[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.If I thought I had a choice at all, I would have argued, but I knew that I didn’t.Just like I had no choice about anything else that was required here, just like I’d had no choice in coming here in the first place.“What about weekends?”n huI’ll let you know once I’ve seen you in action.”I gritted my teeth, determined to be good enough to get the weekends off.I expected Alex to lead me out the front doors and back across the courtyard we’d crossed earlier, but he didn’t.Instead, he turned right and took a door that let us out in the back of the building, on the opposite end as my Defensive Maneuvers class.The door clicked closed behind us, and Alex turned and headed into the trees.There was no sign of a trail or path, and I had no choice but to trust Alex knew where he was going.We walked for several minutes, dodging branches and stepping over low bushes, until we finally emerged onto a wide trail and turned right, following it further away from the school.Even on the trail, Alex walked fast enough that he stayed a few steps ahead of me, instead of walking beside me.“Where are we going?” I asked.“Almost there,” was all he said.A few minutes later, the path opened up and the trees disappeared and we stood at the edge of a large clearing, bordered by tall pines and oaks.The grass was cropped short, like it had been mowed recently but it was still nice and green.“This is where we’re going to train?” I asked.Alex walked further out into the field and turned to face me, his expression unreadable.“Yes.”I wandered out to where he stood.“What do you want me to do?”“Touch your toes.”I blinked.“What?”“Touch your toes.You need to stretch out before we start,” he explained.“Oh, right,” I mumbled.I dropped my bag and bent down and touched my fingertips to my sneakers, holding them there until I felt the pull in the muscles behind my knees.Alex did the same.I followed him through a few more stretching exercises and then straightened, waiting to begin.For a long moment, Alex looked at me.His head was tilted to one side and even though his eyes never left my face, I had the feeling he was taking in my entire body, down to each individual muscle.When he spoke, his voice was brusque, and I wondered if maybe he didn’t like what he saw.“Before we can get into technique or positions, I need to see you move,” he said.“Move how?”“Attack me.”“Seriously?” I stared at him.“Are you sure?”“I’m sure.Come on.”I took a slow step forward, unsure what to do.Alex watched me, his expression teetering on boredom.That did it.I might not be able to move like the kids here, with all their power yoga and kung-fu kicks, but I’d taken down more than one Werewolf in my time.He didn’t have the right to look bored.I squared my shoulders, bent my knees, and ran at him.The moment my body was in motion, Alex tensed.Not nervously, but in a way that said he was readying his muscles for action.He didn’t move forward to meet me, though; instead choosing to wait and let me come to him.When I was two steps away, I leapt, closing the distance in the air, with my arms extended in front of me.I swept out with a fist, knowing he’d swerve to miss it, and came around quickly with the other.He was fast.He managed to swerve and duck out of both punches.I fell on him, the impact sending us both to the ground.He tried to roll away from me, but I pushed hard against his shoulders and let myself become dead weight against him, pinning him momentarily in place.I raised my fist, ready to bring it down on his jaw, but out of the corner of my eye, I could see his free hand already coming around to knock me loose.So I did the only thing I could to win.I brought my knee up as hard as I could–into his groin.His eyes rolled back, and he let out a guttural groan.I rolled off, knowing the fight was over, and sat up, feeling incredibly guilty for the low blow.I wasn’t even sure why I’d resorted to it except that I’d needed to prove I wasn’t completely useless, and I knew if I’d lost the fight, it would permanently ingrain me as a loser in Alex’s mind.My self-respect–or temper–wouldn’t allow that.Alex rolled away from me and writhed on the ground.He was groaning and making me feel even worse.“I’m really sorry,” I said.No answer.After a minute, he finally rolled back over and managed to sit up.He was breathing heavily and glaring at me.A vein in his temple stood out against his sun-tanned skin and it made me think of a cartoon character whose eyes were drawn like they would bulge out of their sockets at any moment.The image was enough to make me smile but I held it back, knowing that would be a mistake.“I’m sorry.I shouldn’t have done that.Are you okay?” I asked.“I’m fine,” he said, through gritted teeth.“Are you sure? I couldn’t think of any other way to avoid your fist [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]