Elite || Marhinki

•Chapter Nineteen: Advanced•

There was a short round of applause. My face burned from the attention. Hopefully, no one would be able to tell from how red it already was from the fight.

After what felt like an eternity, Lord Raub finally released my hand. I jogged up to my friends and sat next to Mari, who, thankfully, didn't look very angry.

Lord Raub took out his microphone. "Elites, you have twenty minutes to get changed. Then you shall go to your selected class."

As everyone started filling down the bleachers, everyone started congratulating me. Well, by everyone, I mean everyone but Shayne's little posse. All they did was shoot me dirty glances, but I'd been expecting that.

Wes gave me high-five as we walked into our room. Then we both had a shower. Thank God for our bathroom's two stalls with one-way glass walls.

Until the cold water hit me, I didn't really realize how hot I actually was. The second it did, however, I realized I felt like I was on fire. The exhaustion of the fights was starting to wear in. Did they have to have the competition right before class? I felt like I might collapse, no matter how soothing the water felt against my sore muscles.

The amount of willpower it took to get myself out of there and get changed was honestly impressive.

Seeing as he was nowhere to be found, I assumed that Wes had already left. Crap. Was I late? I took a quick glance at my watch, then at the schedule. 9:55. I had five minutes.

Wasting no time, I slammed the door open and took off at a sprint. At a walking pace, the Governing classroom took ten minutes to get too. All I could do was hope that I'd get there on time. Something told me that Mr. Lee Yang wouldn't be too happy if I showed up late to the first class.

Finally, I saw the classroom approaching down the hall. I ground to a halt, smoothed down my outfit, and walked in. 9:59. Right on time.

Mari was waiting for me where we usually sat, on the top row. I plopped down beside her. "Was starting to think you'd be late."

"Me? Late?" I brought my hand to my heart and gasped. "You wound me, Mari."

She nudged me playfully with her shoulder. "Get used to it."

"Maybe you should just be nicer," I nudged her back.

"Me? Nice?" she mimicked my earlier action. "You wound me, Matthew!"

Before I could respond, the bell rang, and Mr. Lee Yang walked into the classroom, dressed in his usual suit and tie. He sat down at his desk.

"So, you're the lot I'm stuck with this year, huh?" he asked.

"Yup!" Mari shouted out. I shoot her a look, which she shrugged too.

Mr. Lee Yang looked up at her. They stared at each other for a few seconds, before he looked away. Mari grinned like she'd won something.

"Well, let's get started," Mr. Lee Yang pulled a piece of paper out of his breast pocket. "I've assigned you all partners for the year. And no, you cannot switch with others. Listen for your name, as I will not repeat myself. Shayne Topp and Mari Takahashi. Olivia Sui and Wesley Johnson. Matthew Sohinki and Noah Grossman. Find your partners."

"Just my luck," Mari rolled her eyes. "See you."

I waved and stood up. Noah wasn't hard to find. He was sitting next to Olivia and Shayne, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. I approached him.

"Hey," I greeted, extending my hand. "I'm Matthew."

"I know," he rose to his feet and took it in his own. "And you obviously already know I'm Noah of family Grossman."