"Well, doesn't it seem strange to you?" Athrun and I were making our way to our next class, and Athrun had just told me about what happened with that Shani guy in advanced combat training earlier. I couldn't help but feel like something was wrong with the whole situation. "I mean, who wouldn't want to be the best in the class?"
Athrun shrugs. "I guess that guy just doesn't want to stand out."
"But why? It just doesn't make sense. Why would you even come here, if you didn't want to be the best, if weren't planning to get chosen…?"
I suddenly remember something.
"Hey, I hear they're going to be choosing the crew members for the Le Creuset team soon."
Athrun stops and looks at me. I can see I've got his attention.
"They've been watching us for a while, now. They're only going to pick the best of the best. I hear there's only going to be five or six people in the team. Just imagine, fighting alongside Rau Le Creuset. We may never get a opportunity like this again."
Which is why what Shani did was so strange. Why would he try to downplay his talents? It just doesn't make sense. If I were him, I would do anything I could to stand out and get a high ranking.
"You're definitely going to be selected, Athrun."
"Huh?"
"You're always top in everything. They'd be stupid not to pick you."
I see Athrun smile. He doesn't want to appear cocky, but he knows it's true.
"What about you, then?" Athrun asks, "You were second last time they ranked us."
That was true, but I had decided it was a one-off thing. I'd never been ranked nearly so high before, and probably never will again. They were probably just watching at the right times. The only thing I'm truly good at is piano.
"I got lucky, that's all."
Athrun shakes his head.
"That's not true. You're amazing at OS programming. You can type out the most complex of lines in a matter of seconds. No one is nearly as good as you. Heck, you could probably even hack into the whole computer network if you wanted to," he jokes.
I laugh. "Alright then. It just…makes sense to me, somehow. It's kind of like piano, I guess. You put together a sequence of numbers and letters, or notes, in the case of playing the piano, and it works if you get it right. And there are patterns that make it work better if you put it in the right order." Perks of being a musician.
"Still, they're never going to chose someone who can't shoot." If there was one thing I am honestly terrible at, it's handling a gun. Today the time it took for me to take apart and reassemble the gun was embarrassing to say the least. I guess it didn't help that Dearka was smirking at me the whole time. That really put me off. But still, I don't think I could have done much better even without him there.
"I could teach you to shoot, if you'd like," Athrun grins, "I've got more than enough spare time. That is, if you want."
Really? He'd really do that for me?
I turn and smile at Athrun gratefully. "Thank you, Athrun. I would really like that." Maybe I do have a chance of getting selected, after all.
However, as we arrive at our next class, I still can't shake off the uneasy feeling I have towards Shani Andras and his friends.