The rest of the period proved very interesting, describing the various designs and types of armor that fit different fighters. Calista felt a bit wistful, half-wishing she could design armor for fighters. It would be a great alternative if fighting didn’t work out, playing to her skills in fashion design, but the School of Design wasn’t free, unlike the Versus Fighting School.

  On the other hand, she liked to wear her designs. It bothered her if she made an outfit and had someone else wear it. She had to live with seeing her precious ideas worn on Danica and Rebecca on the SociaLights channel.

  She smirked at the thought; while Rebecca was pretty good at fashion, too, she wasn’t the choreographer. Now that she wasn’t on the channel, those two would probably have the most ridiculous dance at that Socializer school showcase. Poor Elizabeth would be dragged down with them.

  “Miss Medley, is there something humorous you’re finding in the lecture?” Professor Pilios suddenly called, breaking her out of her thoughts. His large eyes zeroed in on her, along with the rest of the class and Coach Emeeli.

  “N-no, sir! I’m sorry.” Calista felt her entire body shiver with shame, heat crawling from her face to the tips of her toes.

  “If I see another pretty little smirk on your face, I’ll have you teach the class what you know.”

  “It won’t happen again, sir.” She swallowed, trying not to listen to the giggles and snickers around her.

  -3 RP

  After Armory came another Break, giving Calista more time to study to avoid humiliation in class. During Weapon Use class, Calista met Coaches Usda, Jenna, and Taraji again, who watched her closely as she maneuvered with her starter baton against the still CD-Sim holograms. Being only at Level 2, she was limited with her weapon choices, and she felt envious of the other students that had the entire starter arsenal at their disposal.

  She was particularly envious of a girl near her using blade fans; she spun them in her fingers and threw small blades at the holograms in front of her. They looked so cool… and pretty…

  “Miss Medley, focus on your own station, not your peers’,” Coach Taraji said tiredly.

  “Sorry, sir.” She returned to smacking the hologram targets with her baton.

  At Lunch, Calista endured another awkward hour of sitting with the other new students, watching them socialize and joke with each other as she ate quietly, isolated. She tried busying herself with studying on her AIDA band, but hearing the conversations and fun laughter made her long for friends. She wasn’t off to a great start with that.

  Task Acquired: Attend Warm-Ups period— 3 XP

  She hoped that her next class, Teamwork, would give her a chance to get along with someone. It was a mixed class, meaning older students in different years would be present— if there was a Student Coach, she could not humiliate herself the way she did in first period.

  When she entered the open doorway of the gymnasium, she stopped in her tracks when she saw the woman standing with Coach Taraji and a Mearthian man.

  Tostama ‘Nuclear’ Kolaka

  Coach

  Level 3,788

  800 RP— Hero

  A Hajjian coach. Calista had to blink hard to ensure she wasn’t hallucinating. Hajjian students were heard of, but one that chose to teach at an Earthian school? Why would she be here?

  Her skin was fire-engine red and her eyes were a soft orange, but her demeanor increased their harshness. Black lines fanned out from the spot between her brows up to her hairline, forming a striped triangle across her forehead. Those were age ridges; all Hajjians had them, and they would grow more numerous every year until they turned the person’s skin pitch-black to indicate their death. Men had them on their chins while women had them on their foreheads.

  Calista definitely couldn’t mess up in this course. Being an Earthian, Coach Tostama would be looking for a reason to pick on her. Hajjians were known to be very hostile towards Earthians, treaty or no treaty.

  There was a short warm-up period before Teamwork would begin, so Calista got down to do her stretches, observing the other people that came in. She spotted a couple first-years and some vaguely familiar tags.

  Then she saw two tags she instantly remembered.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Harrison ‘Cheater’ Smith

  Student Coach #10

  Level 406

  RP Unavailable— Controversial

  Lílitha ‘Piranha’ Houdge

  Versus Fighter

  Level 378

  195 RP— Feared

  Both of them in her class?! She was happy to see a handsome face like Harrison’s, but the periwinkle-colored face, large black eyes, and lynx-like ears made Calista freeze. The little woman didn’t spare her a second glance as she went to a spot and started complicated and painful-looking stretches for her elastic limbs.

  Calista quickly ducked into her pike hamstring stretch when Harrison Smith walked past her. She peeked up to see him stretching slowly, taking deep breaths.

  “What’s wrong with his Rep?” Calista whispered to Lindsay.

  “You know about the whole scandal last Versus when they accused him of cheating, right?” Lindsay said. “That’s why. His Rep changes from the negatives to the positives almost every minute because of the rumors and changing opinions. That makes him Controversial.”

  Calista shook her head, folding back to do a bridge stretch, her thin waist pointing up to the ceiling. It was so unfair that Harrison had so much controversy around him for no reason at all. As limited as she was in watching the Games that year, she’d seen the secondary-final he’d lost. He’d given everything he had. Did him being Earthian really bother people that much?

  As she arched her neck back, she saw a Hajjian student enter the doorway in her upside-down view. She had platinum-colored patches on her sleeves and a pentagon-shaped badge right below her collarbone. Lindsay had said those were Favorite students, the best students in the Guilds.

  The woman’s tag appeared:

  Rosalina ‘Hothead’ Wiasod

  Alpha Assistant SC

  Level 419

  268 RP— Teacher

  Calista fell over in surprise, looking up to see the woman. She remembered her— she’d first competed in the 2342 tournament. She was the most temperamental member of the Earth team people had seen.

  Rosalina’s skin was a carmine red and her fiery orange hair was tied up into long, tight braids. Her age ridges enhanced her thick orange eyebrows, making her look as fierce as she was. She stood alarmingly close to where Calista was, joined by an Emitonian girl and a Seeyastian girl, the latter of which had strange-looking hair. Both had platinum patches like Rosalina.

  Seeyastians had hair that changed color based on their emotions, but otherwise didn’t have any other abilities. This one, however, had moving hair that was currently a steady gray, indicating boredom. Calista had never seen moving hair before.

  Rosalina’s rose red eyes wandered across the classroom, studying all the new first-year students that were attending. Her eyes soon landed on Calista, who quickly tried to look busy by turning away and doing a rotating stomach stretch.

  The three women were within earshot, so Calista heard one of them snicker. “Where does she think she is? A yoga class?” one of them said.

  “She’s one of those, huh?” Calista knew that was Rosalina speaking— Hajjians had an accent that was like a mix between Russian and Hungarian drawls.

  As long as she didn’t do anything that would bug that woman off, she’d be fine. She also couldn’t anger Lílitha Houdge in any way. Why did she get the big, scary names in her class?!

  “LINE UP!” Coach Tostama shouted.

  Warm-Up Period in session!

  Everyone quickly obeyed, some tripping as they twisted out of their stretching positions. Calista wound up flanked between a Mearthian boy and the Seeyastian girl with the live hair.

  Yve ‘Medusa’ Rayelyn

  Alpha Favorite

  Level 406

  201 RP— Feared

  That checked out.

  “I thought body mods aren’t allowed?” she whispered to Lindsay.

  “Those aren’t mods. Medusa was born with that hair. It’s a Seeyastian condition,” Lindsay explained.

  “To our first-years: welcome to your first Teamwork lesson. I am Coach Tostama,” the coach began, her back as straight as a plank and her face steely as she addressed them. “In this class, you are expected to collaborate and strategize with your group, meaning you will not let any personal grudges or problems get in the way of your final goal. I don’t care if someone is a species you don’t like, or if they said something mean about you in the past.” Her fangs showed in a smirk. “You will collaborate with whomever you are placed with. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes, Coach!” everyone thundered loudly.

  “Since our new first-years are starting today, none of you upperclassmen know their abilities. So, we will be forming your groups today.”

  Calista could tell many of them wanted to groan, but didn’t dare to in Coach Tostama’s presence. She read names off of her AIDA band, sorting people into random groups.

  “Cheater— group leader. You’re with Piranha, Medusa, Gravity, Emily Bryson, and Calista Medley.”

  Calista’s heart jumped. She was in Harrison Smith’s group?! Uber-awesome! She firmly held back her fangirling urge.

  Class Group: 7

  The group of six went to a spot in the classroom away from the other teams as the coach finished sorting everyone. “Afternoon, everyone,” said Harrison. “Welcome to Fistborn. Emily and Calista, right?”

  Both girls nodded. Emily was a Level 19 Paesearthian, so it was clear which of the two of them would be the ‘drag’ on their team.

  New People: Emily Bryson, Yve Rayelyn

  Acquaintances