Five times up the rope. Each of you. Every morning. Go. Go. Go."Whitney and I ran for the ropes. I always hated this, but Whitney reached and grabbed ...the first rope and I leapt for the second so she didn't get ahead of me. I'm her disciple? What the fuck?Two thick ropes hang side-by-side from the rafters of the gym. In Phys Ed, you have to show that you can get up the rope. You can shimmy, scoot, or climb any way you want. There were grade tapes marked off at ten foot intervals with the 'A' and. Each tendon in her shoulder was taut and tight, tuned likethe high string of a harp. Her feet had come up off the floor, held down onlyby the clenching of metal and leather. She saw his head bend downward and thetension eased. She pulled herself upward onto the slanted table, her sandalsscrabbling for a hold on smooth end. But then her legs were yanked apart againand she felt her master locking each ankle restraint to the extended eyeboltson each side of the table.He returned to the wall,. He bristled, resisting the urge to wheel around and shoot her.“We must not go that way,” she said, her low voice making the hairs on his arm stand on end. “Patrols are that way. We go ‘that’ way,” she added, pointing down the Western road.“Alright,” he mumbled, taking a moment to reconfigure his map marker. It wasn’t much of a detour. They made their way down the street, sticking to the sidewalk this time, as the Brute was too large to fit between the cars. At least she was fulfilling her part. “It’ll be easier if we just do it my way.”“I disagree. I wish you’d reconsider.”“Come to bed.”“Back to that?” I asked, shaking my head.“We had this conversation and I’m not going to rehash it,” Melody declared firmly. “Go hang out with your friends.”“Where’s the strong, intelligent woman who helped me work though my problems last semester?”“Not interested in babysitting you!”I realized I wasn’t going to make any progress with Melody and I still didn’t understand why she was behaving so.