The Real Ram

Chapter 15

The lunch bell rings and I follow my excited friends down the halls flowing with kids. Everyone is cheering and laughing. I sigh and put a smile on as well. These events are supposed to be fun. I think.

We get to the arena and I can't help but gasp. I didn't even know this compound had such a huge place. It's like a small version of a NBA stadium. Kids are spilling in from the little pockets of entry. The trainers and adults that work here sit all in a second surrounding a boxed in room. X will probably be in there viewing the fights. "What groups are on for the first fight?" Trish asks.

"Midshipman and Flying Clover," Beast responds.

"Do we know who they are?" I ask.

"They're both groups of seventeen year olds. Midshipman is an all guy group. Flying Clover...well one guy."

"He didn't get much of a say in the name," Trish winks.

The place erupts in cheers when Mr. X steps into the large ring. He puts his hands up and waves to the crowd. Once everyone quiets, he yells, "Are you ready for the first match of this year's Omega Compound?" The crowd screams again. "Bring the cards!"

The trainers of each group bring their group's cards. Mr. X pulls a name from each of the trainers and the crowd waits as he gives each name to the trainers. The guy in charge of Midshipman yells, "Up first is Sir Freeze!" The crowd cheers as a boy runs into the ring, waving to all his fellow students.

"Is he a popular guy?" I ask Trish.

"He's arguably the hottest boy in this compound," Trish blushes. I look back to him and turn my eyes to zoom in on his image. He has blue frost tips that contrast his almost black hair. He does have a nice smile, but his eyes are very deceiving. They may look shallow, but they posses a brilliant thought process.

The crowd quiets as the girl trainer reads her groups name. "Abi Summer!" she holds onto the 'r' in Summer as the crowd cheers. A girl jogs in wearing an orange suit that actually compliments her figure nicely. She has long reddish brown hair and bright orange lipstick. 

Mr. X calms the place down and says, "Fight fairly you two. The goal is to win, but not to kill, understand? Fire of second degree is allowed. Freezing is permitted as long as the opponent can still function afterwards. No death strikes, is this all clear?" The two nod. "Then lets gooooo!" The three adults grabs hands and the woman teleports out of there and to the box in the center of the seats opposite to us.

I don't need to turn my eyes to know what their ability is. Right away the guy shoots ice spears at the girl. She propels herself off the ground with a small jet of fire. She lands and starts running to him. He backs up, creating a small ice wall to block her. With a yell, she ignites her hands and throws fire at the wall. She slows down once she realizes her fire isn't breaking through. I look to the guy and see he's smiling at that victory, but his eyes are already looking for the next plan.

"That's some cold ice," Trish says.

"She'll make it though," Shawn says. "She's going to win."

"No, Freeze is way better than her."

"Abi already has the advantage though!" Shawn counters. "Beast isn't Abi going to win?"

"Yes, totally. Fire always beats water and ice, no offense Trish."

She scoffs and turns her head away from them. The guy runs off to the left of the wall he created. Abi spots him and throws a fireball at him. It skims his shoulder and I see him wince, but not a flinch. He was expecting the hit. He trips and almost falls. 

"You really think he'll win?" Beast says. "He can't even stay on his feet!"

"He's just nervous!" Trish says cautiously, "I'm sure he's just warming up." Shawn laughs, and Trish blushes at her unintentional pun.

The guy rolls out of the girl's fire path. She's slowly getting sloppier with her attacks. She's just shooting fire at him, not even bothering with defense. Then I realize it, that's his plan. That fall was deliberate. The running away, the ice wall. Ooo, he's good.

"My bets on Sir Freeze," I say.

"Oh come on Zoe," Beast complains. "Not you too. Just because he's good looking doesn't mean—"

Suddenly Abi shrieks. We all look to the center just to see her fall to the floor. The fire leaves her hands as her catches herself with them. She rips them off the ground gasping. The arena is filled with silence and the sizzling of her hands. Freeze smiles and says, "What's wrong? With all this ice, you should be chilling out."

All of his friends and admires scream his name from the stands. I look closely and see why he's been running around her this entire time. He was putting ice on the floor, and making it spread closer to her until Abi fell.

"From now on I'm voting with Zoe," Beast says.

Mr. X come on in the loud speaker, "I declare Sir Freeze the winner of this match."

"What!" some kids scream, "He was at Abi's mercy the entire time!"

"You're wrong! What you took as running around was actually strategy. He was in control the entire time," I look and see the girl sitting by the kid argue. I smile, she's not speaking from a crush, but from an observant stance like I am. This makes me happy. It's good to know that not every kid here is blind.

Cheers come from the crowd and Beast leans to me and says, "And that's what a match is like." They finish the first fight's rounds within the hour, and the first winner of the year's tournament is Midshipman. The second fight is announced but I don't feel like watching it all that much. Seeing the first fight and studying all the different tactics made my eyes tired. I tell Trish I'm going to the bathroom and leave after they start announcing the next two groups.