"Almost, Amelia. Just a few more tries, and we'll have it down perfect!" Said Lorita with encouragement.
I groaned, sweating. We had been practicing how to do this thing... I forgot what she called it, but it was where if someone was running at you to throw a punch, you had to slide down under their legs and kick behind their legs to make them fall down. Then once they're down, you punch them as hard as you can in the head and make them knock out. It was nothing really fancy, but it worked, depending on how thick the person's skull is and how much distance their brain is from their bone. Before we started that, we did a few workouts, like sit-ups and push-ups. Which completely destroyed me. I hadn't worked out properly in a long time, so it made me feel like throwing up everywhere, and we had to take a five minute break so I could actually start to breathe.
"Come on, Amelia. Attack the hologram again." She said.
I rolled my eyes. For a partner, Lorita had created a 3D hologram of a random person, and I had to practice at half speed with it.
"Three, two, one, go!" Lorita made the hologram run at me after doing a fancy flip, then it began to throw a punch at me. I ran and slid under it, kicking behind both of its legs with a clean sweep of my leg, and then slammed both fists onto the hologram's head. It fell to the floor, even though my fists went through its blue head, and Lorita cheered.
"That was wonderful, Amelia! Let's see if we can do three in a row." She reset the hologram, making it stand a few feet away from me again.
"Do I have to?" I whined.
"Absolutely. Three, two, one, go!"
I did it again, and Lorita cheered me on again, before resetting the hologram and making me do it three times in a row. After that, I asked, "Is that all we have to do today?"
She laughed. "No, we have to go on. We've only been practicing for ten minutes."
My jaw dropped, then I fell to my knees, exhausted. "It felt like forever, though! Can we at least take a break?"
"Sure, get your water bottle."
I practically chugged the water, nearly choking.
"Slow down, don't drink it all so fast!" She warned.
Heading her advice, I slowed down, and then put the water bottle on the ground. Just then, a few of the Time Watchers came in.
"Hi, Amelia!" Evelyn chirped. "How's it going?"
"Could be better." I told them.
"I would say she's doing very well." Lorita answered. "She's working hard, and she finally perfected something!"
"Cool!" Razz gave me a thumbs up.
"I have an idea!" Said Becky. "Why not the Time Watchers practice with her? It could only help."
"Hey, that's a good idea!" Lorita agreed. "Alright, who wants to go first?"
Well, it could be worse... I sighed in my head. I could be on my monthly.
"I wanna go! I wanna go!" Chirped Evelyn, her enthusiasm never wavering.
"Then go!" Said Jericho, just as enthusiastic as Evelyn.
Evelyn stepped up and stopped a few feet away from me, readying her stance.
Awe, man! Do I have to fight her?! I don't want to! Nevertheless, I readied my own stance.
"You guys ready?" Asked Lorita.
"Yep!" Evelyn beamed, happiness literally oozing off of her.
"I guess..." I sighed, frowning.
"What's wrong?" Evelyn asked, concerned.
"Nothing. I'm fine." I told her.
"Alright, then." Lorita said, then she began to beep. She glowed red, then yellow, and then green, making the sound of a horn. Evelyn ran at me and jumped over me, doing a flip and landing behind me. Before I knew what was happening, she punched me in the back, making me yelp and turn around. When I did turn around, she kicked me in between the legs, and I fell over, groaning.
"Uh... Amelia? You... You okay?" She asked, seeming a bit surprised.
"Yeah, yeah, give me a minute... I just... ow..."
Evelyn glanced over to her friends, making a face that said "Uh... What do I do?" and just stood there.
"Hey, kids, I--" Friday said, then he froze in the door and looked at me. "... What happened?"
"We were training, and I think I hit her too hard?" Evelyn shrugged awkwardly.
"No, no, I can keep going." I corrected, stumbling up.
"Are you sure? You kinda look like you're going to heave." Friday walked past the time Watchers and to me. However, I stopped him by holding up a hand.
"I can keep going." I growled again, then readied my stance. He nodded and stepped back, crossing his arms and observing.
Evelyn smiled, thinking about something, and readied her stance as well. Lorita made the same noises and flashing lights, then when she signalled for us to go, we ran at each other. I ducked under Evelyn's legs and swung a kick at her, tripping her and bringing her to the ground in a flash. She quickly jumped up and turned, throwing a punch at me. I ducked under it, and she used her other fist, landing a blow on my jaw. Everything buzzed for a second, before I regained my vision and threw a hit of my own. Evelyn dodged it, kicking my knee. I yelped and tried to punch her again, and she dodged once more. She backed up and kicked me, sending me stumbling back a bit. I wheezed, trying to fight back the urge to fall on my knees again.
A snarl on my face, I lunged at her, but she side stepped. I jumped up and ran at her, but she kept dodging me with ease. I started to get out of breath, and when I stopped, she punched my side, making me topple over.
"Okay!" I gasped. "You win! You win..."
"Need help up?" She looked down at me, extending a hand for me to grab onto.
I frowned, then knocked her hand aside. I sat up and slowly stood, the girl backing up for me to have room.
Friday looked me up and down. "That was pretty good for someone who just started fisticuffs." He admitted. "Although there was one thing you were missing."
"What's that?" I asked, still breathing heavily.
"Strategy." Lorita explained.
"Bingo," the Professor smiled. "You didn't have any strategy. You just kind of ran at her and made things up as you went."
"Isn't that what you usually do? Improv?"
"Yes, and no. You're supposed to think about what you'll do first, not just run at them. What they do is unpredictable, but you must be prepared for that. You were not. You didn't think about what your opponent might do."
I rolled my eyes. "Okay, okay. I did something wrong. I get it."
"No need to get defensive, Amelia. I'm just saying." He said calmly.
"Sorry." I said, flustered.
madeline changed the subject before I got any more angry. "What were you going to say when you came in here, Professor?"
"Oh, right!" He turned to them with a broad smile. "I full proofed the plan."
YOU ARE READING
The Time Watchers (TW#1)
Science Fiction"The watch chose you, Amelia." Amelia is just a high schooler going about her life, until she is told by a professor that she is one of the select few Time Watchers. Their job? Lead famous people to their destiny and make sure they don't stray from...
