The Chosen

Chapter 5

      Saturday. The day I've been dreading, is finally here. I sluggishly roll out of bed and find Esmeray in the bathroom brushing her teeth.
"You ready for today?" She asks, spitting out the toothpaste in her mouth.
"Not even close. My stomach is in a knot right now and I feel like throwing up."
"Don't stress. You're gonna do fine. Plus it's our first tournament. You have plenty of other opportunities to bring up your ranking."
"I guess you're right" I say in a disbelieving tone.
      I pull my hair up into a high pony and help her with her hair. If there is one thing I'm good at, it's braiding. I do a princess braid around her head, making sure it's all out of her face. It looks amazing, if I do say so myself. After, I put on my regular outfit and head out the door for breakfast.
I had been in line for about 2 minutes before I hear a loud voice coming from behind me. I could match that bitchy tone to Clara of course. Great, I think, just what I need to start off my day.
"Hey clutz, I've been making a bet with Celia; short for Cecelia. She thinks you'll be out second round. But I think you'll be laying on your ass in a couple minutes."
"You better hope you're not up against me, bitch." Esmeray threatens her angrily."
"Just drop it Mere. She's not worth it." I say trying to calm her down.
"How cute. She has a bodyguard. What? Cant fight your own battles?"
I could tell she was trying to egg me on, but I won't give her the satisfaction. I can't be getting riled up before the tournament.
"Common ." I say as I turn around and walk towards the tables.
"You can't let her keep getting away with that shit. It's time someone puts her in her place."
"I know. I just can't get distracted. Not now."
I can barely eat anything. I'm too nervous. Finally, the voice overhead announces for us all to make our way to the arena and prepare for our first fights. Everyone gets up and goes on their way.
The brackets are hanging on the wall for everyone to see. I look for my name. After searching for a while, I find it. Sidney Halpart. I've never met or seen her before. I guess I'll find out in a bit.
Molly fought first. She wasn't the strongest, but she sure was quick, being able to dodge almost every punch being thrown at her. After a few minutes, Molly saw an opportunity and took it. She side kicks her opponent straight in the face, knocking her to the floor. She was victorious. Esmeray was next. Her opponent walks up to the mat, looking somewhat nervous. I felt bad for her. Honestly, I felt bad for anyone who went up against her. Not even a single minute after the whistle is blown, Esmeray moves towards her, grabbing the girls waist, and tackles her to the ground. Immediately after, she punches her opponent three times before knocking her out. Like Molly, Esmeray wins.
A couple more fights take place before I hear my name get called.
"Up next we have Sidney Halpart against Amethyst Coolidge"
Here we go, I think. I make my way up to the mats, where I finally take my first look at Sidney. She was massive. With the body of a man, she towered over me. Great, this is just fucking great. Why does my girl have to be so fucking huge. And it's just the first round. I try to remember everything Haydn taught me, but when the whistle blew and Sidney charges at me, my mind goes blank and I forget everything. I feel myself getting lifted off the floor, and after floating for a few seconds, I land flat on my back. I cough, getting the wind knocked out of me. She gets on top of me, keeping my arms to the side so I'm unable to move them.
"Common Amethyst!" I hear Mere shouting.
Those were the last words I hear before a large fist rams straight into my face. All of a sudden, everything is black.
I wake up to find Esmeray, Sage, Molly, and Haydn all huddled around, staring at me. I look around and notice that I'm in the infirmary.
"She's up" Sage tells them.
"Ya, we can see that" Esmeray says matter of factly.
"How do you feel?" Haydn asks.
"Like I just got punched in the face and got knocked out." I say as I try to sit up on my bed. My head is spinning uncontrollably, like I had just gotten off of a rollercoaster.
"That's probably not the smartest idea Amethyst" Haydn tells me as he fixes the pillow under my head and lays me back down.
"Thanks"
"You took a big beating" he says half jokingly and half serious.
"Tell me something I don't know. So much for our lessons am I right?"
"You didn't get enough time to prepare for a tournament this big. That's not your fault."
"Yeah I guess. Look, I'm not feeling that good, I'm just gonna try going back to bed"
"Ok. Well let us know if you need anything" he says before following the rest of the girls outside.
I didn't feel like talking anymore. I was embarrassed and just wanted to be alone. I can feel my face heating up, and tears begin to fall down my cheeks. God, it even hurt to cry. I wipe the tears away in frustration. So far, nothing was going right here, and I sure as hell still couldn't figure out why I was put into the red group. Any confidence that i once had in myself had disappeared. Maybe it was a mistake, I think to myself. Clearly it was. It had to be.