Chapter 22
The school bell rings loudly signaling the end of the class day. The teacher standing at the podium reminds the students of their homework assignment and what pages to read today and dismisses them bidding them a farewell for today. Sitting in the back along with Markus, Jarvis sighed a bit after slowly waking up from sleeping today. Markus himself was randomly drawing in his notebook. In fact, each page contained different drawings each day he had to come inside of this classroom. The two of them look up to see Kallen and Lianna walking up over to them. "Have a nice nap?” Kallen said to Jarvis while smiling gently at him. He looked at Markus and Lianna who were also looking at him and then glanced back to Kallen. "Yep.” he said quickly yawning right afterwards. Kallen began chuckling at him, "If you keep this up he’s going to notice you know? What is this, the third time this week?” She asked him leaning over the front of his desk. "It’s not my fault” he answered. "That teacher is boring, he talk to slow.” "You know what he reminds me of?” Markus said adding in, "He reminds me of those dog creatures in Mass Effect that talk like a retarded Darth Vader.” Jarvis and Kallen laughed a bit while Lianna looked on a tad lost. Perhaps she didn’t play games or just wasn’t sure what creature or even what Mass Effect was for that matter. "Anyway I can’t wait until the sports festival” Jarvis said. "You’re confident you’re entering then?” Kallen asked him and he nodded. "Hell yeah, I hope football is in. It has to be. This is America!” he said proudly while Kallen laughed. "What about you Markus?” Kallen turned her head to him and Markus shrugged. "Probably. Ain’t got nothing else to do really? Anyone know the sports that are in?” He asked. "I do” Lianna said finally able to talk with the group about something she knows. All eyes were on her as she sat her book bag down on Markus’ desk and pulled out a clipboard. "Oh that’s right, you’re apart of the school committee.” Kallen said. If anyone would know it would be you.” "That’s right” Lianna said flipping through some pages in her book. "The following activities are available this year, Baseball, Soccer, Track and Field, Volleyball, Basketball, Tennis, and Football.” "Yes!” Jarvis said loudly getting the attention of every student. "It’s a rap, y’all should just give me the MVP trophy now.” He said smirking and turning his head to Markus. "Markus, need you on D. You know what to do.” Markus leaned back into his chair, "Aight. But I’m taking the title.” Jarvis dropped the smirk while Lianna put the clipboard back into her backpack. "I understand, you want it too. Unfortunately, I’m the best linebacker ever.” The two laughed at the comment. "It don’t matter if I sack the Quarterback before you get to him.” Markus replied smartly. "Oh! It’s like that?” Jarvis extended his hand to him, "Long as one of get it, I don’t care.” Markus shook his head, "Aight word.” The hand shaking continued while Lianna and Kallen looked on, "Even though I’m going to be me.” Jarvis laughed. "What? Nope.” Markus joined in the laughter along with Kallen and Lianna.
Dominic and Erik walked from the school building getting ready to head back to the dorm room. Along the way they meet up with Saeko Busujima, who had her black briefcase book bag with her. She appeared to be going somewhere. "Where you headed to?” Dominic stopped to talk to Saeko with Erik doing the same. "To give Terence his assignments and to check on him.” She said smiling at the two of them. "Hadn’t checked on him this morning. He doing better?” Erik asked. "Saeko shrugged, "I had not checked on him either. I did not have the time with practice and morning classes.” "Rin won’t in class today though. She probably in there with him.” Dominic said aloud. "Do you think so?” she began to think to herself. "I will go check and let you know how he is doing. Or perhaps you would rather accompany me?” She asked them both. "Yeah, you trying to go Erik?” Dominic said. Erik shook his head, "Nope, got too much work to get out of the way today. I’ll catch up with y’all later.” he said walking on. Dominic looked on until Erik was no longer visible and then turned to Saeko. "Shall we?” she asked him and he nodded, following along behind her. The continued on into the building with the nurse office that Terence was held in with Dominic making small talk with Saeko along the way. "You in the Kendo Club right?” Dominic asked her. "Yes I am” She glanced at him as they opened the doors into the building’s lobby. "Is there any room for anymore people?” She stopped in the middle of the lobby and turned to him. "Of course. Are you looking to join up?” Dominic nodded. "Yeah, I want to be able to broaden my fighting skills a bit better. I’m trying to become strong through a lot of training. That’s why I spend some days in the training center.” Saeko smiled at him. "That’s admirable. You have to be sure of yourself that you want to join Kendo. It is a commitment. And I will expect you to work hard.” Dominic continued to nod to her. "I know, I can do it.” Saeko appeared to be looking him over for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Very well. I will see that you will be in the Kendo Club. I will sign you up myself. Be prepared Monday.” "Dominic nodded again affirmatively hiding a smile under his straight face. "We shouldn’t keep your friend waiting any longer. Let’s go.” She continued on walking and Dominic followed behind her.
Terence laid in the bed looking up at the small television that was in the upper right corner of the room. As he surveyed the room again, it looked like a smaller version of a hospital room. It was then that he realized just how in bad shape he was. "Man…this room is different than the other main room where they apparently treat light wounds. Was I that messed up?” He looked at his arms which her bandaged up from the wrist on up. He sighed putting them back down carefully as to not wake up his guest from last night. He looked down at her and smiled gently. "She’s cute…when she’s sleeping.” he thought to himself as Rin laid on the bed he was in. He laid back into his bed slowly trying not to wake her when he overheard some commotion in the hallway. "Just let me see him.” "You’re in no condition to walk, it’s a miracle you’re even standing.” "I’m fine! Let me see him!” "Please lay back down.” "Just get out of the way!” Two people were arguing. Well one was, the other was pleading to the other to go lay back down. It was a patient here like he was no doubt. Terence had a pretty good idea of who it was. The arguing got closer and closer to his door until he could tell they were pretty much right in front of his room. After a few more minutes of bickering his door opened up and in came Taro, sliding in on crutches barely standing. Terence face changed to a frown, not really wanting to see this guy and hear his down talk right now. Behind him was Dominic and Saeko with the former looking confused and the latter looking on angrily. Taro shuffled his way over to Terence, wearing a fresh school uniform over his battered bare chest and staring at Terence with ferocity in his eyes. "How?…” Taro asked Terence in a low voice. "Huh?” Terence replied confused. "How did YOU beat ME?” he said again raising his voice on "You” and "Me”. "How should I know. Guess I got lucky?” Terence looked down and away from him and towards Rin. "Or maybe it is because Terence knew what he was up against and adjusted accordingly.” Saeko said walking to the other side of the bed where Rin was and placed her bag on his bed waking Rin up. She looked around the room and noticed a full house before looking up at Terence and backing off suddenly realizing where she had been. "I want so hard to believe luck was the answer” Taro said. "But that can’t be it. I…hate to think that he hung with me…and then outsmarted with a cheap trick.” Terence averted his gaze from Rin and she had regained her bearings and quickly grasped the situation at hand.
"It was a lucky shot…don’t worry about it…” Terence said again. "You have got to be kidding me?” Taro said. "About what? He made it pretty clear” Rin said standing up and brushing herself off a bit. "We all know you underestimated him, and you got humiliated for it. If you want to keep your "cool” with the rest of this school, I’d go with his story.” "Or tell everyone it was a draw, since you both fell out.” Dominic added in. Taro scoffed, "That’s what I don’t get. Up until now I’ve never lost to anyone, not fairly anyway…you would think that he’d want to gloat or something. It’s actually pissing me off that he isn’t. I shouldn’t have lost, the beautiful just cannot!” Taro looked away from everyone. "But that statement is no longer true since I’ve tasted the sting of defeat now.” "What does it matter if you lose?” Terence asked Taro. "I got beaten up by Rin, what’s the difference?” Taro looked at him, "That’s different. You were outclassed then and somehow you still ended up putting up a fight. Maybe I’m looking at all of this wrong. My father told me I have to be the best at everything, always win never lose.” He looked up at the ceiling and began to think for a bit before looking back at everyone. "You are not a bad fighter” Saeko said to Taro. "If you hadn’t come off as smug and arrogant, I would have fought you myself. But I saw no point in wasting my time with you. So I chose someone who could teach you something.” She turned to Terence, "Once again I apologize for this. But he needed to be woken up from someone he wouldn’t feel threatened by but at the same time could defeat him.” Taro sighed, "That’s a dirty thing to do to someone…but you know what? I’m glad you did, because now I have a goal to work towards.” For the first time Taro smiled at Terence with a friendly one, not one that was cocky. Terence noticed this and returned the smile back. "Let me let everyone know right now, Terence Mason is my rival, and eventually this beauty will defeat that beast!” Terence smile dropped after he said that and Taro noticed that. "Pardon that statement, it is going to take some time to get used to not being so…” "Like an Ass?” Rin said with a smirk. Taro grinned at her while he began to shuffle away. "I’ll be back when it isn’t so crowded in here, oh and I won’t say anything about how you were sleeping with him on the first date Rin.” Rin face reddened up from his statement and from the sound of his laughter. "G-get your mind out of the gutter! Nothing happened!”
