Sixty-one

I was in my room, waiting for Jade talk. She had said she wanted to talk to me, but I didn't know what about. I hoped she would hurry up, because I wanted to train.

"What do you want to talk about? Tell me and hurry up, because I would like to train," I said, impatiently.

She looked at me with a guilty expression.

"I wanted to apologize, because I've been really distant with you and I've even put you aside. I want to apologize for all that. I know I've hurt you without really meaning to, so I don't want you to ignore me anymore," she said, sincerely.

I was surprised by her words. She had never apologized to me before. She had cheated on me with another girl, Amber, and I had found out. She had broken Eloise heart, but I didn't know how to break up with her and I hated her.

"That's all you had to say to me?" I asked, coldly.

She nodded and came closer to me. She kissed me, and I kissed her back. I didn't feel anything, but I pretended to. I wanted to make her think that I forgave her, but I didn't. It was part of my plan to get my revenge and hurt her like she hurted Eloise.

She ended the kiss and smiled at me.

"It's late, you'd better go back to your room before they notice you're gone," I said, pushing her away.

She nodded again and got up.

"You're right. We'll see you tomorrow then," she said, hopefully.

"Sleep well," I said, sarcastically.

She left the room and went back to hers.

I closed the door and locked it. Yumi concentrated and then went to see me. She appeared in my mind, as a projection of myself.

"Tell me what you want me to do," Yumi said, obediently.

"She still hasn't said she kissed Amber, but please give her time," I said, referring to Jade.

"Even though she broke your heart, you still believe in her. I don't understand," she said, confused.

"Maybe right now she just can't tell me, but don't do anything yet. She's come to apologize," I said, lying.

"You don't want to get out of here. You're like chained up and you don't mind it," she said, accusingly.

"Oh, dear I'm good . And tell me, you're not in love with Ella by any chance," I said, teasingly.

"I'm just pointing out that you and I are connected, so I feel your feelings and so do you. So if I love her, that means you do too. But you loved her first," she said, defensively.

"That's not wrong, but I'd say you're my bad side. So let me out and I'll sit with the others and play cards," I said, changing the subject.

 Eloise went to play cards with the others.

"Good luck out there, Yumi. Do your best," Eloise said, sarcastically.

She left my mind and came back to the normal world.

I watched her from inside, as she interacted with the others. She was good at acting, but I could tell she was bored. She wanted to be with Ella, not with Jade.

"Well, now that she's gone, I bet she'll fall madly in love with Ella in three days," Red said,.

"I agree with you. And what do you say?" Orange said.

"I don't think so," Yellow said.

"Tell me, Eloise, if Yumi falls in love with Ella, what are you going to do?" Red asked me, curiously.

"Honestly, I'm having fun watching it from here. I can't wait to see how it's going to turn out. And if Yumi really likes Ella, I think we'll have to leave Jade," I said, calmly.

"Would you be ready for that, Eloise?" Yellow asked me, worriedly.

"Yes, of course. The time I was in here made me realize that Jade wasn't necessarily for me. But I still love her, so let's stop talking and play," I said, lying again.

I decided it was time to train now. I had been slacking off for too long. I needed to improve my skills and become stronger. I went to the training room and started to practice my magic. I focused on creating a new skill, something that would surprise my enemies. I worked hard until I was exhausted. I was proud of myself. I went back to my room and fell asleep.

The next morning, I was woken up by a loud shout.

"Get up, sleeping beauty!" Naoka yelled.

I woke up with a start and fell out of my bed.

"What's going on?" I asked, groggily.

"Sorry for you, but she came to wake me up too," Naoto said, sympathetically.

"Come on, get up," Naoka said, impatiently.

"What time is it?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

"It's four o'clock in the morning," Naoka said, checking her watch.

"Four o'clock? But the tournament don't start until nine o'clock. Why are you waking us up so early?" I asked, annoyed.

"It's an early morning training session. So go and brush your teeth and then we'll go for a jog," Naoka said, ordering us.

I groaned and got up. I went to brush my teeth and then followed Naoka outside. She dragged us to the park and made us run for two hour. She said it was good for our stamina and endurance. I hated it. I was already tired from the night before, and I hadn't even had breakfast. I felt like I was going to collapse at any moment.

We finished our jog and headed to the second test. It was the second round of the entrance exam for the academy. We had passed the first round, which was a written test, but the second round was more challenging. It was a practical test, where we had to face other teams in a dangerous environment.

We arrived at the arena, where the headmaster was waiting for us. He welcomed us and explained the concept of the test.

"It's a minefield. We're going to put you in a field where we've placed magic bombs. The objective will be to see how many survivors we'll have. And of course, you can attack your opponent. The round will last 30 minutes, and each time you defeat an enemy, you'll receive 10 points," he said, briefly.

I listened to him, but I didn't care. I just wanted to go back to my bed. I felt like I could collapse at any moment. My hair was a mess and I fell asleep every 30 seconds.

"Honestly, I think you're tougher than that, Eloise. I'm disappointed in you," Naoka said, scolding me.

"It was to be expected that she was exhausted. You woke us up at four o'clock in the morning, and because of your training, we didn't even have breakfast," Naoto said, defending me.

"Don't worry, when we're done, you'll have plenty of time to eat," Naoka said, reassuring us.

All the teams went to the arena and took their positions, waiting for the start. I saw Ella, my old friend, who had just arrived at the academy. I pretended to be nice to her, but I was actually using her. She was part of my plan to get my revenge and hurt Jade, my girlfriend, who had cheated on me with another girl.

"Are you alright, Eloise? You can hardly stand up," Ella asked me, concerned.

"Yes, don't worry," I said, lying.

Maria came over to us. 

"Naoka, don't tell me you made them do an early morning training," she said, disapprovingly.

"Of course I did. I have to prepare them," Naoka said, proudly.

Hiro joined us. 

"Poor you. And especially good luck to succeed in this state," he said, sarcastically.

Naoto pointed to Midori, who was missing from Ella's team.

"Look, Midori is not here," he said, curiously.

"Due to his injury, we couldn't have him participate. Don't worry about it, we still have several members in reserve," Kenjy said, calmly.

The assistant announced the start of the event.

"The event will start in three, two, one. Go ahead," he said, loudly.

The crowd cheered.

"Come on," they shouted.