"Left! Right! Left—Your other left, Sohren! Under! Duck! No—Duck! Roll! Jump! Fast right— RIGHT, Sohren!"
Gray winced as his mentor screamed orders into his ear at a painfully high volume.
His shoulders ached from sparring, and his throat was dry.
He wanted water. He needed rest.
"Left!"
Coach Harding's shrill screech jerked him out of his thoughts, and Gray swerved to the left, but it was too late—
POW.
Gray stumbled back as his opponent struck him in the gut, making him fly backwards into a low-hanging stalactite.
He groaned as pain seared through him and reached for a breath, but no wind came out.
Before he could react, strong arms grabbed under his and hauled him up.
Gray could barely meet Coach Harding's steely blue eyes.
"That—" Coach Harding spat, "Was pathetic."
Gray drew his sleeve across his face.
"I'm sorry, Sir."
Harding snorted.
"You sure as hell are!"
He faced the other boy, who was smirking. "Excellent job, Justel. Take the rest of the day off."
The entire class groaned in a mixture of jealousy, disgust, and injustice, and even Gray shot Justel a dirty look.
He couldn't believe that his partner was getting rewarded for beating him up.
He couldn't complain, though; he just bowed quickly as Harding turned to face him.
"You—Sohren—go to your next class. And I expect you to drill this sequence perfectly next class, or you'll drop and give me four hundred!" he growled.
Gray tried his best not to try out that right hook Harding had showed them a few days earlier.
"Yes, Sir."
He stood in the cooling shade of the training center, and only moved when Coach Harding was out of sight.
Sighing, Gray trudged over to the Boys' Locker rooms, his body aching all over from countless blows.
Goddamn school, Gray thought bitterly, slinging his backpack straps across his shoulders.
Why did the Sohren Family just have to be picked back at Cortes City?
His mom had said it was "an honor" and "a privilege" for him and his sister to be selected.
Every year, the government chose children that they thought were "prodigies" to attend a prestigious school- Allion.
Two years ago, he and his sister had been chosen, and his parents had been thrilled.
What would they think if they saw him now?
Gray's thoughts were interrupted as a young boy crashed straight into his sore shoulder, sending him stumbling.
"God, Quinn!" Gray snapped as the boy grinned, watching as Gray's things spilled out onto the floor.
"Sorry, Sohren."
Quinn, still smiling, bent down to help. "Didn't see you."
Gray kneeled down and grabbed his books.
"Yeah, I'm sure."
Quinn stood up, watching Gray shove the contents into his bag.
"I heard Alvarez beat you up at PE," Quinn commented, and Gray didn't answer.
"You heard wrong," He lied, slinging the bag up again. "I'll see you back upstairs. I'm going to my room."
Quinn looked disappointed, but he didn't object as Gray sprinted away.
Legs sore, Gray pushed open the room to his dorm and found a girl perched on top of his bed.
"You're not supposed to be here," Gray reminded her, throwing his bag in her direction.
She caught it.
"And you weren't supposed to be born until January, but your birthday is in December," she retorted, standing up.
A sheet of dark brown hair hung past her shoulders, and her green eyes flashed.
"Seriously, Via." Gray slipped into some fresh clothes, then sat on his bed next to his sister. "Go back to your dorm."
"No way." Via locked eyes with him. "Don't tell me you forgot."
It took Gray a second to realize what she was talking about.
When he did, it hit him harder than Justel's blows, making him break into hacking coughs.
"Shit—it's today?" Gray tried to yell, but his voice came out as a hoarse whisper.
Via nodded grimly.
"Yeah, it's today."
Oh, God no.
Gray tried not to panic.
The Choosing was today.
