Clouded (introduction )
I fell hard. I cursed and inspected my leg. The cut wasn’t big, but it stung.
”Yemi, get up! Stand up.” Mrs. Grangely orders
I try my hardest not to roll my eyes. The old woman has some vendetta against me. I stand slowly, hearing snickers behind me.
I moved into my stance and readied myself; Olivia was a formidable opponent. She worked hard, almost as hard as me. Olivia moves to swing, and I sidestep. She grins, and her jaw clenches. I smirk as we circle each other. I hear murmurs from our classmates peering at us through the caged arena.
I throw a punch, landing square on her jaw. A large purple bruise appears where I had hit her. My knuckles start to swell, ensuring a week of them being wrapped in bandages. Olivia kicks me, and my body hits the chain-linked fence. She creeps over eerily.
This is what I hate about the Third year’s. They’d beat you to a pulp and watch you struggle to get up, only to finish you off. She kicks me once again, leaving me gasping for air.
“ Up Yemi, don’t get your blood on the floor. Or you’ll be cleaning it up!” Mrs. Grangely shouts
I move slowly, trying to steady myself while Olivia gets ready to strike again. She moves in to strike again, but this time I catch her fist and knee her- hard.
She doubles over, and I continuously strike her. Over and over, with the last of my energy. She reaches for my hair and tugs at it. I see red; I lash out and bash her head into the cage. I bash it in again and again until someone pulls me away.
**************************************
“ Such a fighter,“ Tunji chuckles.
I roll my eyes; he was lucky he happened to be assigned to the infirmary. Not every kid in Pyran was entitled to such a privilege.
“C’mon Yemisi, at least try not to blackout and beat another Third-year to a pulp.” He reprimands
I glare in his direction while he bandages my hand. He smiles softly.
“ I have to admit, Olivia looks a lot worse than you do.”
I let a ghost of a smile appear on my face.
“ Good, she deserved it-” I start
“We know; we know no one touches the hair, He grumbles, shaking his head.
I stood up from the small chair I was sitting in. Tunji looks at me expectantly, and I hand him four landysaurs. I never had any money and he loved candy, so it was easy for me to give him some type of payment . I turned to head out the door, about to leave, when I heard his voice softly.
“They’re coming; you know that, right?”
I nodded; Tunji was leaving soon. He had no real reason for being here. He was the son of the prince—the son of the king’s brother. He didn’t deserve to be in this rust bucket. See, this is where they train the next generation of warriors. They rip innocent families of their children to drive them to endless war. I was lucky compared to most; of course, I was an orphan, and I had nothing to miss.
I went to my room and plopped on the bed; my roommate Themis scrambled into the room. She hugged me and stepped back and looked at me. I waved her off
“Them, I’m fine. See Tunji wrapped my hand.”
She scoffs. “Yemi, you realize they’re coming, right? If they see you like this, they’ll pluck you out of here”
She groans “Yemi, are you even listening “
I smile softly,” Somewhat. “
She sits down on the top bunk and sighs. I sit there staring at her in silence; it should be easier for her. She’s been here her whole life. She should be used to this by now.
“I’ve seen him before,” she murmurs.
I raise my brow. “Who?”
“The King, he’s more frightening in person-” she pauses, shuddering.
“His eyes they’re dark when he stares at you. It’s like when you stare at him, you can’t move. I remember a girl who was at least six or seven; she ran from the facility, and during his yearly visit, he found out. He just looked at her, and smoke blocked our view by the time it died down. She was gone, just ashes.
I stared blankly; they were evil but killing children- six-year-olds. She was terrified any child would be after being ripped from their home.
“Yemi, I get you’ve been alone. The thing is you don’t have to be,” she whispers
I snort, “Being alone has its benefits.”
She sighs and throws a pillow at my head.
“You roughed her up pretty bad. “
“She touched my hair” I reply, frowning.
Since I was a kid, I hated when people touched my hair. The kids on the streets said there was always some type of fire in my eye when it happened. I never had too many memories from that age; nonetheless, that had stuck.
“You’re still not over it,” Themis laughs.
I groan. She doesn’t understand there are just some things you can’t forget.
