Chapter 7: Eight out of Ten

That day, after school, was the first practice. The team roster with the team ranks was posted outside the gym.

"Hey, congrats man," Jacen said before Jag could get through the crowd to the list.

"I'm on?"

"Yep, ranked above Raynar and Zekk. Personally, I think you should have been ranked above Tahiri, but not my decision, besides ranks aren't set in stone. Win enough sparring matches consistently and a few competitions and you're rank'll be bumped up."

"Right." They walked into the gym via the locker room, but Jag felt dazed. He was eighth; he who would have been captain had he stayed on Csilla was ranked eight out of ten. He couldn't breathe.

Jaina paired him with Tahiri for a sparring partner as if to mock him and his rank below her. For the first hour, the team did various exercises then sparred for the last hour.

Halfway through the sparring, Tahiri asked for a water break. Jag agreed; he could use a break, but before he could raise his bottle to his lips, he saw something he never thought he'd see. He never imagined one person could have so much intensity, let alone two. The Solo twins were sparring on the far side of the mat as though their lives depended on winning. Jaina was winning but only just. Based on everything Jag knew about Jaina, Jag figured her for a scrappy fighter, taking cheap shots to win, not the graceful fencer who mastered the most difficult stance in fencing. He had never seen anyone so powerful in how they handled an epée.

Jag swore to himself that he would have that – if he did nothing else in his senior year, he would beat Jaina Solo in a fencing match.

"Don't even think about it."

"Think about what, Zekk?"

"Jaina Solo."

"What about her?"

"She'll never give you the time of day, so don't even think about it."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Zekk."

"You think you're the first guy who's ever looked at her like that?"

"I'm just watching a sparring match, nothing else. I don't know what you're getting at, but trust me when I say that I really don't give a damn about even befriending your girlfriend."

"Just stay away from her." Jag stared at the boy who stood in front of him, arms crossed over his chest, trying to stare him down. He didn't know where this kid was coming from or what he was doing trying to look tough.

"Are your seriously trying to intimidate me? You're like five-ten and puny as hell." Zekk clenched his fists as though he were about to through a punch.

"Zekk, shouldn't you being sparring with Raynar, not messing with my partner?" Tahiri cut in. Zekk stalked away, and Tahiri grinned up at Jag. "I think we're gonna get along just fine."

They were locked into their sparring before Tahiri spoke again, "If you want, you can come over to my place and we can practice more before the first competition."

"Uh," Jag glanced over to where Anakin was sparring with Tenel Ka, "No thanks, I don't need any more jealous boyfriends."

Tahiri frowned. "More? You already have one?" Jag was about to explain about what Zekk had said, but she didn't give him the chance. "Geez, you move fast!" She laughed. "It took Anakin at least a month!"

Several of sparring matches later, Coach Durron called for practice to end. The team members headed to their respective locker rooms to shower and change.

Anakin stopped Jag as they walked through the door. "So, what do you think of my girl?"

Oh God, Jag thought, not Anakin too. "I, well, I, uh…" Anakin was staring at him with a knit brown in utter confusion.

"I think what Fel's trying to say is that he's thinking of her as more than just a sparring partner," Zekk called from across the room.

"What?"

Zekk didn't give Jag a chance to respond. "Oh yeah, seems Fel's getting into all the girls around here. He was eyeing Jaina earlier."

"What?" this time Anakin's cry was joined by Jacen's as well.

"No, I wasn't eyeing Jaina, or Tahiri for that matter." Anakin glared at him, but let it drop and stalked off to the showers. Jag glared at Zekk who smirked in return.

"Jag." Jag turned to look at his friend.

"Jacen, I swear, I do not think of your sister like that. You know that I don't even like her."

"Oh." Jacen followed the rest of the guys into the shower room, but Jag stood where he was. He couldn't be sure, but it sound a lot like Jacen was disappointed in that admission. Why did Solos have to be so damn confusing?