Chapter nine Ouch. Ouch, ouch OUCH! My head hurt like no other. OUCH! “We get it, Jade. Your head hurts.” A vaguely familiar voice said. I groaned and struggled to open my eyelids. I just couldn’t do it; they seemed to weigh a ton- each! My hearing still seemed messed up, which was probably why I couldn’t hear myself talking. Am I talking? I thought loudly. No answer. Good. After receiving that nice little bit of information I focused my energy on raising an eyelid. Just one, I’ll tackle my problems one baby-step at a time. But at that rate I’ll never get to getting out of here, I thought. Well you know what, self? What would you suggest we do? Open your eyes, Jade. A whispery voice said in my head. “Aaaaaaah!” I screamed, and opened my eyes. It was only after this marvelous display that I realized it was Caleb’s voice, the one that had invaded my thoughts once before. “Are you okay, Jade?” Tyler asked me. It was now that I realized the true agony in my head. I grit my teeth and tried not to cry. “Fine.” I said, as I strained not to sound in pain. “You look a little pale.” Someone else said. Now I realized where I was. I was in some kind of dorm, and I was lying on a bunk bed. I was surrounded by boys. This must be the boy’s dorm. Why did I have to choose the door to the boy’s dorm? Well, I guess it was better than staying by that dead body. Oh god, the dead body! Why did I have to remind myself! “Not just a little, she looks a lot pale!” “I’m fine,” I said, although I felt bile rising in my throat as I tried not to picture the dead body. “I’ll carry you to Caleb’s office,” Tyler offered. “No fair, you always get to be with the girls!” Some guy said. “I hardly think Jade is in the condition to appreciate anything I do for her.” The kid mumbled something that sounded like agreement. Boy did my head hurt. I closed my eyes and felt strong arms lifting me off the bunk. I felt secure next to Tyler’s warm body, his rhythmic stride lulling me to sleep. I inhaled his scent and…. Tyler was carrying me. No. Not happening. I snapped my eyes open. “I can walk,” I said. “You sure?” He asked, his voice soft and caring. “Yes.” No. “Alright.” Tyler gently set me down on the ground, but continued to support my body weight. “Ahem.” Tyler let go, and my legs wouldn’t function. I just couldn’t stand up. I felt myself falling, and closed my eyes, ready for more pain. But before I reached the ground, Tyler’s arms were around my waist again, supporting me. I opened my eyes hesitantly, expecting him to drop me, but he was already carrying me, walking towards Caleb’s office. “I can’t walk.” “That much is obvious.” “Tyler?” “Hm?” “Thanks. But do not ask what happened before I passed out. Do not.” “Wouldn’t think of it,” He replied. Once again I found myself drifting off to sleep, but when Tyler rapped on Caleb’s office door I was awakened. “Tyler? Oh, Jade. Come on in.” Tyler gently set me down in the chair. His slightly tanned hand rested on my shoulder after he had released me. “So what brings you here, Tyler?” “Jade couldn’t walk,” Tyler said. I wanted to protest, but what was the point? He was only telling the truth. “I see. Please leave.” Tyler left without another word. “Why did you run?” he asked me when the door creaked shut. “I couldn’t stay. The body… I…” I struggled to explain. “I understand. You found the corpse repulsive.” “That’s not it. I was… scared.” I hated to admit it. I watched the way Caleb’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and then came back down. His face showed disappointment. I shouldn’t have felt like I had failed him, but I did. You don’t care what he thinks! I tried to tell myself. And before, I hadn’t. So why did I now? “Do you know why I chose you, Jade?” “What?” “Why I chose you as my apprentice?” “Because I have a large magical capacity?” “Yes. But I had other criteria as well. I wanted them to be nervous, and easily frightened. You seemed to give off that vibe when I met you, but after that you were the exact opposite. “I also wanted them to have a weak mind. Well, you exceeded my expectations there.” I glared at him. “Lastly, I wanted my apprentice to be female,” Now I really glared at him. “Because in general girls are easier to control,” He said, ignoring my glare. “That’s not true. Look at me, am I easy to control?” “Yes. You are a little more stubborn than I had hoped, but otherwise everything is going as planned. I know now that you are not easily frightened, but I think that may be a good this after all. The fact that you are scared to the point of running away from a dead body disappoints me.” “Whatever. I don’t care about what you think.” Saying it out loud didn’t help. “That doesn’t matter. Completing our lesson before dinner does.” He doesn’t mean we’re going back outside, does he? Watching Caleb sit down in his desk helped quell my fears. “Since you are obviously incapable of going back to the cemetery, we will discuss the things that are needed to be taken into consideration when raising a human.” “So like rules?” “No. More like warnings. When a human is raised from the dead, they will want to return to the dead. They will want to commit suicide. No one is sure why this is, we can only guess. Humans that are raised are insecure and not good fighters, no matter how they were in their previous life, so an army of dead would be foolish. And… that’s about it.” “And you were going to have me raise a human?” “Like I said, they are warnings. Guidelines. They aren’t restrictions.” I looked more closely at Caleb, but I saw that he was telling the truth. He would have had me raise a human. There was more to Caleb than I had thought. <^> Dinner was interesting. I was stared at quite a bit. It was probably because word got out that I had collapsed in the boy’s dorm. Just a guess. I had found out that the meals got better as the day went on. Breakfast: not good, lunch: mediocre, and dinner: absolutely delicious. Tonight we had some kind of fish with a salad. I was really enjoying it. In noticed it got really quiet, and I was about to look up when someone shouted, “Boo!” I spun around in my chair. “Pay-“ I spit my mouthful of fish on Tyler’s shirt. “back,” He finished as the half chewed bite I’d taken slid down his shirt. “Nice try.” “That is so gross,” Tyler said looking down at his shirt. “That’s kind of the point.” Tyler sat in an empty chair next to me and stared at me. I was very aware of everyone’s eyes, which were also staring at me. “You don’t have to sit here, you know. You can sit by me,” Tyler murmured. I remembered wanting to sit by him the first day I came, but now I didn’t want to. I was comfortable sitting up here, and I liked being able to see everything that was going on. More often than not, there was something funny that only I could see. “Thanks, but I’ll pass,” I said. Tyler’s response to this didn’t thrill me. He took my unfinished plate of food and began walking back to his seat. “I wasn’t done eating that,” I called. “That’s kind of the point,” He replied. I ran to catch up with him and my meal. Once again, I was more than conscious of the people that stared at me. There was Ben, a girl I vaguely remembered seeing at the dance, and pretty much everyone else. “Do you have to get your way every time?” I asked Tyler as I took a seat next to him. He made a face like he was thinking about it. “Yeah, pretty much,” He replied nodding his head. Tyler leaned towards me, and for a moment I thought he was going to kiss me in front of everyone. But, thankfully, he didn’t. Instead his lips almost brushed my ears and he whispered, “Don’t fall asleep tonight, okay?” Before I could reply, he walked away. As usual, most of the people got up and walked with him. Don’t fall asleep tonight… What was that supposed to mean? I was honestly a little scared to find out. “Jade, time to go,” Caleb said. Wasn’t he even a little bit curious to know what Tyler had said to me? “Jade, we have to go.” Apparently not. The walk to Caleb’s office was silent. Maybe he expected me to tell him what Tyler said anyways. I wouldn’t tell him; it was just too creepy. When we arrived I sat down in my chair, and he sat down in his. “Show me how you’re transporting is going,” He said. It was an order. “No.” I refused to obey that order. He seemed only mildly surprised, as if he was expecting that this would happen at some time or another. “Then you may not bathe tonight.” What a lame punishment. Bathing wasn’t a necessity; I could live without it. I shrugged. “So what do the other students do after dinner?” I asked. “They have free time until we turn off the lanterns.” “Why don’t I get any free time?” “Because you’re my apprentice, and I have to teach you as much as possible before…” He trailed off. “Before…” “You’ll find out soon enough.” Caleb looked sad as he stared at me. Before what? “If I’ll find out soon enough, then why not tell me now and get it over with?” “If you’ll find out soon enough, why not just wait?” He countered. He had me there. I gave him my best glare before getting up. I attempted to transport to the other side of the room. When I got there, I transported back because I lost my left hand. I was about to transport back again to get my right arm when Caleb asked, “What are you doing?” “I’m showing you my transporting, duh.” “Oh.” He had a small smile on his face. He knew I wouldn’t rebel for long. “Whatever,” I said, and went to retrieve my arm. In turn I lost my leg. It was going to be a long night. Even longer because I wasn’t supposed to sleep.
Chapter ten I heard my door creak open. My heart beat faster, and I started breathing faster. I tried hard to look like I was asleep. I am asleep, dreaming happy things. I am not awake, and I will not wake up. “Jade, wake up,” Tyler whispered. “I wasn’t sleeping,” I whispered back. “You fooled me,” He muttered. I sat up in my bed. I was still wearing my uniform; I thought it might help me stay awake. “You look kind of pale.” “I was scared out of my mind when you told me not to sleep.” “You shouldn’t have taken me so seriously.” Before I could argue, he said, “You’ll need to change. You can’t wear your uniform, but you can’t wear a dress.” My hand froze on my dresser handle. I moved it to my hip and scowled at Tyler. “I don’t have anything else.” I heard Tyler swear quietly. But then a smile appeared on his face. I had a feeling this wouldn’t be good. “I’ll just have to make you something then.” “No. You will not make me something.” “Then you can’t go.” “Go where?” “I can’t tell you if you’re not going.” Damn you, Tyler. “Fine.” “I knew you’d come around.” “Shut up and do it.” Tyler didn’t need any more encouragement. He looked at me closely from head to toe, which I hope was for measurements, and waved his hands and whispered some words. My nightgown was replaced with a red blouse. It had short sleeves and a neck line too low for comfort. The skirt wasn’t any better. If anything, it was worse. It didn’t go anywhere near my knees, and I was almost afraid to sit down in it. The black leather boots were laced tightly up to my knees and, to my dismay, had uncomfortably tall heels. The whole outfit was much to revealing. “I look-“ “Beautiful. Now let’s go.” We walked down the hallway in silence. It was impossible for me to be angry at Tyler when he had called me beautiful. I thought briefly about slapping myself later, but decided against it when I remembered the effects of the last time I did it. “You know, Jade, you should dress like this more often.” “Oh, really,” I said. I stopped walking and put my hands on my hips. “Yeah, you’ve got some nice legs.” I kicked him in the shin. “Sorry. You’ve got some mean legs.” I started walking again; glad the shadows hid my blush. I felt giddy and dizzy, which was probably why I ran into Tyler when he stopped outside the boys dorm. The boots may have contributed a bit. Tyler knocked on the door and asked, “Are you presentable?” “I don’t see why they have to be presentable; I’m certainly not,” I muttered. “We’re fine,” Someone inside shouted. “Are you sure? You’re going to be in the presence of a lady.” “In that case, we’re more than presentable,” Another guy chuckled. “Put on a shirt, everybody,” Tyler said, sounding annoyed. I heard grumbling from inside, so I assumed they were obeying. “Now are you presentable?” Tyler asked. “Just come in already.” Tyler opened the door to reveal a dimly lit room filled with boys. I don’t remember seeing all of them in my unfortunate visit earlier today, but I wasn’t in the best condition to notice things. “It’s just Jade? Aw man! You made us get dressed for nothing!” Of course, that’s what he thought at the moment, but then he saw what I was wearing. His mouth made a small “o”, and his eyes got wide. His eyes lingered on my blouses neckline, and then on my legs. “Nice legs Jade,” Someone said. “They aren’t nice, they’re mean,” Tyler corrected. I stomped on his boot. Tyler swore. “He said it, not me.” “Yes, but you were the one who made me wear this.” “How did you get her to wear that, Ty?” A tall boy with red-ish hair asked. “She didn’t have any suitable clothing, so I made it.” “Wait a minute Tyler, you know the rules. Does that mean you and Jade are… together?” The redhead asked. Tyler walked over and put a hand around my waist. “Yeah, Jade is my girl.” “Possessive much?” I muttered under my breath. “So, Jade…. How long have you and Tyler been together?” A blond with crooked teeth asked. I felt myself go red. Unlike in the hallway, everyone could see me blush in here, and that only made me blush more. “She’s got no answer. Are you sure she’s your girl, Tyler?” “She doesn’t deny being my girl, do you Jade?” I was getting even redder if that were possible. “See? Jade’s mine.” No one argued after that. “Come on, guys! The coast is clear.” The door at the back of the dorm opened, and all the boys rushed out. Tyler and I were last. I stopped in the doorway; not quite inside, but not quite outside. I took a deep breath, and thought of Caleb. If he finds out.... What the hell. I don’t care if he finds out; I’m ready to have some fun! A smile touched my lips and I bounded after the boys. I’m ready to have some fun. <^> Once we got onto the road, everyone relaxed; myself included. I was worried that someone would catch us and we would get in trouble, I was clinging to Tyler. As soon as I realized this, I leapt away from him. It might have been dark, but I could see him smirking. I glared, but I didn’t put any feeling into it. The walk to wherever we were going was long, and the other boys were laughing and joking around. The silence between Tyler and I felt awkward. “So where exactly are we going?” I asked. “You’ll see. It’s a surprise.” “I’m honestly tired of surprises.” “Too bad,” He said, smiling. The silence felt less awkward after that. We walked behind the rest of the boys, our hands entwined. Wait a second! How long has Tyler been holding my hand? I guess I hadn’t noticed before now because it felt natural. I could see some lights off in the distance. “Is that where we’re going?” “No, we’re going to the next town.” I jerked my hand apart from his and started at him with wide eyes. “I’m kidding, Jade.” “Oh,” I said. Of course he was kidding, what was I thinking? We continued on towards the town, but Tyler didn’t grab my hand again. That made me sad. When we finally arrived, the other boys seemed to know exactly where we were going, so I just followed them. We entered a building with a sign above it saying Al’s Place. Al’s Place turned out to be a bar. As soon as I realized this, I tried to get back out the door, but Tyler had grabbed my hand again. He pulled me through the crowd and to a counter. He grabbed two empty stools and sat me down on one. Once he sat down, I said, “This isn’t the kind of place that I normally hand out at.” “So?” Tyler asked. “So I want to leave.” “You can try,” He said, gesturing towards the door. I got up, and started making my way through the crowd towards the door. What did Tyler mean, “You can try”? I was almost to the door when a man about a decade older than me grabbed my arm and yanked. I fell into his shirtless chest. “Hello, beautiful,” He slurred. His breath smelt of alcohol. I tried to pull away, but he held on tight. I stomped on his foot, but he still wouldn’t let go. Talk about determination. I used my free arm to hit him in the nose, and a satisfying scream followed. He didn’t let go, but his grip loosened enough so I could get away. The silence that followed his scream seemed louder than the noise that was present before it. What was more disturbing was that everyone was staring at me. If I felt uncomfortable before, this was just plain unpleasant. It was Tyler who broke the silence. “Dang, Jade. You just got that much more stunning.” “Because that’s my goal in life, to impress you,” I replied sarcastically. “It should be,” Tyler said. People gradually started talking again, and Tyler led me back to the counter. He handed me a mug with what I assume had some kind of alcohol in it. I was about to refuse it when I saw the challenging gleam in his eyes. I took it and gritted my teeth. He still had the look in his eyes. I grudgingly took a tiny sip of the drink; it was far from delicious. “So who’s Al?” I asked. I figured the best way to keep from drinking the foul liquid was to talk. “No one knows.” “Sounds like a good story. Why don’t you tell it?” “I don’t feel like it. Why aren’t you drinking? Don’t you like your drink?” Tyler asked teasingly. I glared at him and took a big sip. “Are you going to swallow?” He asked. I swallowed. “How do you feel?” “Normal. Are you trying to get my drunk, Tyler?” “Maybe,” He said with a smirk. “If you are, you can just get another girl.” “Maybe I will,” He said, and walked into the crowd. I could feel my mouth hanging open. I watched him walk up to a girl who gave him a flirtatious smile. I could feel my face heating up. Tyler started talking to her, and she giggled. I could never giggle, it wasn’t like me. Did Tyler like girls that giggled? Should I start giggling? It wasn’t my goal in life to impress him; if he wasn’t interested in my, who cares? I swallowed the rest of the liquid in my mug and made a grim realization. I did care. I cared about what Tyler thought of me. I cared that he was flirting with a girl when he had announced that were together earlier today. I cared about Tyler.
Note: the thing about me being "inactive" is that you'll never know when I'll strike! ------------------------------ Chapter eleven The girl gave Tyler a flirtatious smile. At least, it seemed flirtatious to me. What did I know about flirting? Nothing. Tyler laughed at something the girl said, and I just wanted to get out of here. I stood up and made my way to the door for the second time that evening (or was it morning?). This time people got out of the way for me. “Where’re you going, Jade?” Tyler asked and grabbed my arm. “Where’s your new girl, Tyler?” I snarled and yanked my arm away. “I’m talking to her,” He replied smoothly. “You look really cute when you’re jealous.” “You did that to make me jealous?” “Yeah,” He said, and he looked genuinely guilty. I clenched my teeth so I wouldn’t shout at him. What right does he have? I’m not just some stupid little thing he can play with! I turned around and walked straight into a man. “Watch it…” The guy trailed off when he saw what I looked like. “Can I buy you a drink?” “Sure,” I said, and I smiled at him. The man led me through the crowd back to the counter, and I didn’t even glace back at Tyler. Unfortunately, there were no open stools. The man who had offered to buy me a drink just tapped on a man and a woman’s shoulder. They looked up at him. “Scram,” He said. They just laughed and went back to talking. The man sighed and leaned down to whisper something in their ears. Whatever he said, it must have scared them because their eyes got wide and they left. “What’d you tell them to make them leave?” “Nothing, I just asked nicely.” “Yeah right, like I’m going to believing that.” “Fine, do you want to know the truth?” I nodded eagerly, and he leaned in to whisper in my ear. “I told them that these stools were haunted.” I snorted. “Ha, ha. Very funny.” “It’s the truth,” He said, but a small smile gave him away. “The usual?” The bartender asked. “Yeah,” The man replied, waving him away. “So what’s your name?” “Jade. Yours?” “William.” “Like the prince,” I thought aloud. “Yes,” William sighed. “Like the prince.” “Here are the drinks,” The bartender said, sliding a mug towards William and a smaller glass towards me. I took a cautious sip of the drink. It tasted slightly fruity. I looked out into the crowd of people and saw Tyler struggling to get to me. The look in his eyes told me that he was going to knock William’s brains out. Crap. “I’ve got to go,” I told William. “Alright,” He said. “It was nice to meet you, Jade.” I hurried to get to Tyler before he made his way to William. I made it to him, and just as I was about to smirk at him, he pushed my back into the wall. He placed an arm on either side of my head trapping me. “Why did you do that, Jade?” He asked his face just inches from mine. “Calm down Tyler. You said I looked cute when I’m jealous, so I figured you would look the same way. Oh yeah, and for payback” Tyler smirked as if he knew something I didn’t. He leaned in closer to me so that he pinned my body to the wall with his. His lips stopped millimeters from my own. Just kiss me already! I silently pleaded, but he still lingered there, leaving the small gap. I decided I wouldn’t wait for him to kiss me, instead I initiated the kiss. I leaned my head forward, so that my lips just barely touched teasing him like he had teased me. From there, I had planned to linger. But my control snapped before I could fulfill my plan. Our lips clashed together, but this kiss wasn’t like the others. It wasn’t slow and sweet. It was faster paced, and with every second that passed I craved more. I didn’t want to end this, but I needed to breathe. I pulled away gasping, but I wish I didn’t. As soon as I removed my lips from Tyler’s, he stepped back, dashing my hopes of continuing our kiss. He looked away while he regained his breath leaving me pressed against the wall and panting. “We should probably leave,” Tyler said; he still wouldn’t look at me. “I’ll go gather the guys.” I sighed as I watched Tyler walk away. My eyes wandered when I could no longer see him. They searched for something as beautiful as Tyler’s face to observe, but they didn’t find anything nearly as satisfying. I ended up looking at William. He was still sitting at the counter, and he was staring at me. He grinned at me and winked at me. I looked at the ground and blushed. He had seen Tyler and I kiss. “Hey, Jade. You look nice.” It was Ben that spoke. He was clearly drunk and staring at my chest. I took his mug and dumped its contents on his head. Ben passed out. Just great. Tyler came back then. He was leading the guys, and most of them seemed to be drunk. “What do we do about him?” I asked Tyler. “I’ll take his head if you take his feet,” He replied. This is going to be a long walk home, I thought. It was all worth it though. That kiss made it worth it. <^> “Jade, wake up,” Caleb said. “Why is your nightgown on the ground?” “I got warm during the night,” I lied as I snuggled deeper under the covers. It was a good thing that I had thought to shove my boots under the bed before I fell asleep. I was still in the outfit that Tyler had made for me last night. Now, I wondered how I had even slept in the thing. It wasn’t comfortable. “Aren’t you going to get up?” Caleb asked. “Aren’t you holding my nightgown?” “Oh. Right,” Caleb said, and he backed into his room shutting the door. I threw the covers off and sighed. I did not get enough sleep. I wriggled out of the red blouse and skirt, and I replaced it with my uniform. “Are you dressed, Jade?” Caleb asked. “Yes,” I replied. “Then get down to-” “Yeah, yeah,” I grumbled. “I know.” I shoved the clothing I had taken off under my bed with the boots. I flung the door open and walked into the dim hallway. The dim light made me want to lie down and sleep right there in the hallway. Instead, I shook off my sleepiness and jogged the rest of the way to the training room, so I wouldn’t fall asleep. I was late again, but no one seemed to care. I was the last girl that arrived, but there were no boys there. I tried not to snicker. “Jade, do you know where the boys are?” The teacher asked. “In bed,” I suggested. “Why do you think they’d be there?” “That’s where I want to be,” I said and shrugged. “Don’t push it,” He said, but he was grinning. “We’re here,” A boy said. They all stumbled into the training room, exhausted. “You missed stretching,” The teacher said. “It’s your own fault if you pull a muscle. Let’s run.” He opened the door and we all filed out. The early spring wind greeted me with a gust of cold air. I started jogging with the rest of the group, but the boys were struggling to keep up. I supposed they deserved it. It was life’s little “payback”. As soon as everyone had gotten back to the training room, the teacher said, “Boy’s, Jade, get over here. Now.” He sounded angry. “Can’t you let us off the hook this time?” Someone asked. “Sorry, you broke the rules.” “Wait, how did he find out?” I asked. What I really wanted to ask was: Will he tell Caleb? Apparently he could tell I was freaking out, because he said, “Don’t worry, Jade. Since this is the first time you’ve broken the rules, I won’t tell Caleb. That and I think Tyler had something to do with your participation. As for how I found out, I can see what people want most hidden, remember?” “Speaking of Tyler, will he get punished too?” Alex asked. “Yes, I was just going to go to Patricia’s class and get him.” I must have looked confused because he said, “Patricia’s teaches fencing.” They began to walk away, and I didn’t follow until the teacher said, “Come along, Jade. Patricia has been asking to meet you.” So I walked along with them, into a different training room. This one was different. It had the same stone floors, and dummies, but the room was lined with mirrors. I spotted Tyler instantly. He was fencing with who I assumed to be Patricia. I didn’t know anything about fencing, but he seemed to be doing pretty well. “Tyler! Get over here,” Our teacher said. Tyler was startled, and he dropped his sword. I barely managed to contain my laugh. Tyler picked up his sword and walked over. Patricia followed him. “What’s this all about, Albert?” Patricia asked. “They snuck out last night,” Albert, our teacher, said. Patricia’s eyes swept over the students following Albert until they landed on me. “Her too?” She asked. “No,” Albert lied. “I brought her to you because you were interested.” “Yes. I hear you’re a natural with the staff, Jade.” “I don’t know about that.” “Nonsense,” She said. “Tyler, your sword please.” Tyler handed her his sword. “Now, Jade. I’d like to see how you do with your first lesson with a sword.” “I’d rather not,” I said. I did not want a repeat of what happened with Tyler. “Aw, come on, Jade. Just one little lesson?” Tyler asked. I glared at him. By now everyone was staring at me and whispering. I grabbed the sword Patricia was handing to me. This time I was prepared for the weight, but that didn’t make it less heavy. I didn’t fall this time, but I did stumble forward a little. “Hm. You’re don’t weight much, do you?” Patricia asked. I was about to confirm her suspicion, but she decided to do that herself. She grabbed me and picked me up before gently setting me back down. “Yes, just as I thought. Unless she gains some weight, she’ll never be any good with a sword.” I was fine with that, but Albert seemed disappointed. “She’s so amazing with a staff,” He said. I opened my mouth to say I wasn’t that good, but Patricia handed me a staff. “What do you want me to do?” I asked. “Fight Tyler,” She replied handing Tyler a staff. I wanted to argue, but I didn’t. “You can start whenever you’re ready, Jade.” She’d barely finished that statement when I attacked. I didn’t want to give Tyler the advantage of predicting what I would do. He seemed to be unaffected by the alcohol he had last night unlike most of the other boys. Come to think of it, he hadn’t had much to drink at all. I continued to attack, but Tyler seemed unfazed by my constant lunges and jabs. He efficiently blocked each one. I gripped my staff tighter, angry that I couldn’t lay a finger on him. In the second it took me to tighten my grip, Tyler swung his staff up and hit me in the jaw. I didn’t make a sound, but it was painful. It just made me angrier. I tried a risky move. I probably wouldn’t have if I wasn’t so angry at Tyler. I held my staff in my right arm and pivoted so that my back was facing him. My staff swung in an arc slamming against his chest. It felt like I just hit a rock with my staff. The move is risky because now my back is facing Tyler, and I can’t see him. To solve the problem, I pivoted again. Once again, my staff came at Tyler, but this time he stopped it with one hand before it hit him. He held my staff with one hand and his with the other, and all of a sudden I knew what I was going to do. My lips curved into a smile as I kicked Tyler’s staff out of his hand. It flew across the room. Tyler had a panicked look on his face while he tried to take my staff from me. He tugged it hard, so I tugged back harder. He tugged again, and I let go.
Note: This is sorta a filler chapter, and it's... Well, I wouldn't say boring , but it doesn't move the story forward much.