The elevator ride down to the training room was silent. Jamal eyed Ula, she was looking down at the floor and on the other side. He also could see Hops looking across, smirking at him. It was such a shame it had came to this, and he was going to make Hops pay. He clenched his fists, a small stream of steam rising from his hands.
"Stop it now, Jamal." Boom said, "I don't have time for your problems."
Sighing, he relaxed and the steam slowly dissipated.
"I don't know why you have to do this. I didn't even do anything wrong." Jamal stated
"Anything wrong? You just started beating someone up literally a week before the tournament!" Boom called out.
"I was protecting Ula! He attacked her!"
"Oh is that so?"
"He's not lying." Brat spoke up.
"Yeah, Hops did hit her, so he's telling the truth." Fonda attached.
"What are ya'll fighting for then? For what? The tournament is coming up and you're trying to take our chances down with it."
"Because he attacked my girlfriend!" Jamal mentioned.
Boom just shook his head and sighed. He still looked disappointed but there was something else he wanted to add, Jamal could tell.
"Give me one solid reason, why I shouldn't tell anyone about this. And you don't have much more time to tell me either." was all Boom announced.
Jamal looked back at Ula, still looking at the floor.
"Because, it would be the right thing to do." Jamal announced, looking dead into Boom's eyes.
Boom eyed Ula and then back at Jamal. He just exhaled.
"I'm going to let it slide, but I don't want this to be discussed. Only cause you've been training the hardest. Understand?"
Jamal nodded and looked back at Ula. She was looking at him again, but still wasn't smiling. He just nodded at her and continued to look ahead, the elevator ding rang as they all walked out and into the training room.
Only Erythema was there alone, as the others were on their way to the tournament site.
"Look like you guys are here early today. Are we ready to discuss what is to come?" Erythema asked.
"Indeed, now everyone listen up." Boom reported as they walked into the middle of the room, "With the tournament in several days, we need to discuss our strengths and weaknesses. Anyone like to take a crack at it?"
"I'm just say it, I'm going to be the weakest link out of all of us, but Jamal will carry us to victory though!" Fonda answered.
"I didn't mean like that, but if that's how you view it then sure. While it is true that Fonda has, rather the least helpful power in this situation, doesn't make her completely a setback. I believe this year, the tournament will be categorized by age so not all hope is lost. That'll mean that Brat and Fonda will compete together, and Ula, Hops, and Jamal will be in another division. Now, like every year, it always changes so I'm not aware how it will go, but we can assume that teamwork will most likely be a factor in it, so stick together and don't let your guard down. Once you are in the fight, you cannot hear us, so be careful and listen to each other. If we win this, not only we get more funding, but we become honored among all other nations competing."
Jamal nodded, but didn't want to work with Hops. He looked at Ula and he could tell she was a bit nervous, but there a slight bit of confidence. He had a big grin on his face.
"Oh, I can't wait to win this." he announced to the crowd assured, "We got a tournament to win."
They all looked at him, before they began to cheer. He nodded as Ula smiled back at him. They had to win, and they believed that they could too.