"The first rule of defense is always to keep your ears perked up," Tara spoke, her voice booming in the great hall. "Divide yourself into groups of two. Face each other, you must be four feet apart." She said while walking, her hands behind her back, her shoulders straight, and some features of transformation were on her face. Her pupils turned gray. Aileen and Christian paired up, facing each other as instructed. Everyone went quiet, waiting for more instructions. Tara walked a few more steps, halting once in a while to straighten the posture of some trainees, then she went back to stand in the middle.
"Fist up. Like this" she showed them her small hands balled up in a fist, her right foot forward, and her arms hovering above her chest. Everyone did as told, Christian chuckled nervously, "go easy on me." He whispered to Aileen, who just shrugged her shoulders. They stood in this position for almost a minute, and then suddenly Tara yelled, "Fight." Everyone looked at each other. Not knowing how to begin, where to begin. But Tara just stared at their faces and kept yelling, "PUNCH, KICK, do something, anything. And the other person blocks it. GO." She said. A redhead behind Aileen was the first one to land a punch at her partner, who was a tall, scrawny guy. Following her example, everyone started fighting.
It was Christian who landed a punch at Aileen, but her ears were perked up, and she easily blocked it. He looked up at her, shocked for a second, and then masking the surprise with a grin. "Good one," he said. Next, it was Aileen's turn. Focusing on his shoulder, she kicked him hard on his left shoulder. He must've been expecting a punch because Christian fell, grabbing his shoulder, hissing. "Shit, I'm sorry." Aileen quickly went to her knees, trying to see if she went overboard.
Tara came up to them, "good kick." She said to Aileen. Christian sat up, still grabbing his shoulder. "I am so sorry, Chris," Aileen said, repeated. "It's alright, it was a good one," he said, getting up, leaning on Aileen. The class went about for 2 hours with a 15-minute break in between. During this time, they only focused on blocking punches and kicks at different places. Many progressed faster while others were slower. But Tara was a wonderful teacher. She didn't demotivate them by calling them names. It was 10:30 am when the trainees piled out of the great room and into the hallways, going back to their dorms. They had an hour's break.
The girl's dorm building was filled with chatter and laughter, with many placing heating pads on their shoulder and thighs. Aileen slumped on her bed, huffing. She had tied a braid and caught her breath. Before she could even kick off her shoes, the door opened, and a redhead girl walked in, her hair wet, reaching her shoulders. She glanced at Aileen and sat elegantly on the bed, opening her bag. "That was a nice kick." She blurted. Aileen blushed, "um, thanks. Your punch was good too." she commented. "No, it wasn't. I went easy because he's my boyfriend." She started chewing gum and offered one to Aileen, but she refused.
"I'm Hailey." She said, blowing the gum. "Aileen," Aileen replied, nodding her head. She wondered if they could ever be friends. "who do we have next?" Hailey asked. Aileen turned on her phone and opened the schedule. "Um.,... Roy Campbell." Shit, Aileen muttered to herself. "Oh god yes." Hailey smirked, "the only reason I came to this academy." She chuckled and fell on the bed, looking at the ceiling. "What do you mean?" Aileen asked, curious. Hailey got up, a weird smile plastered on her face. "You know he is the most sought-after guy among high Alphas and Betas? Also, I have my eyes on him. If I can bag Roy Campbell, the world will be mine." She finished with a devilish smile. Aileen thought she was a little mad. "I think we should go. We need to be early for the class, anyway." She said, picking up her shoes and tying the laces. She checked the time, and it was 30 minutes before class. She wondered if Christian was mad at her.
Leaving her insane roommate behind, Aileen left the dorm room and went out of the building, deciding to tour the campus a little.
The weather was nice; the sun was out, covering every inch of the area. Aileen walked around, watching senior trainees and official members of the group having fun. It felt so nice. I hope I make it past the audition; she wondered and kicked a stone slightly. Behind her, someone yelled her name. Aileen turned around to see it was Christian, half hopping towards her. He was smiling, and she smiled back, relief taking over. Thank god he is not mad. She thought. "Hey, I was looking for you." She said. Christian's eyes lit up. "Yeah? Me too. I met my roommate today. He is a jackass. I can only hope he doesn't make it past the auditions."
Aileen giggled. "I met mine too. She is insane, madly in love with a teacher." They started walking together towards the building where they had the next class. Aileen laughed at something he had said, and halfway through the building, Christian placed his arms around her shoulder, and Aileen welcomed it. It was a good day. They arrived in the class earlier than usual. It was empty and big. "This is amazing." Christian twirled around, his arms spread out. "I know right, I hope this class is at least fun," Aileen said, taking a seat on a bench. "And this time go easy on me." Christian came over to her and sat in front of her. They looked at each other for a while, a small smile on their face. Christian licked his lips slowly and slowly moved towards her. Before he could do something else, someone coughed from the door.
They both turned their heads to see Roy Campbell staring at them. His eyes filled with rage.