Chapter 8
❀⊱┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄⊰❀
. . . 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕣 𝟚𝟘𝟞𝟟 . . .

The class was dead silent in just a blink of an eye when a middle-aged man wearing a military suit came in. The room where emotions continuously flowed was ephemeral and was replaced by static faces and bodies.

We were like a puppet, waiting to be moved.

I made an effort not to make eye contact with him, knowing he was our professor and a part of The Supreme. Minutes hadn't passed and I was itching to move.

Fuck.

As he spoke, his dark, deep voice resonated in the room. "It's the beginning of a new semester so I suppose you're ready for another hardship. Subjects are changed. You can see that on your schedule."

Although my eyes were fixed on the board, I could still see him scrutinizing each individual present inside. When his eyes eventually landed on me, my heart was rapidly beating.

What is this feeling?

He started speaking again. "I recognize some unfamiliar faces," he whispered, "And an interesting one."

Was he talking about me? Or was I just imagining things?

"Those who just transferred stand up," he commanded.

There were ten of us who stood up. "Introduce yourselves," he pointed at someone at the bottom, "Starting from you."

Names weren't introduced but instead, each of them said their student number because apparently, we were called by that. Age was also said. Most of them were done and I was the only one left.

I opened my mouth to speak, maintaining my shaky voice hidden.

"F-0024. Fifteen years old."

Phew, I did it.

He stared at me for a while. He looked at others. "All of you, sit down." Then he looked at me. "Except you."

"Say your name," he said.

Why does he want my name? Should I tell him?

And then I remembered rule number 3.

When ordered, do it with no hesitation. Do not dare defy their words.

So I followed.

"Avidia, Sir."

"Avidia, hmm..." He repeated with my name for a while. "Such a unique name. Where have I heard it before?" he mumbled under his breath. He stopped thinking and ordered me to sit down, just like the rest.

"For those who do not know me, call me Sir Hamilton. I'll be your adviser and trainer for this semester. I don't want any tardiness in my class or else...You'll know what will happen." He took a final look at us with his eyes looking like he was threatening us.

With that, our first period had come to an end.

-----
|𝟙𝟚:𝟘𝟘 ℙ𝕄|

"Phew! I'm beat!" Lara I exclaimed.

I agreed. It was very tiring. We remained sitted during the whole 5 hours of class, not moving an inch but still trying to listen. We took notes when we're asked to. Answered when ordered to.

My body felt numb after all of those.

Now, we were given an hour of lunch break before the next class. Both of the Laras and I were at cafeteria, buying our food, while Jim and Yves already have theirs.

I made my way to our table when the two Laras excused themselves and went to the CR.

As I sat down, Yves nudged my side. "What?" I asked.

"What's the deal with you and Mason?" he whispered in my ear.

Of course, he would be suspicious. Just like what Mason did earlier, I lied. "Nothing. I've never met him before," I replied and started eating.

"I'm not dumb, Vivi. Judging by both of your reactions, you clearly know each other."

"Oh, it's nothing. He was just someone who was close to stabbing me to death because he thought I killed his younger brother when in fact I just got framed by others. What he did not know was that it was his so-called siblings' doings. So yeah, no big deal."

As much as I wanted to tell him that, I didn't.

I sighed. "It's nothing, really. Don't ask anymore, please."

He gave in and said, "Okay, okay. I won't." I still didn't think he bought it though.

I stopped eating when I saw a vision of Mason. We locked eyes and he stared at me. No, glared at me. He mouthed something before walking away.

"Fuck you."

His actions made me scoffed. Funny how he never changed. 

"Did Mason just tell you to fuck off?" Lara I said as she came back. I was surprised she saw that.

"I think so," I shrugged, "Just don't mind him."

"I don't like him," she replied while she sat down. "Say, Yves, why are you still friends with that guy?"

"He isn't a bad guy, Lara. You just...don't know him."

We finished eating and decided to roam around. Although that didn't go well.

Everywhere we went, we always saw Mason and his group for some reason. I didn't know if he was doing it on purpose, but everytime we met he would bump his shoulder with mine, hard.

When I saw him again in the hall, I had enough of it. "Are you following us?" I finally asked.

He turned his back and faced me with disbelief. "Me? Following you?" He snorted. "Why would I? I don't even know you." He stepped forward, close to us. "Oh, I remember. I still haven't introduced myself to the new girl." We were now face to face. "The name's Mason. And yours?"

"I'm Lara! I'm new too..." Lara II suddenly chimed in but gradually stopped when she saw Mason ignoring her.

I decided to play along with his act. "Weren't you paying attention? I just said it a while ago, in class."

"Oh what was it again? A– something?" He gestured, like he was thinking. It looked like the bulb was lit and said, "Oh! Avidia, isn't it? What a nice name. Suitable for someone who murders other people's siblings." he said, suddenly changing his tone.

I tensed with his reply. Before I could say anything Yves interrupted. "Dude, what the heck are you saying? First, throwing your fist to her, then this?" Yves was clearly irritated so he asked the same question he said earlier. "What's your deal with Avidia?"

Mason scanned me, just like he did before, and shrugged. "Nothing. He just looked like someone I know who did exactly what I said." He put both of his hands on his pockets and started walking past us. "If I were you, I wouldn't just stand there. Training session is next. Sir H will be pissed if you don't change and arrive on time," he adviced.

There was twenty minutes left, so we hurriedly got our training outfits in our lockers and went to the dressing room. I removed my current uniform and started changing. I put on a black, tight long-sleeved top with the school's logo and a black high waisted combat leggings. I attached some gears on my leg, and with that, I was ready to go.

The bell rang again and again, signalling the whole school that break time was over.

Our class went to a field outside where the session will be held. We also noticed that Sir Hamilton was already there.

We lined ourselves by our number, forming a box comprising of 15 boys and 10 girls. Just like any other class, there was an introduction about the subject and activities that will be done within the semester.

It was called Training Session because, coming from its name, each of us will be trained how to fight barehanded and with weapons. Each of us were taught combat skills and how to deal with guns. The government created schools in every place not just for the purpose of adding knowledge in our minds but also creating potential soldiers that will work under The Supreme.

It never crossed my mind to work for them. The old me would love to join since it would be given the benefit of superiority among others.

But now, I don't think so.

The basics were already taught in Year 1 and I had no clue what it were. It was said that the difficulty raises every year so I didn't know how I'll do this year.

We started with a warmup. We ran around the whole field 10 times, which was approximately half a hectare. It was only a warmup but I was already tired. When I looked at others, who started their year here, it seemed like it was nothing for them.

I have to get used to this.

After the laps, we began stretching our bodies from top to bottom. Head. Shoulders. Arms. Torso. Legs. Foot.

We were called to assemble by Sir Hamilton as 5 minutes of it passed.

He started explaining what we'll do this period. "Now that your bodies have warmed up, the real thing will now begin. Just like your previous class, we will have a pretest. It will cover mainly all the skills you acquired from Year 1. For those who are new stand and watch carefully. You will not be exempted from the pretest."

Soon, he was calling two students by their numbers. The pretest wasn't written. It was a physical one.

A match.

A hand to hand combat.

It was a matter of who will be the last man standing.

As I was watching them, I realized something. I did fight with someone before but I was reckless back then. I didn't know how to fight tactically.

I was doomed, basically.

But due to being a fast learner just by a single watch, I was in luck. Match after match, I analyzed each of their abilities and what were their strengths, as well as their weaknesses. 

The time had come when the new students, including me, were put to a test. It started with Lara II and a boy I didn't know.

It seemed like he was already experienced, and Lara II was the complete opposite. She was, though, good at defending herself. But that was it. I couldn't watch any longer when the boy gave a final aggressive blow to her abdomen. This made her to fall down, causing her lose the match.

Lara II was escorted to the Infirmary for treatment for she was badly bruised.

I was waiting for Sir to call my number and as if reading my mind, he did. "F-0024, come to the front."

I stepped out of my line and went to the front, waiting for my opponent. He randomly called someone.

Please not him. Please not him. Please not him.

"M-0023, come out."

I heard someone's footsteps coming near me. A manly voice then whispered.

"It's payback time, Avidia."

Fuck, it's him.

❀⊱┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄⊰❀

A/N:

Hey there readers! The picture above is what the classroom of their school looks like!

What do you think about this chapter? Who do you think did Hamilton called out? How do you think the match will go?

Comment down your thoughts and guesses! I would love to hear it! 💖

Happy reading~!