All in the Faculty

Chapter 14: Self-Defense

"In 1663, the bubonic plague ravaged Holland…"

Tom stood at the front of the dark classroom, where a projector was beaming notes up onto a screen.

"Charles II forbade any trade with the Dutch, partly out of wise concern, and partly because his realm was engaged in a fierce trade war with Holland which eventually erupted into armed conflict. Despite the precautions, the early spring of 1665 brought a sudden rise in the death rate in the poorer sections of London. The authorities ignored it."

Olivia Young had secured a spot next to Alex that afternoon, and was positioned so that although she was facing the lecture, her eyes could easily take in her assistant teacher's slouching figure. Alex had his arms crossed over the surface of the desk with his chin tucked into the crook of his elbow, so only his nose and eyes could be seen above the wrinkled fabric of his shirt. He was shamelessly dozing. Olivia lightly elbowed Bridget in the side, pulling her attention away from Tom's lecture.

"Alex is sleeping," she pointed out with a grin. "Should we draw on his face?"

Bridget craned her neck to get a better look at the sleeping man. Alex's fingers twitched. His face burrowed further into his arms, attempting to get away from the light at the other end of the room. Olivia giggled.

"He's cute, huh?" she whispered to the other girl. Bridget's expression was soft.

"Cute as a bumblebee," she agreed, resting her hands on her cheeks. Olivia eased her chair back and took the same position as Alex, placing her eyes level with his so she could inspect him more closely. She stared for a few seconds, watching the way the muscles in his face subtly contracted in response to the imaginary stimuli of dreams. It was strange – most people appeared peaceful in their sleep and stressed in the waking world. Alex seemed to be the opposite. As she watched on, his breath hitched, and his eyebrows knit together. Olivia turned her head to speak to Bridget once more.

"I think he's having a bad dream," she said.

Calvin was fussing at Bridget's side, requesting that she pay attention, but Bridget ignored him and looked over. Indeed, Alex's breath had picked up, and his fingers were twitching every few seconds now.

"Kinda reminds me of my aunt's dog," Olivia mused.

"Maybe you should wake him up," said Bridget in a whisper.

Olivia returned to watching Alex, and after another moment she quietly picked up her pencil. Then, she slowly reached out toward him, her pencil growing closer to his face with every passing second. When it was centimeters away from the tip of his nose, Alex's eyes snapped open, and the sound of wood splintering made even Tom pause from his place next to the projector screen. Bodies twisted in their seats to catch sight of the spectacle at the back of the classroom, where Olivia's arm was pressed tightly against her chest, and Alex was clutching a broken pencil.

"Mr. Beckett," Tom called, "everything alright back there? That sounded like a pencil breaking."

Alex uncurled his fingers and focused his bleary gaze on the two halves of pencil that had somehow found their way into his hand. "This isn't my pencil…" he muttered, trailing off into wide yawn. Releasing the rubble, Alex nestled his head back into his arms and ignored Tom's question. His actions drew a few muffled laughs from the students. Tom cleared his throat.

"Anyway… as spring turned into one of the hottest summers in memory, the number of deaths escalated and panic set in…"

Olivia edged her seat closer to Bridget's. Both of them remained fixated on Alex's form.

"How does he always manage to do that?" Olivia breathed. "Do you remember the time with the apple? I don't think it's possible to touch him while he's asleep."

Bridget nodded. "You might be right, Liv."

When class ended and Tom flicked on the lights, Alex finally roused himself into permanent wakefulness. He rubbed his eyes and painfully drew himself out of his seat, stretching languidly. Olivia poked him in the side as she passed him.

"You should really try getting to bed earlier," she told him. Soon she was joined by Bridget and Calvin as they headed in the direction of the door. Alex lagged behind them.

"I had to mark your papers," he explained.

"What papers?" said Bridget. "We haven't turned anything in since the last ones came back."

Alex shushed them both, looking around for Liam Townsend. Liam had just collected his backpack off the back of his chair, and was now preparing to sling it over his shoulder. His deliberation and heightened care in doing so alerted Alex to the injury that the boy was more than likely trying to appease. Breaking away from the pair, Alex reached over and scooped the backpack off of Liam's shoulders, placing it on his own. Liam instantly looked pissed off.

"Give that back," he ordered. Alex beamed, completely unapologetic.

"You and I are going the same way. Why don't you let me carry this?"

"I can carry it," said Liam.

"Where are you both going?" Olivia butted in, stalling the train of progress. Bridget stopped as well.

"Is it any of your business?" Liam snapped, sending the girl the least-friendly look he could muster. Olivia's lipped pressed into a tight line.

"Come along," said Alex wearily, moving out the door and into the hallway before an argument could fully develop. Liam was the first to go after him, followed quickly by Olivia, Bridget and her reluctant shadow Calvin. To the girls' surprise, they took one of the back stairwells, which led out into the field rather than the street.

"Where are we going?" asked Olivia.

"Where are you going?" countered Liam.

"Why are you so…"

"Snippy," Bridget supplied quickly, preventing Olivia from reaching for something more colourful.

"Yeah, why are you so snippy, Townsend? Is it because your dad–"

At the top of the steps leading down to the football field, Liam stopped and spun around, startling her into silence by the sheer force of his glare. Bridget hastily stepped between them, attempting to defuse the volatile tension by breaking out into a long stream of babbling.

"Well you're right Olivia, of course he's snippy, because his dad probably doesn't know where he is. I know I haven't told my parents, of course, they're not waiting at home, so it's not a big deal, but parents can really make a fuss when you don't tell them where you are…"

Her outpouring slowed to a stop only after she noticed Liam turn and trudge down the steps, pursuing Alex's now-distant figure. Olivia started after them, but stopped when Bridget's hand closed around her arm.

"Don't bother him," Bridget told her, pausing to fix her friend with a stern look. "Olivia – it's not a joke, what's happening to him at home. You should try to be more compassionate."

Olivia sniffed, responding defensively, "He started it by being so rude! It's not like I was trying to – and anyway, where did you learn such a big word?"

Bridget released Olivia's arm. She answered the girl's mocking question simply: "Alex."

Olivia glanced away. Then she took a deep, calming breath. "Okay. You're right. I won't let him bait me anymore."

Calvin hovered behind them like a persistent ghost. He seemed highly uncomfortable with the idea of not heading straight home. Regardless, the group moved down the steps to join Alex and Liam. They could be seen distantly crossing the field into one of the slightly more secluded corners. As Calvin and the girls caught up, Alex placed Liam's backpack on the ground and faced the boy with his hands flexing at his sides.

"This is going to be fun! I've never done anything like this before."

"What? Teach?" said Liam, mimicking his position about six feet away from him. Alex laughed.

"You got it. Alright, first lesson: stance. You want to be standing with your knees slightly bent and your back straight. Pull your whole body forward except your shoulders – you stand with a bit of a slouch, so you need to be aware of that and make sure to correct it."

Liam listened closely and did as he was told.

"It's important to know how to disperse your weight evenly, especially when you're short. More often than not, you're going to find yourself facing opponents that have a size and weight advantage, but that doesn't mean they've got it in the bag. If you know how to use their size against them, facing a larger opponent can turn into your advantage."

"You really know a lot about this stuff," Liam commented.

"I used to compete," Alex explained.

Liam glanced over at the edge of the field, where the two girls and the burly bodyguard were fast approaching. "Couldn't you tell them you're busy?" said Liam, watching their shapes grow bigger and bigger. Alex shrugged.

"I could, but I don't really want to."

Liam looked back at him. "Why not?"

Alex grimaced. "I think it would be good for Bridget to hear some of this."

This was not the answer Liam was expecting. His eyes widened. "What? Bridget? Why? Is she in some sort of trouble? Wait – has it got something to do with her new bodyguard?"

Alex didn't reply, for the approaching group was seconds away from entering hearing range. Instead, Alex took a few steps toward to reach out and nudge Liam's shoulders back. "You still need to straighten out your spine more. Hello, you three."

"What's happening over here?" asked Bridget.

"Self-defense lessons," the man returned. "Care to participate?"

Liam was watching Bridget with a new kind of attentiveness. The young girl reached into her pocket and pulled out an elastic band to tie her black hair into a short ponytail. She joined Liam across from Alex, examining his posture and imitating it. Alex smiled.

"Well done! That looks about right. Shoulders back, knees bent, back straight, arms held loosely at your sides. That's your resting stance. It would be good practice for you to try and stand like that all the time, but if you can't, at least make sure to do it the moment you perceive a threat. It'll increase your reaction time and help protect your body from shock upon impact."

Olivia and Calvin were both standing at the sidelines with very different reactions to the events unfolding. Olivia seemed delighted at the opportunity to watch Alex in motion – he had a fluid way of moving which likely still would have been transfixing even if the young girl didn't have a crush on him. Calvin, on the other hand, was all but radiating a lack of enthusiasm.

"Miss Flowers – are you sure you don't want to head home?" he piped up, startling the three into looking at him. Calvin rarely spoke, and it was Alex's first time hearing his voice. It had a low, deep quality to it; masculine, but not overly so.

"No thank you, Calvin. I'd like to stay."

"Even so, I think it might be best if…"

Alex placed his hands on his hips. "Are you trying to dissuade this young girl from learning self-defense?"

Calvin regarded him frostily. "No. I'm trying to follow the orders I have to take my charge home after school."

"We won't stay for too long," Bridget mollified him. Calvin nodded and let the matter rest.

Alex clapped his hands together. "Okay, so resuming where we left off: you've just perceived a threat, and relaxed your body into a resting stance. The first thing you should do when your attacker advances is push back and make noise. Tell them to back off – loudly. Ideally you'll draw attention to yourself by doing this, but your real goal should be keeping them from thinking that you're going to be an easy target. This will also help to abate your fear. The best defense, anyone?"

"A good offense," Bridget offered. Liam looked at her, but she kept her eyes trained on Alex's.

"That's right. Which brings me to my next point: where to hit."

"Don't you think you should teach them how to hit, first?" Calvin broke in.

"If that's what I thought, then that's what I'd be doing, wouldn't I?" Alex returned.

Olivia glanced between them. "Maybe you should let Calvin help, Alex. He is a trained bodyguard, after all, and you're only an assistant teacher."

If only you knew, thought Alex with an internal sigh. "Dammit, Olivia."

"I never offered to help," Calvin pointed out.

"Then stop backseat driving. Students! Where to hit. When you're in a confrontation, you only have a few seconds and a few moves to try until the fight is usually decided. Before an attacker has gained full control of you, you must do everything you can – conserving as much energy as possible – to inflict injury so you can get away. So aim for the parts of the body where you can do the most damage easily: the eyes, nose, ears, neck, groin, knee, and legs."

"The groin?" Liam squeaked. "Brutal."

Alex paced around them. "Hand-to-hand combat is no time to be civil, Liam. In a physical confrontation that calls for self-defense, it's hurt or be hurt."

Liam nodded, prompting Alex to continue.

"How close your attacker is will determine where you will strike and with what part of your body you will employ. Do not step in closer, say, to strike his nose with your hand, when you can reach his knee with a kick. Now, when striking a target on the upper half of the body, you will use your hand. Effective strikes can be made with the outer edge of your hand in a knife hand position, a palm strike or a knuckle blow for softer targets."

Alex demonstrated what all these hand positions looked like, then told Bridget and Liam to face one another. "First thing?"

"Stance," they both echoed, gazing across at each other.

"Second thing?"

"Make noise," said Bridget.

"Take the offensive," said Liam.

"According to the current position of your 'attacker', what should you go for?"

"Knees?"

"Good. The knee is an ideal self-defense target, vulnerable from every angle and easily kicked without risk of your foot being grabbed. Kicking the side of the knee will cause injury or partially incapacitate your attacker. Kicking the front of the knee may cause more injury, but is less likely to result in imbalance."

Bridget gently tested out her kicking prowess, which had the unintended effect of startling Liam into flinching and taking a step back.

"Sorry," they said at the same time.

"Step closer," Alex ordered. "Liam – grab Bridget's arm."

Liam followed the instructions, face full of uncertainty.

"Bridget, what are you going to do?"

"Go for the face?"

"More specific, please."

"Um… eyes and nose."

"And?"

"Neck?"

"Correct!" Alex enthused. He moved around them to motion at the spots he was referring to. "The side of the neck is a big target, where both the carotid artery and jugular vein are located. You could potentially stun your attacker with a knife hand strike at the side of the neck. Or, for even more injury, you could thrust your elbow into your assailant's throat while pitching the weight of your body forward."

Bridget tentatively reached up toward Liam's neck, running through different hands positions with which she might approach. Liam's breathing quickened at her proximity. As Bridget focused on the boy's collar, she noticed the subtle discolouration of the skin around his throat. Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized it closely. Then, as images of how it might have come to be that way flooded her mind, her eyes suddenly widened. She swallowed hard. Liam, observing her expression, grew resigned to the view she was receiving and met her gaze impassively.

Alex walked a circle around them, explaining further, "If the attacker is close in front of you, you can also use the heel of your palm to strike up under his nose; throw the whole weight of your body into the move to cause the most pain and force him to loosen his grip on you. If he's behind you, you can strike his nose from the side or front with your elbow. Either way, aim for the nasal bones."

Bridget, who had started out the lesson rather eagerly, now ran through the motions without gusto; too absorbed in the mental snapshot of Liam's neck that had glued itself to the backs of her eyes. Liam seemed to also be rapidly losing energy after the look they shared.

"Gouging, poking, or scratching the attacker's eyes with your fingers or knuckles would be effective, as you can imagine. Besides causing a lot of pain, this should also make your escape easier by at least temporarily interfering with his vision."

Pausing, Alex read their body language and caught on quickly. "And that is where we're going to leave off today! Great job, the both of you."

Bridget and Liam mechanically turned towards him. Bridget improvised a martial arts bow, which Alex returned. Then she turned and bowed to Liam, who did the same. Calvin shuffled up to his young client, sending Alex a doubtful look.

"I suppose you're planning on continuing these lessons?"

"Do you object?" asked Alex.

Calvin took a moment to consider it. Bridget remained quiet, patiently offering him a chance to make his own decision about it.

"No," Calvin proclaimed, though he still didn't look thrilled with the idea. Bridget smiled, briefly taking Calvin's hand and squeezing it tightly. Alex's eyes tracked the exchange and, to his completely surprise, a twinge of… something struck him. Alex was pretty sure he knew what it was, but it was so ridiculous that he didn't want to admit it.

"Thanks Calvin," said Bridget. Calvin ran a big hand over the top of her head, smoothing the hairs that were sticking up. The two started back toward the school. "Thanks, Alex!" Bridget called as they departed.

Alex held a hand up and fought against the glum feeling that threatened to make itself too obvious. "See you tomorrow, Bridget."

Olivia quickly followed after them, calling out, "Wait! Can you give me a ride home?"

In a matter of seconds, Alex and Liam were alone. Alex turned to look at the spaced-out boy, who was aiming his gaze down at the muddy grass beneath his beat-up trainers.

"Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?" asked Alex. A few second passed and Liam remained despondent. Alex frowned.

"… Was it bad?" he asked, stepping closer. "Liam?"

Liam sighed and craned his neck back to look at the sky. Thick clouds passed quickly overhead, with only the occasional streak of blue making it through to below. The wind was picking up, rustling the leaves on the foliage around them.

"She knows…" he murmured. "They both know. Everyone knows, don't they? And here I thought… that'd I'd done such a good job…"

A tremor ran through Liam's shoulders. He wrapped his arms around his torso, trying to repress the shivering. Alex stepped forward, reaching around Liam's back and pulling him lightly into his chest. The boy's arms remained at his sides for a short moment before he returned the embrace, wrapping his arms around Alex's ribcage.

"Trust me…" said Alex. The wind rushed past them in a cold sweep of clear air. "This is not a secret you want to keep."

"You don't understand," Liam said softly. "You couldn't."

Alex didn't try to argue. He waited until Liam pulled away to release him, then looked him in the eye to try and convey something that he knew wasn't going to come out right in words. Liam smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. The gratitude was still there.

"We'll figure it out, okay?" Alex told him. "Wherever you need to be – that's where you'll be."

Liam nodded dully. Alex collected Liam's backpack off the ground, and the two of them headed back in the direction of the school without exchanging another word.

0o0o0o

A lot of this self-defense info came from LifeHack. Thanks LifeHack!

So I didn't quite manage to nail down 10 reviews out of 350 readers for last chapter (woe) but thanks a billion to the people who paused to chat/offer their thoughts after the read! You guys are the actual bomb-diggity. I love you.

Tom was a lil neglected in this chapter… poor Tom. He hasn't been having the easiest time as of late! Alright, I officially declare tomorrow #HugTomDay.

Next chapter: "There's a reason people like us don't get to keep a lot of friends".