Chapter 8 Trial by Obstacle
I walked out of the locker room before the tall girl, to further prove how unscared I was of her threat. Her friends looked back expecting to see her, but all they got was little old me.
We got out to the training field, and everything that they had taken me a little by surprise. They even had a state-of-the-art electric fence to keep everything in from getting out and to keep anything from getting in as well. They had everything from archery, to knives, and swords to learn how to use and fight with. All of which I knew, archery and knives were my specialties; I could use a sword if I had to, but with my size and speed, it was just a hindrance. They even had an obstacle course. I was completely amazed and grew really excited about this class. All I had to do was pass. This was going to be easy. I had to been itching for some training. I didn’t think the school would haven anything to this extent, but I was glad.
Completely in my own world, admiring the place. I almost didn't notice the person who slinked over beside me.
“Feeling scared, little mouse?” Ezra asked, standing next to me, when I turned to look at him, he gave me a cocky half-smile. “Not too late to run away. It could be dangerous for you.” I rolled my eyes at him. I wasn’t scared. I was excited.
“As if,” I snorted my reply, and began to laugh a little, “I am excited to make you and the tall girl over there, eat your words,I already took her down in the locker room anyway, so it will be easy.” His eyes widened with surprise, but he quickly cooled his expression. “Oh yeah, and that jerk friend of yours Luke,” I added. “Can’t forget about big tall, and dumb.”
“By tall girl, do you mean Kayla?” He pointed the correct girl out.
“Oh, is that her name? Yup. I took down Kayla.” I said with a shrug.
Ezra opened his mouth to say something, but before he could.
“HAWK! Get over here now.” Mr. Griffen yelled.
“Oops, guess she ratted on me.” I shrugged before walking away from Ezra and strolling over to the grumpy Mr. Griffen.
“Yes, sir?” I asked, as if I had no clue what he could possibly want. As he looked me over, Kayla walked over too. Her gaze locked right onto me, but she did not say a word.
“Miss Maddison said she walked into you two in the locker room, practicing a stretch.” He looked us both over. Kayla had the meanest glare on her face set on me. I just smiled, as if I'd done nothing wrong. “Is that what really happened?” he asked, eyes pinned on me.
“Of course! I was just trying to help my new friend Kayla get a great stretch.” I smiled sweetly and I could tell it pissed them both off.
“Yes sir, That’s what happened. A stretch.“ Kayla growled. She practically bite out each word. I guess she didnt rat me out, but also didn’t want anyone to know little old me pinned her down with ease. Good to know.
“All right dismissed.” Mr. Griffen said and Kayla walked off, I turned to do the same in the opposite direction of her but a strong hand grabbed my arm.
“She did not hurt you right, Hawks?” Mr. Griffen asked. His question surprised me, but I turned to face him and laughed a little. His eyes were on me, looking me over for any injuries, but his expression was, as usual, unreadable.
“Quite the opposite. I got a good stretch in.” I gave him a wink and a smile before I walked off. A slight flash of emotion crossed his face. Before it went right back to the cool neutral one he always had. I did not have time to see what it was, but it was there.
I stood with the rest of the class, and I noticed Kayla eyeballing me with more daggers. Man, I must have gotten under her skin. So naturally, I gave her a big smile and a wave. I heard some of the other kids gasp under their breath, and I could see her growing angrier.
"Okay, Newbies to the left for tryouts. The rest of you follow Miss Maddison for some real stretching and warm-ups." Mr. Griffen said some of the girls who must have seen everything in the locker room giggled a little bit. I could have sworn I saw a little steam came from Kayla. I wonder how mad she got from those comments and giggles.
As the two groups formed, I noticed how small the group I was in was and got excited. I needed to tamper my excitement but it was hard. My adrenaline was pumping though me like a dam broke as I thought about how much of a cake wake this was going to be.
"Okay, Newbies, today's test is going to be an obstacle race. I am sure you have heard from the upper classes how we usually do them." Mr. Griffen announced, "But there is a twist with this year’s tryouts.” The rest of my group began mumbling with one another about how there has never been a twist to the course. It seemed to have set them all on edge. I wasn’t worried. All the training I received growing up made me always ready for change, plus I had no prior knowledge of the test, so it didn't matter. “QUIET!” Mr. Griffen yelled at us. Everyone went dead silent. I guess they were all scared of him. I wasn't. “As I was saying. There is a twist that makes these tryouts harder than ever.” Mr. Griffen locked eyes on me now “The other classmates will do whatever they can to make you fail," he said, smirking at me before adding. "So hopefully you did not make any enemies, because they have been permitted to not hold back."
"Crap," I muttered under my breath.