The Elite Team

The Elite Team
As Michelle walked to her first class, one of the teachers walked past her and gave her a polite nod. She is sure she saw the young teacher before, but the question is where. Not dwelling on it further, she goes to her next class. As she walks in, she sees Drake and her cousins.

Walking up to them, she feels a bit unsure of what to say if they ask her about her nightmare. “Good morning, boys.” They turned around and beamed at her. “Hey, cous, hope you didn’t get lost on the way over here.” Lumus smiled, but she knew he was teasing her because she barely made it on time for class.

“Ladies and gents, I hope you are well rested. We will be doing a lot of physical training today, shifting until I am sure you are all fit enough to shift and not break something. You all might know how to shift, but shifting while fighting that is something completely different. I have only once seen a shift like that happen under the pressures of war.” He looked at the twins, and for a split second felt a surge of pride.

But before any of his students could say anything, he put his mask back on. “We need good warriors and shifters. If you train well this year, you might make our Elite Team.” Everyone gasped at once, looking around at each other. Michelle looked at their trainer and wondered why this tall, muscular, brown-haired, green-eyed werewolf warrior had looked at her and her brother and their cousins the way he did.

“Pair up pups, your training starts now. Each pair of 2 will run 30 laps, then we will move onto push-ups.” With that, they all paired up, Lumus and Remus paired up, and Drake paired up with Michelle. They started their laps and ran them comfortably.

Shift training and the rest of the classes went by fast. When Michelle met up with Stella in the cafeteria, they both were excited to exchange stories about the classes they didn’t have together. They sat together at an empty table waiting for the boys to come join them after grabbing their trays.

While they were deep in conversation, 3 older girls walked up to their table. Michelle looked up just as the girl in the middle started talking, “So, you’re the little pup from the castle. Just because you live there cleaning for the royals, doesn’t mean you belong here amongst us.” Stella was about to get up and say something when Michelle motioned for her to sit down. Drake, Lumus, and Remus, along with Darius and Neil, came and sat down at the table. The girls looked at them and blushed as Neil smiled a devilish smile, “Do you girls know that the prince and princess and their cousins came to study here at the academy?”

“O, yes, we heard, but we haven’t seen them yet. I bet the boys are just too die for, and we can’t wait to get to know the princess. At least they belong here, unlike this little miss nothing.” Neil smirked, “So you do know that the prince and his sister are twins, and so are their cousins, right, and you do know the 4 of them never leave each other’s side, EVER.”

With that, the girls realized something Neil had said was a warning that they had overstepped their boundaries. They looked at the table again, seated there were Remus with Stella, Lumus and Neil, and Drake, and last were Michelle and Darius. Seeing Remus and Lumus next to each other as well as Michelle and Drake next to each other, and realizing that both pairs of twins look so much alike, they suddenly looked like they saw a ghost.

“So, you still think I am a cleaner from the castle and that I do not belong here?” Michelle spoke in such a sweet tone that even she could not believe her confidence. The girls looked horrified, “We are so sorry, your highness, we didn’t realize that it was you. Please, forgive us.” Michelle just smiled and dismissed them with a wave.

As they walked away, everyone at the table started laughing. “Wow, they must be so angry right now. We always knew you had it in you to put people like them in their place.” Remus smiled with pride. Darius spoke up, not really understanding what was being said. “What do you mean?” “O, imm, well…” the boys were at a loss for words.

“I don’t really speak up to anyone, and I have been picked on and bullied since I turned 16. People seem to have a problem with the fact that I am different.” She looked down at her tray on the table, feeling a bit embarrassed. Darius lightly squeezed her hand, “It’s ok, we don’t have to talk about it now, the right time will come.” She was still getting used to having a mate.

The next few hours went by fast, and the group decided to meet up again for dinner at the restaurant. They met up at 20h00 and sat at a big booth close to the door. “So, what did you 2 get up to, seeing as you don’t have healing or shifting or warrior training classes?” Stella asked Darius and Neil just as they received their drinks.

Darius started, sounding very bored, “Well, apart from the classes we have together, I have blood work and potions with Stella. Potions are interesting, but the blood works, not my kinda thing. But I need to take the classes, because I want to fulfill my parents' dream of improving and perfecting the artificial blood that my kind survives on.” Michelle pressed her shoulder into his, gently nudging him, “I think that is awesome.”

Neil looked a bit more enthusiastic, “I have warrior training as well, but it is more like all the species mixed into one, and then I found a strong liking in chemistry, very similar to potions and to healing.”  After dinner, they all went back to their rooms, and each of them found a letter that was pushed under their doors. Michelle opened hers and read it out loud:

Dear Michelle,

It gives us great pleasure to invite you to trials for the Elite Team.

Please report to the training center tomorrow afternoon after class.

Regards,