Read Online The Boarding School Experiment by Emily Evans - Free Book Online Page A

an annoying ring reverberated through the amphitheater. She looked out at the remaining two-thirds of the student body. “Before each round, you will vote for one of these teams to win. If you choose correctly, you will be exempt from one exam or homework assignment of your own choosing. There are three rounds. That gives you the opportunity to win three exemptions.”
    The remaining students, who’d been apathetic at best, perked up with this news. They started sizing us up with greedy stares, as if we were new apps on the cell phone market.
    “And of course, the team who wins the finale will be excused from classes one Friday to enjoy a three-day weekend at home.”
    I’d get to go home for my birthday without taking money from my parents. Home: TexMex, movies, my family, my lamp. I could find out how everything was going with Piper, and I could talk to Rhys. I bounded up to Thane and stared straight into his blue eyes. “We’re winning.”
    His eyes glinted and a smile curved his lips before he nodded. “Practice every day.”
    Geneva waved her hands in the air. “Team Thane’s bringing the pain.”
    We walked back to the dorm as a group, trying to guess the specifics of the challenges we’d face.
    ***
     
    One of my taller competitors in the rock climbing competition bent low and jumped for the second set of anchors before scrambling higher. “Wearing new hiking shoes sucks.”
    “Yeah, I’m wearing my old sneakers while we practice,” another said. He bounced up and down on the first row of anchors, testing his weight. “No blisters.”
    The idiot needed to break in his gear. But I wanted to win, so I didn’t correct him. I pasted another adhesive bandage on the side of my foot to cover a stinging blister, then slid two pairs of socks on over them.
    Anyone strong enough to lift his own weight could easily scale this wall. This course consisted of a set of anchors leading to an outcropping. Once there, contestants crawled across boulders for 20 feet to reach the second grouping of anchors. Then they climbed to a large ledge where the divers waited to be tagged. Next, the diver moved to another ledge and leapt from there into the swimming pool.
    The problem was, they’d made the course so easy that my experience as a climber wasn’t much of an advantage. The only positive besides my experience was the strength I’d gained in my arms from the laundry room chores.
    “Hey.” Declan sank onto his butt and leaned back to watch the climbers practice.
    “Hey.” I suppressed my irritation and shoved the adhesive bandage wrappers in my pocket. Declan should be at the top of the rock, diving or jumping, not down here. But people don’t like to be told what to do. I slid my shoe on, and the pinch made me give in to annoyance. “Shouldn’t you be up there?”
    “This is just a game, and all I get to do is dive. Big whoop. I should do the climb.” He kicked some of the loose rocks. “Or the mystery event. We’d win for sure if I’d have picked the players. Instead, I’m stuck on the girl team. No offence.”
    “You’re going to win because you’re on this team.”
    Geneva walked over for the last bit of our discussion. She wore a wrap over her swimsuit and carried one of the strawberry cupcakes from this morning. She’d swum twice a day without fail since the announcement, and the smell of chorine surrounded her. “Yeah, suck it up, buttercup.” She sank down beside Declan, but addressed her next words to me. “How’s the climb?”
    I tied off my laces and nodded. “I’ve got this.”
    Declan said, “I’m not saying you don’t. I’m just saying I could do it too.”
    I ignored him. Picking a fight wouldn’t help our cause and we had to win.
    “Good, because Kaitlin’s ice cream poem is kick ass.” Geneva bit into the cupcake after offering me some.
    I chewed and swallowed. She was right. Kaitlin hit on some of the things missing here: pets, malls, old friends. She’d coated all the