The Night Tournaments

2 - Claude

"Good morning, may I have your name, please?" Ms. Penelope, the English teacher, greeted when I stepped into my first class of 9th grade.

"Hello; i-it's Claude," I stammered. Ms. Penelope looked like one of those teachers who was smiling 24/7 but turned really scary when she wanted to.

I looked around as I sat down at a desk near the middle of the classroom. I was glad that at least one of my friends was in the same English class as me: Archer West. He hadn't arrived yet, though.

I knew that the very first day of school was supposed to be somewhat exciting, but I kept feeling like something was . . . missing.

Oh, right. Now I remember, I thought, miserably burying my head in my arms. It's Ivana Radcliff. Of course it's her.

So, there was this girl who went to Golden Beach High School in Malibu, and my friends and I had met her in Paris during the summer. And after going on so many adventures together, I had . . . kinda sorta fallen for her, and as far as I knew, she had, too (which was a complete miracle, if you asked me). Ivy was the first crush that I had ever had, but the only problem was that she lived in Malibu, and I lived in LA. So . . . there was a big chance that I would never, ever see her again.

. . . That was why my entire stomach felt weirdly hollow right now. I missed her, a lot, and the feeling only grew with every day that passed.

"Claude, you already snoozing?" a familiar voice asked right beside my ear, and I jumped.

"Oh, hey, Archer," I said when I saw that it was him. "Do you like English?"

My green-eyed friend shrugged, sitting at the desk beside mine. "I don't know; I'm more of a science-y type of person. What about you?"

"English is probably one of my favorite subjects," I answered, a bit sheepishly. The truth was, I had always kind of liked to write my own short stories, although most people were surprised when they learned that about me. Oh, and also, I liked . . . fairy tales in general. I knew that it was childish and cringey, but they had always had this way of . . . intriguing me.

When the first bell rang, Ms. Penelope led the English class down to the gymnasium, where the opening assembly was going to take place. Archer and I looked around when we arrived and joined Arielle Thatcher on the bleachers.

"You guys are in the same class, right? Ugh, I'm SO jealous. I get to have Science with Jake Hayford!" Arielle huffed, looking MEGA-annoyed.

"Jake Hayford? Who's that?" Archer inquired, raising his eyebrows at her. He and Arielle had a thing for each other, too, but it wasn't even unexpected - they made the perfect couple, although their relationship wasn't official yet.

"This jerk that's been targeting me since last year," Arielle replied, rolling her eyes. "His face was the LAST thing that I wanted to see on the very first day of school."

"Oh, yeah, I remember him from when we helped Bree through that whole cheating-on-the-Science-exam situation a long time ago," I recalled, leaning over to look at Arielle.

"A jerk, you say?" Archer asked, lowering his voice as he balled up his fists. "The next time you see him, make sure to tell me, because I might just teach that dude a lesson."

Arielle laughed, but then paused when she remembered something. "Come to think of it, Jake was on my flight home from Paris, too! I had to sit beside him!"

"WHAT?!" Archer and I both exclaimed.

"He didn't even participate in the summer camp! Why was he in Paris?" I demanded.

"I don't know! He told me that he was coming back from a family trip," Arielle responded, shrugging. "Bree! Flynn! Over here!" she suddenly called, waving. Our two group leaders had arrived in the gym, and they grinned as they made their way over and joined us. Seeing our whole clan together always reminded me of everything that we had gone through during the summer - and how all of it had brought us so close together. The five of us were unbreakable now, just like our team name suggested.

Seaside Heights High School's headmaster, Mr. Philip Masterson, presented the welcoming speeches in the front of the gym, and I yawned a number of times during the first part of the assembly. My ears perked up, though, when a few teachers started talking about the extracurricular programs, activities, and teams that were being offered this year.

"The sports programs that are being offered this year for both boys and girls are: cheerleading, soccer, tennis, badminton, golf, polo, horseback riding, swimming, lacrosse, rugby, football, baseball, basketball, boxing, wrestling, martial arts, volleyball, gymnastics, archery, and fencing," one of the P.E. teachers announced. "Tryout dates will be indicated on the school website, and each sport takes place during the different seasons, with the exception of cheerleading, basketball, boxing, wrestling, martial arts, gymnastics, and fencing. These will take place during the entire school year."

I had been part of the boys' soccer and football teams since last year, and I was pretty sure that I didn't have to tryout again to continue. I wasn't close with any of the boys on either of the teams, though, so I hoped that Flynn or Archer would grant me the mercy of accompanying me this year.

After that, another teacher stepped up to the podium. "This year, the arts programs that are available are: the Dance Club, the Photography & Film Club, the Woodworking Club, the Writing Club, the Choir, the Rock Band, the Drama Club, the Pottery Club, the Fashion Design Club, and the Sewing Club. No applications are required for most of these activities, and if you are interested, please check the school activity calendar to see the dates and times for each club's meetings."

The Writing Club? My mind echoed. I wonder if they write short stories and stuff.

A few more speeches later, Mr. Masterson finally wrapped up the long assembly, and upbeat music played as the whole student body exited the gym.

"So, how do you feel about the extracurriculars that are being offered, Claude?" Archer asked me as the two of us said goodbye to our friends and rejoined our English class on the way back upstairs.

"I'm already on the soccer and football teams, and I'm not really looking for more sports to tryout for. I'm interested in the Writing Club, though," I told him. "Oh, and I was hoping that you would join the soccer and football teams, Archer. I'm in desperate need for a pal!"

"Sorry, Claude, but those two sports happen to be my least favorite," Archer said candidly, apologetically placing a hand on my shoulder. "I've been on the golf and lacrosse teams since last year, but I want to tryout for the rugby and swimming teams."

"Oh, well," I replied, sighing dejectedly. "I guess that that can't be helped; at least we're in the same chamber group. Is Flynn on the golf team with you?"

"Yeah, but he's obviously on a much higher level," Archer answered, laughing. "Seriously, he's, like, the golf team's MVP."

"Not surprising at all," I commented as we arrived back in our classroom.

Ms. Penelope saved all of us by skipping the student introductions and started her first lesson on the parts of speech in English. I didn't know if it was because it was the first day of school, or if it was because I actually enjoyed the subject to some extent, but . . . before I knew it, it was suddenly time for second block.