Hi guys, I'm really glad to read the positive comments on the last chapter. Kiria Sanae: Interesting how you imagined those heroes... I have a slightly different plan though :) BlastoiseBlue: Ezalor's probably happy that the students are not bothering him. And Zarm: Thanks and good job on the Rubick fic!
Chapter 4: History and the Bully
"We're going to split into two groups for History," Lyralei explained to Traxex as they exited the computer lab. "I'll be in room 214 and you, 215."
"Oh look," Traxex pointed at her schedule. "It says... both classes will be taught by Mr Azwraith?"
"That's right. Both classes, at the same time."
"You're kidding," Traxex paused in her footsteps.
"No I'm not. You'll see for yourself later," Lyralei said in earnest. "Your room is just over there. Today's lesson is about ancient civilization, so we'll all be dressed up as characters from ancient times."
"Okay…" Traxex struggled to wrap her brain around what she just heard. This school is getting stranger by the minute.
"Take it easy dear," Lyralei soothed. "Alright, here you are. Now I'm gonna get changed! See you here after school, and we'll go the range where you can try out for the archery club!" With a wink of her emerald eyes, the ginger left her friend at the door and breezed away.
Traxex entered the empty room and sat at the back, trying to entertain herself by reading the school handbook. A while later, her classmates arrived one by one, dressed up in colorful costumes, teasing one another and snapping photos. Most were posing as ancient Greeks or Egyptians, some as mythological characters. So far, she could only recognize Davion. He looked imposing as Hercules in his black-and-gold faux leather armor, cuffs, leg guards and even a gold plastic headpiece. A red cape hung over his shoulders, matching his crimson hair. She wondered what Lyralei and the rest were dressed up as.
The teacher strode in last, a tall, lean man with a wiry beard in a blue shirt and brown pants. Traxex was fascinated with his pointy ears and cat-like face. All he needed was some whiskers to complete the look.
"Well good afternoon kids," Mr Azwraith flashed an energetic grin as he surveyed the ten students. "I'm so pleased to see all of you in your costumes, and it looks like most of you put in a lot of effort, except for… you." His gaze landed on Magina, who was still in his usual get-up, mohawk hair and all.
"I did bring a costume, but someone stole it," Magina argued. "It must be that asshole Carl."
"Excuses!" Mr Azwraith shook his head disapprovingly. "How about you, young lady?" he looked at Traxex.
"I'm new, Sir. It's my first day today," Traxex said.
"Ah, no problem then, just watch," Mr Azwraith said, before addressing the class again. "Now, each of you will have to give a five-minute speech on your character. Let's see, who wants to start? How about you over there… I suppose you're Zeus?" He pointed at a stout boy wearing a blue-and-white toga and a white beard made of cotton wool. Each of his rubber-gloved hands held a lightning bolt made of silver cardboard.
The boy posing as the Greek god walked up and stood facing the class, and Traxex thought he looked ridiculous with the huge fluffy beard that covered most of his face.
"I am Zeus, ruler of the Olympians, god of the sky and thunder!" He gestured dramatically.
"Interesting, I see that Zeus is your real name too," Mr Azwraith glanced at the attendance sheet in amusement.
Halfway through, the presentation was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Excuse me, Mr Azwraith," a lady popped her head in. "A parent would like to see you. It's urgent."
"Thanks, I got it!" the history teacher smiled and made the OK sign with his fingers. Traxex noticed another man looking exactly like Mr Azwraith emerge from behind her and walk out of the door. Whoa, where did that man come from? Is this a magic trick? she wondered.
"Who's next?" Mr Azwraith asked, eyeing a student wrapped up from head to toe in toilet paper and carrying a tombstone made of styrofoam. "How about you, Mister Egyptian Mummy? Easiest costume to make, huh?"
The boy bandaged in toilet rolls shuffled to the front and intoned in a low voice, "Hi everyone, my name is Dick and I am the undying Mummy…"
His presentation was rather entertaining, but was again disrupted by another knock on the door.
"Excuse me, Mr Azwraith," a young man's voice could be heard from outside. "Could you join us at a meeting?"
"Sure, I'll be right there," the teacher replied. Traxex quickly whipped her head back, curious to know where the doppelganger came from, but saw nothing. She turned around again and now there were two Mr Azwraiths, one leaving the room. That would be Mr Azwraith number four, Traxex mused as she rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
This went on for a while until the seventh Mr Azwraith appeared. And then it was time for the last student to present.
"My name is Mortred, and I am Cleopatra today," said a tanned girl in an elegant black dress decorated with an elaborate gold collar and sash. A jeweled headpiece sat on her long, straight jet-black hair, and the sceptre in her hand completed the Egyptian Pharoah look. She had large, deep-set eyes and Traxex thought she looked beautiful even under the thick make-up.
The bell rang, signalling the end of the school schedule. Traxex's heartbeat sped up. The newcomer paced along outside the classroom, unable to contain her excitement about trying out for the archery club. She was soon joined by Lyralei and Mirana.
"Our shooting range is underground," Lyralei explained.
"By the way, I'm in the club committee," Mirana tossed her hair, looking cool and aloof as usual. "We only take in the best, so you'll have to prove yourself."
Traxex nodded. The trio left the building and she surveyed her the surroundings, awed by the size of the school compounds. They walked about ten minutes, passing by a huge fountain, a couple of Olympic-sized pools and the vast field.
The girls had reached the other end of the field, near the back gates when two figures caught their attention. One of them, Traxex remembered as the obese kid who sat alone at the lunchroom. Right now he was eating a chicken drumstick while lumbering towards the gate with a backpack over his shoulders. Someone was swaggering towards him - a big guy wearing only black shorts, whose body was stacked with rippling muscles. He looked like the Hulk except with a reddish tan, and his face looked as tough as leather.
"YO FATSO," the beefcake spat. The boy ignored him and walked on.
It was clearly not the response the muscular guy wanted, and so he continued his taunts.
"HEY PUDGE, THAT MEAT DON'T LOOK FRESH." He followed up by snatching the boy's chicken drumstick and throwing it on the ground.
"Leave me alone," the fat kid mumbled.
Traxex could not tear her eyes away, knowing that the situation was going to escalate to something nasty. Mirana, on the other hand, whispered, "let's go," before slipping away from the scene together with Lyralei. The blonde struggled to keep up, especially with Lyralei, who ran like the wind. They stopped only when they were a good distance away, at the entrance to the steps leading down to the basement. Traxex caught her breath while keeping her eyes on the two guys who were still within view. The thug's voice could still be heard.
"AXE GONNA REARRANGE YA UGLY FACE." With that he slammed a large fist into the fat kid's face, causing blood to ooze out of his nose. "AXE GETS FIRST BLOOD!" he laughed, a rough, grating sound that had nothing to do with humor. Traxex flinched.
Nevertheless, the boy nicknamed Pudge remained standing - being chubby probably helped him maintain his balance. He looked unfazed, as though it was not the first time he had experienced this.
"I hate bullies," Traxex seethed indignantly.
"Don't try anything stupid," Mirana warned as she unlocked the door. "In case you don't know, that guy is Mogul 'The Axe' Khan, bodybuilder, wrestler and leader of a gang of bullies. Nobody in this school dares stand up to him, not even when he's alone, like now."
"But we have to do something," Traxex insisted.
"I know!" Lyralei giggled. "Let's shoot his big, red ass."
Mirana shook her head. "We can't use our arrows. He'll know who it is and come after us."
"Aha, let's use this then," Lyralei chuckled, digging into her backpack and pulling out what looked like a homemade slingshot made of sticks and thick rubber bands.
"You carry this around with you all day?" Mirana's blue eyes widened with surprise.
"For self-defence I guess," the ginger said, picking up a pebble and loading it into the slingshot. "Anyone wanna have a go?"
"Ahem, fastest runner in school needs this to survive?" Mirana huffed.
"GET UP AND FIGHT!"
The bully nicknamed Axe had shoved Pudge onto the ground and kicked his bag, scattering the contents all over the ground. He was now facing the direction of the three girls, who quickly hid behind the door, safely out of sight.
"Tell you what, Traxex," Mirana challenged. "If you can hit him in the groin with this, I'll let you join the archery club."
From this distance? Traxex peeked out and stared in hesitation at her target. He was a good thirty yards away.
"Yeah, go for it!" Lyralei's eyes twinkled mischievously as she handed the blonde the slingshot and pebble. "Have you ever used one before?"
"No."
"Here's how you hold it," Lyralei gave a brief demonstration.
"Okay, I'll try…" Traxex nodded as she accepted the improvised weapon. Gripping it with slightly cold but steady fingers, she held it up and pulled the rubber band back as far as she could.
Pudge was now trying to get up, and Traxex waited, worried she might end up hitting him instead. Axe gave him another push and sent him sprawling on the ground again. A few curious onlookers had arrived, fortunately, none blocking her view yet.
"WHAT HAPPENED? AXE HAPPENED!" The wrestler shouted, his foot now firmly planted on Pudge's chest, while the latter tried to force the boot off him. Traxex drew in a deep breath as she took aim with the slingshot, her eyes narrowing with concentration.
"GET UP, LARD-ASS!" Axe continued taunting as he lifted his foot. In an unexpected move, Pudge turned over and grabbed the bully's leg, sinking his teeth into his calf. The wrestler let out a howl of rage and shook himself free. "FAT FREAK, YOU DARE BITE AXE? AXE GONNA BEAT DA SHIT OUTTA YA!"
A crowd was gathering, and some kids were cheering - for who, she didn't know.
"Hurry up, just shoot!" Lyralei urged. Traxex knew she had to act fast. Biting her lip, she fired the slingshot. There was a 'pop' sound as the pebble flew off and hit Axe square in the groin, causing him to double over and bellow in pain.
Lyralei stifled a squeal as the bully grabbed his crotch, his face turning even redder than it already was, while the onlookers snickered. The trio quietly scrambled down the steps leading to the basement as they heard a furious roar, "WHO DID THAT? COME OUT MOTHAFUCKA!"
"That was awesome, Tracie," Lyralei cried as they reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Not bad at all," Mirana remarked, visibly impressed. "But I don't think that hurt him much. I heard Axe has got balls of steel. And we'd better lock this door in case he comes after us."
"You can keep this as a gift! Protect yourself with it," Lyralei chuckled as Traxex clutched the hand catapult, her adrenaline still pumping.
"I'd like to see how you do with a recurve bow," Mirana said.
"So that means I can join the archery club?" Traxex asked, just to make sure. She hadn't actually felt this good in a while.
"Well, I'm not one to go back on my words, and since you've proven yourself … congratulations, you're in," Mirana smiled, the first friendly gesture she'd made towards the new girl.
"Welcome!" Lyralei beamed and hugged Traxex.
(End of Chapter 4)
Names Guide:
Azwraith: Phantom Lancer
Mortred: Phantom Assassin