Part 1: The Academy - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Lily accepted the icepack in silence, holding it to her forehead as she stretched out on her recliner. I turned back toward the kitchen and went to continue cooking dinner. Everybody else was out of commission, recovering in their seats in the living room while Michelle tended to their wounds. Of course I also helped with that, but since nobody else was able to cook, I ended up taking that job for myself. It was a simple pasta dish, something anyone could make, but it was better than nothing. At least I knew my way around the kitchen, unlike Michelle. When I asked if she would like to take care of the food, everybody else started shouting their disagreements.

I didn’t bother to ask questions.

“So,” Michelle began, standing in front of everybody at the fireplace. “Tell me what happened.”

I only half-listened to Scott’s retelling of the story, it was already a situation I was aware of. The only things I would learn about was what happened before I got there, and that was information that hardly mattered. I focused my attention on finishing dinner as quickly as possible.

By the time I finished cooking, Scott had finished his tale as well. I took some food and scooped it onto the plates I had laid out on the counter. I grabbed a plate and entered the living room once more. Michelle glanced over at me as I entered and sent me a questioning glance. I froze in place, staring back at her uneasily. After a moment she spoke to the group again, her tone harsh.

“So you completely ignored Marcus’s plan even though it could have won you that fight?”

I started moving once more, opting to answer her question myself. “Oh no, they were going to go along with the idea,” I told her. “But somebody,” I handed the plate in my hands to Lily who accepted it begrudgingly, “Decided that they didn’t need help.”

The redhead muttered something under her breath and started digging into her food to avoid the conversation. I rolled my eyes at her reaction and went back into the kitchen to deliver the rest of the food to my dorm mates.

“I see,” Michelle said, staring at Lily who had her head down. “I think you all learned your lesson about these matters. Even though we’re all strong fighters, it doesn’t mean we know everything. In fact, I think we all lack the skill to come up with a solid plan. This is why we have Marcus; he’s a natural born strategist.”

My head snapped up at the end of her sentence and I stared at the dorm advisor through the partition in the kitchen. “What the hell are you going on about?”

“She said that you’re a strategist,” Sonia spoke up as she continued reading her book despite the injuries, “Someone who is good at coming up with plans to win wars and such; a tactician if that’s what you want to call it.”

“I know what a strategist is, what I want to know is why I’m being called one.”

“That’s because you are one,” Michelle told me.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I grumbled, delivering plates to James and Rika. They both started to devour the food as soon as it was in their hands.

Michelle shrugged as I turned my back on her and returned to the kitchen. “You may not be aware of it right now, but you will be eventually.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“The headmaster told me about you,” she continued. “I know about your abilities.”

“Abilities?” I questioned. I didn’t understand what she was talking about; there was nothing special about me. What was it the headmaster could have told her that I wasn’t even aware of myself? This is all based on the fact that I came up with a simple idea, something that was just completely obvious. It wasn’t some elaborate ability that they believe I have, that much I’m certain of.

“I’ve already said it, you’re a natural tactician. It’s something that’s extremely rare. People spend years of their lives studying the art of war, but you have as much talent as they do without any training. It all just comes to you like second nature.”

I shook my head at her and gave Sonia and Cody their plates. “You’re basing all of this on the fact that I told them to bring the fight into an alley.”

“That only just confirmed what the headmaster spoke about. Did you ever wonder why you were accepted into a school of warriors?”

I turned my back on her once again so she couldn’t see my expression. I had been asking that question ever since I got here. But was this the reason? Was it because I was some strategist that I was accepted as a student at Eliwen? If that was the case, how come I wasn’t aware of my own talent in that area? And why did the headmaster try to keep all of it a secret? Did he want me to figure it all out on my own? It certainly started making sense if I thought about it like that, yet I wasn’t able to accept these facts. I was still missing something.

Due to my lack of response, Michelle continued speaking. “You’ve heard of Luke Everheartt, right?”

“I believe he was mentioned once,” I answered. James said something about him, that he was the one who had the highest score on the entrance exam until I took it.

“Well he scored about the same as you on the exam, and he’s the strategist of class 3-A. Of course, he can fight too, but you’re both at the top.”

The more she spoke, the more the situation made sense. Maybe she was right and I did have some talent for strategizing, it certainly seemed that way. But I didn’t want to accept it, I wanted to live a normal life, I didn’t want to stand out as some master planner.

I gave Scott his food and as I held out Michelle’s plate to her, I spoke. “I’m going to need more evidence than that.” She accepted the plate and sat down on the arm of the loveseat as she thought. I returned to the kitchen once again and started to clean up the dishes.

“Okay,” Michelle spoke, causing me to stare back at her through the partition. “Let’s say that two guys from Hecatorn break into this dorm. Where would the best spot be for an ambush?”

My hand drifted upwards to brush the hair from my face as I answered, almost unconsciously. “It would have to be the bend in the stairway. Either they go past it and explore the rest of the first floor allowing you sneak up on them or you attack as soon as they turn-”. I cut myself off from saying more and turned my attention back to cleaning up the counter. “This doesn’t prove anything,” I grumbled.

“Whatever you say,” Michelle grinned at me from the corner of my vision. It would seem like she was right the whole time. But that didn’t mean I had to like it. I turned my head to look at the group once again, only to find them all staring at me. Scott and Rika gave me a thumbs-up while Sonia fixed me with her gentle smile, Cody started chuckling at James as he began clapping and Lily just rolled her eyes at the whole situation. And of course, Michelle wouldn’t wipe that smug grin from her face as she watched me.

“So,” she continued, “The headmaster sometimes asks of us to do certain jobs around the city that only fighters can handle. You’re our tactician now and we’re counting on you to help us out, okay?”

I let out a sigh as I hung my head. There was no getting out of this it seemed, she was pretty adamant about getting me to realize my skills so there was no doubt that she would continue to hound me about being their strategist. Of course, I had said before that I didn’t belong here, so maybe this would help me understand my place at Eliwen Academy.

“All right, fine,” I lamented. “But you all have to agree to listen to what I say, no questions asked. I’ll try to keep you all safe to the best of my abilities, although I swear I still have no clue what I’m doing.” It didn’t take very long for them all to give me their consent, except that Lily didn’t say a single word. I just took her silence as an okay.

“Welcome to the family then Marcus Galloway,” Michelle told me. “I think this is going to be a fun year.”

At her words, James’s face broke out into a wicked grin as he stood up. It seemed the pain from his injuries were gone. Turning to me at my spot in the kitchen, he gave me a thumbs-up and opened his mouth to speak.

 

 

“We got ourselves a tactician!” James shouted as he literally kicked open the door to our classroom.

“Please stop calling me that,” I groaned, entering the room after him. Yesterday, James wouldn’t stop calling me “Tactician Marcus” ever since I agreed to help them out.

“Why?” Cody, the next in line asked, “It’s what you are.”

“He’s just not used to it yet,” Rika answered from behind him.

“Well he better start getting used to it,” Lily snapped as she was the last to enter, closing the door behind her gently.

Mr. Bolgovich looked up from his newspaper at his desk after our loud entrance. “James, how many times have I asked you to open the door like a normal person?”

James shrugged as he took his seat. “I forget, but I’m excited! This year we have someone who can help us win the Mid-Winter Clash and stomp Class A into the ground.”

“Um, the Mid-Winter what?” I spoke up as I set my bag down beside my desk, slipping into the chair.

“The Mid-Winter Clash,” Cody explained from the other side of the room. “It’s a competition between the grades before we have our Christmas break. Every grade holds an event to see who the top class is, and then the winners of those fight it out in the Clash.”

James nodded thoughtfully, “Yeah, and 3-A always wins for our grade because they have Luke. But this year, we have you!”

“I see,” I muttered.

“So you better win it for us.” I didn’t even have to look at her to know it was Lilly that was already demanding something of me.

“Your wish is my command, Princess,” I teased. I watched as she sent me a death glare, to which I shrugged off and turned back to James. “So when is this Clash thing?”

“In two weeks,” he answered. “It’s that Friday before we start vacation.”

“Do we know what this competition is going to be?”

“Nope, it’s different every year and they don’t announce it until the day of.”

“I see…”

The bell rang then and class started, forcing me to pay attention to Mr. Bolgovich as he began his lecture. To be honest, I was rather curious about the Mid-Winter Clash and this Luke guy. I was always being compared with him and it seemed like he was a pretty famous person within the school. I wondered what would happen if I ended up leading my class to victory over him. But of course, this was all two weeks away and until then I had to focus on school work before vacation came around.

By the time lunch began I was starving, having chosen not to eat last night. As class ended for the time being, everybody stood up and left the classroom, either heading for the lunchroom or to outside. Students were able to eat anywhere, as long as they stayed on school grounds.

“You coming?” James, asked me from the door. Since I was now an “official” member of their group, it wouldn’t feel right to decline his invitation. And the way he saw it, we were already the best of friends. Although I wouldn’t use that word myself. To me, it seemed as if we were all business partners; I used my abilities to help them out and they kept me safe. It was a win-win situation even if I did enjoy my time with them all, but I wouldn’t call us friends; perhaps acquaintances at best.

I left my bag at the desk and followed James down to the cafeteria on the first floor. We pushed through the doors by the main desk, and walked down the hall until we came to a large, open archway to our right.

The sounds of conversation hit us full force as we stepped into the spacious room, students crowding around tables and standing in line for food spoke to each other in loud voices. The cafeteria was simple compared to the rest of the school. It was a room filled with nothing but circular tables, lit with overhead fluorescent bulbs and from the windows along the outer wall. Directly to the left of the entrance was the kitchen, where you would order your food. The menu changed every week and held a large variety of foods. The lunches here were actually delicious, much tastier than something I could ever make, though I definitely enjoyed what Sonia and Rika coked more. The food at the school was free, but required you to show your student ID in order to be serviced.

We pushed through the mass of people to get to one of the tables near the windows. People usually left this table open for the students living in the Pryce dorm, as it was where they always sat for lunch. Even now, the others were already there, waiting for James and I.

I took a seat beside Sonia and James filled in the spot next to me. I learned that they usually sat at their table and wasted time talking while the line died down. A few minutes into our meaningless conversation about food, someone came up to the table and tapped my shoulder.

“Excuse me, you’re Marcus Galloway, correct?” a smooth voice spoke from behind me. I saw Lily visibly stiffen in her seat as she stared behind me.

I turned and came face-to-face with an attractive looking young man. His silver hair was short and tousled atop his head, and he watched me with clear blue, calculating eyes. He was slender but well-built, having left his blazer off so the shirt hung around his form almost perfectly. I knew right away that this guy was extremely popular both inside the school and out. He smiled at me with a flawless set of white teeth, and I found it extremely unsettling. He was almost too perfect.

On either side of him were two individuals, almost as perfect looking as the one they followed. To his right was a girl with a modelesque figure, long, flowing golden hair and sea green orbs that were her eyes watched me curiously. I had to admit that in that moment my breath caught in my throat as I glanced at her. Her pink lips parted in a flirtatious smile as she picked out my reaction. I let out a nervous cough as my face started to heat up and I changed my gaze to the other student on the left.

When our eyes met he glared back with irises as red as blood, his jaw clenching in a sneer. I was pretty sure his choice of clothing was against the school’s rules, as he was dressed in only the pants and shirt, which I should mention had the sleeves completely ripped off, displaying a large amount of muscle. His black hair fell above his eyes, completing the bad-boy look he seemed to be going for. I ignored him while he tried to stare me to death and turned back to the first boy who was waiting patiently for my answer.

“Yes, I am. Can I help you?” I spoke. I had a feeling I knew who he was already, and his next words only served to justify that thought.

“My name is Lucas Everheartt, from 3-A,” he held out his hand and I stood up to shake it. Lucas was a few inches taller than me and much darker in complexion. This was the guy I was being compared to so often, the strategist of class A.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” I asked, curious as to whether or not there was a reason to his approach other than to meet me. I heard the guy next to Lucas snort, but everybody ignored him.

The silver-haired boy smiled his perfect smile before he spoke. “As a matter of fact, there is. I’ve heard a lot about you, and I don’t doubt that people have been talking about me as well. I’m interested in you, Marcus, and I would like to see what you can do.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“A sort of competition between us, something that puts our skills to the test so we can see who the better strategist really is. Everybody would like to see you in action, so how about it?” His tongue was as silver as his hair as he tried to persuade me.

I didn’t like him at all.

He was faking his entire personality to everybody, pretending to be a calm, nice guy with a caring smile. But his words were honeyed, I could see past his façade as his eyes shown with a fiery passion that was similar to James when he talked about his dreams. Lucas wanted to be the best, and he didn’t like the idea that he was being compared to me due to the entrance exam scores. So he wanted to beat me at what I was considered best at, he wanted to prove that he was better.

As much as I hated standing out and being the strategist everybody assumed I was, I didn’t want to give Lucas the satisfaction of being superior. He was vile and cruel and nobody else seemed to know it. I wouldn’t let him win.

“When and where?” I replied, crossing my arms over my chest. I don’t think anybody else around us could feel the tension in the air as I watched Lucas carefully. Everyone else at the table was silent, watching our interaction with great interest.

My nemesis broke out into his smile and clapped his hands once at my words. “Great! We’ll meet up at the school gates when classes are done. I’ll be waiting, Marcus.” He sent me a wink and walked off with his friends in tow. The girl turned and sent a wave in my direction as I stood there, watching him.

I had just walked straight into his hands, I realized. I began to wonder who Lucas really was, because every thought I had held about him was wrong. He wanted to bait me into this competition with him, so he planned every action he would take, every little detail was taken into account and he made me believe exactly what he wanted me to believe. I had completely fallen for his trap until he winked, letting me know exactly what happened. I was impressed, both by his acting skills and the way he thought it out. Without even knowing who I was, he was able to push my buttons to get the perfect response he wanted. Lucas Everheartt was really something indeed.

“You okay there?” Cody asked from behind me.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I muttered, sitting myself back down. My mind was gone for the rest of lunch, too preoccupied with how I could compete with the brilliance that was the tactician of 3-A.

Author's Note

To be honest, this chapter felt a bit rushed to me but I really like how it turned out.