Subjects
Compulsory
English
Math
Economics
History
Languages (Pick Two Languages To Learn)
Magic Studies/Combat Class
PE
Elective
Computer Studies/Catering Craft
Geography/Technical Drawing
Art/Music/Theatre/Dance
Alex and Pierre head straight for their combat class, which is always done outside on the field. As soon as they get there, they see their mates already on the field. Elves with their silver-coloured hair, pointy ears and their black uniform.
They're being addressed by one of their teachers, Mr Andreas Balaska, a centaur with long, wild, dark brown hair. He's wearing armour and his wrists have iron bracelets on them.
Elves and Centaurs have always been each other's allies for the longest time. Centaurs are more skilled when it comes to battle because they grew on in the fields roaming wild and free. A centaur is a vampire's biggest fear because they're hard to kill.
A lot of elves, on the other hand, have lost their lives fighting vampires. If no one knew Alex's parents, they would be shocked that he took down a lot of vampires when he was only fourteen, but his parents, especially his mom, did the same thing when they were younger.
She was brave going after those witches, but still stupid. Because she shouldn't have gone there alone. Alex doesn't want to make the same mistakes his mother made.
Mr Andreas spots Alex and Pierre walking toward the others, and he stops them.
"Wait, wait. Please, I'd like for us to give a round of applause to Alexander Walker and Pierre Badeaux for their bravery…" Mr Andreas goes on, and he doesn't even finish yet, people clap their hands for them.
Alex and Pierre smile at each other, and they take a bow, then they join their classmates.
"Well done, boys." Mr Andreas says, clapping his hands. "Now that's what you call a true, brave knight. You all should learn from them."
"Good job, guys." Their friend Carlos Garcia, with the Mohawk, says to them, tapping them on the back.
"And I thought you guys weren't going to come back alive." Their other friend, Svetlana Bocharov, says.
"Oh come on, Svet, they were just vampires," Alex says in a grimace.
"Do the vampires know how much you look down on them?" Svet asks.
"If they knew how much Alex looks down at them, they would burn under the full moon." Carlos jokes and they all laugh silently so Mr Andreas doesn't hear them.
"How's the princess? Is she okay? I know she's powerful now and all, but if she needs a shoulder to cry on-"
"Oh shut up, Carlos, Elena is way out of your league anyway," Alex says.
"I know," Carlos says disappointedly. "But a man's got to try, huh?" He waggles his brows, and Alex rolls his eyes.
"How are you, Pierre? I didn't think you'd go on a mission after what happened between you and Ana," Svet says to Pierre, and he sighs.
"The knighthood always comes first," he says.
"Right, right," Svet says, and Carlos nods in agreement.
"And besides, she's a princess and I'm an elf. We were doomed from the start." He says, trying to mask his heartbreak. But his friends can see right through him. Alex places his hand on Pierre's shoulder.
"You see, this is why I don't have time for teenage romance."
"That's because all the gay guys at this school are scared of you," Sevetlana says.
"What? That's not true." Alex says, annoyed, folding his arms.
"Yep, it is, they think you're hot but are still afraid to approach you because they think you might be ahead of them," Svet says, and Carlos and Pierre laugh. Alex scoffs.
"Whatever." He says.
"Alright. I need you all to be grouped into five, please." Mr Andreas instructs.
"Oh," Carlos says, moving closer to Alex and Pierre. Svetlana does the same thing.
"Now we just need one last person," Svet says, looking around.
Everyone's already found their groups except for one person who is looking for a group to join.
"Oh no, this is why I hate group work. He should not come here." Alex says, annoyed.
"Oh, come on, Alex, no one wants him in their group," Carlos says.
"Rightfully so, he's so clumsy, and he acts more like a pixie than an elf."
"Wow, that was harsh," Svetlana says.
"Well, I'm right. Don't you think so, Pierre?" Pierre doesn't answer; he just has his eyes on the person they're talking about.
Zachary Levi. A scrawny boy with wild silver hair covering his eyes, looking around, distressed that he might not find a group. He's notorious for causing havoc, unintentionally, of course; he's clumsy and unreliable. He passes other subjects but not Combat class. He looks like a pixie but with silver hair and pointy ears.
His parents are knights at the Royal Palace of Stockholm in Sweden. And they're good at what they do, too. So people wonder how someone like Zach could have come out of such brave knights.
"Zach!" Pierre calls for him, and Zach looks at Pierre.
"Pierre, what are you doing?" Alex asks in a whisper.
"Come join us." And Zach doesn't hesitate.
"What? Mr Andreas would have put him in our group anyway." Pierre tells Alex, and Alex still has a scowl on his face.
"Uh, thank you," Zach says.
"No problem," Pierre says.
"Welcome to the team, Zachary." Carlos slaps him on the back, and Zach almost falls. Alex looks away in disgust.
No stamina whatsoever.
"What is this? Zachary Levi is in your team? You're getting sloppy, Walker." Kevin Wilson says, and his friends behind him laugh at his stupid joke.
Kevin has been Alex's enemy since the first day he got here. Their conversations always end with Alex punching him in the face and Alex being punished for it. This year, he's not going to be falling for his ragebait.
Even though Alex is the best student, ranked number one on the board, he still has a high chance of being expelled from the school if he continues beating up his classmates.
Alex rolls his eyes and puts his focus on Zach.
"Listen, we're not going to have you going all bezerk on us, you better not-"
"I promise you I won't let you down. I've been training over the summer, and I'm ready for this class. I'm-I'm ready to be a knight." Zach says in that tiny voice of his. Alex doesn't say anything; he just nods.
"Okay," he says. "Prove it."
Elena is done with her English class, and while others are in their magic studies class, she heads straight for an isolated area to meet Miss Lily.
She thought that once she'd be known to have such powers, she'd be more respected by Anastasia, most especially. But she and her bitch friends kept making fun of her. Probably because they know she's going to fail.
Their judgmental exchange and gossip made her even more woke than ever before, and they have fueled her adrenaline; now she's ready for anything. She's ready to face whatever comes her way.
So she heads for her own class, a space close to the enchanted forest filled with trees that are painted in different colours thanks to the autumn season, and Miss Lily is already there, stretching her arms. She looks so engrossed in whatever she's doing; it's cute, she doesn't even notice that someone is standing behind her.
Elena clears her throat, startling Miss Lily.
"Oh, Elena," she giggles. "You're here early."
"I'm very serious about this," Elena says, dropping her bag on the floor like it doesn't matter to her.
"Of course you are."
She walks closer to Miss Lily.
"So what am I going to do? What kind of combat skills do I need to learn to be able to take down witches?" Elena says, hoping in a spot like she's in a boxing ring.
Miss Lily giggles. "Calm down, dear. We'll get there, we just need you to be connected to your powers first."
"Okay? How do I do that?"
"Sit down on the grass."
"Oh." Elena does as she's told, excitedly, of course. She's ready to learn anything.
"Now close your eyes." Elena does that as well.
"Connect with nature, not just the sun, the grass, the autumn wind and the sway of the trees."
"Okay."
And then after we're going to get to the real stuff.
Little does Elena know she's going to be sitting there until the period is over.