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Quickly, the guy pulls himself to his feet, eyes murderous. “My father will be hearing of this.”
“Poppy?”
My head whips round at my nickname, and I find Mr Haims staring at me with softer eyes than before.
“The Vasi are at the other side of the training grounds running drills, you should go join them.”
I nod my head, keeping my hands tucked into my armpits and my head low as I weave my way through the students, trying my best not to fall over my own feet. “Thank you,” I mutter as I pass him.
“Ask for Ajax, he’s the current leader of the Vasi and will keep an eye on you.” His words are barely a whisper as he shifts himself closer so only the pair of us can hear.
With a swift nod, I take off in the direction he pointed, my eyes scanning the area for the elite. Further into the field, apparatus towers up into the air, with people jumping and twisting through the sections like they’re flying. My mouth drops open as I watch them go through the drills like they’re nothing. The clink of metal fills the air, and I whip around seeing the group I was just with grabbing hold of swords and other things as Mr Haims barks commands. I watch in both awe and shock as they break off into pairs and start sparring with one another. The speed at which they move is both fascinating and terrifying at once.
A shadow stretches out before me and I freeze in my spot, my whole body shaking with terror.
“I take it you’re Poison?” a deep, burly voice rumbles from behind me.
I turn slowly, chewing on the inside of my lip, and I see a pair of trainers in front of me. I track my eyes all the way up his legs and torso, my head having to crane back to be able to see his face from the sheer size of him. Any control I ever had over words seems to have vacated the building at the moment, so I just nod. I watch him, my mind trying to work out what he could be but for the life in me I can’t get a read on him.
“I’m Ajax,” he says, outstretching his hand in offering.
“Umm…” is all I manage to say, taking his hand to shake it. My own hand is dwarfed in his as I try to keep my grip as firm as I can. But it’s no use, he could snap my wrist without a second thought and there would be nothing I could do about it.
“Guess you don’t talk much then,” he says with a laugh.
I feel myself relax a little at his joking around. I still don’t trust him though; this dude is throwing out a serious vibe that I’m not sure how to react to.
“Sorry,” I say quickly, unfurling myself from the cocoon I put myself. “This whole thing is just completely out of the box for me.” I give him a soft smile and he returns it, his eyes crinkling in the corner.
“Nice to meet you,” he says, his smile growing wider, and I stop, staring up at him with wide eyes.
I cock my head to the side and openly stare, genuinely surprised that’s all he has to say.
“What?”
“No snarky comment about me being a dud?” I snarl. “You may as well get it over with.”
“Look, I know you’ve come across the less than stellar part of this place, but so what if you have no powers yet?” he says with a shrug before setting off in the direction of the group. I have to jog to keep up with his long legs. “But we’re all not like that. Plus, you may awaken your powers.” He moves further ahead and addresses the group as he reaches them. “Right, everybody, we’re going for a six-minute 5 kilometre in this run, so be sure to keep up,” he says, taking off to the front of the group.
I stand there a bumbling mess as I watch them all fall into a line and take off. How do they expect me to run three point one miles? All I ever do is run down to the fridge for a snack. Don’t get me wrong, I look athletic to most people but that’s it, looks can be deceiving, I guess. I join the back of the group, my legs feeling like they’re barely moving as I fall into step with a young-looking guy at the back.
“Hey,” he says with a smile. I nod back, feeling myself getting hotter already and we must have only been running for a couple of minutes, if that. “Name’s Rico.”
“Hey,” I say heavily, my breathing becoming laboured the further we go. “I’m Pop.”
“You trying out to be a warrior?” he asks, he looks so relaxed as he jogs at the back with me.
“No,” I manage to push between my teeth. My breathing is a lot heavier now and sweat is beading on the back of my neck. “Mr Haims sent me over here because I was late.”
“Stop having a chit-chat at the back!” Ajax booms from the front, making me nearly trip over nothing but air. I manage to keep myself upright, by the skin of my teeth. “Let’s pick it up since our newbie is able to have a chat.”
My eyes widen and I look to Rico in horror, evenhehas paled at Ajax’s words.
He can’t be serious, can he? The group gets faster, forcing me to pick up my pace, and words aren’t possible anymore as I try to keep up with the group.
CHAPTERFOUR
POTIONS CLASS
