The Academy - Book One (Published)

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

edited by rdiall

Today was finally the day of the first and second years sparring match.  Kayla flexed her arms a little as she surveyed the team she was placed on.  Ebony, Lawrence, Christopher,  Jayman,  Detrick, Felicity and Sarah were on the team with her.  There were now 36 first years and they were divided into four teams of nine.  Each team had a captain and the four captains would hopefully communicate with each other to make sure they all worked as one unit.

"I'm so nervous," stated a first year Kayla didn't know. The poor girl's knees looked like they were going to knock together at any moment.

"It's going to be fine.  It's a friendly sparring match,” Kayla said in a soothing tone..

She sent her a reassuring smile, but as she stood outside the arena, she had a mixture of feelings.  She was nervous, excited, anxious and impatient, ready to start the sparring.  They'd heard that several dignitaries had arrived on Jiju today and they were invited to see that match. The campus was buzzing with speculation of who had arrived on a planet full of students, teachers and administrative staff.

Glancing over she watched as Ebony hurried towards her, "I'm so excited! I can't wait to get out there and take out some second years!"

Kayla had to commend Ebony on her enthusiasm.  Ebony had been hurt too when they fell down the stairs but she seemed to have moved past it.  They both had worked hard to get over the incident and were anxious to show that missing a few days of classes didn't make them weak or targets.

The door crashed open and Brian stepped into view, "Before you go out there." He began in a booming voice, "Remember to take this sparring match seriously.  I don't want to see anyone joking around. You are not here to have fun.  If you want to forfeit, do it now so you don't embarrass yourself out there.  Don't go out there with the ‘I can win’ attitude, you can't!  Lay down when hit, or you may get killed. Wait until the match is over before getting back up."  With that pep talk he disappeared.

Ebony and Kayla gawked at the empty space where Brian stood. His pep talk had missed the mark on encouraging them. Some were whispering amongst themselves about forfeiting.

"I'm not one to give up without trying," whispered Kayla to Ebony.  "Let's go grab the rest of our mates before they talk themselves out of participating.

When they found their team, they learned that two members, Felicity and Detrick, had already forfeited.  The other teams hadn't fared any better. They had already dwindled down in numbers leaving four teams ranging in numbers from six to seven.

Kayla sighed and stared at the gloomy black portals. She knew they weren't supposed to enter the arena until the void turned white.  With a quick glance around at the other first years she could feel the excitement, nervous energy and optimism they’d previously had dwindling with every passing second.  As she stood to stretch her muscles the darkness shifted and light now poured out of the entrance. Looking around she watched as others noticed and started to walk through the two doors.

Kayla winked at Ebony, and they  held hands while they walked through the door hoping they wouldn't be separated.

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Kaelen took a deep breath as he stood outside the door. He remembered doing this exact same thing listening to them yesterday while Lucas and Jacob both wondered about him and his abilities. He'd had no idea that he wasn't supposed to be able perform what they were asking him to do.  Now he was wondering what he should do so they didn't dig deeper into him and his past.   Sighing dejectedly he walked past Kayla's room, to the elevator, he needed to decide what his next moves would be. If they got suspicious about him, he could very well be putting his precious little sister into danger.