A mass of bodies formed onto the mats in the center of the grounds. Ainsley kept to my side, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hannah creep out of the instructor's sight, and into the shadow of the trees. Before Ainsley could detect the confusion on my face, I turned my attention away from Hannah, and back to the instructor. I didn't want to spark any questions before we had even pieced the first bits of information together.
Coach Togs was scarier than Coach Yiorgos, yet he was kinder. He had the same stature as an Olympic medalist, and used his strength to his advantage. He didn't have to be meaner than Yiorgos, because students of all years knew what he was capable of.
"Partner up!" Togs shouted to us, and most of the students scrambled to find our matches.
There wasn't much moving for Ainsley or I to do, it was unspoken that we would spar one another. She grabbed my hand and led us to one of the vacant mats, and gestured for us to begin our warmups.
After carefully stretching our limbs, we faced one another.
"What are you doing during lunch hour?" I asked, raising my fists.
"I don't think I have anything going on. Why?" She replied, mimicking my fighting stance.
"Coop is wanting everyone to get together to swap info on the current situati-" Her fist flew at my face, and I dodged it with a second to spare. My body rolled off the matt and onto the hard ground.
"Hey! Watch it!" I grunted, and Ainsley gave a sly wink in reply.
I knew she was frustrated, and that our little sparring session would be one of the only ways we would be able to get that out. So I smirked back, and readied myself for a swift takedown. Ainsley saw my stance change, and she snorted.
"I'm pretty sure I'll be able to make it to Coop's for lunch. Now, give me your best... Little Nymph." She taunted, and waggled her perfect brows at me.
Oh, that was it. Ainsley always knew how to push my buttons.
I charged at her, and we both toppled onto the matt, struggling against each other's attempts to dominate the other. Ainsley, being the slightest bit stronger than me, had me pinned shortly after our scuffle. Her shit-eating grin put a sour taste to my loss, and I shoved her off.
When I dusted myself off, I gestured for us to go again, and she smirked wiggling one finger in my direction.
*
Sweat dripped from my brow as I was thrown onto the matt for the fifth time in a row.
I wasn't the strongest creature here, I knew that. But gods damnit, it was a different kind of embarrassment when it was Ainsley beating me. I know I got a few good rounds in, but that didn't deter my stubborn defeated attitude.
The perky fae never let a stray hair linger long, and here she was, handing me my ass on a silver platter. My mood had been completely soured on that last round, and I tried not to let it show on my face when Ainsley gave me her hand to help me up.
Either I was too distracted by recent events, or I needed to train more. My ego would convince me the first was the problem. I'd gathered what little dignity I had left, and cleared my throat.
"That was a good round, Ainsley. Let's get cleaned up and head to Coop's." I spoke, easing the tension a bit.
She giggled slightly, her usual perky mood back in place, and linked my arm with hers. We strode like that, back to the dorms to shower and change. I'd get a chance to look at the note there, and hopefully gather my thoughts before heading to Coop's.
Ainsley led us to her door, and unlinked our arms. I gave her a small smile, and wave before heading to mine. There wasn't much to say, we'd need some time to cool down after our intense sparring.
The room was silent as I trudged through, making it difficult to hide the closeness of the wall. No distracting sounds meant my attention was inevitably diverted to the claustrophobic nature of the place.
It made changing difficult, but I'd managed to pull my green dress over my body, and strap my bag to my shoulder. With a shaky hand, I pulled the note from the bag, and unfolded it.
Nymph,
Meet at the creek's cave. Midnight, or I'll have to find you. Don't make this hard. Eyes and ears everywhere.
The penmanship was subpar, sloppy, and scrawled in what seemed to be a hurry. The guy behind me wasn't intending to write it, and something spooked him enough to do so.
This could mean two things. One, he was on my side, and had knowledge of who was listening. Or two, he wasn't on my side, and this was a manipulation tactic to get me alone.
At this point, it didn't matter, I just wanted answers.