana, bokuto, a combat
knife and I trained with a six foot dory, although I don’t own
one.”

“So, you will need a utility tool.”

As Ms. Vanmie spoke she pulled out a utility
tool and handed it to LeOmi so that she could inspect it. Behind
the counter, she had the same type of plate glass register that the
book store had and LeOmi put her signet on the upper right hand
corner.

“Okay, Monday after lunch, and don’t forget.
Come early.”

They all strolled over to the door, LeOmi
with her parcels. As they left, Ms. Vanmie turned the sign and
closed the door. Ms. Vanmie went one way and Bekka and LeOmi went
the other.

As they started walking Bekka said, “I have
your work assignment, are you ready to hear what it is?”

LeOmi stopped and went over to lean against
the inner corridor wall. She set her parcels down on the floor and
prepared for possibly the job that she would keep for many years to
come.

“It’s not a death sentence. It is just a new
addition to your daily activities. The work assignment team always
tries to place a student into a comfortable role.”

“Have you seen the workers in the bookstore?
I don’t know if I could do that every day.”

“The Work Assignment Team works with your
strengths–and your weaknesses. If it doesn’t work out, they will
transfer you.”

“Do you know where my brother and sister
work?”

“I am not at liberty to say. Haven’t they
told you? Or your father?”

“You may have noticed that we are not among
the closest of families.”

“Yes I have seen that, anyway, neither of
them is in this area. Are you ready? Postponing it will not change
when you have to show up, unless of course it is tomorrow afternoon
that you would finally have it revealed.”

LeOmi simply nodded and waited.

“Mucking the stalls in the stables, morning
and evening.”

LeOmi stood up and began rearranging her
morning routine in her mind, and Bekka moved her head around until
she caught LeOmi’s attention and then she gave a huge smile.

“No I am just kidding, but you know that
somebody has to do that.”

Bekka was still moving her head back and
forth as if she hadn’t gotten LeOmi’s attention. She stopped when
LeOmi appeared annoyed.

“You need to report to Mrs. Kirby at the Game
Preserve tomorrow morning at seven a.m. She needs a new Guide for
the Rainforest Trails on the weekends, and of course she would also
have some additional duties ‘that are geared to having the system
run smoothly’.”

“I think I would rather do the mucking.”