Down End Road

The week had gone by in a rush, and I was beyond relieved when it finally came to Friday. It had been my first full week at the manor school and I hadn’t busted into tears at Harris’ chilly demure or fallen asleep during one of Alex’s many hardcore training sessions.

To say I was exhausted was the understatement of the year. This morning Alex and I had gone to the weight room for training. He had demanded I lift 360 lbs above my head in ten reps. He told me that with our unnatural strength it would be like lifting a heavy weight. He was right, unfortunately.

My arms were sore, my head was pounding with an insistent headache from Battle tactics and I my wrist ached from noting down every single good and bad thing about which order to choose in career class.

Me and Ally jogged down the twisted halls of End Road Manor, until we came to a small door tucked into an elaborately decorated wall that led to a room that adjoined the ballroom. On Monday the instructor had shown us where everything was, how to use the equipment and so on. I had practiced a little bit of fencing before at an old summer camp, and my parents had tried to get me to sign up for fencing club but I had never taken an interest. Little did I know how useful it would have been.

Ally yanked on my arm harder as she ushered me into the changing room. “Why are we here five minutes early exactly?” I questioned. She had demanded that we get to the class early and still had not explained herself.

“Because, silly we want to get all the cute armor and good swords before everybody else takes them.” She reasoned. I gaped at her like she had grown a second head. Nobody had said anything about armor and swords.

“Um, All, what do you mean by ’good swords’!” I exclaimed. My heart began to pick up in a frenzied pulse and I was sure my eyes had bulged out of my head. Ally grinned sheepishly at the floor and scratched the back of her neck. Her many bangles covered her tan arms and made soft chimes in sync with her movements.

“Right about that, um, well all of us in the higher grade levels use swords and armor instead of foils and fencing uniforms.” She explained shyly.

My mind raced with all the possible ways a pointy stick could injure me. Especially in the hands of Genevieve or Heidi Leviticus. After their little show at our table on Monday night, the twin Medusa’s had gone out of their way to be absolutely horrible.

For example, they would always split me and Ally up whenever they had the chance. They would trip us with their positively vile looking stilettos, make sure that if I even got the tiniest piece of information wrong in my notebook or answering a question –which I am ecstatic to admit that much to their dismay is not often- they announce to the whole world and even go as far as to suggest that I get external tutoring, beyond the tutoring I have now.

To say they were trouble was the understatement of the century. To say they were menace’s however, hit the nail on the head. It wasn’t all for nothing though, much to my confused relief, Alex and Maverick were in all my classes -except for career class.

Alex had been like a knight in shining armor for me. It confused me to no end because his usual icy demure had begun to thaw toward me over the course of the week. Of course, this was only on rare occasions. The rest of the time he would regard me with absolute disinterest and indifference. Which was fine by me. His changes in personality, were something I had initially spent far too much time analyzing and the only thing that had come of it were relentless headaches.

I had promised myself that if Alex was going to treat me in a certain way, then I would treat him the same. For example, if he was cordial, I would be cordial and if he was stone-faced toward me, I would be the same. Of course, I would putmy own extroverted spin on it.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts and forced out a weak reply, “right, higher grade levels, weapons, go-got it.” My heart hammered in my chest and the quiet roar of blood began to sing in my ears.

I was nervous to be using a sword. The only time I had seen one was when I had gone to a renaissance exposition in a museum. I hadn’t even held a sword before, let alone used one.

I dearly hoped the day would never come that I would be forced into a life or death sword fight. We ripped of our clothes and began to put on the under suit for the armor.

The armor was surprisingly slim. It was basically black kevlar vests and a series of padding that clipped onto the matching black one piece suit.

Overall, the armor was heavy and rock solid. I slipped into boots just as all the other pupils began to file in. I internally thanked Ally that we had gotten here early. We had gotten the newest vests and gear, the older ones were all scuffed of chipped or the wrong size.

I was elated when I saw Genevieve and Heidi get the scuffed swords. I immediately scolded myself for being so petty. The door that lead to the Ballroom swung open to reveal Miss Calloway.

She is a part of the order of Washington, she comes here every year to teach. Her short black hair glinted in the dim artificial light as she swept her eyes over us, memorising our faces. As the last girl put on her boots, she pulled out an orange pear shaped piece of plastic and squeezed.

The small device let out a shrill squeak that made all of us flinch. I nervously stroked my braids. This morning I had forgone wearing my hair down and instead had braided them in four sections. Spread evenly across my head. The natural streaks of strawberry in my hair gave the braids a dim ethereal glow.

I had worn a pair of doc martins, split hem jeans with a white top, skinny scarf and oversized leather jacket. The Floridian heat was something that I had grown up in and unless it was a particularly hot day I could pretty much wear as many layers as I wanted. Within reason of course. However, the air conditioning didn’t hurt either.

We all brought our undivided attention upon Miss Calloway, who let out a huff of acknowledgement. “Right listen up Ladies, today we are going to run over the basics then spar. As you all know we will learn a new skill each lesson and spar at the end. We have you for three hours for this very reason. This class is mixed, meaning if I see you making goo-goo eyes at one of the boys instead of doing what you’re supposed to do, you will be sanctioned.” She stated in a stern tone.

Some girls giggled while other cheeks flamed crimson. Ally was among the latter. I huffed out a laugh before I patted my friend’s shoulder in encouragement.

We had grown particularly close in the past week. I came to learn that she had four younger siblings between the ages of three and fifteen. She lived in Austin Texas even though the order of Maddison was based in a sleepy town called Brambrook.

We all filed out and I put the dull edged sword in the sword belt slung low on my hips. The dull boom of hurried footsteps came from the other side of the ostentatious blue Ballroom.

Maverick’s luminescent platinum blonde head stuck out amongst the other muted shades of hair colors. Alongside him Alex’s tuft of black curls bobbed through the unruly crowd of teenage boys. Like me and Ally, Maverick and Alex had gotten the best armor, though theirs was probably left for them by the other boys who seemed to either cower in their presence or absolutely adore them.

I had noticed that Alex and Maverick were complete opposites that complemented each other well. Maverick was outlandish and extroverted, Alex was stoic and introverted. Together, they were the perfect dynamic duo.

However, I had also observed how they tended to avoid all interaction with Henry Dale and his friends. I supposed there was some bad blood there. Alex and Maverick were in a rivetted conversation with Jason who gesticulated wildly to get his point across.

Feeling my stare Alex turned his head in my direction and nodded in acknowledgment. I smiled back at him, warm and cordial. The sharp screech of a whistle drew our collective attention toward the wall of the ballroom that faced the forest. Tall glass windows were on either side of Miss Calloway and another male coach who I vaguely recognized as Mr. Miller.

“They are the cutest couple don’t ya’ think.” Ally whispered. Apparently, Mr Miller and Miss Calloway were the biggest ship at the summer school. I shook my head in disbelief at her prying and focused back to the two coaches.

“Today we are focusing on defensive movements. So, partner up and get to work.” Miss Calloway directed. I instantly grabbed Ally’s hand and she winked at me in return. I felt reassured I would have one ally to help teach me.

“Oh and your partner cannot be the same gender as you.” Mr. Miller added. I completely deflated and looked to Ally for guidance she nudged me in encouragement and laughed at the mix of groans, gulps and giggles. I did the two former.

Out of nowhere, Maverick showed up and swooped in and linked his arm with Ally. She cast a confused glance in my direction and I just shrugged. Maverick Landon was without a doubt the quirkiest person I know, well second to Kaylee and her hot chocolate and cheese.

A gravelly cough sounded behind me and Iwhipped my braided head around to face the person. Alex towered above me and my 5”7 frame with his 6”2 mountain of a body.

For a moment I was ensnared in his trapping gaze and I felt my head lighten before another cough sounded beside me. I tore my gaze from Alex’s and faced Henry. His black body armor suit clung to the well defined muscle in his arms and legs. His green eyes bored into mine with a fierce intensity I wished I could shy away from. Brown locks framed his tan face.

Henry smiled his dimpled smile and in that moment I longed for nothing more than it to be Alex who was smiling. For his green eyes to be replace by his rich brown ones. I was indisputably drawn to Alex when my mind screamed at me to stay a good cordial distance away from him and every male in the school.

I was here to learn, not to have boy drama. But then again, when was I going to meet another Alexander Griffin in my time, I thought. It was then I noticed both boys stared at me with slight concern.

“Hm, what was that.” I hummed. I distantly remembered his too smooth voice cut through my thoughts a couple of times. Alexander looked like he was smothering back a laugh. However, he failed miserably and he released a deep snort that was in no way repulsive, rather contagious.

I bit back my smile of utter bliss at the sight of his –granted tight lipped- smile. I knew I would never grow tired of his full lipped smile not ever, especially when his mouth pulled back just enough to see his shock of white teeth, and formed a proper grin.

“I asked if you would be my partner for the exercise?” Henry repeated, slowly as if he were talking to a child. His condescension riled up my anger and I felt heat rush up my spine and flush my neck scarlet. I smiled too sweetly in reply.

“No thanks, I’m with Alex sorry.” I answered. He grimaced and walked away to another girl who practically melted into a puddle at the sight of him. “Not sorry.” I muttered under my breath.”

Alex huffed out laugh and I looked at him with my brow raised. I dared him to comment. To say something. He rightfully shut his mouth and put his hands up in mock surrender. “Let’s get started shall we.”

----------------------------

I panted discreetly, unwilling to show my exhaustion to Alex. We had been taught the different methods of attack and defense and after half an hour of marking the movements we were instructed to spar to test them out on each other. However, after fifteen minutes of doing the same thing over and over again me and Alex had grown immensely board and decided to have a full blown sword fight for five minutes. However, those five minutes turned into ten then fifteen and before I knew it, we were both perspiring and secretly panting for much needed air.

The shrill whistle pulled me out of my relaxed reprieve and Miss Calloway’s voice boomed throughout the Ballroom. Her domineering presence made me eager to please her.

The class gathered in a circle around the petite but muscular form and listened intently. I ignored the sneer casted in my direction from a livid Genevieve. Heidi tugged on her arm and shook her head in disapproval. However, she still turned her nose up at me when she walked past me, Genevieve in tow.

“We are going to have a little sparring competition. We will pair you up randomly and spar. Whoever strikes a kill blow, first wins.” She relayed. Mr. Miller nodded in confirmation and set about pairing everyone up.

I was paired with Jason first, and within the first two minutes he was out. He had congratulated me and joked about how he would make a terrible knight for Washington or something like that. In all honesty, I didn’t understand half the jokes about the Society, and the ones I had understood I had not found remotely funny.

We continued to spar until it came to the final two pairs. “Alright winners step forward.” Mr. Miller commanded I stepped forward much to Heidi’s dismay, along with Maverick, Alex and Genevieve. A considerable crowd had gathered by the door. It was mostly the younger years, freshman and sophomore, who had come to watch. I gulped when I saw Harris’s stony face scowl in my direction.

His presence was menacing. “Alright, girl v girl and boy v boy.” Mr. Miller said. Genevieve cackled maniacally and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Alex and Maverick clasped each other bythe forearms before they took their positions. Alex, I had noticed, favored the defense before he would attack at the end with a kill blow.

Maverick, however, was the complete opposite. He would attack and attack before finally defending himself then once again attack. They were both extremely clever and used their body’s strengths and weaknesses to their advantage.

Maverick was leaner than Alex which meant he was faster. However, Alex still had the upper hand in strength which was why he was brilliant at defense. It was like watching a neat and composed dance whenever those two sparred.

I returned my attention to Genevieve as we made our way to the sparring circle. It was a neat circle of thick red rope. She gave me a sinister sneer, and sauntered off to her side. We drew our swords and, in a piercing, earsplitting screech, from the whistle, she leapt upon me with a flurry of jabs and blows.

I noticed how she was considerably slow, but she made up for it with her strength, however, I was stronger. Her sword struck mine with a deafening crack, and I shoved her back. Genevieve stumbled back, and I used my extra speed to sprint so that I was behind her.

I drew up my sword, prepared myself to strike. However, at the last minute she swiveled around, a permanent sneer etched into her face. Out of sheer panic I brought my sword down. Crack, our swords collided with a thunderous impact that bellowed across the room. The silence from the gathered crowd was deafening.

I glanced from the corner of my eye, to find Maverick and Alex had slowed their spar to a halt. Before I could lose my focus, I concentrated back, solely, on the fight. Genevieve kept beating against my sword with viscous attack maneuvers, that scared the living daylights out of me.

Slow murmurs began to bubble up from the gathered crowd as the duration of the spar extended. I knew we were well past the five minute mark, however, the professors didn’t seem to carein that moment. Their attention narrowed in on our swift movements and maneuvers.

Well, mine were swift, Genevieve had begun to become more sluggish and tired. She had been on the offensive for so long that she had worn herself out. In my peripheral vision, I saw flashes of green slip between teenagers palms and retreat back into the pockets of our black armor.

I was being betted on. My fury knew no bounds when I saw Maverick and Alex exchange green bills as well and with a furious groan, I shoved off Genevieve’s next attack and with all my pent-up adrenaline lunged toward her. She skidded back, but not fast enough before my sword hit the center of her throat.

The tip of the blunt sword barely poked her neck, but I won all the same, and a wave of satisfaction overcame me. Silent and stunned the crowd began a slow clap that eventually burst into a noisy rambunctious applause.

Maverick and Alex had finished their spar and according to Ally, Alex had won. A thin sheen of silver sweat gathered on Genevieve’s forehead and with a furnaceof rage that burnt in her hazel eyes, she stalked of to the other pair in the Leviticus matching set.

I glowered at Alex and Maverick and with exaggerated slowness moved over to the pair. “Right, where are my winnings.” I said, sternness penetrated my tone. Maverick looed visibly shocked, but Alex watched silently, amusement glinted in his eye. The one tick of emotion he let through his annoyingly guarded expression. “And you what’s so funny.” I accused, poking Alex in the center of his armored chest.

Maverick looked from me to Alex with a lifted brow, then looked back at me pursing his lips, like he was trying to restrain himself from commenting. “Nothing, I never said anything, and if you want all of your winnings then you might want to go over to Henry first, he was the only one –aside from me- foolish enough to bet on the New girl.” He stated in monotone.

I fumed as my anger boiled over but with a frustrated huff, reached out a grabbed the cash from the pocket in his suit, in the space between his armor and actual suit was a layer of paper and I pulled it out instantaneously. Alex grunted in disapproval but let me carry on anyway. Although I hated to admit it he was better than me in the way of combat, and could have easily stopped me, even though I had more raw strength and speed he was more experienced and that thought raced through my mind and accelerated my pulse to unhealthy levels.

I was expected to spar with Alex, and last more than a minute! With that in mind I controlled my breathing and tried to remain calm. I needed to have a clear mind if I was going to fight him. I counted the green five-dollar bills and feigned cool collection and confidence. Although inside I was a chaotic bundle of nerves. My adrenaline spiked a new high as my hands began shaking.

However, Alex: observant, calm, stoic Alex, noticed this and took my wrist in his comfortingly large hand. He looked me dead in the eyes and trapped me in his stare. “I will go easy on you, if you pride will take my generous offer.” He offered. I gritted my teeth and shook my head. Mentally, I scoffed and thought, I won’t have any pride left after the sure defeat that is to come.