Timothy Eli and the Light Guard Trials

Sub-Chapter 17: Apples and Oranges

I could feel the heat of Jacob’s stare as I walked through the door to the training room. The whole Legion was sitting on the sideline waiting for me with impatience glares as I walked past them. It was highly unusual considering no one cared about my training before. I placed my bag next to Sai who was giving me an empathetic smile. I tried to consciously look away but her stare was burrowing into side my face like a laser.

“What?” I asked cracking a relenting smile.

She giggled breaking her glare.

“Why are all you guys here?” I asked shaking my head.

They all looked at each other showcasing waning glances before they all shrugged their shoulders at varying times.

“To be honest, to watch you get your butt kicked,” Luke shot. “But mostly we want to see what Jacob’s got, because as you may or may not know, none of us have ever seen him fight.”

His words caught me off-guard as I tossed my hoodie over my bag.

“Are you serious?” I continued tightening my shoelace. “You’re kidding right? I mean, he said you guys sparred.”

Luke turned to Uriah and Danielle.

“Well, we did, but none of us ever actually saw him fight?” Uriah replied. “Even with my time manipulation, his speed and dematerialization made him impossible to find.”

Luke smiled nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, we figured maybe if we saw it from a viewing perspective he would be easier to see. These guys just overheard us talking and joined,” he added. 

As he finished his speech Jacob frowned turning to Luke with a playful sigh.

“C’mon, Luke get these guys out of here,” he shot.

Luke stood up at the sound of his words raising his hands in a begging manner.

“C’mon, Jake,” Luke complained. “Let’s us enjoy the show.”

Jacob stood at him with an unrelenting stare.

“This is serious,” he replied. “It’s not a game. Now get out!”

Luke and the rest of the legion grumble at the sound of his words.

“Alright, move out,” Luke replied in a parody drill sergeant type manner.

As they all got up to leave Jacob broke in once more.

“Zech, little man, you can stay,” he replied. “We can continue your training and I can use your help.”

Everyone stopped at the sound of his words. Zech dropped his head in a sulking manner as the rest of the team walked out. Jo stood in awe.

“Can I stay too,” Jo asked.

Zech stopped in a sympathetic manner.

“Just go ahead, Jo,” he replied empathetically. “This is boring stuff. Definitely no fun. I’ll just meet up with you later to play video games.”

Jo waited for a second as if to be contemplating Zech words before cautiously nodding and walking out. I stood trying to understand the dynamic and how different it was from what I was expecting.

“What is this Jacob?” I shot angrily. “I thought it was just me and you.”

Zech sighed at the sound of my words.

“Yeah, and I don’t want to do this anymore. I’m still sore from last time you were training me,” ,Zech shot.

Jacob walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder like a big brother. Obviously, it was something I wasn’t as used to. I stared in a you got to be kidding type of manner as he continued.