The night is so cold that I feel my bones freezing. I sit up on my bed and stair out of the window. There are sheer curtains draped in front of it but I see right through it.
"Can't sleep?" a quiet voice speaks
It's the girl in glasses who was reading.
"Yeah" i respond
"Are you really an Anorem?" she asks with curiosity
"I was… until now"
"Oh"
"Yeah"
The conversation drops into an awkward silence for a few seconds.
I watch her as her eyes skim my appearance. She looks at me as if she's searching for something odd, that would maybe definitely show my Anoremic heritage.
"What year are you?" i ask
Her eyes cut back to mine. "Oh I'm a first year too, just like you"
"Somebody mentioned that the rooms are assigned according to performance?" i ask
"Yes" she sits up straight in her seat and pushes her glasses farther up her nose bridge
"Once you reach the age of 20, you might activate your Paliar. Some people activate theirs much later though. Once you do, you will be enrolled in this academy to learn how to control your power. There are a series of tests however that you must go through, and that will determine your class (room number)." she explains
"Then that would mean.."
"I failed. Everyone in this room failed their test at some point.
But that doesn't stop you from improving" she adds
"Oh. I get it now"
"You must have been put here because you didn't take the test"
"I'd still be here anyway. I'm hopeless" i say with a chuckle
She chuckles too
"I'm Urna" she says
"Hello Urna. Pleased to meet you" i say with my most posh voice" an we both burst out in laughter
"I will burn your faces off if I hear but another sound from you" the girl in the eye mask between our beds spits.
We both hush up and sink into our beds
Maybe it's not going to be so bad after all.
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
The sound of a shrill and piercing bell pulls me out of my slumber. When I turn over, everyone else is already out of their beds and making them.
I clumsily get up and attempt to make my bed too. In Front of my locker is a bright red racer looking jacket and some black pants. I quickly put them on and rushed out of the room just as everyone else did.
We make our way to the courtyard where we stand in queues that alternate between male and female.
I see Yohan take the stage majestically.
"Today is the first day of your training. You will learn combat, battle strategy and honing the power of your Paliar, the Sun" he ends, looking at me.
We begin to file away after all the other leaders have spoken.
"You're coming with me" Yohan appears behind me from nowhere.
"Where are you taking me" i ask
"You'll see"
I huff in annoyance. He's insufferable
We make our way to what looks like a combat room. When we step in, there are three other people in there.
Yoda, Mateo and another girl that I do not recognize. She's tall and has long beautiful brown hair that tumbles down her shoulders.
Yoda walks towards us.
"We'll take it from here" she says to her brother
He turns around and walks out of the room.
"We meet again, princess" Mateo breaks the silence.
"The principal asked that a special task force train you" Yoda explains
"Princess treatment for the Anorem princess I guess" the girl says
"Reina, shut up" Mateo cuts her
She must be Reina Sam. The top graduating student.
I step further into the room, taking it all in. There are all kinds of scary looking equipment that I have never seen. At the center of it is a wrestling ring."
"Have you had any sort of combat training?" Yoda asks
"Yes, just some basics"
Without warning she throws her fist at me, but I spot it from the corner of my eye and duck. But before I realize, she swings out her leg and kicks my feet off the ground. I land with a thud and I swear… I hear a crack in my ribs.
"You're fast, but you're leave yourself open for attack" she explains
I look at her, and she's no longer the calm and nonchalant person I know. She has a mean scowl on her face and she looks like she would love to beat the crap out of me.
"Let's work on what you're good at… speed first" Mateo steps in
"Reina will guide you on how to dodge attacks. You're weak, so your best bet is making sure the enemy doesn't land a blow on you or you're out" he explains
I'm not weak. But i held my tongue
Reina and I made our way to the ring.
Up Close she looked terrifying. She towered over me by a couple of inches. Her eyes were a piercing blue. She was a mix of gorgeous and scary in a weird way.
Right before my eyes caught it, a punch came straight at my face.
"Too slow" she mutters
I plant my feet on the ground firmly in a fighting pose.
"You caught me off guard" i retort
"Off Guard is the enemy's best chance at you" she responds
I dodge to my right as she swings her left fist at me. And then another and another and another. She's unable to land a blow on me. I watch as her movements get more frantic as I jump around, taunting her.
I get a little confident and decide to take a swing at her. That was a mistake
She took the chance to punch me underneath my arm.
And another one to my head. The world around me spins and I lose my balance.
"That's enough for today"
I see Yohan walk in from the corner of my eye.
"I'll take her to the clinic" Mateo pipes up and jumps into the ring, catching me right before I fall.
"Damn girl, you were like lightning in there" he chuckles
" Remind me not to attack her next time" I mutter, feeling my eyes get heavy.
"Sure will" he says as he lifts me up in his arms