Twelve Years Ago Today

Chapter 15: The Offer

Tidioute R.A.T. Academy, 06:00, 10/19/2004

"Gettin' used to this yet?" Casey leaned forward while jogging.

"You've given us a day to get used to it! No!" Lily was breathing hard, as was James.

"Ah, c'mon, only three more minutes! You can take it! Let's go!" She burst forward, overtaking the majority of the group. As they came back to the starting point, James practically fell to the ground.

"Argh, sonova...' -pant- 'this is gonna be the death of me. You guys do this everyday?"

"Yep! Every day. You'll adjust to it soon enough dude. Now, get prepared for class!" Thomas laughed as he picked James up, steadying him on his feet.

"T-thanks." They all spent their morning as they expected: prepping for classes, a rowdy and eventful breakfast, going on to their core classes. Today, however, they also had their combat class that day. The training room had been redone to suit the day's purpose; hand-to-hand combat. The hardwood flooring had been covered with mats, wooden dummies and punching bags lined up, and other various equipment lying about. A man was standing with his back to the class, wearing a faded blue gi. From what they could tell, he appeared to have a mullet, and seemed to be in his mid 40s. He spoke without turning to them all.

"Well then, it would seem like we have two new students! What're your names?"

"Uh, James and Lily."

"Are you talking to your grandma?! You will address me as 'sir'!" Ah crap. This guy will be tough to handle.

"Ah, um, James and Lily. Sir."

"Good. Now that we've that out of the way...' he turned around, with a dopey smile on his face. 'Nice to meetcha. I'm Mr. Walter." James' previous thought went completely out the window. Well. This is a bit, different. After getting fitted with gi's of their own, blue for James and red for Lily, they were all paired into groups. Green to hand-to-hand combat, both Lily and James were heavily outmatched by their training partner, all the while receiving tips on adjusting their form. Bruised, sweaty, and exhausted, the pair almost collapsed when the bell rang for them to be let out.

"Holy damn.' James was panting. 'How do you guys manage this?!"

"Yeah! We're dying over here!"

"Eh, you get used to it." Mark helped them to their feet.

"Do you have any other ways to manage it?' Mark shook his head. 'No? Okay, I'll just go die in bed then."

"Ah, don't be such a drama queen.' Kylar laughed. 'That's Casey's job."

"Hey!"

Dragging themselves to their dorms, the group promptly went to their respective rooms and laid down for a well deserved rest. Slipping into a set of pajamas, James laid beneath the covers of his bed, ready to pass out.

"How are we going to manage this?" His wondering aloud was interrupted by a weight suddenly bearing down on his stomach,

"I dunno. How are you going to get me off of you?"

"Gah! Get off me!" He shoved her off, but she came right back.

"C'mon, push! Keep trying!"

"Lily. I'm going to kick you."

"Well, I'm not getting off of you until you force me to! You've gotta try!"

"Lily, where are you sitting right now?"