Interlude- Brandon by Terry Schott Read Free Book Online

looking as if they had been randomly thrown together.
    Wesley called for silence and when the murmuring ceased, he began to speak. “The first game is a simple one, but for one of you it will be your last.”
    The group began to murmur with worry. Brandon looked up at Tony beside him, who winked down at Brandon and smiled.
    “There are fifty applicants in this room. Can anyone tell me how many desks there are?”
    “There are forty-nine,” Brandon said.
    Wesley smiled and nodded at Brandon. “That’s right. There are only forty-nine. We will play music, and when it stops, each of you must sit at a desk. You cannot sit on the table portion of the desk. The one of you who winds up without a seat goes home. Let’s begin.”
    The music started and everyone began to walk slowly around the room. Whenever anyone looked at Brandon they smirked, and he knew that they were all imagining the little one going home. He smiled back at them; he hadn’t come this far just to wash out in the first half hour. He walked as calmly as the rest, trying to think how he would get a seat once the physical jostling began.
    Suddenly the music stopped. Brandon was ready for it. He might not be big, but he was certainly fast. With a quick zip and dodge, he sat in a chair slightly ahead of a boy. The rest of the chairs quickly began to fill up as the kids started to shove each other and jockey for position. As the number of available chairs dwindled, the amount of pushing and shoving increased dramatically.
    Finally there were three boys remaining and only two chairs. One of the boys was beside Brandon, and didn’t appear to be focused on the remaining empty chairs. Brandon looked at him and realized too late what the boy intended to do.
    With a quick grab and a shove, the boy pushed Brandon right out of his seat. Brandon landed on the floor with a heavy thud and the boy grinned as he sat down deliberately in the vacant seat.
    Brandon knew there was no way he could shove the other boys out of their chairs even if he could get to that side of the room in time. He had to think fast, or he was going home.
    “Runt!” Tony hissed at him from a few desks away. Brandon looked at Tony and it was almost as if he could read his mind. Brandon rushed over to Tony and slid down on his lap. He faced forward and sat there looking as calm as the others as the game ended.
    No one spoke. A few of the kids close by laughed and pointed, but Tony and Brandon just sat at their desk normal as could be. Wesley walked towards the two and stopped in front of them.
    “Time’s up and I see no one standing,” he said with a frown. “I swear we had one more kid than desk available, but every desk is filled properly. I don’t see anyone spilling over into the aisle or sitting on the desk tops.”
    Wesley stood silently, waiting. Finally Brandon looked up at him. Wesley winked at him, and Brandon could tell he was proud of the creative solution the boys had found by working together.
    “Every single one of you should thank Brandon and Tony sometime before lights out. One of you would have lost an all-out fight with another your size and likely gone home. Because of the two clever boys sitting in one desk, you all get to stay and play more interesting games than this one.”
    Wesley paused to let what he had just said sink in.
    “There will be no more elimination games today,” Wesley announced. “Everyone head to room 212. We will begin in ten minutes.”
    Brandon jumped off of Tony’s lap and gave him a slap on the shoulder. “Thank you, Tony, you saved me today. How can I repay you?”
    Tony laughed and tapped his chest quickly three times before touching Brandon on the shoulder. “I have a feeling you might repay the favour once or twice, Runt.”
    Brandon smiled. “You can count on it, friend.”

 
    Chapter 12
     
    “Well, it looks like your boy hasn’t failed out of the trials yet, Wesley,” the Administrator said.
    “No, sir,” Wesley said.  “He