My Friends and My Bully Chapter 04

My Friends and My Bully Chapter 04

Chapter 4: Fight Training

*Anna*

I watched Hazel as we sparred. I was impressed when she slipped a particularly

quick jab from one of the boys a grade ahead of us. She was quick and graceful, with

a joyfulness even in her combat that almost made me envious.

Almost.

The sparring mat was starting to get slick under my feet, sweat against the worn

material making a lethal combination. Still, I knew this would happen. I’d been

training every available minute I had now, I knew this gym like the back of my

hand.

The kid in front of me swung wildly, a flurry of fists that had the potential to catch

a less practiced fighter off guard. I was ready though, bringing my elbows in tight

and batting his hands away.

Beta Elias never even looked over at me. He was too busy helping the other pairs,

critiquing positions or combinations or reflexes. I tried to stay focused, but at this

point, the kid in front of me was so predictable, I could have fought him with my

eyes closed.

I wished that everything in life was this easy. I could flow through a fight like

dancing. I knew where my feet went, I knew how to position my hands, punches

and kicks were like breathing. Navigating social situations wasn’t like this. Things

were so much more…complicated. There was no expected response to conversation. I couldn’t predict what the person I was talking to would say next. It was too hard to

feel things out.

Elias clapped his hands together loudly, the sound echoing in the cavernous gym.

The only sound was the rattle of the chains holding up the punching bags as the few

Chapter 4. Fight Training

kids who weren’t instructed to spar froze in place, turning to face their Beta.

People couldn’t just ignore his orders. The only ones who weren’t instinctively forced to listen were the Alphas and their kids, but even they turned out of respect.

It was something else familiar and predictable about this. So much easier than the

hallways of high school.

“Alright, now that you’ve gotten a feel for combat, let’s walk through a few

exercises together. I’ve been watching each of you, and I’m going to have my two

strongest fighters face off against each other so you can get a good idea of what you

should be working toward,” Elias announced, gesturing for us all to join him.

We moved as a mob to the main ring where he stood, bunching around the ropes to

get the best view. I quickly became uncomfortable with all the bodies pressed up

against us, and shifted my way back to the far reaches of the group, giving myself

room to breathe.

“Hazel, Anna, join me up here,” Elias commanded.

Terror -icy and sharp–sliced through my veins. I knew I could withstand combat,

that wasn’t what I was worried about. As I stepped on shaking legs through the

throng, I was painfully aware of their eyes on me, of the way these people who had

been little better than villains in my life were now leering at me.

Hazel moved easily through the crowd, swinging up onto the platform and slipping

through the ropes as if she were born to do this. It was that same fluid grace that

threatened to make me jealous of her.

I was stiffer, more anxious as I scrambled up and swung through the ropes to stand

in front of Elias.

“Get her, Hazel!” someone called from the crowd.

Several other students cheered, some of them pumping their fists in the air as the

crowd grew restless.

Chapter 4 Fight Training

Elias rested a heavy, broad palm on my shoulder. “You know what you’re doing.

Don’t let anyone in your head,” he murmured, bending just slightly so his words

were only for me.

I nodded.

He clapped a hand down on Hazel’s shoulder too, giving her a warm smile before

turning back to the crowd.

“These two are going to give you a glimpse of real combat. They don’t know each

other, they’ve never fought before, so neither one has a good advantage over the

other. This is the kind of thing you’ll be walking into when you face true combat,”

Beta Elias explained. “We don’t fight our own. We fight threats to the pack.

Strangers. Enemies. People who we don’t train with or interact with regularly. So,

you have to learn as you go. Being adaptable is the key to combat. That, and being

tougher than the other guy,” Elias chuckled the last line before turning back to us.

Hazel and I looked up at him expectantly.

“Keep it a fair fight, ladies.” He clapped his hands together once. “Let’s do this.”

And then we were circling each other.

I took stock of the situation, trying to analyze what I could do from here. Her left

elbow was high, leaving her entire left side exposed. It could be a trap, trying to bait

me in so she could cross with her right hand. Or she might not know it was a habit

of hers if she was fast enough to keep anyone from getting too close.

“Come on, Hazel, this shouldn’t take you more than thirty seconds,” someone barked, a laugh tittering through the rest of the crowd in a ripple.

My wolf snarled in the back of my mind. “Thirty seconds,‘ she growled.

I bit back a smile. “Think we can pull it off?‘

“I’m just waiting for your word,’ my wolf hummed, pleased.

Chapter 4: Fight Training

Hazel cocked her head at the distraction, giving me my in.

She must not have known about the chink in her armor on the left side because I

swung for her, blazing past her guard and landing a punch to her kidneys. It was a

wild, wide swing, but it landed because of the distraction. She huffed and lifted her

elbow to try and shove me away, but I already darted in and out before she could

react.

I hit her hard enough that a lesser fighter would have been taken to her knees. I had

to give her that much credit. She recovered quickly, planting an uppercut to the

edge of my jaw, only missing a direct hit because I knew it was the only good hit she

could get and dodged preemptively.

Hazel went for a roundhouse kick, which I caught and deflected, flinging her away

from me. She landed hard on her ass, and I planted a foot to her chest, pinning her to

the mat. She clutched at my ankle, but Elias blew a whistle, ending the match

immediately.

I stepped away within a breath, giving her the space to get up.

“You gotta teach me that,” Hazel said, holding a hand out.

I took her sweaty palm and helped her to her feet. “Sure.”

There was nothing false in her words. There was nothing sinister, hateful, or

insincere in her face, her words, or her actions. She beamed at me as Elias began

coaching everyone through what they’d seen, and had them start practicing

defenses.

When training was over and we all got ready to go home, Hazel stayed by my side,

making light conversation as we left. It was unfamiliar and odd, but she was patient

with me, and I started to wonder if she could actually want to be my friend.