Chapter III

The gravel crunched under Matt's feet as he trotted on the main road of town. He shaded his eyes from the bright noon sun and made his way through the crowd.

He stepped into the tavern, the smell of freshly baked bread enveloping him. His eyes scanned for an open seat. When they found one, Matt made a mad dash for it, because everyone was trying to get served in here.

Matt smiled faintly, remembering a time that he and his best friend, Will, had tried sitting on the floor to be served. They had gotten kicked out- literally, by the angry customers whose ways they were blocking.

His friend, Jenny, who was a waitress, came over to him. "Hi, Matt! What can I get for you today?" she asked him cheerfully.

"Hi, Jenny," Matt said. "Can I get two chicken pot pies, please?"

Jenny cocked her head to the side. "Why two?" she queried, confused.

"Oh, my friend is coming soon," Matt explained. "Don't worry, I'm not that hungry," he said, chuckling a bit.

"Oh, okay," Jenny said, also laughing. "Is there anything you would like to drink?" she asked.

"Two ice waters are fine, thank you," Matt answered.

"I'll put the order in now," she said as she walked away.

"Thanks!" Matt called as she walked into the kitchen.

Matt looked around the room, seeing if Will had arrived yet. He didn't see Will, but something else caught his attention. On a post near him, there was a sign. It read:

Come show off your skill
In the
Annual Red Orchard
Sword Fighting Competition!
Win Real Money!
Real Prizes!
Now Just 2 Days Away!
Sign up now!

Next to the sign was a list with a few names written on it.

As Matt dreamed off gaining all the fame and glory from the competition, he felt a finger tap his right shoulder. He looked up behind him and saw a skinny, tan, and blonde boy grinning ear to ear. "Am I late?" Will asked.

"Like always," Matt replied. "How many days were you late in school?"

"Eighty-two," Will said as he sat down. "But hey, that's less than half, right?"

"Yeah, but just barely," Matt said. "Miss Down must have thought you had something against her."

Will had been Matt's best friend ever since he had stuck up for him against Manuel and his groupies. In return, Matt had helped Will in his academics. From that point on, Matt and Will had been inseparable. They spent the most time they could hanging out and goofing off with each other, even now, in the summer, when Will had to train to become a fisherman and Matt was doing chores for the whole town.

As the two friends talked and laughed, Matt's eyes drifted towards the sign again. Will saw this and looked at it, too. "Are you thinking about joining the competition?" he asked.

"Yeah," Matt said. "Do you think I'd do well?" he asked.

"Well?" Will replied. "Matt, you can win the whole thing! You've kicked my butt a whole bunch of times! You're the best teen swordsman in Red Orchard, if not Eastern Palasia! Come on, let's sign up!" he said excitedly, standing up.

"Wait a second," Matt said. He had a bemused expression on his face, with a curious smile.

Will stopped and turned towards Matt. "What?" he asked.

"You said 'let's', as in, 'let us'," Matt said. "You're going to join? You suck! Will, you will get crushed!"

"I don't care," Will said, shrugging. "Besides, I've grown stronger by helping Fisherman John around. I think I've improved my strength."

"Okay, okay, if you say so," Matt said. "But when you break three of your ribs, don't cry and blame me."

Will just rolled his eyes and went up to the sign. He wrote his name and then handed the pen to Matt. Matt wrote his name and then sat back down.

"Okay, so here's what we're going to do," Matt began, but before he could continue, Jenny brought out their meals. The boys thanked her and she walked away.

When Matt resumed talking, he noticed that Will wasn't paying attention to him. His eyes followed Will's glazed over ones and he realized that Will was staring at Jenny as she walked around the tavern.

Matt shook his head, silently laughing. 'Look at this,' he thought. 'My best friend is crushing on the pretty waitress from the tavern, and I'm stuck watching him.'

Matt snapped his fingers in front of Will's face. "Will?" Matt asked. "Will! Snap out of it!" he shouted.

"Wha? Huh?" Will said, coming to. "Oh, sorry, Matt! I must have zoned out. I didn't get much sleep last night, so I'm tired."

"Yeah, sure," Matt replied. "Do you want to go to bed, maybe with Jenny in your arms?"

Will's face turned as red as a cherry. "Wha-?! No, no, no, it's not what you think!" he began.

Matt gave him a look and said, "Will, you know I'm not stupid. I know a huge crush when I see one."

Will sighed, slumping in his seat. "All right, fine," he admitted. "Maybe I do have a crush on Jenny, but it's impossible not to! I mean, look at that long, chocolate hair, and those blue, sparkling eyes..." he said, trailing off.

Matt shook his head. "You're a hopeless romantic, you know that, right?"

"Hey," Will shot back, but couldn't come up with a good comeback. "Can we just focus on the tournament now?" he asked.

Matt laughed as he began to lay out the plans for what they were going to do.

♤♡♢♧

Matt and Will stood facing each other, wooden swords in their hands. They stood in a forest, the sunlight penetrating through the high, long branches. Will had a confused look on his face, and Matt was smirking at it.

"Wait a minute," Will said. "You want me... to attack you?" he asked, bewildered.

Matt shrugged. "Yeah. Don't worry, I know how to block," he said, getting into a stance. "Come on, hit me."

Will advanced uncertainly, circling Matt. He would start to advance but would pull back at the last moment in fear of hurting his friend. But after what seemed like an eternity, he lunged at Matt, swinging his sword overhead.

Matt blocked the blow easily, but he said, "Good! Come on, kick it up a notch."

Will smiled and then advanced, and then the fun really began.

《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》《》

Hey guys!

Thanks for reading this. Don't forget to- well, you should know the drill by now. ☺

Later!

~sjd_write

Author's Note

please comment and review