MELROSE INVITATION

I learnt two things from my first morning session for the AAP;

1) I am not fast.

2) I am not strong.

Two things I was actually quite aware of before actually. I’ve never been the athletic type.

But I was always decent enough to not get picked last in gym class. Well that was before I came to Woodfell and started at Silvercrest Academy where their P.E felt like I had gone to military school.

And those were just the regular classes.

Kat took the more advanced physical classes. There was Class I, which I was in, the rookie class. Class II, Class III, which I guess you could call junior varsity and the best of the best, Class IV, Kat’s class.

The second portion of the training session had been to test our strength and while all the other candidates did more than the bare minimum, I was left in complete humiliation as I struggled with the challenges Major Raphael offered.

If Instructor May hadn’t been so patient with me, I had a feeling Major Raphael would have kicked me out of that gym.

Also, Joshua was pretty much wiping the floor with everyone and had impressed Major Raphael so much that he didn’t have to pay too much attention to me.

 I now get why being a member of the program requires you to have a minimum of a B in Class IV PE.

If the instructors thought the running was bad...

At some point, Instructor Raphael even let me stop earlier than the rest probably because he thought I would hurt myself. Or someone else. I had almost dropped a weight on poor Andre’s feet.

It’s honestly a miracle that we all got out unscathed.

 I walked to my locker too tired and sore to mind that people were still staring and whispering.

In addition to the physical torture, we got our AAP IDs. They were supposed to reap a whole lot of benefits but I honestly hadn’t gotten to that point in the handbook yet.

And while my peers proudly wore theirs, I hid mine in my backpack, the last thing I wanted to do was flaunt something I didn’t deserve.

“Hey, how was your first day?”

 I had hardly shut my locker when Chris appeared, looking giddy.

”Horrible. How do I sign out?” I spoke as I slammed my locker shut.

Chris shook his head.

”Come on. It couldn’t have been that bad.”

”I completely humiliated myself.” I whined.

”At least no one saw.”

”Oh please, I bet Bea and Courtney are spreading my humiliation like the gospel as we speak.

”Hmm... I doubt that, the handbook said candidates are expected to be discreet about training. They’re not supposed to really talk about what happens. Remember how tight lipped Roman had been about his training?”

That was true. You’d think he had a secret girlfriend with the way he hid things. At some point, I stopped seeing him much of him because training took up most of his schedule.

Would that become my life? Would this training consume me and my life? That’s if I made it that far anyway.

But Roman was in his second year of the apprenticeship so it really wasn’t the same and besides... he would always find a way to make it up to me.

God, I missed him!

”Let’s not talk about Roman, please.” I told Chris.

He must have seen the sadness in my eyes because he got this sympathetic look on his face.

”Sorry, Crissy.”

Everyone was Sorry.

Sorry or mad.

It’s either they felt sorry for the poor young thing who had been manipulated by the pack’s traitor or they downright hated me for just being associated.

”It’s okay, let’s just head to class.” I told him.

This was supposed to be the part wher Kat would say; ‘later nerds’ because we hardly had any classes with her.

How long was she going to be mad at me?

Luckily Chris didn’t ask questions. He probably understood that the last thing I would want to talk about was something else that would make me upset.

”Is Kat still mad?”

Or not.

I give Chris way too much credit sometimes.

 I sighed. “She’s a ticking bomb, everyone is walking on eggshells around the house, wouldn’t want to set off bomb Katerina.”

”Huh, that’s actually a good nickname, I’ll try it on her when she has been detonated.” Chris winked at me.

I rolled my eyes but giggled.

”Hopefully sooner than later.” I muttered.

There was an ache in my neck from Hazel’s sofa.

”Hey...” Chris suddenly trailed off, “Joshua Melrose, 12 O’clock.”

I looked ahead but didn’t see Joshua anywhere.

”The other 12.” He hissed before spinning me around by my shoulders.

”Hey.” Joshua let out as more of a grunt.

”Hey.” I replied, feeling confused. Why was he talking to me outside training?

And where was his girlfriend? I thought they were joined at the hip.

Joshua didn’t even spare Chris a glance.

Rude.

”Hey Crystal!” Micheal Melrose’s head suddenly came into view over Joshua’s shoulder. He had a huge smile on his face.

”Ah!” Chris yelled in fright before throwing his arms around me, nearly knocking me down. 

My hero.

Micheal frowned. He scratched the back of his head and leaned back.

”Sorry, I - er, didn’t mean to scare you.”

Joshua spun to glare at his twin brother. “I thought I told you that I would meet you in class.” He spoke through gritted teeth.

Micheal gave him an equally fixed look; “and I thought I told you, you can’t boss me around. And besides,” he shot me a not so discreet look. “You. Need. Me.” He spoke in a low voice.

”No I don’t, I’m capable of being-“

Micheal suddenly gave him a fixed look.

Joshua suddenly let out a sigh. He turned to face me.

He seemed to not know what to say.

 I shared a look with Chris.

Okay, this was strange.

”Crystal. I expect you to come over to our house tonight after training.”

”What?” I asked.

”What?” Chris spoke right after me.

He still had his arms around me. I shook him off.

Micheal slapped his forehead. He looked at his brother like ‘dude, really?’.

Did Joshua Melrose just ask - no demand that I go to their house after school? Why?

Micheal stepped forward towards me. I tried not to look too uncomfortable at his proximity. 

He smiled too brightly and I couldn’t help but make a distinction. There was the way too happy brother and the grumpy one.

”What my brother is trying to say is... he saw you struggling today during training...”

I was so glad my darker complexion didn’t allow me to blush.

I knew he didn’t like me but going around telling people that I was struggling? It was only his brother but still... it was equally embarrassing. Who knows who else they could have told.

I looked at Joshua and there was no expression on his face.

”Oh no! Don’t be mad!” Micheal suddenly yelled. “We just - I mean he just wants to help so maybe you could come over to our house and you could train together.”

I looked at Micheal then Joshua then Chris, who just shrugged.

”Um... as in just me? Alone?”

Micheal looked confused. “I mean, yeah... I just... unless...” he looked back at Chris, the friendly look on his face suddenly disappearing. “D-do you want your boyfriend there?”

“Boyfriend?” Chris and I yelled simultaneously.

We looked at each other, both in disgust.

”So you’re not dating?” His smile returned.

I looked at Chris again.

How was my love life any of Micheal Melrose’s business.

He didn’t know anything about his brother and I, right?

Tristan promised that it was just between the two of us... and Bridget.

What if the brothers found out somehow?

I didn’t like this suspicious behaviour. Why was Micheal Melrose suddenly interested in me? Why was I getting invited to their house? 

“I - I don’t know.” I responded. “I don’t think that’s quite a good idea.

”We’re offering to help you.” Joshua suddenly spoke in an annoyed tone.

”Uhm... I appreciate that but I...”

Don’t trust you?

Joshua turned to look at his brother as if to say, ‘I told you so.’

“Whatever, just find a way to pick up on the physicals this week or we’ll both suffer.” He turned to leave. “Come on, Mikey.”

Micheal was still staring at me with a hurt look on his face.

 I felt really bad as he slowly turned and followed his brother.

”Dude, you just turned down the Melrose twins.” Chris spoke from beside me.

 I sighed. “What did you expect me to do? I don’t trust them.”

”Well Joshua is your partner this week, you’ll have to trust him whether you like it or not.”

”I guess you’re right but... don’t you find it weird the Micheal is suddenly being so nice to me?”

Chris rose a brow at me.

”What?” I asked.

Chris shifted from one foot to the other. “I know Kat has kept you in this bubble of ‘everyone’s the enemy but us’. But Michael Melrose is actually a decent guy. I mean, you won’t see him sitting with us bottom feeders at lunch but he’s not... well, he’s not like Bea and Courtney.”

”How do you know that?” I asked Chris, if he wasn’t with Kat and I, he was off somewhere being a loner.

”I’ve lived here almost all my life, Cryss. And... well, I’ve never said this because I love Kat and all but it seems kind of hypocritical that she would paint her old friends out to be the enemies when she was once one of them.”

 I had indeed almost forgotten that the main reason Bea and Courtney didn’t like me so much was because Kat used to run with their so called ‘popular crowd’ before I had gotten here.

They definitely weren’t going to be friends with a halfling so they made her choose. Kat chose me and so the feud began.

“What was she like before?” I asked Chris. I never asked Kat about her life before I moved to Woofell because quite frankly, it seemed like a touchy subject.

 I could only imagine how much more exciting it must have been. How much more exciting it could have been if I wasn’t holding her back.

Chris smiled. “She was pretty much still Kat. She wouldn’t be caught dead with me, sure but she was actually nice to me. Once, a few kids stole my lunch and she told them that if they didn’t give I back, she would tie them to the flag pole.” Chris spoke like that was the ultimate declaration of love 

“Don’t be too hard on her. To be honest, shes given a lot of things up for you since you got here.”

 I spun to face Chris.

“Given things up for me? Like what? Her room?”

Chris sucked in a deep breath. “She’s going to murder me for saying this but yeah, ever since you got here, she had to accommodate another sibling and share her parents. She had to give up the apprenticeship, her friends and... and Roman.”