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“She seemed like the nicest one of the bunch,” I offer, giving her a small smile. Who was I to judge? I guess she hadn’t really even said anything. Exhaling a sigh of relief, Kali gives me a grateful smile, going back to her food and we finish up our lunches.
“What about you, Domenic?” I ask curiously, glancing at him as we rise to deposit our plates at the cleaning station.
“No one yet.” His tone is flat, and he refuses to meet my eyes. I shrug off his strange behavior. Maybe it was Katrina, and he didn’t want us to judge him. Shrugging, I follow them out the corridor. I exhale a small, relieved sigh, convinced I must have misinterpreted his earlier looks.
“What class do we have next?” I ask excitedly, pulling out my phone just to make sure I have the same one. I look down to see Combat - Professor Barros.
“Combat?” Domenic nods, looking up from his phone, smiling,
“Same.” We both look towards Kali, except she doesn’t hold our gaze. Instead she’s fidgeting with her skirt, eyes glued to the floor. I cock my eyebrow in a silent question waiting for her answer.
“I actually have a private study with Professor Gabris in the library. I’m not exactly the combat type,” she laughs, shuffling from foot to foot.
I almost ask how she could do that, wanting to enroll in this independent study too, before I remember the moment of panic when I thought I had been kidnapped. I wished I had some sort of self-defense training, and here it was, my opportunity.
I nod, smiling at Kali before we wave her off, and she heads in the shops’ direction. The library must be in the administration section there.
Luckily, Domenic knows his way around the school, and we get there fairly quickly. We walk the halls in comfortable silence. I don’t want to push him after his avoidance in the dining hall.
We each go our separate ways once we arrive at the locker room. I push the door open, silently wishing that Kali came with me so I would have someone else in here. Walking through the wooden door, I step into an already full room of students starting to get ready for the class. Although I haven’t spoken to any of them yet, I recognize a few from my other courses.
Gray full-length lockers line the walls with long wooden gym benches placed in front of them. As I walk by, I notice each locker has a name assigned. I walk past a few girls on the way to find my name. Opening my locker, I see a set of red gym shorts and a white stretchy short-sleeved shirt, along with white tennis shoes. I change, placing my belongings into the locker and setting my combination—the shorts and top fit perfectly, intentionally loose around the legs, giving me the perfect amount of room to move.
The other girls around me wear the same uniform, although I notice that all of the other students’ shorts are black. I smile, thinking about Adrian and that sneaky Madame Cora.
Walking to the other side of the room, I open the identical wooden door, this one leading to the spacious gym—a group of guys and a few girls stand there chatting idly. Most of the girls are still getting changed.
I find Domenic standing with a student from the first class. He’s a lanky man with black hair, about the same height as me now that I’m without my heels. I stroll over to them, waving as I approach. Domenic waves back, the earlier tension having evaporated.
However, Lucas’ eyes widen in fear and he takes a step back at my approach. He looks around hesitantly, as though he is considering running for his life. I cock an eyebrow, coming to a stop next to Domenic. He looks from Lucas to me, with an expression that mirrors my own.
“You’re the girl that knows the god of war?” His voice comes out in a small squeak. He visibly gulps, Adam’s apple bobbing in his slender throat as he swallows nervously.
“If you mean, did I meet him today? Then yes, I guess I know him just as well as you do,” I say pointedly, not wanting the school to get the wrong impression. I would not become a social pariah because everyone was too scared of Mateo to approach me. He looks around nervously, as though Mateo might attack him at any moment for just speaking to me.
“I’m Olivia.” I give him a small friendly wave, trying to make a positive impression instead of the girl everyone is now terrified of.
“L-Lucas,” he stammers out just as the professor arrives. Professor Barros stands just an inch or two taller than my five foot eight height—although his bulk makes up for his lack of height—and his short black hair is cropped close to his head. The other students draw into a circle around him, growing quiet as we wait for his instructions.
“I get it. Most of you don’t want to be here.” His voice is gruff and he rolls his eyes. “You’re here though, we don’t know what your powers are yet, so we need to get you prepared for all the possibilities. This training will help you develop your powers, regardless of if you have defensive or offensive power. Learning the basics of physical defense and offense will transfer over to your powers. If you don’t have any attack magic, learning the basics will allow you some form of self-defense in case any threat arises.”
My brows furrow in confusion at his words, unsure why the academy would want demigods to be able to defend ourselves. No one has spoken of any threats. I frown, thinking about how little I truly know about this new world.
“You need to walk before you can run, or in this case, run before you can kick ass. Get moving. I want ten laps. Hustle, hustle.” He claps his hands, a thunderous boom echoing off the cavernous gym walls, shocking me for a moment before his words sink in.
A few students start to move and I follow their lead. Domenic keeping up a leisurely pace beside me. Lucas, however, falls towards the back, struggling to keep up with the other students. After the first few laps, my breaths come in ragged and I realize that I may have missed a few more cardio days than I thought.
Domenic begins pulling ahead, giving me an apologetic glance as we separate. The more athletic students are about fully lapping others by this point. Thankfully, I’m near the middle of the group. I would definitely need to get some more runs in to keep up in this class. We finally come to the final lap, and I meet up with Domenic walking ahead of me.
“Show off.” I roll my eyes teasingly, elbowing him once I catch my breath—which I am embarrassed to admit takes a few moments more than I would like.
“Admit it. You’re impressed,” he jokes, flexing his biceps and striking an over-the-top fitness model pose. I shake my head and I chuckle at his display.
We walk another two laps around the gym, letting our muscles cool down before coming to a stop. Professor Barros waves us over to the center. Instructing us in a few stretches to loosen our muscles.
“Up and on your feet,” he barks abruptly, a thunderous clap ringing out once more as I jump up, ready for the next exercise. “Get into two lines, spaced apart,” he instructs, waiting for us to organize ourselves.
“You.” He points to Lucas, his eyes wide in shock at being called on. “Front and center.”
“Show me your best defensive stance.”
A panicked look crosses Lucas’ face as he stares at the professor, arms limply hanging at his sides. Sighing, the professor moves to his side.
“You want to angle yourself to the side, placing one leg in the front and one behind. You never want to stand with your chest facing your attacker. Your chest is the largest area, so standing head-on gives them the best chance to land a blow. Your chest also contains all of your vital organs, meaning it is important to protect,” Barros explains, moving Lucas into the stance he just described. We all try to copy it while he moves through the lines, correcting everyone’s posture until he’s satisfied.
He goes on to explain a few basic moves, which he calls blocks and strikes, correcting our forms with each movement until we have the basics down for the most part. He calls out moves as we perform them, the actions becoming more and more fluid as we cycle through them.
“Now that you have a grasp on the basics, I want you to practice them with a partner. You are not to actually attack your partner. Go slowly, so the motions feel more natural,” he explains as he directs Lucas to follow him, the number of students uneven. I grimace in sympathy for Lucas as he follows the professor, visibly paling and sweat beading on his brow. The rest of the class passes by uneventfully—our bodies flowing through the new motions.
I change quickly, hoping to meet up with Kali before she leaves the library. As I exit the locker room, a sinking feeling creeps back into my gut. The physical exertion temporarily distracted me from what Professor Barros said. It’s strange that we would need to learn to protect ourselves. I chew my lip anxiously, uncomfortable with the many unknowns facing me in my new life. I need to do something about it, not just sit back and let life land blow after blow. I’m tired of letting life pass me by. From now on, I’m taking control of my life, my destiny, and the first step is finding out everything I can about my new life.
