*****************Episode 8******************
**Routine School Days; The Big Surprise Coming?**
Everyday that passed after that was the same. The reveille would sound around 5 AM. Bardock would get up, nearly get squashed by Tora climbing down, and fix his bed before first roll call. Winters and summers were the worst: The cold cement made the boys' bones numb, and the heat of summer nights would heat the asphalt floor, making it hard to stand on.
Still, occasionally Bardock got a laugh tickling Tora's feet as they hung in his face! ^_^
After first roll, they went to Mess Hall and ate. It was usually oats and hot water. Not very appetizing ("Its horse food," Tora would complain.), but it was better then nothing at all. It there was time left, Bardock and Tora would race over to their dormitory and play tag. This was a treat; Bardock had never played games before.
When breakfast hour was over, students reported to their training classes. Tora and Bardock made sure to team up as often as possible, mostly to back the other up. You see, Rubaru was the instructor and didn't take kindly to Bardock's willingness to stand on the stool the first day. To him, it proved only arrogance and defiance; something he was willing to strip Bardock of both physically and mentally. And as if Rubaru wasn't enough, Nipper and a couple of his buddies were often called in from other classes as assistants.
Morning classes took three-and-a-half hours before a thirty minute break (and you thought your school was tough). By that time, if Nipper was present in his class, Bardock was massaging a sore shoulder or twisted ankle. He would sit and study his notes for literal class while Tora tried to beat the newest VR game.
Once the time was up (around 10 for those of you keeping track), every student was to report to their literal class, grab some notebook pages and pens, and get down to taking notes. Bardock had a different teacher then Tora, but Tora still tutored his friend. (His first task was teaching Bardock how to write!)
During class, Bardock would zone out and think up strategy tactics to practice and new moves to use for PE. As a result of his daydreaming, he did poorly on written exams and papers. All-in-all, he didn't regret this; class is boring on any planet.
One o'clock began lunch hour, supervised and kept quiet.
At two o'clock all students of all grades gathered in the auditorium to watch a movie about Sayin history or to be lectured by old veterans of Sayin wars. The most interesting by far were the tales of the Great Tsufuruu Conquest Since it happened so recently, most of the warriors were still alive, and the battles fresh in their minds. By nature, Sayins love to fight and thirst for battle. Every student looked forward to these classes and lectures most. It never failed to get their blood pumping and their minds set for war.
By five, the students were ready for independent study. Bardock and Tora usually went to the VR games to battle each other in simulation. The games had limitations, but they weren't allowed to go to the training rooms, so they had no other choice.
There was a reason Tora was known as "The Squealer"; he had almost every Sayin in the school blackmailed. And even those he didn't, he pretended he did. In return for his silence, Tora got free passage to all VR games for as long as he wanted.
All activities were supervised and studied. Sir Rubaru always seemed to be around whenever Bardock was doing even the slightest thing wrong. Naturally, discipline was provided on these occasions.
Bardock couldn't help but notice that, while he was picked on by Rubaru, Tora was left alone. "It's your imagination," Tora said whenever Bardock complained. "What could I have over the deputy headmaster?"
Regardless, Bardock kept the fact in mind for further use. He truly considered Tora as a friend, but he never trusted anyone completely.
Mail was given/taken around seven, at dinner. A student had to spend a week of passing out mail and service to earn the right to send a letter. Lucky for Bardock, he never had to. Celipa wrote him once saying that Cole was kept too busy by Snoino to do much else, and Zucina was taking beauty school classes (by order of her parents). So, none of them bothered.
Tora, on the other hand, constantly got letters from his mother, three brothers, and two sisters. It always made Bardock curious when Tora read his letters with such longing; how could anyone care for their family so much?
Everyone was given the rest of the time as "free time" before lights out at ten.
============================================================================
[Commercial Break]
============================================================================
Not much time had passed, only two Earth years, when something happened that broke the monotony of their lifestyle. Posters were put in every room as an advertisement:
Special Training Program's annual Student Tournament
Participate in the nationally known championship!
Elite winners participate in the Intergalactic Tournament
Sign up by classes and win your place of honor!
"What's this all about," Bardock asked Tora.
"That's right! I forgot your weren't here last zural. Once a zural the we're given this little tournament to see whose the best of each division. There are different levels for each class, but I guess we only have to worry about third. First, all the third class battle in a free-for-all match until there are eight left in the ring. Those eight are broken up into four matches for the quarter-finals. The four winners go one to the semi-finals, then the last two fight in the finals."
"Yeah, yeah, I know how a tournament works. But what the Hell are fight fightin' for anyway?"
Tora thought for a moment. "Well, first of all, the king himself watches the matches, so part of it is for the pride of winning in front of the king. And there's a special medal designating you as the winner . . ."
"So in other words about Jack-Shit. Makes sense to me!"
Tora folded his arms. "Does that mean you don't want to enter?"
"Why should I," Bardock shrugged. "I'll probably get 'booed' outta the standings anyway 'cuz I'm a 'low level'."
At that moment, Rubaru appeared and towered over them. "Loitering, boys?"
"No sir," they both said and ran to their places in line for PE. All the talk around them was on the tournament. Bardock snorted at the jabbering on. 'You don't even get money or a day off outta it! Why enter?'
"Entering the tournament, trash," came Nipper's voice from behind.
Bardock pretended to ignore him.
"Too bad. I'll bet they don't even make a division for your level. Must be embarrassing!" Nipper laughed and walked over to his place beside Rubaru.
"Ain't he si high-and-mighty today," Bardock commented to Tora.
Tora sneered. "He won last time. That's why his nose is in the air like its attached to a hook."
Bardock siggered at the simile. "Like a fish hook!"
"Nipper the Kipper!"
Bardock couldn't help himself. He laughed so hard he nearly fell to the ground. It was worth the five punches from Rubaru for "disrupting the class" any day!
After class, Bardock headed straight for the sign-up sheet. He wrote, his tongue between he teeth out of concentration, him name and class.
"I thought you weren't entering," Tora commented.
Bardock gave a jovial laugh and tossed Tora the pen. "If Nipper's gonna enter, I'm gonna win! I wanna see the look on his face when I prove I'm not trash!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hey! I'm Bardock!
With the tournament only a couple weeks away, Tora and I have to come up with new moves and strategies. But how can we do that in the VR room when it's so sensitive to ki blasts?
Next time on DragonballBC: The Tournament Approaches; A Special Place to Train
Note to all reviewers:
Please give me some input! Should I speed up the pace and just add in side stories later? I mean, I haven't even gotten to the romance yet! ~Una
**Routine School Days; The Big Surprise Coming?**
Everyday that passed after that was the same. The reveille would sound around 5 AM. Bardock would get up, nearly get squashed by Tora climbing down, and fix his bed before first roll call. Winters and summers were the worst: The cold cement made the boys' bones numb, and the heat of summer nights would heat the asphalt floor, making it hard to stand on.
Still, occasionally Bardock got a laugh tickling Tora's feet as they hung in his face! ^_^
After first roll, they went to Mess Hall and ate. It was usually oats and hot water. Not very appetizing ("Its horse food," Tora would complain.), but it was better then nothing at all. It there was time left, Bardock and Tora would race over to their dormitory and play tag. This was a treat; Bardock had never played games before.
When breakfast hour was over, students reported to their training classes. Tora and Bardock made sure to team up as often as possible, mostly to back the other up. You see, Rubaru was the instructor and didn't take kindly to Bardock's willingness to stand on the stool the first day. To him, it proved only arrogance and defiance; something he was willing to strip Bardock of both physically and mentally. And as if Rubaru wasn't enough, Nipper and a couple of his buddies were often called in from other classes as assistants.
Morning classes took three-and-a-half hours before a thirty minute break (and you thought your school was tough). By that time, if Nipper was present in his class, Bardock was massaging a sore shoulder or twisted ankle. He would sit and study his notes for literal class while Tora tried to beat the newest VR game.
Once the time was up (around 10 for those of you keeping track), every student was to report to their literal class, grab some notebook pages and pens, and get down to taking notes. Bardock had a different teacher then Tora, but Tora still tutored his friend. (His first task was teaching Bardock how to write!)
During class, Bardock would zone out and think up strategy tactics to practice and new moves to use for PE. As a result of his daydreaming, he did poorly on written exams and papers. All-in-all, he didn't regret this; class is boring on any planet.
One o'clock began lunch hour, supervised and kept quiet.
At two o'clock all students of all grades gathered in the auditorium to watch a movie about Sayin history or to be lectured by old veterans of Sayin wars. The most interesting by far were the tales of the Great Tsufuruu Conquest Since it happened so recently, most of the warriors were still alive, and the battles fresh in their minds. By nature, Sayins love to fight and thirst for battle. Every student looked forward to these classes and lectures most. It never failed to get their blood pumping and their minds set for war.
By five, the students were ready for independent study. Bardock and Tora usually went to the VR games to battle each other in simulation. The games had limitations, but they weren't allowed to go to the training rooms, so they had no other choice.
There was a reason Tora was known as "The Squealer"; he had almost every Sayin in the school blackmailed. And even those he didn't, he pretended he did. In return for his silence, Tora got free passage to all VR games for as long as he wanted.
All activities were supervised and studied. Sir Rubaru always seemed to be around whenever Bardock was doing even the slightest thing wrong. Naturally, discipline was provided on these occasions.
Bardock couldn't help but notice that, while he was picked on by Rubaru, Tora was left alone. "It's your imagination," Tora said whenever Bardock complained. "What could I have over the deputy headmaster?"
Regardless, Bardock kept the fact in mind for further use. He truly considered Tora as a friend, but he never trusted anyone completely.
Mail was given/taken around seven, at dinner. A student had to spend a week of passing out mail and service to earn the right to send a letter. Lucky for Bardock, he never had to. Celipa wrote him once saying that Cole was kept too busy by Snoino to do much else, and Zucina was taking beauty school classes (by order of her parents). So, none of them bothered.
Tora, on the other hand, constantly got letters from his mother, three brothers, and two sisters. It always made Bardock curious when Tora read his letters with such longing; how could anyone care for their family so much?
Everyone was given the rest of the time as "free time" before lights out at ten.
============================================================================
[Commercial Break]
============================================================================
Not much time had passed, only two Earth years, when something happened that broke the monotony of their lifestyle. Posters were put in every room as an advertisement:
Special Training Program's annual Student Tournament
Participate in the nationally known championship!
Elite winners participate in the Intergalactic Tournament
Sign up by classes and win your place of honor!
"What's this all about," Bardock asked Tora.
"That's right! I forgot your weren't here last zural. Once a zural the we're given this little tournament to see whose the best of each division. There are different levels for each class, but I guess we only have to worry about third. First, all the third class battle in a free-for-all match until there are eight left in the ring. Those eight are broken up into four matches for the quarter-finals. The four winners go one to the semi-finals, then the last two fight in the finals."
"Yeah, yeah, I know how a tournament works. But what the Hell are fight fightin' for anyway?"
Tora thought for a moment. "Well, first of all, the king himself watches the matches, so part of it is for the pride of winning in front of the king. And there's a special medal designating you as the winner . . ."
"So in other words about Jack-Shit. Makes sense to me!"
Tora folded his arms. "Does that mean you don't want to enter?"
"Why should I," Bardock shrugged. "I'll probably get 'booed' outta the standings anyway 'cuz I'm a 'low level'."
At that moment, Rubaru appeared and towered over them. "Loitering, boys?"
"No sir," they both said and ran to their places in line for PE. All the talk around them was on the tournament. Bardock snorted at the jabbering on. 'You don't even get money or a day off outta it! Why enter?'
"Entering the tournament, trash," came Nipper's voice from behind.
Bardock pretended to ignore him.
"Too bad. I'll bet they don't even make a division for your level. Must be embarrassing!" Nipper laughed and walked over to his place beside Rubaru.
"Ain't he si high-and-mighty today," Bardock commented to Tora.
Tora sneered. "He won last time. That's why his nose is in the air like its attached to a hook."
Bardock siggered at the simile. "Like a fish hook!"
"Nipper the Kipper!"
Bardock couldn't help himself. He laughed so hard he nearly fell to the ground. It was worth the five punches from Rubaru for "disrupting the class" any day!
After class, Bardock headed straight for the sign-up sheet. He wrote, his tongue between he teeth out of concentration, him name and class.
"I thought you weren't entering," Tora commented.
Bardock gave a jovial laugh and tossed Tora the pen. "If Nipper's gonna enter, I'm gonna win! I wanna see the look on his face when I prove I'm not trash!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hey! I'm Bardock!
With the tournament only a couple weeks away, Tora and I have to come up with new moves and strategies. But how can we do that in the VR room when it's so sensitive to ki blasts?
Next time on DragonballBC: The Tournament Approaches; A Special Place to Train
Note to all reviewers:
Please give me some input! Should I speed up the pace and just add in side stories later? I mean, I haven't even gotten to the romance yet! ~Una