Shadow Serpents: The Ordinary

Chapter 6: Life Gets a Little Interesting

<Clary's POV>
~A month later~

It was raining, and I was waiting at the school's double doors for Nico. Hannah had already arrived. We planned to meet after school to discuss the upcoming annual school carnival, which was just two weeks away. Yes, there's a school carnival, and I'm determined to attend no matter what, because back in Sri Lanka, my previous school hadn't hosted a carnival since 2017—that's like, what, 6 years ago? So, even if a hurricane strikes, I'm going.

Nicole, Hannah, and I had plans to play pranks on random people. For me, 'random people' means Julian. It's payback time for when he swapped my orange juice with unsweetened lemon juice. After about 10 minutes of watching Hannah flip through the pages of 'The City Of Bones' (A/N: I love those books, by the way), Nico emerged with a grin on her face.

We left the school and walked down the busy street to mine and Nico's favorite cafe. Pushing open the doors, we were greeted by the wholesome and sweet aroma of coffee. We ordered three iced coffees and got down to business. We considered placing a toy tarantula on Nick's head since he's terrified of them. We also thought about convincing the little kids to squirt Julian with water guns, which we would fill with soda, oil, or even better, hot chili sauce or egg white. MUHAHAHAHA. I can be quite the prankster. Then, we contemplated luring the boys to a taco truck and daring them to eat a taco with 'tomato sauce,' which we would secretly swap for chili sauce. Hehehehe.

After about an hour and a half of scheming, Hannah left. Once she was gone, Nico, for some reason, began to explain why she was 10 minutes late to meet us at the door. We were finishing our last-minute doughnuts and preparing to leave when, at that moment, Nico, for some odd reason, repeated her story about why she was delayed.

"Clary, you have to hear this," she began.

"I'm all ears."

"The school is going to introduce a new after-school activity. Can you guess what it is?"

"Ugh, face painting classes? Or, oh no, please don't tell me it's mandatory science classes for ALL grades." Trust me, science is like a straw—it sucks. (A/N: Apologies to those who love science; it's just not my cup of tea.)

"No way. Don't even go there."

"So, what is it? It must be thrilling since you're so excited."

"They're going to offer martial arts and shooting classes every Tuesday and Thursday. I'm signing up because I really want to challenge Nick to a proper wrestling match and hopefully win. Principal Knotts asked me to spread the word to the rest of the school since I'm in the media club. Are you in?"

"I'll check with my mom; that'll be the first thing I do when I get home. But I'm not sure if she'll agree since I'm already staying after school on the other three days of the week. We'll see," I replied, preparing to leave.

"Hopefully, she'll agree to at least one day," Nico responded, heading out the door. "Catch you tomorrow."

Mr. Blumberg arrived to pick me up. When I got home, as promised, I headed to my mom's office. To my dismay, I found Bella tidying up a very messy bookshelf. She informed me that mom had gone to the library with Della to research something about a nuclear war. Curious, I asked her what a nuclear war was. She admitted she didn't know the exact definition but understood it involved wars and nuclear bombs.

Being myself, I headed to our house library—yes, we have one. I scoured the shelves for information on nuclear wars but found nothing. After an hour of rummaging through various war books, I dashed upstairs to my study. A quick search on my laptop for 'nuclear war' yielded over 2000 results. Frustratingly, I had wasted an hour with books when everything I needed was at my fingertips. However, I couldn't delve into the articles because Bella burst in, announcing Mum's return.

I went to welcome her and finally asked the question that had been on my mind all evening. In the lobby, I found her surrounded by books, a laptop bag, and her phone, lost in thought.

"Mum?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Can I start attending an additional after-school practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays?"

"It depends on the activity. What is it?"

"Martial arts," I replied, anticipating her response.

"Martial arts, huh? Just like me."

"What do you mean, just like you?"

"At your age, your grandfather enrolled me in martial arts classes. I initially despised it, but it eventually grew on me. My coach was tough but kind. I'll see if he can teach you."

"So, is that a yes?"

"Yes, of course, it's a yes."

Elated, I did a happy dance and rushed upstairs to text Nico.

Clary

Dude, guess what?

Nico

What?

Clary

How are you always online?

Nico

A wizard never reveals his secrets.

Clary

Haha, very funny, milady of the wizards.

Clary

My mum said yes to martial arts.

Nico

Yes, yes, and yes!

Clary

Well, I guess I'm going to meet you at school tomorrow then.

Nico

Bye-bye.

After chatting with Nico, I went to wash up, had dinner, and then got straight back to my homework. Yes, I am a very, I repeat, very dedicated student *cough cough*. Note the sarcasm. I watched Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban before going to sleep.

~ The very next day ~

Ringgggggggggggggggggggg. The late bell of the day sounded. Yes, I mentally screamed and ran to the changing rooms to change for basketball practice. After practice, Mr. Blumberg came to pick me up, and as we were pulling up the driveway, I noticed another car parked near the door.

Not thinking much of it, I was greeted by the smiling, warm face of Bella. I walked in through the double doors to find myself looking at my mother talking to a man who looked a little younger than grandpa but definitely older than mum. He had a few gray hairs in his jet-black hair. He had a twinkle in his eye and a warm, welcoming smile adorned his firm face. My mum noticed me and introduced me. The man politely stood up and extended his hand for me to shake, saying,

"I'm Dr. Stephen Knox, it's a pleasure to meet you, Clary. I've heard you're interested in the world of martial arts, just like your mother was at your age."

My mother explained that he was her coach when she was my age and that he was going to be my new coach. We chatted for a little while until my mum said that we should rest because my training starts tomorrow and that Dr. Knox and I should rest up for it.