"So Shuai wants to fight us?" I asked as we took our seats in our music class. My feet ached a little from dance class, so it was nice to sit down at last.

Lidia nodded.

Shuai smiled at us from the seat behind us.

"Why didn't you just tell them yourself?" Enkai said as he laughed.

Tammy smiled at him.

"Uh, except you and Nate."

Tammy furrowed her brows.

Shuai smiled. "Don't worry, pretty lady. We will get our chance to dance in the ring later."

She blushed and waved her hand as if telling him to stop in a semi-modest way.

"Do you flirt with every girl?" Huoyin asked, narrowing his eyes.

Shuai winked at Lidia. "Only the cute and beautiful ones."

I sighed. Was he really related to Ling?

Huoyin shot him daggers.

"Uh, Shuai, please don't make Huo mad," Lidia said.

He blinked. "Mad?" He chuckled and turned his olive eyes back to Huoyin. "Wait, are you jealous?"

The redhead blushed. "Shut up! You talk too much!"

Enkai let out a laugh and said, "He's not wrong."

Shuai crossed his arms. "I don't want to hear that from you."

Huoyin grumbled. "Why do I keep getting stuck with noisy classmates?"

I glanced at Carter. He had been unusually silent. Had Enkai been too harsh on him?

"You okay?" I whispered.

Carter nodded, but his eyes remained on his legs.

I leaned closer to him. "You sure?"

He rubbed his right leg. It was then that I noticed old stitch marks. Had he broken it in the past?

"Are you injured? We can go see Koukyuu if so."

He laughed as he glanced at his scars. "No. My legs are okay. Was just massaging them. T-this helps keep them nice and healthy."

Come to think of it, my partner and a few of the others had done something similar.

"So, you don't have a leg that needs constant monitoring?" I asked.

"Nope! B-but, hurting this one did teach me how precious our legs are."

So, he can talk to me a bit better than before. But that stutter remained.

"Hmm, Ms. Key isn't here yet," Aurelius said. "Think something happened to her?"

"Maybe she'll arrive as soon as the bell rings like Mrs. Hirata usually does," Cart said.

"But Ms. Key is usually in class before her students."

"Don't say that, Au! You're starting to scare me," Lidia said.

"Sorry."

I held my hand out. "Should I look for her?"

"No need," Ms. Key said as the bell rang.

Cart smiled proudly at his prediction being correct.

"Had to get something," our teacher said as she put down the slim case she was holding on the table.

"What is it?" Aurelius asked leaning forward.

Tammy stared at it curiously too.

Ms. Key snickered as she clicked the box open. Inside was a flute.

"Are we playing the flute today?" Carter asked, blinking

She nodded. "Yes. But since I didn't have one for myself, I went home to get the old one I used when I was your age."

"How old is that? Ten years?" Carter asked.

"A bit over that."

Tamara moved her fingers.

"She's asking what song we're gonna learn," Carter said.

Ms. Key chuckled. "I can understand sign language too, but thanks for the translation. We're starting off with a simple one. Let's see if anyone can recognize it."

Huoyin gasped. "Glimmer, glimmer, small star!"

"Scarlet's favorite song," Lidia said, smiling.

"Huo's twin?" I asked.

"Huoyin has a twin sister? Is she cute?" Shinai asked.

"I hope so. Her brother isn't cute at all," Carter said.

I grumbled. These two wannabe playboys...

Huoyin sighed. "I won't let Scarlet date either of you. You're both trash."

"Ouch," Shuai said.

Enkai laughed. "Not sure about Carter, but you can sometimes be a jerk."

Shuai narrowed his eyes at him. "Should I be hearing that from the guy who was making his dance partner yelp?"

Enkai glanced at Carter. "Uh, sorry."

"It's alright!" Carter said, grinning.

I couldn't help but smile. Boys could really be a lot more forgiving than us girls. Well, at least me. I probably would've been mad at Enkai still if I were Carter.

Ms. Key chuckled. "Well, glad that whatever happened in your last class is resolved." She walked over to a table and opened a box. In it were several dismantled flutes.

Huoyin sighed.

"Wanted to play the piano?" Lidia asked.

He gave her a simple nod.

"Personally, I would've preferred the violin," Shuai said, shrugging.

"Huo has ambivalent feelings toward that," Lidia said, glancing at Huo.

Huoyin scoffed. "As long as it's played well, I'm fine."

I could play it well, thanks to Mother's lessons. However, the majority here had to be beginners. So no dice...

"We will in a few weeks," Ms. Key said. "Wanted to start all of you off on something that will help you get your hands moving. Now, I want you kids to grab the flute heads only."

"How come?" asked Shinon, a girl who was also in our dance class.

Our teacher smiled. "You'll see."

Huoyin furrowed his brow as he took out the flute head with his name on it. Did he not like the lack of instruction?

Once we all had our flute heads, we walked back to our seats.

"Alright, now raise your lips to the mouthpiece like so," Ms. Key said, leaning a side of the flute against her chin.

We did as she directed.

"Now, blow and see what sound you produce."

Huoyin and some of the others recoiled at the sound Carter made. It sounded as shrill as a whistle. Thankfully, I had enough experience with shrill whistles thanks to my train days.

"This is why I said to use the headpiece first. Too much air and it'll sound like Carter's. Too little and it'll sound like this." She blew on it, it barely made much of a sound.

Carter stared at his piece intently. What was he thinking? Did he figure out how to fix his terrible flute playing already.

He blew it again. A sharp sound reverberated against the white walls of the classroom. While not shrill like before, he could still improve on it.

Carter took a deep breath and tried again. This time, the sound was barely much higher than Ms. Key's soft example.

Huoyin glanced at his and blew it. The sound was muffled.

Ms. Key walked over to him. "You have to articulate."

"Articulate? But I am not speaking into it."

She laughed. "Not that kind. But the flute kind also involves tongue placement. Imagine having a watermelon seed in your mouth."

Huoyin scratched his head. "Uh, I don't eat watermelon."

"Think of it like having a grain of uncooked rice," I said before belowing into mine. It made a nice crisp sound. "Be sure to keep a steady while while at it too."

Ms. Key smiled. "Have past experience with the flute?"

I laughed. "A different kind, but I figured the same rules would apply."

"They certainly did! That was some might good flute playing!" Au said, grinning.

Tammy smiled.

"What kind of flute?" Shinon asked.

My cheeks reddened. It wasn't actually a real flute. "A stalk of bamboo that I would make into one." My dad had taught me how to make and play one during one of our outings. He would play that thing like a pro, making mystically eerie music. His flute playing seemed full of longing. Dad would often stare at the moon or water while playing it. Something told me he played it as a tribute to my departed mother.

"Oh, a homemade bamboo flute," Huoyin said.

I nodded. "You could say that."

Carter laughed. "Y-you sure are a girl of many talents."

I chuckled. "Thanks."

Huoyin took a deep breath before applying what I taught him. His flute sounded a lot better now.

"You did it! That sounded great," Lidia said, holding her arms out as if she were about to hug him, but she stopped herself.

Huoyin blushed and averted his gaze.

I snickered. He really was an ice prince.

Carter took a deep breath and blew into his flute piece. The sound was nicer this time. Not too soft nor too hard. Nor was it muffled like the one Huoyin had first produced.

Ms. Key scanned the class. "Seems most are starting to get it, but a few more rounds won't hurt. The better polished the basics are, the quicker progress we can make with the following steps."

Huoyin nodded as he played his flute piece. Seemed he was starting to grow used to it. As were Shuai and the others.

Before we knew it, music class was over.

"Seems it's time to face the Ogre, huh?" Au said, sighing.

Tammy patted him on the back as we walked out.

Aurelius smiled at her. "At least you don't have to deal with him."

She tilted her head and smiled slightly. Was she agreeing with him?

Carter took a deep breath and slapped his cheeks with both hands.

"Uh, what are you doing?" I asked.

He jumped up and down like some kind of blond, pink eyed, human rabbit. "Trying to get pumped for the test."

I chuckled uneasily. "Is this your usual test routine?"

He nodded. "Usually I do something like go on a jog or jump."

"I see." Seemed a tad counterproductive given he was burning up energy, but maybe he didn't need it. The guy was back to one hundred percent after that nap.

Huo sighed and mumbled, "Wished he would calm down."

Lidia smiled nervously. Given the two boys kept arguing, she was right to be worried.

"Good luck with that sadist!" Shuai said, waving as he and Enkai walked away. Tammy also waved and followed after them.

"Are we really going to fight him after the test?" I asked.

Lidia chucked unevenly. "Maybe I should've told him to pick another day."

"Meh. We'll beat him anyway!" Carter said, chuckling.

Huoyin shook his head. "I don't want to fight alongside you."

"Come on, we trained together under Eli and Shu! We will make a great duo!"

"Yeah, right!"

"Come on, have some faith!"

"I have faith in Suilong, but not you!"

"Not that kind!"

"I know what you meant. It was sarcasm!"

"Well, that sure didn't sound like it!"

"Boys, don't argue," Lidia said, stepping between them.

"I wasn't. Huo was the one being rude," Carter said, scoffing.

"You two need to learn to get along," I said, putting my hands on my hips.

Huoyin laughed. "Easier said than done!"

"Think he's right," Aurelius said, glancing at me.

I sighed. They were right, but they had to at least try. "Trono City wasn't built in a day."

"Everyone knows that," the two said.

I smiled. "See, you're in synch for once!"

They glared at one another before turning to look at me. "We're not!"

Lidia giggled. "It feels as if Carter's replaced Let as Huo's twin."

The boys turned their back to one another and scoffed.

"Noisy as always, I see," Mr. Obi said as he walked toward us. "Get in, we're going to begin in a bit."

We glanced at the doors of the gymnasium and entered. Most of the students from the previous class here had already left with the remaining few hurryingly gathering their stuff.

Scattered across the gym were several devices, not all that different from those used in the entrance exam.

"Say, did you only study for the writing part?" Aurelius asked, glancing at Carter.

He smiled. "Nope! I did some prana control training with Alto during the weekend!"

Mr. Obi smirked. "Ready to prove me wrong, huh? Well, take a seat. I'll explain what we'll be doing."

"This reminds me of the pop quiz he gave us on our first day," Aurelius muttered.

"Yeah. Hopefully, it goes smoother than that and the entrance exam," Carter said as he crossed his arms.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the episode ^^. Thoughts? Predictions?**