Stars Waited Above Empty Streets by Lorin Wren 217

Chapter 217 Firearms Practice 

Ava gave up and said, “I’ll sleep between you two, alright” 

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That finally got them to stop arguing. She lay down in the middle and sighed. Back home she had to keep the peace. Now even in military training, she still had to mediate. 

Noelle covered her mouth and let out a soft laugh. She joked, “You’ve 

have that kind of trouble!” 

got too much fanfare, Ava. I don’t 

Ava replied, “Yeah, well, guess this is the price I pay for luxury cuddles on both sides.” 

Zoey and Naomi clung to her like oversized stuffed animals. 

Zoey, lying on Ava’s right, reached over and poked behind her ear. “Hey, what happened here?” 

Ava touched the spot. “Where?” 

“Right here.” Zoey tapped her skin again. “It’s faded, but still a little pink. Did you hit your head or something?” 

Ava kept feeling around, looking lost. “I really don’t know. I don’t remember bumping into anything.” 

Naomi leaned closer for a better look. “There’s a small mark there. Does it hurt?” 

Ava shook her head. “No. It doesn’t hurt at all.” 

Zoey complained, “Do you have mosquitoes in that room too? It’s barely spring, and I already had one buzzing in my ear all night. Drove me crazy.” 

Naomi stared at the spot again. “Doesn’t look like a mosquito bite. Those are usually little red dots. This looks different.” 

It looked like a hickey, but Naomi kept that thought to herself. She said instead, “Maybe some tiny bug stung you without you noticing.” 

Ava’s fingers went back to the spot. Her expression changed slightly. 

Naomi noticed and quickly added, “It’s really faint. If we weren’t squished in this close, we wouldn’t have seen it at all.” 

Zoey said, “Probably just a bug bite. Got any ointment? If not, I’ll give you some when we get back.” 

Ava looked uneasy but nodded faintly. 

That night, after returning to the dorm, Ava rushed into the bathroom to check her ear in the mirror. No matter how she twisted and turned, she couldn’t see anything. 

She took a quick shower, changed into her pajamas, and sat on the bed flipping through a book. Not long after, Ivan’s voice came through the radio telling them that morning assembly would be twenty minutes 

earlier than usual. 

Ava responded, then changed her alarm to an earlier time. 

Someone knocked on the door. 

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Chapter 217 Firearms Practice 

Ava asked, “Who is it?” 

“It’s me.” 

She got up and opened the door. She looked him over and asked, “You just got back?” 

Laurent nodded and glanced at her sleepwear. “You’re abou 

to go to bed?” 

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Ava glanced at the time. “Yeah. Instructor Cavalli said we’re meeting twenty minutes early tomorrow.” 

Laurent said, “Then sleep early.” 

“Wait,” Ava stopped him. “Can you check behind my right ear? One of the girls said I might’ve been bitten or something. I tried looking in the mirror, but I couldn’t see anything.” 

She tilted her head toward him. Laurent raised his hand and gently held her ear. 

His fingertips touched the skin behind it. “There’s nothing.” 

“You’re sure?” 

“I don’t see anything.” 

“Okay, maybe it really was just a bug.” 

“Ava.” 

She looked up at him. “Yeah? What?” 

Laurent lowered his hand and rubbed his fingers together. “Nothing. Go to sleep.” 

“Goodnight,” Ava said. She waved at him and closed the door as soon as he stepped out. 

Laurent stood outside the door for a long time. His eyes looked like they were burning with something fierce, but it vanished in the next second. 

Once firearms training started, they rode to the range on the first day. From the second day on, the girls only rode halfway. They had to run the rest. The guys ran the full route. 

The sudden increase in difficulty left most of the girls struggling. Just a short jog had some of them gasping for air. 

Ivan’s voice rang out loud and sharp. “You girls are only running three miles. The guys are running all of it. Keep going. Once you get past this phase, you’ll be glad you pushed yourself when we hit the survival challenge.” 

The moment they heard “survival challenge,” some of the girls snapped. 

“Did they switch instructors this year? It didn’t use to be this intense. Why the hell are we doing survival training? We’re not even in a military academy!” 

“They’re treating us like test subjects or something. Whoever’s in charge of this, I swear I’m calling them out during the final exercise!” 

“The head instructor must be some grumpy single dude Zero compassion. I hope he stays single forever!” 

20:37 Tue, Jan 20 W. G.