Almost everyone I had met today was holding up a banner that read “WE LOVE YOU JAMES!” There were food, drinks, and party games everywhere.
I held back tears. “Wow guys, this is amazing…y…you didn’t have to do all of this for me…”
“It was all Milliard’s idea! He planned and paid for everything! He wanted to make sure you had the best first day ever!” Jaren said.
I was choked up. “Wow…thank you so much everyone.”
Maybe people really do care about me…
Milliard shouted. “Of course! Now let’s get to partying everybody! I need to see your moves on the dance floor!”
I usually don’t like parties, I am an introvert and all, but tonight I had a great time. I enjoyed socializing with everyone and feasting on the delectable spread. Mr. Writing even forced Akri and Epios to come and wish me a happy first day at the threat of a beating from Mr. Brooks which was nice.
Throughout the party, I kept noticing there was one person I didn’t know. I thought back on it and realized she was the girl in the miniskirt that fought over Milliard. She was gorgeous, tall, blonde, and beautiful. The kind way I saw her interact with others was very attractive, and I could tell she knew how to have a good time. Even if she was in love with Milliard, he was already engaged to somebody else, so she had no chance.
That’s just even more reason to be with me.
I found a moment to strike when she went to refill her drink at the punch bowl. “Hey, I’m not sure we got a chance to meet today. I’m James.”
“I know you James, you’re the guy Milliard won’t shut up about!” She laughed. “I’m Laura, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too. But yeah, Milliard is one of my best friends. He's taught me a lot in the short time I’ve been here, and I wouldn’t have made it this far without him.”
“Aww, that’s nice to hear. I’m glad you two have a little bromance going on. Milliard needs more friends, especially ones that can push him out of his comfort zone. I hope you two can help each other be the best you can be!”
“Me too! But enough about him. Tell me, are you from the capital or are you from another nation?”
She swallowed. “I’m from here…you probably know my dad…he’s one of the council members.”
“Nope! Never heard of him! I’m not exactly from around here, but that’s a story for another day. What are your plans after you graduate?”
Laura wiped sweat from her brow. “That’s a relief…” She flexed her small, cute biceps. “I want to become an Archigos so I can deflate Milliard’s ego a little bit!” She sighed. “I’m not sure if I can do it though. I’m just not a natural fighter like him and Marcus, and I didn’t get assigned to a good, advanced combat class like Milliard did. I’m just in Mr. G’s fitness class with you guys. Milliard has tried to show me a thing or two, but he’s a lousy teacher.”
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“I know exactly what you mean. He’s so naturally talented at everything he doesn’t really know how to take the time to break it down for other people.”
“YES, EXACTLY! And his storytelling skills are even worse! When I ask him about his day, all I get are ‘BOOMS, ‘WHOOSHES’, and ‘POWS’, because all he does is train!”
“Trust me, I have several similar stories of my own with him and I’ve only been here for two days. There have been many times I could have strangled him.”
“Yes, he can definitely be annoying, but we all love him for it.” She stared at him longingly. “I guess that’s a good thing. It means he’s not the best at everything he tries….”
I slid in front of her. “For sure, but why don’t you try and transfer into Mr. G’s advanced combat class so you can have a better teacher?”
“There are no transferring classes because our schedules are built around our future career paths. I’m in the warrior track and the political track. The way the two tracks interact doesn’t give me any leeway to transfer. Plus, he’s so popular that his classes are always full, which sucks. And I got stuck with someone who couldn’t care less about teaching, which sucks even more.”
“That does suck. I know not having the best coach can put a damper on your athletic experience...”
“Yeah, it really does. I have a junior teacher, not a senior teacher like Mr. G or Mr. Writing, and he’s just not very good at his job. He probably got the position from familial connections or a friend. He stinks, and he always mistreats his students. He only spends time training the people he likes and it’s just to hell with the rest of us. The crazy thing is that the people he spends his time training don’t even end up any better than the rest of the group.” She sighed. “I’d file a complaint if I thought it would do anything, but I already know he’s well connected so they wouldn’t fire him despite his horrible track record. It would just make my life worse indefinitely because he would hate me afterwards.”
“This might sound weird, but I can relate to that too. Where I’m from, I had some of the worst ‘teachers’ in the world. They were completely incompetent and shared a lot of similarities with your combat instructor. Because of them, year after year my teammates and I were subjected to terrible experiences and never got a chance to reach our full potential. They ended up crushing so many people’s dreams, and to make things worse, they didn't even care.”
Her face turned red, and she wiped tears from her eyes. “I’m starting to wonder if I can…or even want to do this anymore myself. Nobody from his class has ever been a finalist for the Tournament of Champions, so what hope do I have? It’s my dream to be the first girl from this university to make it but, now I’m not so sure…”
I grabbed her by the shoulders. “Don’t give up on your dream! You can do it! Even if you have to work with Milliard or someone else every day outside of class, you have to do what it takes! I’m sure Mr. G or somebody here would be willing to work with you if you show them you’re dedicated! Don’t let a fool who doesn’t know what they’re doing take your dream from you! WHY SHOULD YOU LAY DOWN AND DIE BECAUSE THEY WANT YOU TOO?!”
She sniffled. “Y…y…you’re right. I can’t give up. I have to at least see this through. God put me here, right?” Her forced smile was so cute. “Thank you so much James. No matter what it takes. I’m going to train my hardest every day until I get selected for the tournament and make my father proud.”
We had a magical conversation for the remainder of the night as the party raged on around us. I got lost in the ocean of her beautiful blue eyes as we discussed a surprising abundance of mutual interests. She was committed to her faith in God and seemed to be as serious about it as I was. She was a high achieving student, and she loved “sports” too.
We are a match made in heaven. She is my dream girl.
I made it my mission to confess my love by the end of the school year and bring her back with me to my world.
This is going to be a great semester.
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