Page 68 of Cerulean Truth
I rolled my eyes. "You make it sound like such drudgery."
Matthew arched a brow. “Drudgery? Damn dude, you’ve been on that Council for too long.”
“Maybe, but I can still kick your ass from here to Coastal …”
He laughed. “Hey, I’ve got no ambition to get on your bad side.”
“Then shut the fuck up and explain to me why it’d be so bad to train Emma.”
Matthew snorted. “Well, I wouldn’t want to spend most of my time with an adult chick who doesn’t know crap, would you?”
I thought about it, then shrugged, feigning disinterest.
“Well, I wouldn’t… Anyway, I was thinking maybe Tim?” he suggested.
“Tim who?” I asked confused.
“Tim Tennis.”
Tim Tennis was a nice guy from our early years at the Scola, nothing special to look at, and very mediocre at translation. By the time we were Entries he was still at an interface of almost fifteen seconds. He played some tennis the year we met him, hence the nickname. Not really our most creative one.
I scoffed. “Really, Mat, get her at least someone who can actually teach her something…”
"Dude, even a three-year-old could teach her something. She's pushing twenty-five and can't even muster enough energy to translate every emotion." He chuckled.
I let out a low growl, he was starting to irritate me. “How do you figure that?”
"It just seems logical, doesn't it? How else would she have been able to remain hidden for so long?" He shrugged, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
He had a point, especially since it was the only explanation available to him. Her untraceable magic was still a highly regarded secret, which I could not share with anyone outside the Council, not even with him.
“Who else did you have in mind?” I asked, eager to change the subject.
"Well, if you're not keen on a Defensive training her, how about an Offensive?" he suggested.
Another Offensive training Emma? The idea alone made my stomach churn and I felt an inexplicably surge of annoyance.
"Who?" I pressed, my voice more forceful than intended, my fist nearly slamming onto the table.
"What about AJ?" he proposed.
"What the hell, man? I can't stand that guy!" I snapped, my frustration boiling over.
“So? That’s kind of the point, isn’t it? To not put your own friends in a crappy position? What, you want me to put Jackson instead? Make one of our own miserable? Let AJ have her; maybe it'll knock down that ego of his a notch or two. It might even do them both some good."
Fucking AJ. Over my dead body.
"Fine," I bit out through gritted teeth. "Go with Tennis Tim."
"I think it's Tim Tennis," he chuckled.
"I think I don't care," I replied dryly.
"Alright, fine," Matthew laughed again. "What's gotten into you, man?"
I sighed. "Forget it, I’m having an off day."
He nodded sympathetically. "Here, drink this; it'll return you to your normal, boring self, quicker than you can imagine," he said, handing me his drink. I downed it in one gulp.
