Part 14 (2/2)
”Why don't you leave us alone?” Rolf said. ”What do you think you're proving?”
”He's right, Alex,” said one of the Second Year girls. ”What do do you think you're proving?” you think you're proving?”
”Me? I'm just welcoming the tadpoles to Rowan! You tadpoles are taking it all wrong. C'mon and shake my hand.” Alex grinned maliciously and stepped forward to extend his hand to Rolf, who looked suddenly uneasy.
Max stepped in front of Rolf and swatted Alex's hand aside.
”Leave us alone,” Max said.
For a moment, Alex looked shocked; he glanced at Sasha, who merely laughed and shook his head.
”Are you kidding me?” scoffed Alex.
Max ignored Alex's words as the older boy ridiculed him. He watched his hands instead. Max had learned that bullies always had a great deal to say before they ever did anything, and he suspected that Alex was no different.
Max was right. When the boy's hands moved up to push him, Max threw a hard, straight jab that smacked square into Alex's cheek. The punch landed so fast and hard that Alex merely blinked in shock and took a tottering step backward.
”Whoa,” cried Connor, sitting up, as other students ran over at the commotion.
Someone yelled behind Max.
Max realized he'd made a mistake even before he had turned. He felt a flash of pain in his eye as Alex punched him hard from the side. The two fell onto the ground in a rolling tangle of curses and punches and groans.
Just as Max gained the upper hand, something immensely strong took hold of him, and he was pulled firmly up and away. Several Second Years hurried in to restrain Alex. As Alex screamed to be let go, Max whirled around to see who had hold of him.
It was Bob.
There was a stern, sad expression on the ogre's sunken features as he towered over Max. Setting Max's feet back on the ground, he stepped in between the two combatants. ”No fighting,” rumbled Bob, wagging a giant finger. ”Only first day of school!”
Alex pressed his torn s.h.i.+rt to his bleeding mouth. With a furious scowl, he brushed off Sasha.
”We can handle it ourselves,” hissed Alex. ”Get back in the kitchen, you oaf!”
”Alex!” one of the Second Years warned. ”Watch it!”
”Whatever.” Alex seethed, fixing Max with a furious stare before composing his features into a crooked, b.l.o.o.d.y smile. ”I can't even tell you how sorry you're going to be.”
Still grinning, Alex spat, turned, and walked back into the Manse with Sasha and Anna trailing behind. Max put his hand over his throbbing eye. Bob sighed and motioned for Max to follow, leading him into the kitchen, where he scooped a handful of ice into a large yellow dishtowel.
”Come in, come in,” intoned Mr. Watanabe as the cla.s.s arrived on the second floor of Old Tom for Strategy. The instructor was a trim j.a.panese man in his fifties. He strolled around the room's large tables as the students took their seats. When he reached Max, he stopped.
”What happened to you?”
”Oh,” said Max hastily. ”Nothing. I fell and hurt my eye.”
Mr. Watanabe raised a skeptical eyebrow and continued, glancing at Max's knuckles and those of his cla.s.smates.
”Welcome to your first year of Strategy and Tactics.” He bowed to the cla.s.s. ”My name is Omi Watanabe, and I will be your instructor. So who can define strategy for me? Let's discuss what it means to think 'strategically.'”
Max tried to listen to Sarah's response, but it was hard. His eye hurt and he was still angry from the fight. Several times, Mr. Watanabe singled him out to make sure he was paying attention. By the end of cla.s.s, all he could remember was that the course would be divided into Strategy and Tactics. Max thought Strategy sounded boring-lots of principles and dry theories. Tactics a.s.signments would be taken from the Rowan Compendium of Known Enemies, Volume One Rowan Compendium of Known Enemies, Volume One and sounded much more interesting. and sounded much more interesting.
As anxious as he was for the end of cla.s.s, Max knew he wasn't the only one to feel that way. Their section had Mystics next, and everyone seemed eager to see what it was all about. When the chimes finally sounded, the students hurried out in a chorus of excited chatter.
”I think Mystics will be my favorite,” commented Lucia. ”I put out my fire in under a minute. The Recruiter said it was very good.”
Max nodded, impressed, while David gazed out a window on the stairwell, his backpack slung loosely over his shoulder. He began coughing as everyone clambered up to the second floor. Max put a hand on his shoulder.
”You okay?”
”Yeah,” wheezed David, wiping his nose with a tissue. ”Just taking it all in. Lots of stuff, you know.”
”No kidding,” muttered Max, floored by the acc.u.mulating homework. ”I guess we'll watch Lucia extinguish fires all period. She did it twice as fast as I did. How long did it take you?”
”I'm not sure,” said David. ”I don't remember.”
”What do you mean, you don't remember? How can you forget something like that?”
”My memory's pretty bad sometimes. It's got holes in it, I guess,” said David, walking on ahead. Max was following when he heard someone call his name. He turned to see Jason Barrett bounding up the stairs.
”Hey, bud,” he called. ”I heard about your-whoa! That's a serious s.h.i.+ner!”
The Sixth Year boy stopped dead in his tracks to examine Max's eye.
”Yeah, I shouldn't have turned my back on him,” said Max, feeling his ears burn. ”I was stupid.”
Jason dismissed the comment with a wave of his hand.
”Whatever,” he said. ”That s.h.i.+ner's a badge of honor! Heard you gave Munoz a whupping that he had coming! Everyone's heard, I think!”
Max was mortified; the same thing had happened at his last school after several bullies began teasing him after his mother's disappearance. Max had beaten them badly and had nearly been expelled. He studied the white scars that dotted his small, hard knuckles.
”Can you please not talk about it?” he asked quietly.
”What?” said Jason, his smile disappearing. ”Really?”
”Yeah.”
”All right, but do you want me to say something to Munoz? It's not fair for him to be picking on First Years. He's had a whole year of training, and you guys just got here.”
”No-it's okay,” said Max. ”I can handle it.”
Jason took a step back and looked hard at Max.
”My kind of guy.” He grinned again, continuing up the stairs. ”Keep ice on it!”
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