She started with the aura energy and looked at the teacher and studied what she could see. She was able to determine he was really strong but also very fair. He seemed to be someone she could trust but would avoid that idea for now. He was an adult after all.
She scanned the room looking for energy that would match potential bullies and found quite a few options in that area. She looked at them in the normal way to memorize their faces. She then noted that, once again, Paul was not in class. Another mystery she may decide to try to solve one day.
After two more hours of classes about military regulations and historical footage of walkers attacking Earth, they all headed out front to find their club teacher, form up, and march over. The classes were quite short for some because forming up was part of class time. The longer it took, the less they gained. This would change as time went but it also eased the students into their studies while ensuring they understood the importance of military protocol. The slow speed was more tolerated in the first week as the students learned the way things were done.
In Agricultural club, Lana was bored. She had learned all this already as the first few weeks were going to be about plant basics, reproduction, essentially fourth grade science level of agriculture. There were seven level-0 ability users, one was in her class and needed to learn right from left, and two level-0 users plus herself in this class. Noone remarkable based on what she was seeing and hearing.
Lana, instead, started thinking about what would happen in the next class, the last for the day. She'd see Blaine again. Just looking at him made her happy and she found herself smiling. The teacher noticed her face went from bored to bright and knew she was daydreaming. He decided not to press the issue for now.
Thanks to not paying attention, class soon ended and they were marched to beast weapons class. While it was a small class and didn't take long to form up, they were quite the distance from the combat classes. Agriculture also had the largest piece of land given to any one class because the students actually provided the food they grew to the school or sold it in the student market. Of course this wasn't the only source but it was part of the learning experience.
Lana saw several groups of students marching toward the Beast Weapons classrooms and was glad they would get there first. It was no wonder she was so terrified. All those people were split between the two classrooms. Once this month was up, the second room would be used for something else.
Her class made it to the building first but Blaine wasn't there yet. She stepped inside and moved off to the right to wait for him. The teacher nodded to her. She nodded back but it was so slight he may not have noticed. Once again, she was trembling like a leaf. Sergeant Tanaka instructed everyone to collect their weapons and head to their spot.
A boy with bronzed skin and bleached hair walked by her, "weakling. You belong in knitting class." He was carrying a long sword.
Lana was trying to become one with the wall. She wanted to retort but knew that right now, she really was what he claimed she was. The fear paralyzed her.
Soon she heard a voice and relaxed a little, "Hey, Lana. How has your day been?"
She gulped and nodded.
"Stay here. I'm going to get instructions from the teacher and we'll go from there."
She gave a very small nod.
Lana pushed herself back against the wall and she watched Blaine and Kai talk. Their voices were hushed and they clearly did everything they could to make sure no one heard. They looked like they were concocting a conspiracy.
Blaine nodded, clapped his hands together, and turned around with a smile. He didn't even acknowledge the others in the room. He focused on her to try to keep her focus on him. It worked. Lana didn't notice Doctor Cogito enter the room to observe her behavior in class.
"We are going to take that corner," he gestured to the same one she cocooned herself in the day before, "and do some punches today."
Lana nodded and went with him, making sure to keep him between her and the rest of the class.
Once in the corner, Blaine built an earth wall behind them so there was only one opening that faced the front so the teacher could see. Doctor Cogito even moved so he could observe as well.
Lana smiled at the added measure, "so, I'm supposed to punch you today, huh?"
Blaine chuckled, "first we are going to cover punch basics to make sure you don't hurt yourself."
He had her throw a few punches while he watched her form and stance. He thought they were sloppy. First, he showed her the proper way to form a fist. Next, he taught her proper shoulder stance and how to twist her body correctly. He had to place his hands on both her shoulders and her hips to help her get the feel of it. He marveled that she was a quick learner.
He then took his hands off her and had her shadow box for a few minutes. He smiled at what she could do when she was able to focus.
"Very good! Now. I want you to punch my hands."
Lana nodded and started punching. At first they were stationary targets, in front of his chest but he really wanted to know what she could do. He then started moving around the space. When her back was to the open space, she screamed and ran to the corner again. Blaine saw the issue and stopped the stumbling student using telekinesis. Instead of the student falling into their area, he fell forward.
Lana didn't see it, though. She was crouched in a fetal position. She didn't cocoon herself this time. She trusted in Blaine to protect her.
"Lana?" Blaine squatted down in front of her and just breathed slowly, in and out. She eventually realized he was trying to remind her to breathe so she did.
At this point, class had already ended. The teacher had dismissed the students and Doctor Cogito formed them up so Sergeant Tanaka could see if his student needed his assistance.
He stood quite a distance away just observing. He didn't see what happened to cause her to go back to the corner. Blaine was curious of how she even knew what happened behind her back. He wanted to ask but wasn't sure if he should ask here. He knew she had secrets. They only knew each other for 24 hours at this point. As he finally got her to her feet after what seemed to be a long time, the teacher asked if he could approach.
Lana looked up at him seeing his aura. She could tell that he had killed before but that a battle waged within. "Were you in the war Sergeant Tanaka?"
He nodded sadly.
She gulped and closed her eyes. She took in several slow and deep breaths forcing her brain to remain rational. Of course, they would put a combat veteran in charge of combat classes. They are the most qualified, she thought to herself. She nodded to her teacher and gestured for him to come closer while she grabbed Blaine's arm and squeezed.
"Cadet Plantwell, I wanted to let you know you looked really good doing those moves today. I'm proud of you for powering through whatever this is."
Her eyes were still closed and she was still squeezing. Blaine was biting his finger to try to forget the pain in his arm. Sergeant Tanaka noticed this and decided to take a few steps back. She heard him move and opened her eyes. She relaxed a little and released the pressure on Blaine's arm.
"Thank you," she stammered.
"I have one more question and then I'll release you for the day. Where did you learn to fight? Everything about how you move is… different"
Her face went pale and she squeezed again. She gulped then remembered her breathing, knowing this was what was keeping her in this building. Her eyes welled up with tears. "self-taught gymnastics and acrobatics. Online videos."
The teachers jaw dropped and she ran to the door. She threw it open, ran outside and pressed her back against the wall just to the left of the door. Breathe you fucking baby! Breathe!
**********************************
Join me on discord at https://discord.gg/wuNsfeGP Or Patreon at patreon.com/MindyLeeCrouch
If you'd like to donate to me via PayPal, https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=8PCLHZTXAPFPC
Constructive criticism is welcome as it helps me become a better writer.