The Tournament

Chapter 2

Kai

Tuesday

96 hours until the reaping...

I got my lunch tray and sat down at my table with my “friends”. They really aren’t my friends, anyone who sits in a big group and bullies’ other kids around isn’t my kind of group. But I stick around with them because they are my section.

“Hey dude look, it’s the kid that got his hands smashed into the locker by Jaxon.” Jesse pointed to a kid. I followed his finger to find a small teenage boy with blonde hair that reached down to his neck, emerald green eyes and wore all green, walking over to a table. I cringed when I saw his hands, they were bruised. To his elbows and down were nasty black, purple, and yellow. Poor boy, they hurt him and all for what? Fun? These people are psycho’s. I shook my head.

As he walked by everyone was laughing at him. I watched as he finally made it to a table with I assumed were his fellow energy comrades. I sighed with relief and turned my attention back to my group. “So,” Jesse started. “Who and what are we going to do next to who and where?” I hate when he talks like that, it means someone else is going to get hurt.       

“Well, I have my eye on this one kid from the lightning section, his name is Jay Walker-”

“Jay Walker? What kind of a name is that?”

           “The name of someone who’s a loser.”  

         ‘Oh no, Jay walker? That’s the name of the kid that my sister likes.’

           “As I was saying before. I think Kai hasn’t done anything in a while so I think he should have this one-”

           “Oh c ‘mon, you always give Kai the good ones, I want this one, please! Can I have this one. Just this once?” Jesse pleaded.

           “No, Kai should have this one-”

           “I don’t think I really should, I mean. I could get the next one, this guy is just too pathetic to even bully. I think we should give this one to Charlie."

           “C’mon Kai” Jaxon replied, staring me square in the eye. “We are at the top of the chain, we’ve even got the earth section mastered, don’t you want to be one of us?” He questioned.

“Yeah, the only reason why we’ve got the Earth section mastered is because we made a deal with them. If we didn’t they could eat us to the ground in a matter of seconds.”

Everyone rolled their eyes.

           “One of us, one of us, one of us” the whole table chanted, banging on the table. Everyone turned their heads to look at our table.

           ‘Wow, they sure do get over things fast.’

           “Alright, alright. Fine, I’ll do it” I gave in. They all cheered and punched my shoulders. I walked over to the lightning table and sat down next to Jay. He glanced at me and scooched over, obviously uncomfortable with one of the bullies sitting next to him. I looked around, the whole table was silent, glancing at me then back at their phones. Jay’s phone buzzed and he took it out.

“You’re their next target, Jay” a text read from Jessica.

His eyes widened and he looked at his group. I placed a hand on his shoulder and he flinched. ‘Is it that obvious? You know what? It doesn’t even matter. Just get it done and over with.’ I took a deep breath and lifted him up by the collar of his shirt.

“I’m sorry, what did I do wrong?! Is it because I didn’t make the deadline? I told you guys I’ll have it finished by tomorrow I swear!” He started babbling nonsense. I shook my head and smashed him down on the table. He shrieked as his head smashed through the wooden table and down onto the concrete floor. I lit the hand that was holding his collar on fire. He squeaked and started struggling. Once I heard sizzling I picked him up and threw him into the trash can head first. I walked over to it.

“That’s what pieces of crap like you deserve” I told him and walked away to my table. Everyone in the cafeteria laughed except for me, the lightning table, the energy table, and my sister. I shook my head and sat down.

“I have to go guys” I told them.

“Where are you going?” Jaxon asked.

“Just to the bathroom” I explained, taking my tray and went to go dump it. But on my way over to the trashcan I couldn’t help but look over to the small teenage boy’s table. He was sitting with two twins who were so scrawny, they had no food by them.

‘Their family can’t afford food’ I rolled my eyes, ‘way to state the obvious’ I walked over to their table and they all leaned back in fear. ‘Be the bully your group wants you to be, be on the top of the chain, like Jaxon said. You know what? I won’t.’  I leaned forward and placing my tray still full of food that I hadn’t touched in between the twins and left.