PART 1___DAY 2___WELCOME TO THE POST

Knock, knock, knock! Garrett and John walked swiftly along the "boys' dormitory hall", knocking on doors and making a ruckus. Sara did the same on the girls' side. It was 4:48 a.m.

"Up and at 'em, boys!" Garrett shouted as he banged on doors.

"Time to get up!" John said into his bullhorn.

Some of the boys were startled awake while others barely rolled over.

"What the hell!" one yelled.

"It ain't five o'clock yet," another said, looking at the clock on the wall.

Two hallways down, the girls were just as whiney.

"Rise and shine, ladies! Time for the meet-and-greet," Sara called. "Doesn't that sound exciting?" She asked in her sing-song voice. All she heard in return was silence. "You'll feel better once you wash your faces."

"Not…enough…beauty sleep," Summer said, putting her pillow over her head.

"Let's hurry, shall we? Lots to do today," Sara said.

***

With the teachers' persistence, all of the students met in the cafeteria by 5:35 for breakfast and their meet-and-greet. Many students were still rubbing sleep from their eyes. For their stay at The Post, all the students had identical outfits: Grey T-shirts and black, stretchy pants that were quick to dry.

"Please try to 'meet-and-greet' new students," Sara said, waving her spoon at some kids. "Don't sit with your usual crowd…Okay?" she pleaded. Sara tried to make eye contact with the students, but when that didn't work, she started to delicately eat her yogurt.

In the breakfast line, Greer got two cartons of low fat chocolate milk; a burrito with eggs, sausage, and cheese; and an apple.

"This food doesn't look horrible like the stuff we had last night," Lu said, biting into a blueberry Danish. The glaze got all over his face. "Mmm! So good," he said, wiping his chin and licking the residue from his fingers.

"This is much better," said Ryan.

"Yeah," Greer said. He had started to drink his second chocolate milk when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw that it was Zara. He started chocking. Zara tried not to laugh as she sat down. "How did you sleep?" he asked after recovering. He wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Fine, I guess," Zara said, putting her braids in a ponytail. "I got stuck in a room with a girl named Summer and her fri—"

"You're in a room with Summer?" Ryan asked. Chunks of food came out of his mouth.

"Yes," Zara said, looking at Ryan with furrowed eyebrows. "She was talking to her friend…I think her name's Erin…all night. And when she wasn't talking she kept getting up to go pee. 'Weak bladder' she said. They annoyed me and the other girl in the room to death."

"Her friend's name is Erica," Ryan said.

"Oh…Well, I wanted to switch rooms so bad, but I didn't want to seem rude." Zara said, looking down.

"I'd switch with you," Ryan said under his breath. He thought no one could hear him but everyone started to laugh. To cover his embarrassment, he drank some water. "It's not that funny," he mumbled.

"Sure it is! You've had a crush on her since the eighth grade," Lu said.

"I can almost see him blush," said Greer.

"Why are you called MC?" Zara asked abruptly.

"Uh…It's kinda a long story," Greer said, drinking the last of his chocolate milk.

"No it ain't," Ryan said.

"It's really short, actually," Lu said, grinning.

"Well?" she asked, her hazel eyes shining brightly. She leaned in closer, she wanted to hear everything.

"It's really nothing to talk about," Greer said, picking at his burrito. He wasn't looking at Zara.

"The lady wants to know…So," Ryan started and cleared his throat. "It all began in second grade—"

Lu cut in, making his voice sound deep and dramatic. "On Thursdays and Fridays, Greer would always order mac and cheese and at least two milk cartons."

"Always chocolate," Ryan said, nodding towards what Greer had to drink.

"I mean, I used to think he was going to turn yellow. That cheese was highlighter-orange!" Lu said, waving his arms theatrically.

"It was really good, though," Greer said, pursing his lips.

Zara began to laugh, her whole body shaking. "Oh, I get it! Macaroni and cheese…MC."

"Don't forget the milk cartons," said Ryan.

Greer sighed. "Even my mom calls me MC. She says it kinda goes with our last name…McCarter."

"I guess that makes sense," Zara said after thinking about it for a moment. "My parents call me Mar Mar…My middle name is Marleen…after my grandma," she said, looking down. "I never met her, but I'm told she was very kind."

"Like you," Greer said, trying to look her in the eyes. Zara did look back, and when she smiled at him, it wasn't a shy one, and this made his heart leap.

***

Sitting on the other side of the cafeteria was Summer, Erica, and Chase. Erica only had an apple while Chase was finishing off his third slice of breakfast pizza. Summer sipped on some water.

"You sure you're not gonna eat anything, girl?" Erica asked, looking at her friend with concern.

"Yeah…I'm sure," Summer said. The bags under her eyes were prominent, as if she hadn't slept in days. "I'm felling kinda nauseous right now," she said, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples.

"Okay," Chase said, getting up and stretching. "I gotta piss."

"Thanks for the announcement," replied Summer, rolling her eyes.

Chase made his way out of the room. Adjacent to the cafeteria was a long corridor. He saw a "Restrooms" sign. "Better than going back to the dormitory hall," he said, shrugging.

He finished his business and started to flex in the mirror, posing as if he were a bodybuilder. "This scavenger hunt is gonna be a piece of cake." As he looked in the mirror, he saw something sparkle in one of the stalls. Wedged behind the toilet was a coppery-painted stone with glitter on it. "Oh, yeah! Lucky me," Chase said, shoving the stone in his pants. He put it right at the waistline where his shirt could cover it.

When he got back to the cafeteria, Erica looked at him skeptically. "What took you so long? Couldn't figure out which urinal to aim at?"

"I took my time walking back from the dormitory hall," Chase said innocently.

Erica still had narrowed eyes. "I bet you went back to get your flas—"

"Shush! Don't say that so loud!" Chase said, covering her mouth. He removed his hand and sat down calmly when he saw Ms. Brunswell making her rounds. "I'll pull it out later…I just have to be smart about when I do," Chase whispered.

Summer laughed. "If you're smart about anything, you're smart about your alcohol."

Chase smiled and nodded in agreement until he realized what she said wasn't a compliment. "Hey!"

Sara clapped her hands together and got out her bullhorn. "Time to wrap up this year's meet-and-greet! Wasn't it nice? Now, we're going to take you on a tour of this lovely place!"

***

The tour started at 7:14 a.m., and most students were still yawning from having to get up so early. Sara and Garrett lead them through the building, and eventually, they made it to the back where there were big double doors. Again, Sara used a code on her phone to open the doors. "And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the natatorium," she said, gesturing for everyone to enter the room.

"Wow!" One student yelled, inhaling sharply.

"It's huge," Greer said; his eyes bulged.

"It's an Olympic-sized swimming pool," Garrett said. "Length-wise, anyway," he concluded after going to the edge of the pool. "This pool goes from four feet to six feet in depth."

"We'll have something planned for you here later, so stay tuned for that," Sara said.

"Cool! Pool party!" Chase screamed, and many kids chatted excitedly about it.

"You'll see," Sara said, adjusting her glasses. She led the way out of the room, and then passed a hallway that had not been explored.

The student that asked about the cellphones, Ben, asked, "What's down there?"

"Oh, nothing," Sara said, not bothering to look at him. They continued to make their way back to the front of the building.

Outside, the sun had just risen. The rosy color of dawn was giving way to pale blues. "I don't know if you noticed last night," Garrett said, squinting his eyes. "Being so caught up in the pizza-talk and all, but there is an obstacle course over there." Unlike the pool, the obstacle course didn't look that impressive. Not after the thirty-foot rock wall, at least. It seemed more like an agility course for very talented show dogs.

"We'll…or should I say 'you will'," Sara pause after correcting herself, "be using this, too."

"Great," Summer said, putting her hand on her hip. "They're gonna make us jump through hoops."

"And over there," Sara pointed to the left of the building, "is a greenhouse. It's only in use during the winter months." The large structure was filled with a plot of dirt. Pots and dried leaves scattered the ground. The glass panes were dingy-looking.

"That's it for the tour," Garret said, rubbing his mustache. "Go find a way to occupy yourselves. We're going to go hide some more stones."

"You already started?" asked Erica.

Chase cocked his eye at her, his fists clenching at his sides.

"Just a few," Sara said. "No trying to get a head start." The kids rolled their eyes. They were just ready for the week to be over with.

"Who cares," Greer mumbled as they all started to make their way back inside.

"Can we have lunch yet?" Lu asked, scratching his head. He had missed some of the Danish residue. Now, he had dried, blue, sticky stuff on his chin.

"We just ate breakfast, like, not even two hours ago." Ryan said.

Greer put his hand on Lu's shoulder. "You have something right here." He pointed at his own chin.

Lu touched his chin. When he felt the left-over Danish, he wiped vigorously. "Oh, now you tell me!" Lu pushed Greer's hand from his shoulder. "I was walking around with that stuff on my chin all morning?"

"Sorry… Just noticed it," Greer said, covering his laugh with a cough.

"Whatever…I wanna go back to the cafeteria," Lu said, already walking away.

Many kids were ready to go back to the dormitories for a long nap.

"I'll meet y'all there. I'm gonna go get my sketchbook," Greer said.

***

John Beaux came walking down the hall with an everything bagel in hand. Sara and some girls, including Summer, were walking towards him.

"Oh, so you decide to join us when everything is over," Sara said, managing to keep her voice polite.

"I figured that you and Mr. Fowler had it covered," John said, taking another bite of his bagel.

"You'll at least help us with the stones?"

"Yes, of course."

Even with his mouth full, the girls were still drooling. They all walked away stiffly except for Summer. "Hi, Joh— I mean…Mr. Beaux." She mouthed, "Where's my phone?" at him.

John didn't look at Summer directly. "Hello," he said, continuing to chew.

"We're going to start soon," Sara said, not noticing the tension between the student and her co-worker.

"I'll be along shortly."

As soon as Sara turned the corner, John grabbed Summer's hand. "I didn't forget your phone," he said, rubbing her hand with his thumb. "What did you think I was doing while you were on the tour?" He took out a phone and a charger from his satchel. The phone had a sparkly case with a heart on it.

"Oh, thank God," she whispered. The pants had no pockets, and they were too tight to conceal anything. Summer hid the phone and charger in her bra. She hugged him tightly and didn't release him. "John…I have to tell you something."

He rubbed her back for a moment, then he started to pull away. "We can't be seen like this, honey. I have to go…Be discreet with your phone."

Tears welled up in Summer's eyes as he left. She gently put both hands on her stomach.

***

Greer was making his way back to the cafeteria with his sketchbook in hand. He wasn't really hungry, but he was groggy from waking up so early. He hoped that drawing would keep him alert. He was flipping to a new page in his sketchbook when he bumped into Zara. "Sorry!" he said. His voice echoed through the hallway.

She reached down to pick up what she dropped. It looked like a fat glue stick. Greer swooped down and beat her to it. He handed it to her with a slight bow. "Thanks," she said, curtsying. "It was my fault…I wasn't paying attention."

"What is that?" he asked as she put the object in her small bag that was adorned with dainty rosettes.

"It's my auto-injector," she said, zipping her bag. "I only use it for emergencies. If I have a bad allergic reaction to wheat."

"Wheat?"

"Yeah, I know it's weird. Not bees, not peanuts…Wheat," she said, making a face. She noticed Greer's sketchbook, and her expression brightened. "Can I see?"

"Oh," he said, clutching the book more tightly at first. After a couple seconds, he handed it over. "Sure." He never really volunteered showing his drawings to anyone…not even his friends. Drawing was a way for him to express himself; he often used it to release stress. He cracked his knuckles and tried not to look frantic as Zara slowly flipped through the pages. Shoot! I hope I erased her picture good enough. Greer chewed on his bottom lip and continued to crack his knuckles.

"Wow," Zara said. "You're really good." One page in particular caught her eye, and she studied it pensively. Greer thought he had been caught for sure. He took a step closer, ready to take the book from her. "This is so nice…Did you draw this from life?"

Greer took a deep breath as he looked at the page. It was a picture of a lake with a dock leading out to it. It was one of the only pictures were he used color. It looked calming, colored with pastel blues and greens. "Um, yeah…My dad used to take me there. We'd go fishing."

"You guys don't go anymore?" Zara asked, her finger caressing the page.

"No," he said, looking down. "He passed a few years ago."

"I'm so sorry," Zara said, giving the sketchbook back to him.

"It's ok. After my parents split, going to the lake was really the only fun thing we got to do."

They walked in silence and then Zara asked, "What do you think is down that 'forbidden hall'?"

"What?"

"Y'know…The hallway we didn't go down when we were on the tour."

"Oh, I dunno…Maybe it's where they have our cellphones."

"Mrs. Brunswell could have just said that…Why all the mystery?" she asked as they entered the cafeteria.

Greer could feel that she had drifted closer to him. He wanted to reach out and hold her hand but he restrained himself. "Maybe she just doesn't want us to complain about our phones."

Zara narrowed her eyes; she wasn't satisfied with that answer.