Page 39 of The Scars Within
I felt arms wrap under my neck and legs. The earthy pine aroma gave away who carried me back to the class. Professor Yearwood set me down on the soft grass, and my friends pushed him aside to check on me. My breath evened out, and my eyesight returned to normal.
“What an incredible duel!” proclaimed the professor of the second group. “It looks like we have ourselves a new earth elemental!” He raised one of Hugh’s arms high in the air.
Once the cheering died down and the professors dismissed class early, I laid back on the ground, soaking in the wide range of emotions Ihave felt today. Out of all of the bullshit that has happened today, I can only be certain of one thing.
I am tired of being knocked down.
You are meant for more.
After a few deep breaths, I stood and shook the dirt from my back. I looked up to see my friends speaking to Professor Yearwood and Hugh approaching me.
“Hey, um… I just wanted to apologize. That looked like it hurt like hell,” he said sincerely.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said.
“Truly, I didn’t mean to force you down that hard. But to be honest, you scared the shit out of me,” he laughed nervously.
“I did?”
“Yeah! I had no idea what I was going to do once the duel began, but you… you had an actual battle strategy. That was intimidating, to say the least.”
I never expected an apology and a compliment from Hugh. I guess this should teach me to never judge a book by its cover. I sensed no jealousy, no misogynistic vibes from Hugh. I reached my hand out to him.
“Congratulations on the element,” I said.
He looked puzzled, as if he expected me to lash out, but he shook my hand and grinned, respect blossoming from the gesture.
As Hugh walked away, Yearwood and my friends made their way over to me. Professor Yearwood slowly clapped his hands as a wicked smile spread across his face.
“We have a fighter among us,” he said.
Chapter 15
I grabbed my clean nightclothes and towel, eager to wash away the day’s exhaustion with a long, hot shower. Scurrying into the bathing chamber, I was ready to unwind when I suddenly noticed three pairs of eyes staring at me in shock.
I froze, unsure of what to say, until Rhodes turned towards me. He was showering alongside three other guys in their respective stalls. His dark hair was partially wet and laying messily over his face. He was holding a sudsy sponge over his shoulder. He turned to look at me, the suds dripping down his back.
“Well, hello there,” Rhodes said in a deep, playful voice. “Did you mean to step into the men’s bathing chamber?”
“I-” my voice caught. I cleared my throat as I thought of what to say. The pesky events of today rammed into my mind all at once.
Pehper pouring an iced coffee all over me.
Captain Thorne calling me out.
Failing to channel air.
Figuratively being knocked down.
Failing to channel earth.
Literally being pulled down.
I’m exhausted. And I can either run away from this embarrassing moment and let it be the finishing touch of my shitty-ass day, or I can embrace it and let it brighten my already-ruined day.
I did pinky promise, after all. Maybe I can have some fun with this.
“Yes. Of course, I did,” I replied, mustering a confidence I wasn’t entirely feeling.
