Downburst by Katie Robison Page A

it. I lower my head as Dee turns in my direction.
    “Do you see anyone you know?” Lila asks.
    I shake my head. “You?”
    She looks around. “A couple. The girl with the black hair over there, that’s my friend Holly. And that boy getting a slice of cake is Lester. Oh, and there’s Rye. We go to the same school. Knowing him, he was probably one of the first ones here.”
    I glance to where she’s pointing, at a table not far from us. A boy with brown hair is talking with his friends.
    “He’s something, huh?” Lila sighs. “I spent the whole trip ogling him. Too bad he’s taken.”
    “Too bad,” I say, but I’m not sure I even saw his face.
    We’ve just found a seat when the sound of a whistle makes the room go silent. Everyone looks toward the stairs as Naira, the lady with the gray-flecked braid, steps onto the floor and climbs a small platform.
    “ Manewa , initiates!” she says. “And congratulations. You’ve passed the first stage of your maitanga .” Everyone cheers. “My name is Naira,” she continues. “I’m this year’s Takaito , and I’m pleased to inform you that so far two hundred and eighty-four of our anticipated three hundred and three have arrived. That’s a new record!” More cheering.
    I furrow my brow, press my back against the chair, look up at the ceiling. But the room is spinning there too, so I look back down at my plate.
    “Anyone who arrives after midnight will be sent home, as the rules dictate,” Naira says. “In the morning, we’ll send out search parties for the stragglers.”
    I raise my eyes. Search parties? Did I hear her right? But I thought … Idiot! Of course they weren’t going to let those kids die! C’mon, Kit, really? You believed Jeremy—the guy whose idea of harmless hazing means throwing a bag over someone’s head and threatening to kill them? But that still doesn’t answer my other questions. What about the strange language? The guns? The torture?
    I’m missing Naira’s speech, so I try to pay attention. “On Day Six,” she continues, “we will celebrate your success and announce your recommended placement among the Yakone. The seventh day you will return home—more comfortably than the way you arrived, of course.” The crowd chuckles.
    Yakone. Maybe these people belong to a tribe. That would explain the language.
    “Tomorrow, you will have the morning to rest and relax,” Naira concludes. “Breakfast will be served from seven to nine; lunch, from eleven to one. Our first competition will be held at two o’clock in the Aerie. Enjoy the rest of your evening.” She places a fist over her heart. Everyone in the room mimics the gesture, so I do as well. Then Naira steps down from the platform, and the conversations resume.
    Even though the cramp in my gut hasn’t disappeared entirely, some of the tautness begins to evaporate, and I can feel color returning to my face. The guns must be for the competitions, the tomahawk too. See, there’s a logical explanation for everything. That means there’s one for the torture as well. No need to panic. I’ll just pretend I know what’s going on, get through the next six days, and everything will be fine. Then they’ll take me back to civilization, and I’ll get on with my fresh start. I regard the food on my plate. Maybe I will be able to eat something after all.
    I’m working on a piece of cake when a girl with flawless dark skin and five piercings on her left ear comes over to our table. It’s Lila’s friend, Holly.
    “Lila!” she says. “The kids from Billings brought marshmallows! We’re going to make a campfire and roast them as soon as it gets dark. Out past number twenty.”
    “Sweet,” Lila answers. “Kit, do you want to go?”
    Finally, something normal. I open my mouth to say yes then remember the rule. “I thought fires weren’t allowed.”
    “Well, obviously,” Holly says. “So we have to be careful.”
    As much as I would love some s’mores, I can’t risk getting