Animal

Teacher

After using the mansion's gym, I return to the room I was given on the second floor of the four level home. Its a basic room with a bed, dresser, and nightstand, there's nothing special about it. I move to the open suitcase sitting in the corner of the room, I hadn't bothered unpacking, and pull out Oliver's T-Shirt and another pair of black training pants. I move to the bathroom, intent on removing my sweaty clothes and taking a shower.

After I finish my shower and get dressed, I flop back onto the bed back in the bedroom and stare up at the ceiling. I had spent the whole morning with Harrison in the kitchen, we didn't speak. But then he had rushed off to a meeting at noon someplace in the mansion. I could smell when the new people entered the home, they all smell like money and strong cologne. They were twenty minutes late, if the meeting was actually at noon.

Its sometime in the afternoon now, and the smell of money and cologne had faded from the house only fifteen minutes after they arrived. Harrison is still sitting in the room the meeting was held though, if the strength of his scent is any indication.

I close my eyes, hoping I can get some sleep. The scent of blood wiggles underneath my nose and pulls me out of my light nap. I sit up and take a deep breath. Yup, that is diffidently blood and it's not animal. I contemplate pretending I didn't smell anything, not sure if I wanted to get involved in what was making that smell. But someone could be hurt.

With a sigh, I slid off the bed and exit the room. I follow the scent all of the way downstairs and out a pair of side glass doors. It's a sunny, but cool, early December day, a gentle breeze blows from the east. I find myself standing in a garden, one with beautiful multicolored flowers, rose bushes, and a large golden fountain shaped like an arrow and a couple of white benches.

I move forward, following the smell of blood. Rounding a wall covered in bright green stems and white partially bloomed buds, I come across Charlotte sitting on brown cobbled stone, at the edge of a small man-made pound. She has one of her arms submerged into the pound, her glasses sit at skinned knees, broken.

I step forward and she quickly looks up, eyes wide. Her arm lifts from the water, revealing a horribly skinned arm.

"Are your alright?" I ask as gently as I could, mostly because the girl looked as if she was about to bolt.

Her shoulders drop as she relaxes. She looks down at the pound, not answering me.

"What... happened?" I ask hesitantly and move towards her. I can recognize when someone has been beat up. She was nice to me this morning, the lease I could do is make sure she's okay.

She shifts onto her knees with a wince and smooths down her black, fluttery skirt. "Nothing..." She picks up the broken glasses and places them back onto her face.

I stop beside her. There are fishes in the pound, large white and orange ones that come up to the edge of the water and open and close their mouths. "You sure... you look like you got beat up."

Her lips pull down into a frown as she peers into the water. "I..." I watch the side of her face as she tries to gather her words. She takes a deep breath before looking up at me with pleading green eyes. "Don't tell my papa."

I wrap my arms around myself and crouch beside her. "Sure... if you tell me what happened?" I'm not even sure why I care. I had always had a soft spot for kids back home, so I guess it's that.

She opens and closes her mouth, before finally looking away. "Okay... I got beat-up..."

Even though I had expected it, the news still surprises me. "Really? Isn't your dad one of the richest men in the world? I thought kids would be afraid to mess with a kid like you."

Charlotte shoots me a look that obviously reads: 'you're completely clueless and you have no idea what you're talking about'. But instead of saying anything like that, she says, "I guess the girls at school don't care..."

"Well, why don't you tell your father, maybe he can do something about it?" I ask.

She shoots me another disbelieving look, but once again doesn't speak her mind and instead shakes her head. I find it sort of amusing that I can clearly see what it is she's thinking, but the words are never spoken. I shrug.

Silence. She looks up at me again after awhile. "Can you... teach me how to fight?" She looks hopeful and I grimace.

"Uh... there are other ways to solve differences," I say, "especially a schoolyard issue. I mean, I remember when I went to school in Spring City and use to get into it with the Georgia brothers. I mean, those idiots just wouldn't quit, always pulling my hair and calling me names." I start to get angry at the memory alone, those boys had made my life a living hell. "Snotty-nosed as-" I cough and cut myself off.

She stares up at me. "What did you do about it?"

I pounded the hell out of them everyday until it became as clear as water that they couldn't win a fight against me. "I... It doesn't matter what I did," I say. "I'm sure your situation is completely different. Isn't there a teacher you can tell?" She stares at me like I'm stupid piece of chewed up gum. A laugh almost pops out of my mouth because of that face. This girl is really good at making faces. "Okay... Why are these girls messing with you?"

She bites her lip.

"If you want my help you're going to have to tell me why?" I say.

"Its because of papa..." She says quickly, as if that clears everything up.

"Because of your daddy?" I ask with a frown.

She nods and stares at me with wide, green hopeful eyes again. "So... you'll help me?"

I cough into my glove and shift on my feet. I don't want too... "Your father has to have another Fighter you can ask? World class trainers?"

The child shakes her head. "Grandfather has a lot of Fighters and trainers, but... you're my papa's first."

"I'm his what?" I ask, startled by her words. "His first Fighter?"

"You're papa's first Fighter..." She says again, quieter now. How could that be? Isn't he the CEO and president of NOFE? "I can only ask you for help," she continues sadly, looking forlornly down at the fish pound. "They pick on me everyday and... I'm tired of it."

How can I be the CEO of NOFE's first Fighter? Somethings are just not adding up. I glance at the girl who was staring up at me, with sad eyes. I wonder if she's just a good liar. I sigh. "Yeah, sure, I'll show you how to block and..." I point to her skinned arm, "not get pushed onto the ground. Only defensive moves though, okay?"

She jumps up onto skinned knees with balled fists. She wobbles and wince before saying, "thank you, Miss Armstrong, that's all I need!" She smiles shyly at me; excitement visibly being bottled up. She twists her brown loafer into the ground "When can we start?"

I grimace, "first, just call me Scrappy."