Dawn's POV

"Get in line!" yelled Max as he walked to the middle of the room.

I quickly glanced around my surroundings, and saw that the room had another glass roof, sunlight was streaming in. There was a table with chairs around it  in the middle of the room, and there were some lockers lining the side walls.

Not quite sure what to do, I let Lucy drag me into line so I was shoulder to shoulder with her and Parker.

All the chatter in the room subsided as Max walked down the line we had made, as if he was inspecting all of us.

He stopped when he reached the middle of the line and put his hands behind his back with a small smile. "Good morning trainees," he said sternly.

"Good morning sir!" Everyone shouted back at him.

I was a little surprised. I thought Max might be one of those strict and "You need to feel pain to gain", types of trainers who would never smile or say good morning.

He nodded as his eyes swept down the line. "As you know, you all had your assignment last night."

The room was completely silent. I could just hear myself breathing shallowly.

"And as for your results," Max said with a smirk and a pause.

I could hear Lucy holding her breath on one side of me, and feel Parker stiffen up on the other.

"I'm happy to say that you all passed." He concluded with a smile.

I heard Lucy let out a breath, and Parker relax beside me. I was happy they passed, but I made a mental note to ask them what their assignment was.

"Now," Max started to explain as he walked down the line towards us. "Time to prepare for your first exam."

Max stopped in front of me, and looked me up and down. "Ahhhhh, yes." he said with his hands still behind his back. "I almost forgot about our newest trainee."

I gulped as Max looked at me again. I felt like prey, almost like I was going to be his next meal.

"Please step out Dawn, and tell us why you decided to attempt to join The Midnight Mafia." Max commanded with a smile as he took a few steps back to give me room.

I felt my heart start to race as I took a step forward and turned to face the other trainees. I could feel so many eyes on me, and I could almost feel the heat and curiosity in their gazes.

Remembering what Jake had told me, I decided to roll with the story he had created.

I quickly glanced and Lucy and Parker, both who gave me a reassuring smile. Xavier just had a smirk on his face, and I resisted the urge to roll me eyes.

Figuring I should say something, I started loud and confidently. "Hi everyone, I'm Dawn," I said while glancing down the line.

I could see quite a few girls with their eyes narrowed and the rest guys, with smirks on their faces.

"And I am attempting to join The Midnight Mafia because I want something to be loyal to," I said with a quick glance at Max.

His eyebrows were raised as if he was impressed and I wondered if he knew about my, special circumstance.

"Thank you Dawn," Max said as his eyebrows went back down. "Please step back in line."

I nodded as I stepped back into line, turning to face Max again.

"Now," said Max as he walked back to the middle of the line. "As you know, we will be continuing with physical training to prepare you for your first Exam."

A movement on the wall in front of me caught my eye and I quickly looked to see what it was. I was confused as the wall was blank except for the blue paint that covered it. I didn't know what I saw moving but it made me slightly suspicious. I mean of course I could've also just been seeing things.

I glanced at Lucy but the was completely focused on Max. I glanced at the wall again but decided to let it go. I was probably just seeing things because of the long last few days i'd had.

"Today, we will be doing a running exercise," Max's voice brought me back to the present.

I refocused on him and paid close attention. I didn't want to get off on the wrong start with Max.

"You will have a partner pre-determined by your speed," Max explained. "And you will take turns trying to catch each other, one pair going at a time. "

Lucy and I glanced at each other, and I knew by the look in her eye that today was one of the hard days.

"The runner, will have a ribbon looped around their belt loop," Max explained as he took out a long black silky ribbon from his pocket. "And the chaser must chase the runner until they successfully grab the ribbon off their belt."

I wondered who I'd be paired with. I really didn't want it to be a guy. I didn't need a fast guy grabbing around at my hips. Let alone i'd almost put a target on my back because I wouldn't be just another girl who joined training.

Hearing a few mumbles from down the line, I wondered if they had done this before.

"You will have a maximum of ten minutes to grab the ribbon off your partners belt." Max continued to explain."Slowest will start, then we will make our way up to the fastest. We will go through round two after lunch, where you will switch roles with your partner."

Nodding as I was listening to what Max was saying, I wondered who had thought of this whole concept. It was almost a game, but on a much more serious level.

"Runner, you may run and dodge the chaser, but you may not physically push their hand away." Max said as he walked to the middle of the room where the metal table was, and picked up a clipboard. "Chasers, you may not physically harm or trip up the runner to make them slower or make it easier to grab the ribbon." he finished while looking at the clipboard.

He walked back over to us and flipped a page on the clipboard. "Now, you may quietly talk amongst yourselves while I check over your pairs."

The room immediately broke into a chatter as groups were formed. I turned to Lucy and gave her a worried look.

"Will I have a guy as a partner?" I questioned.

Lucy laughed. "No, girls are usually paired up with girls, and guys with guys." she had a thoughtful look on her face. "But I don't know how fast you are yet, so it's possible."

I heard whispers from my right, and I turned to see five girls looking at me and knew they were talking about me.

"Don't worry about them," Lucy said causing me to look back at her. "They are probably just curious and jealous about how pretty you are."

I laughed at her comment and smiled at her calling me pretty. "So how does this work?" I asked while crossing my arms.

"Slowest people get paired up first, fastest people last." She explained. "That's how we keep track of where your standings are."

"There's standings?" I asked worriedly.

She laughed. "Yeah, but don't worry. They are only to keep track of how well we do. The only time you'd need to worry about them is if you're doing absolutely awful in everything."

I just nodded as I heard a cough from my left. I looked and saw all the guys staring at me. A couple of them gave me a little wave, and I gave them a little wave back before I rolled my eyes and turned away.

Lucy laughed and smiled at me. "See what I mean?"

I just laughed and thought about anything else I wanted to know. Max however, called us back to his attention, taking me away from my thoughts.

"Alright, when I call your name, step off to the side with your partner and wait for further instructions." Max directed.

"Alyson and Rachel," Max called of the first two names.

Zoning out, I didn't re-focus until Max started calling out the guys names.

I looked around and saw all the girls were already paired up, and I gave Lucy a worried look.

Max continued calling off names until I was left standing with Xavier.

"Dawn and Xavier." Max called out.

I heard all the girls start viciously whispering and I gulped. Xavier gave me a disapproving look and started complaining to Max.

"Not to be disrespectful sir," he started to say. "But I don't believe that she is as fast as me, or faster than Alex."

I heard a loud "Yeah!" from a brown haired boy, and then from the other guys and I frowned.

The last thing I needed right now was disapproval and non-acceptance.

Max just looked down at his clipboard and back up at Xavier with a smirk. "I guess we'll just have to find out."

Xavier sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. I rolled my eyes and started rolling my shoulders and stretching my legs.

"Alright, now that you have your pairs, head to training room D." Max instructed.

Everyone headed to a door on the left side of the room, and I just followed the crowd.

We walked down a long candle lit hallway and through a set of two metal double doors into a huge almost empty room that was about the length of a football field.

I glanced around and there were big metal pillars going down the middle of the room all the way to the other end. There was also a metal platform stretching around the room about twenty or so feet up. I glanced around it and saw Jake and Karla leaning on the railing.

Catching Jake's eye, he nodded at me with a small smile. I nodded back and his smile quickly faded as he put his act back on.

"Alyson and Rachel, your up first" Max's voice boomed around the room making me jump. "The name I called first will be the runner."

I sighed realizing it was going to take awhile before I'd be able to get this over with.

The rest of the trainees lined up along the front wall while Alyson and Rachel took their places. Alyson had the ribbon tied around her belt and was standing in front of Rachel.

"Are you ready?" Max asked with a stop watch in hand.

I was surprised the stop watch still worked. Most things that had anything to do with time had stopped working a long time ago.

"GO!" Max yelled as he clicked a button on the small watch.

Alyson took off running with Rachel trailing behind her.

I had to suppress a laugh as I watched them run. They were going so slow I could probably walk faster than the both of them. I mean not really, but it sure looked like it.

Quiet conversations broke out among the rest of the trainees, so it wasn't completely silent and awkward in the room.

Watching as they ran around the room, Rachel came close to grabbing the ribbon a few times.

I realized that because they both had their hair down, it made it more difficult to see and  take turns without getting hair in their face. I smiled a little knowing that i'd fix that when I went.

Looking over at Max, you could see he was writing down things on his clipboard and I made a mental note to do well.

I glanced up at Karla and Jake, and they were stuck in a deep conversation, not even paying attention. I shook my head at them with a small smile.

"One minute!" Max called out.

Alyson and Rachel had slowed down a lot and were basically slowly jogging by now. Apparently they didn't have much endurance either.

"I really hope that's not you sweetheart," a deep voice whispered in my ear catching me by surprise. "You wouldn't even stand a chance."

I rolled my eyes as Xavier backed away from my ear with a smirk on his face. I was about to say something to deflate his ego, but I decided against it. I didn't need to make enemies on the first day of training.

"Thirty seconds!" Max yelled as he scribbled down a few more things.

I watched it almost in slow motion, as Alyson quickly glanced at Max, Rachel lunged forward and snatched the ribbon off of Alyson's belt.

"Ribbon retrieved!" Max yelled like an army major. "Next pair up!"

I zoned out yet again as the next pair stepped up. I knew it was going to be awhile, but I could feel a small pit forming in my stomach.

I couldn't fail today, or else my life in this gang will basically be over before it had even started.

* * * *

"Last group up!" Max yelled as the previous group cleared the floor and joined the other trainees.

I smiled, finally it was my turn. All of the pairs had someone successfully grab the ribbon, and I was happy Lucy had succeeded in doing that.

But then again, I wasn't going to let Xavier get this ribbon easily, hopefully not at all. I was going to pretend this was like sudden death, you loose the ribbon, you die.

I rolled my eyes as Xavier roughly pushed past me as he walked to the open space on the floor.

Walking up to Max to get the ribbon, he handed it to me while also giving me a reassuring look, causing me to smile.

I quickly walked back over to Xavier and tied the ribbon to my belt.

"Are you ready?" Max asked.

"Yeah," Xavier said while he put his right foot back, preparing for the moment he could take off after me.

"No yet," I said while looking at Max.

Max raised his eyebrows at me and Xavier stood back up straight.

I had thought about the best way to do it, and I grabbed all of my hair and threw it in a high pony tail. I grabbed a piece of hair from the edge and wrapped it several times around the bigger chunk, tucking it and making a make shift hair tie.

A couple of the guys started cat calling and I just rolled my eyes. Max glared at them, and they immediately shut up.

I quickly rolled my shoulders and stretched my legs one more time. I glanced nervously up at Jake and Karla, and they were both watching with blank looks on their faces.

Turning back to Max, I smiled. "Ready now," I said as I put my right leg back.

Max nodded as he scribbled something down on his clipboard. I took a deep breath hoping it wasn't anything bad about me. He looked at both of us and then nodded. "GO!" Max yelled and I took off as fast as I could.

I heard a startled "What?" from behind me, and I smiled a little.

I guess I was as fast as Xavier.

Making it all the way to the other end of the room, I glanced back over my shoulder to see where Xavier was. He wasn't even halfway across the room yet and he was running as fast as he could. 

I think my fast takeoff must've really surprised him.

thinking about the best way to go about the situation, I slowed down a little. I wasn't going to be able to run back that way until he got closer.

My breathing started to get heavy as I looped around a metal pillar. Pretty soon Xavier quickly appeared behind me.

I could hear his heavy breathing too, and I was glad it was as hard for him as it was for me.

Speeding up, I started weaving through the metal pillars, hoping to create distance between Xavier and I.

He quickly caught up again though, and I decided to throw him off.

I slowed my pace a little and started running all the way down to the end wall, and then back to where Max was standing, creating a circle.

Hearing Xavier's approaching steps behind me, I really hoped my plan would work.

I ran around in this circle clockwise four or five times, slowing my pace even more. Xavier kept getting closer to me as we neared Max for the sixth time. Soon I could feel him reaching for the ribbon on my right side. That's when I used my left foot as a brake foot, and I quickly turned around changing my direction, managing to keep the ribbon away from him.

Speeding up as I started running the opposite way, I looked over my shoulder to see a stunned Xavier just barely recovering and taking off after me again.

"Three minutes!" Max yelled from behind me, his voice the only thing echoing off the walls as everyone else had stopped talking to watch us.

I was starting to get tired and I had to slow down, even though I heard Xavier's steps gaining on me from behind.

Looping around the circle again, I heard Xavier get even closer to me. I heard his heavy breathing from behind me and I knew he was just as tired as me.

"Two minutes!" Max yelled.

I was almost in front of all the trainees again when I decided to turn left and make another loop around the pillars. I was about to speed up a little for the straightaway, when I  suddenly felt the ribbon slip off of my belt loop.

"Ribbon Retrieved!" Max yelled from behind us.

I stopped running and turned around. Xavier looked at me at the same time, breathing as heavily as me, and he nodded. We walked back to Max and the rest of the trainees. Xavier handed the ribbon back to Max who nodded in approval.

"Well done you two, that was something to watch." Max praised us.

I glanced up at Jake and Karla and they both nodded at me making me feel pretty good about my performance. At least I didn't fail.

Xavier and I took our place amongst the other trainees waiting for further instructions. After catching his breath, Xavier turned to me.

"Well done Dawn," Xavier said giving me another nod. "I haven't had a challenge like that in awhile. I didn't think you were anywhere near that fast."

I nodded with a small smile not knowing what to say. I though that Xavier would be a complete ass and full of himself all the time, but maybe not.

Lucy and Parker walked over to me with smiles on their faces as Xavier walked back over to his group of guys.

"Nice job Dawn!" Lucy said as they came up to me. "Damn girl you're fast."

"Yeah, you've done really well for you're first time at training." Parker added happily.

I smiled at their kindness and laughed at Lucy's comment. "Thank you guys."

Lucy came closer. "And now you have the respect of the other trainees." she quietly whispered. "All they could talk about was you while you guys were running."

Looking around, most of the other trainees were already looking at me. They smiled and nodded as I made eye contact with them, before looking away and starting up other conversations.

I smiled and was pretty satisfied with myself. I managed to not screw everything up.

"Lunch time!" Max announced gaining all of our attention while tapping his clipboard. "Hurry up before I make you do push-ups before you leave."

We quickly scurried out of the room and before I exited, I glanced up to see if Jake and Karla were still there, but they had disappeared.

  Everyone was in their own conversations as we headed up the stairwell to Ground Zero. Everyone seemed happy and content with their performances.

I was engrossed in a conversation with Lucy and Parker about gang life and whatnot as we made it to Ground Zero.

All three of our stomachs growled at the sane time, causing us to laugh as we walked into the dining hall, which seemed busier and more alive than ever.

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Hey everyone! Half of Dawn's first day of training is over. What will the second half have in store?

Thank you so much for reading! I really hope that you're liking the story so far!

Please consider giving this chapter a vote if you enjoyed it! I'd appreciate it! Also don't forget that you can leave me thoughts or feedback in the comments! I love hearing from you guys.  

- Delaney :)