Physical Training Class
BAM!
I was slammed to the ground, the impact rattling my bones.
"Urgh..." I groaned, barely able to comprehend my surroundings.
'Huh? Wha— How did I even get here? Did I sleepwalk?' I thought as I struggled to get up, my muscles aching with every move.
I glanced at my smartwatch, my heart sinking as I realized I had only gotten 2 FREAKING HOURS of sleep. Today's class was Physical Training, and my body was still achingly sore from the previous day's session.
Physical Training meant sparring with a partner. Students were already paired up, gathering their modified training weapons—tools designed to lessen the sting of combat.
Among the busy scene, I noticed Cypher was paired up with Rex and Edge was paired with Christian. Scanning the room again, my heart sank. I was the only one left without a partner. In the end, the only option was to spar with our female instructor, Evelyn Scoria.
"Ms. Lockhart! Why are you still lying down? Get up and spar with me!" Evelyn shouted, slicing through my thoughts.
I could barely move; every inch of my body was shouting in pain. It seems that I exerted myself yesterday from working out. I had scratches all over my legs and arms because of today's sparring.
My face was pressed against the floor as I gasped for breath, attempting to muster a response. "Ma'am... I surrender," I muttered, the words slipping out as I dozed off again, fatigue pulling me into its embrace.
"This is an order! Get up now, Remillia Lockhart!" "This is an order! Get up now, Remillia Lockhart!" Evelyn's voice cut through the haze, more commanding than ever.
My head throbbed from the constant shouting, and I sighed in resignation, finally forcing myself to my feet. I turned to face her, wearing an exhausted face.
"That's the spirit!" Evelyn exclaimed, a mix of enthusiasm and impatience in her eyes.
"Ma'am... I really can't do it anymore. Can I excuse myself just this once?" I asked, unable to suppress my yawn.
"Ohhh... I see," Evelyn narrowed her eyes at me, clearly offended by my reaction. "So what you're saying is you're bored fighting with me? Is that it?" she mocked, crossing her arms as if to ward off my protests.
"N-no, I just—" I tried to clarify, but she cut me off.
"I didn't know that my class was boring to you," she said seriously, stretching her arms as if preparing for a real fight. "If you want to leave my class, then fight me."
I sighed, realizing she had completely misunderstood my words.
'I just wanted to excuse myself,' I can't help but activate my "Serenade of Daggers" ability again even if it means that I would be completely exhausted after this sparring.
In a minute, the atmosphere had transformed. Evelyn was sweating, darting around to evade my dagger strikes and retaliating with her own attacks. She seemed to pour everything she had into this match, and I was forcing myself to keep up, even as fatigue clung to me.
'I can't believe this is happening. Am I sparring with her or fighting seriously? Because she sure is hell bent on giving me wounds,' I thought, trying to catch my breath.
With every movement, I felt my body trembling as my muscles protested. Out of sheer frustration, I rushed forward and slashed at her arms and legs, wishing she'd take a breather. Instead, I was the one who ended up tumbling to the mat again.
As blood trickled from the slash I had made, I could see her expression shift from annoyance to anger. She grabbed me by my collar, lifting me slightly off the ground.
"Get up! We still have thirty minutes!" Evelyn demanded.
"Can't I just rest, ma'am? I'm really exhausted," I managed to mumble, struggling to keep my eyes open.
"No can do," Evelyn shot back.
"I can't continue anymore…" I faltered, my voice barely a whisper.
"Yes you can! Now sta—....." Evelyn's voice began to falter.
I didn't hear her annoying rants anymore as my eyelids began to feel heavy, my daggers felt like lead weights in my hands. I was smiling ear to ear eagerly waiting to enter the gates of Dreamland.
Just when I was ready to surrender, it was like the gates of Dreamland had slammed shut, the reverberation waking me up with a jolt.
With a sharp PAK!, I felt the sting on my cheek as Evelyn had done the unthinkable—she slapped me!
I jolted up and saw that my instructor was the one who slapped me. She was tackling me holding my collar while shaking me up and down.
'This is the last straw…! Don't you know that I'm older than you? How dare this young woman slap me?!' My irritation transformed into a burning fury, fueled by adrenaline. With whatever energy I had left, I reversed the momentum and tackled her in a blur of motion.
"Wha-!" Evelyn exclaimed, her surprise evident as I pinned her.
"Caught you now, hahaha! Now give me some of your hair so I could curse you!" I shouted, half-laughing and half-yelling, no longer caring about strategy or finesse.
Without a second thought, I grabbed a fistful of her hair and began shaking it up and down like a trophy. A few moments later, her eyes went wide, and she let out a blood-curdling scream.
"AAAAHHH! REMILLIA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET OFF!" she shrieked, clearly unprepared for my unexpected burst of attack.
The students who had been focused on their training stopped mid-spar and turned towards the noise. The atmosphere shifted dramatically; surprise painted their faces, and a haze of confusion drifted through the room.
Some of them gasped in shock, others burst out in laughter, unable to contain their amusement at the bizarre scene. While the majority of them had their jaws dropped as if they were witnessing something unbelievable.
"Has she gone crazy?" one student muttered, leaning over to his friend, his eyes wide.
"Hahaha! I can't believe she's picking a fight with our instructor!" another chimed in, doubling over with laughter.
"Is she treating this sparring as child's play?" came a voice dripping with disdain.
"She's too childish. I wonder how she got accepted by the academy!" another added, shaking her head as if disappointed.
"But she sure has the guts to fight the instructor, hahaha!" someone else remarked, eyes sparkling with mischief.
"She's mad," another student concluded, the crowd watching intently as the spectacle unfolded.
Only Evelyn and I were creating this ruckus, the two of us at the center while the students were watching us, they were all too stunned to move and stop the fight.
"AHHHH! LET ME GO! YOU MAD WITCH!" Evelyn screamed, her frustration boiling over as she tried desperately to regain control of the situation.
'Nope! I'm definitely gonna enjoy ripping off your hair! AHHAHAHA!' I thought, fully embracing this chaotic release of pent-up energy.
I pulled back as far as I could while still gripping her hair, completely unbothered by the students watching my antics. This was payback, after all, for that slap that had ignited this unlikely confrontation.
"I'M WARNING YOU! LET GO! I SAID LET GO!" Evelyn commanded.
I only laughed in response. I think it's because of the lack of sleep and over fatigue that's taking a toll on my mental and physical health.
Just then, the situation took a sharp turn. I hadn't noticed that her free hand had coiled back, ready to strike. With swift move, she punched me square in the jaw.
In that instant, my world went blurry. The impact sent me flying back, my grip on her hair slipping away as I began to lose consciousness. I smiled in a mix of satisfaction and contentment, a warmth enveloping me as I drifted into an unwelcomed sleep.
'If I had done this earlier,' I thought as darkness closed in around me, 'maybe I would have been sleeping peacefully right now instead of here.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Evelyn stood up, trying to fix her hair but ended up grabbing a fistful of it that was no longer there. 'What a nightmare,' she thought, glaring at the girl who was now smiling blissfully in her sleep. "Aaaah! My hair! That crazy witch!" she exclaimed, exasperated.
She was ready to confront Remillia again, but before she could make her way over, Jude appeared at the entrance just in time.
"Evelyn, physical training class is over. Why aren't you dismissing the kids?" Jude asked, his brow furrowing as he caught sight of Remillia sprawled out on the mat.
"Is"Is she sleeping, or did you knock her out?" he questioned, a hint of skepticism lacing his voice.
"N-No, she's just sleeping," Evelyn snapped back, her stomach turning at the thought of being scolded by the higher-ups for her knocking out a student.
"Then why are you letting her sleep while the others are busy sparring?" Jude questioned, and, without a moment's hesitation, he began to approach Remillia, clearly ready to wake her.
Panicking, Evelyn quickly interjected, "W-wait! I allowed her to s-sleep since I was impressed by her combat ability!"
Jude stopped and turned back to her, raising an eyebrow. After a moment of considering her words, he frowned thoughtfully. His brow furrowed as he looked back at Remillia's calm sleeping form. It made a certain kind of sense, especially since he'd witnessed her performance the day before. 'She seemed better suited for close combat than long-range,' he admitted.
"Makes sense," Jude finally conceded, giving her a nod of approval. He seemed satisfied with her response and turned on his heel, leaving Evelyn to face the students.
The students can't hear what the two instructors are talking about. Although, they came to a conclusion that Sir Jude would scold Remillia but it seems that they were fine with Remillia's behavior. In fact, he appeared to be in agreement with Evelyn. How could this have happened? Sir Jude simply left without even waking Remillia!
That alone made their jaws dropped on the floor again. What did Remillia do to be excused so immediately like that?
Evelyn turned her focus back to the class, her voice firm but kind. "Who can carry Remillia and let her rest at the clinic?"
The students stared at her dumbfounded. Was Ma'am Evelyn actually suggesting that they help the girl after everything? They exchanged glances, unsure.
Christian, the class president, stepped forward. "I'll do it."
Evelyn gave a sigh of relief, nodding gratefully at him. "Thanks," she replied, relief washing over her. She then refocused on the rest of the class, adding, "The others can go to your next class."
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
When I finally opened my eyes, the clock on the wall read 8 P.M. A wave of confusion washed over me as I took a moment to adjust to my surroundings—white walls, the familiar scent of antiseptic, and the sound of quiet murmurs outside. I must be at the clinic. My mind quickly shifted back to the events of the day, and embarrassment flooded through me.
'Shit, I better apologize to her,' I thought as I frustratedly ruffled my hair.
Just then, the nurse on duty looked up from her station, relief evident in her eyes. "I'm glad you're awake. It seems that you over-exhausted yourself. Just rest and get a lot of sleep. Take better care of your body, okay?" she advised kindly.
I nodded appreciatively. "Thanks."
She smiled back at me, a warm expression that put me slightly at ease. "No worries. You can go back to your room now."
With that affirmation, I left the clinic, pushing past the door and back into the late evening atmosphere. I made my way to my dorm with few students strolling around the park.
Just as I reached my door, a sudden memory jolted through my mind—yesterday's disastrous encounter with Macaron. I braced myself and opened the door slowly, half-expecting that crazy owl's antics. Sure enough, as I stepped inside, Macaron shot out like a bullet, zipping straight towards me. Just like I anticipated, I quickly ducked.
"Master!!!"
Thud!
Macaron flew straight to the wall.
I chuckled softly as I glanced back to see Macaron slump against the wall, dazed but unharmed. He flopped onto the floor, his small body twitching slightly as he tried to balance himself.
"Master, you're too mean!" Macaron whined, fluttering into the room just as I closed the door behind me.
"Next time, just wait for me in the living room," I replied, shaking my head with a smile. "What if it was a different person who opened the door? Do you want me to get in trouble?"
"No…" he muttered, his voice quiet as he settled onto my shoulder.
I headed to the kitchen to prepare us a simple dinner. We ate, cleaned up then slept early. I'll rest for today and resume my training tomorrow.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
The next day, the weight of embarrassment made it hard for me to lift my head as I entered the classroom. My classmates were snickering and stealing glances at me, likely reminiscing about yesterday's chaotic events. I shook my head, steeling myself as I tried to ignore them. After all, popularity is still popularity, even though I'll be the center of attention for the wrong reasons.
When lunch break finally came around, I noticed that there were colorful stalls adorned with vibrant banners stretched across the Academy grounds, drawing the attention of students as seniors energetically recruited their juniors.
That's when I realized that this time of the month was when students could freely join any clubs they wanted. Students here were even allowed to join multiple clubs.
I wasn't even planning to join any but for the sake of befriending the main characters, I intend to stay close to the storyline as possible.
'Let's see... Cypher, Angela, Christian, and Whitney joined the Wandering Club,' I reminded myself. They were important to the novel, and I couldn't afford to lose track of them. Edge and Rex, on the other hand, was a completely different story; whatever club they joined was of no concern to me.
With a sigh, I decided on my selections: the Wandering Club, the Debate Club, and the Field Sports Club. They were the ones where I can interact with them the most and I had no choice but to make what I believed to be the right decision.
As I filled out the application papers, I tried to visualize my schedule, hoping that I could balance everything without driving myself into the ground. Once completed, I passed the applications to the club leaders.
After classes fully ended, I couldn't help but check my smartwatch for any notifications regarding club schedules. As if the universe had heard my silent prayers:
—Debate Club is on Tuesdays.
—Field Sports Club is on Thursdays.
—Wandering Club is on Saturdays and Sundays.