The crowd was speechless when Stan hit ten points for the first time.
“Beginner’s luck,” they said.
Stan pulled out another arrow and aimed for the target. This time, he hit nine points. Mr. Adamson studied his stance from head to foot. Stan had firm biceps, thighs, and steady arms. For the third phase, Stan hit ten points. He hit nine points in the fourth and ten points in the last phases. Overall, he got forty-eight points.
Mr. Adamson tapped Stan’s shoulders and raised his hand to face the audience. “Everyone, meet our newest member. An official Huntsman, Mr. Stan Carline.” Stan pushed the bridge of his glasses without changing his straight face the entire time. Out of sixty students, only thirty qualified for the Archery Club.
Inside room 103, the Martial Arts Club had its own audition. They squatted on the floor while listening to their instructor who was wearing a Karate uniform also known as Dogi or Keikogi.
“I am not so strict with picking a member, but make sure you don’t have any health problems because you might collapse during the training. But I will give you some obstacles to see if you can endure the physical pain. Got that?” the instructor said.
The students nodded. “Anyway, you can call me Mr. Bailey. Now, let’s go to the field where the real deal begins.”
The students formed three lines on the field. “Alright. For the first challenge, you must make at least 49 push-ups within two minutes. This is individual. Let’s start?”
The first student stepped forward. When he accomplished the task, the others followed. Half of the students failed the first test.
“For the second challenge, you must make at least 59 sit-ups in 2 minutes. Ready?”
They lay on the ground and positioned their body. But in the middle of it, some experienced muscle crumps and were sent to the clinic. Thirty students qualified for the third challenge.
“The next round is a 2-mile run. Can you still do it?”
The remaining students nodded with heavy breathing. One by one, five of them collapsed in the middle of the track. Theo’s back was already wet with sweat and his face turned pinkish. He could feel his legs getting numb.
I can’t give up now. This is the only thing I’m good at. If I fail this test, I’m over.
When Theo step foot at the finish line, he dropped to the ground and passed out. He woke up in the clinic and immediately looked for Mr. Bailey in the faculty office.
“Mr. Bailey. May I come in?” Theo called.
“Sure. Come here.”
“Is the test over, sir?”
“Yes. Why are you still here? Are you alright now?”
“Yes, sir. I was wondering if I passed the test. I reached the finish line before I collapsed.”
Mr. Bailey made a long pause.
“Theo, I appreciate your effort. But you failed the test. Why? Because you didn’t survive. You reached the finish line but blacked out. It’s like winning a battle but dying in the end.”
“But sir—”
Mr. Bailey patted Theo’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Theo. The rule is clear. Besides, you can join other clubs. I’m sure you can find one.”
Theo bowed his head. He clenched his fists and knelt on the floor.
“Please accept me, sir. I will do everything. I will prove to you that I have what it takes to be a great martial artist.”
Mr. Bailey heaved a deep sigh. “I will think about it, kid. But don’t make your hopes up.”
Theo walked down the street without a direction. He kept his head down with his hands in his pocket, kicking every stone he met on the way.
I’m not great at Science. I suck at math. I am not as intelligent as Stan and Cade. Funny how being called a street fighter makes me smile when all I do is fight and I do it for fun. It gives me some sort of will to exist.
While Theo was in deep thought, a couple of students bumped into him and laughed.
“He’s the transferee from Westgate, right?”
“Oh, that cheap public school.”
“Do you even get a lesson or two from there?”
“I bet not. He doesn’t belong here.”
Theo ignored them and continued walking.
“Hey. Are you ignoring us?”
“He has the guts to ignore us when he came from a trashy school.”
“I’m not in the mood to argue right now,” Theo replied in a low tone.
“Oh, really? But we are in the mood to kick your ass off.” The kids laughed.
Stan, I need you to stop me.
Theo led the five students to the dark tunnel.
“Why are you still following me? I guess you really want to kiss my ass,” Theo said.
“This guy deserves a beating.” One student threw his bag to his friends and faced Theo head-on.
“Are you sure? I am at the peak of my misery. Do you want me to pass it down to you?”
The student punched him, but Theo dodged it and kicked his thigh. He tried an uppercut, but Theo dodged it once again and twisted his arms.
“Fuck it. What are you looking at? Help me beat the shit out of this dumbass!”
The other students threw their bags to the ground and began hitting Theo’s back with a bat, making him fall to the ground.
“I see. From the baseball team,” Theo uttered. His eyes were flaring as he thirst for more pain.
The leader of the gang sat on top of him and punched his face a couple of times.
“Do you know your punches are too weak? It tickles,” Theo said.
He gritted his teeth and truck Theo’s face once more until his lips bled and his cheeks were marked with bruises. Before he could hit the final blow, Theo caught his hand and rolled over. He was on top of his enemy now, and it was his turn to plant some wounds all over his body. Theo stood up when the student lost the strength to fight back.
“Stand up,” he commanded. “You want this, right? Don’t play dead. This is not a child’s play.”
Theo shifted to the gang members. “Step aside if you don’t want to go to school in a wheelchair.”
The students trembled as they looked at Theo and their unconscious friend.
“I… I think he’s badly hurt.”
Theo raised his brow. “So? I am badly hurt, too. But the only difference is I survived. I am qualified. Can’t you see that?” His voice cracked.
Theo grabbed his bag and walked slowly while holding his left arm. Every step he made distort his facial expression.
“Theo! What happened? What the hell did you do?” Cade said as he hurried to assist his body.
“I just played with the other kids on the baseball team. They hit me with a bat. It’s a foul play, man,” Theo said with a smirk.
“How can you smile like that? Stan must see this. He shouldn’t have left you alone.”
“No. He will kill me for sure.”
“Too late. He’s here.”
Stan marveled at why Cade and Theo were together when they were supposed to be avoiding each other. But when he saw Theo injured, his thoughts vanished.
“Theo. Who on Earth did this to you?” Stan asked.
“Some members of the Baseball team. They beat me up. But guess what? Their leader is probably in the hospital by now.”
“Goddammit. I told you not to get into trouble at our new school. We don’t have the upper hand here. Our parents will take us back to London.”
Stan assisted the left side of his body.
“I know I’m such a loser. I failed the test for the Martial Arts Club.” Theo burst into laughter. But drops of tears swelled from his eyes, unable to conceal his sadness.
Stan and Cade looked at each other and hugged him.
“What are you doing?” Theo asked.
“It’s okay. You are not a failure. You gave your all. That’s more important.”
“I don’t want to hear your speech, Stan. It’s cringe.”
“You are worse than a failure because you are a crybaby,” Cade said.
“Say that again. I can pour my remaining energy on you,” Theo replied.
They continued their way back to the dormitory.
“You should go, Cade. They shouldn’t see us together,” Stan said.
“Stan, it would be more suspicious if we avoid each other. It’s normal for schoolmates to help one another. Don’t be too anxious. I can handle it.”
“Our friendship sounds like a forbidden love,” Theo commented.
“Shut up. This is all your fault.”
They entered the room and placed Theo on the bed.
“Don’t forget the main event tomorrow, Cade,” Theo said.
“You mean our Fri night.”
Fri night was a short term for Friday night when the boys had movie night out every Friday.
“Great! Let’s watch an interesting story,” Theo said.
“We’ve watched all Marvel series,” Stan said.
“It’s not Marvel. It is something unique.”
“What is?”
“It’s a BL movie,” Theo said while raising his brows up and down.
“BL what? Is that about crime?” Cade asked.
“BL as in Boys’ Love.”
Stan had a puzzled look on his face.
“It’s a movie wherein Boys fall in love with each other. Romantically.”
“What?”