2 After a year away.

One year later

I really do hate waiting in lines, I thought as the ring of the bell signaled the next person to come forward.

I hate Tryn too, he practically forced me to apply for this; Combat Games varsity team. "Live your high school life," he said, that 30-year-old man with no wife or kids, failed potshots at love, live your life, Ha! The irony.

But.

Even though he's an over-demanding, overzealous, and bad role model. He's still my role model, Tryn is like family at this point, the weird uncle.

My thoughts were interrupted by the resounding 'Ting!' of the bell, another step forward in hell. Like a savior to quench my boredom, I received a call, it is from my best friend Mhervo, finally.

"Zack?! I heard you were back in school."

"Missed me?"

"I thought you were long goooone man. You missed like what? The whole school year?"

"Yea... About that, family business, you know." I scratched my head as if he could see me.

"You know for a sign said to be straightforward you guys tend to be pretty cryptic." He says. Kinda scary how suspicious he is.

"What? We're laconic people. We Aries are all about that few and cryptic words, plus you know I don't have a sign yet officially." Followed by another nervous laugh.

"Hahaha, fair enough late bloomer, it was no use in asking further anyway. How about your grade 11 year? Do you get another pardon? Did you buy the school principal, again?."

"Yea something like that--" Ting! "--Sorry that was the bell. I gotta do extra work, but it's fine I was kinda advanced anyways, and excuse you, I don't buy people like you." The line was still was long, it was still longer than my lifespan; I swear I'm going to die before I reach the end it.

"You say that... But you failed statistics last year." He said ignoring my last remark.

I cringed. "You failed stats too, god I really hate that subject."

He laughed. He was about to say more when I saw a recruiter take a guy from the line somewhere in front of me. "Hey, something came up, later." I dropped the call without waiting for a reply.

The guy came up to me next, I didn't notice it was Roy till he came real close, with him was the guy he picked up earlier, Combat game all-star Jimmy Young; he's the same age as me.

"Well, well, It's a surprise to see you here," Roy said, his acting skills suck; it's painfully obvious that he was sent here. "I thought you said 'I'll never join your petty sports.' If I remember right." He continued.

That jerk smiled the whole way through, I couldn't help but smile as well; I gave him a quick hug and said. "Well, you know Tryn right? He's an ass. How about you? Playing centurion?" It was our little code word for 'were you sent to guard me?'

"Yea, unfortunately."

We stood there awkwardly for a moment, Roy is in his brain-dead guard mode again. As if snapping, "Oh, this is Jimmy Young but I think you already know him.--" Then gesturing to me "-- This is Zack, my uh... Friend."

I shook his hand, I felt him tighten his grip with a smug look on his face.

"This is the guy you're going to fight."

----

"Hey what's the point of this uhh--" I was standing on an open sparring mat with gloves and headgear on; some assistants were even fitting me with knee-guards "-- thing again?"

It wasn't just me, there was a lot of us all being outfitted in the same way; gotta hand it to Aurora high school, they sure put in a lot of money into their varsity students.

Roy was standing neatly beside some, 'coach-looking' people who were sitting at a table filled with papers. "The coach asked me to bring in the promising recruits I could find, to help with the line, you get me?"

"So this coach decided that to go about this 'thing' with an impromptu sparring match? The fuck man?"

As I said this the woman who I pegged as a manager started glaring at me, I quickly waved the assistants away and their futile attempts to fully secure the knee-guards and strode to where Roy was.

"The coach is a girl?" In the softest 'you should've told me man' tone I could muster.

"Don't be sexist now Zack."

"Firstly, I got nothing against women who want to be coaches; I even think that's great, but isn't there like another coach who makes our lives hell? And not Ms.I'm every high school boy dream came true?"

"I never knew you had the hots for her Zack, you rarely show that for anyone, let alone imply or joke anything close to vulgar even."

"I don't, not like that --" I snapped my gaze to him. "-- I'm trying to emphasize a point here."

He clasped me on the shoulder. "Trust me, you're making a really bad impression for her right now."

"She's still looking at me isn't she."

He nodded, it was all I could to just not to sigh.