Picture: Chase.
Chapter One.
I sucked in a breath, as sweat beaded on my brow. I analyzed my opponent's every move, contemplating, as she circled me. She was my prey. Silly girl had it wrong, she was not the predator. Positioning myself as she charged towards me, my arms sprung free from my sides and locked onto her shoulders; holding her in a strong embrace. Twisting to the side, I pivoted my hips, focusing my energy into the throw. Kicking my leg in front of my opponent's, I forced her to land hard on the matted surface, making it so she would be unable to recover from her fall.
BEEEP.
"The winner of the Ellington College Karate Champion is, third time running, Miss Avania Brooke!" The announcer boomed.
My eyes widened with shock as I processed what the judge just declared. I squatted, grabbing the cool water bottle beside me, gulping down the liquid to soothe my dry throat. My chest heaved rapidly, gasping for air as my heart raced from thinking of my new title. My body shook with glee.
Third time champ, I thought, grinning aimlessly to myself.
"Hey, Ava!" someone called.
I spun around to see a familiar blonde bob bounce it's way towards me.
"Heya! How was I?" I waved back at the petite girl, who was my only female friend, as I rose from my previous position.
"GREAT!" Jess cheered wildly, while looking up and blinking her wide, earthly eyes at me, "Wow third time champion in this school! Feeling proud of yourself?"
"Um, yes! What do you think?" I snorted at her 'let's state the obvious' question.
"Hey Avania!" A group of deep voices chorused at the same time. I looked around the crowded sports hall, scanning the emptying room for the owners of the voices.
" What the fu--" my body lurched forward as I fell, suddenly, to the matted ground.
"PILE ON THE CHAMPION!"
My body grew heavy as a muscular frame landed on my back then another landed near my foot, and more bodies continue to pile onto my already aching frame. Surges of laughter boomed from the pile of bodies on my lanky frame.
"HEY! Get off me! Your fat asses are gonna squash me to death!" I yelled, my face turning crimson from anger.
"Yo. Congrats, Av." The husky voice came from a honey skinned boy, his emerald orbs observed me underneath him. I stared up at him; he wearing his usual back t-shirt that clung to his athletic build. He smiled, his white canines protruding, as his light brown hair fell over his right eye. I felt so much lighter as people raised off my body and circled around me. Long legs stretched out in front of me, as the last of the weight was removed from my bod, and a hand stretched out in front of my face.
"Hi Chase! I was awesome, right?" My eyes gleamed as I took his out stretched hand, and with one swift movement Chase hoisted me up to my feet and smirked at my crumpled form.
"Yeah right, you've still got a lot to learn from your bro's here, Av." he said motioning to the guys around me with one swoop of his arm.
Numerous words of congratulations and praise surrounded me, making me feel blithe and proud. I slumped against a wall as exhaustion filled me, while my brain was flooded with relief, knowing I could have a tiny rest until the next training came.
"Okay, then. Let's go celebrate guys!" Jess chirped, popping up from behind Chase. She made her way toward me and pulled my sleeve, directing us to the girls changing room. We walked away from the guys as they stood in a circle, discussing who would and could have stood a chance against me. We made our way down the dimly lit corridor, where the caretaker would of already finished his shift and went home. A bright yellow 'caution wet floor' sign stood in the middle of the corridors grey polished floor as the light gave it a eerie glow. We paused in front of the two changing room doors, I turned to meet Jess's round face.
"Hey Jess, will your parents be okay with you being out late? Its already eight thirty, and you know your curfew is nine.." I asked, my brows creased and my voiced heightened with concern.
"Nah, I'll be fine. We won't take that long, the restaurant is just around the corner... I'll be fine, honest!" She gave a small smile as she spun me around pushed me through the door marked GIRLS. "Hurry and get changed. I'll wait for you outside with the guys."
My bare feet padded the cold changing room floor, the green grainy floor sparkled with flecks of glitter. UGH! Can't they clean up after themselves? I thought to myself as I tugged my black belt loose and took off my white robe. I sat on the wooden bench and tugged on my pants, shoving my feet through the legs, and stood up. I jumped, and with one hard yank I pulled on my skinny jeans, and zipped and buttoned then. I pulled out the navy and white striped t-shirt from my backpack. While pulling it over my head the door burst open, followed with high pitched laughter.
"EW! There's a guys in the girl's changing room... oh wait, its just Anya!" Stacey barked, as she saw me in the middle of pulling my shirt on.
"It's Avania," I replied
Her long, sleek ponytail whipped around lightly as she headed towards her stuff. She looked at me with disgust and shook her head. "Oh my God! You're like, seventeen, and you still wear a crop top? Doesn't your mother buy you the right stuff? Oh wait, your mum's dead, right? That's probably why you're such a man!" Victoria giggled as she followed behind Stacey.
I gritted my teeth and spat, 'It's not my mum's fault for dying from an illness, and it's not my dad's fault either. I doubt they would know how hard it is to look after a child and work at the same time." I glared at them with blurred vision as tears pricked my eyes. I yanked my hoodie on and kicked on my converse, making my way out as quick as I could. I heard the girls laugh behind me.
I stopped at the girls toilets, pushed the door aside and rushed in, as tears slid down my cheeks. I pulled tissues out of the dispenser, scrubbing the tears vigorously. I splashed cold water on my face to calm myself down and studied my reflection.
My brows have grown thick, dangerously attaching in the middle, and angry spots dotted my forehead. My thick, murky brown hair fell messily out of it's braid. I pulled the band loose and retied it into a pony tail with soft waves spiraled down my back. Dark blue eyes blinked back at me as I dabbed my face dry and went to meet the others.
--
"Yo, Av! What do you want?" Chase asked me, his head peeked out the top of the large menu.
"Um. I'm fine. You guys go ahead, I'm not hungry...erm, maybe I'll just have a Coke" I said, fidgeting with my napkin.
"Great, so two Cokes. I'm not having anything as well." Chase replied handing his menu to Dev, who was busy staring at his phone through the black hair that covered his eyes.
"I want ice cream!" Jess sang, like an enthusiastic little girl
"I want mint," The blond said, as his spiked hair poked out over the top of the menu. He lowered his menu to look at Jess and squinted his blue eyes as he smiled at her.
"Copy cat." Jess hissed, as she stuck out her tongue.
"Well, Av...How does it feel winning three times in a row?" Chase questioned, staring at me from across the rounded table.
"Good, I guess." I shrugged, unable to answer his question wholeheartedly. The guys ordered what they wanted from the waitress, and two minutes later she returned with our cokes and placed one in front of me. The ice bobbed in the fizzing liquid and the condensation slid down the side of the glass. I held it up to take a sip as tiny water droplets popped up and hit my face.
"SO, I said 'Go away and leave me alone!' to her" the blond guy, John, said, mimicking the girls outragous face.
"Good going, mate." Chase laughed, patting his best friend on the back.
"But, you know who is hot?" John continued, not waiting for a reply, "Victoria Herrondale." he said, smiling proudly to himself. I choked on my drink as it fizzled up my nose.
"No! Come on, John! Are you blind?! She's like a plastic, orange Barbie. I bet she can't even move her plastered face, and her legs are like spiders." Jess grimaced to his confession. I shuddered.
"Jess, you're just jealous 'cause you're small." John laughed at her angry face. The pair finished their ice cream and made their way to pay, I gave Jess two pounds but she waved it away and said it was her treat.
I studied the people eating here and landed on a family, where a little boy, around ten years old, was playing on his Nintendo DS and not eating. His mother scolded him and coolly pressed the button, turning it off. The boy froze in horror and whined, "I nearly got over nine thousand, mum!" I chuckled at the little boys reaction.
--
Chase rattled his keys as he and I walked outside, towards his car. "Av, you want me to drive you home?" he asked. Chase was nineteen and managed to pass his driving lesson, which was surprising. I still needed to wait until my dad had enough to pay for my license.
"Nah, I only live up the street. Plus there's five of us and you can only take four."
"But it isn't safe at night!" Chase argued.
"Hey! You're saying that to the third time champion." I said, grinning at him so he didn't worry about me.
"Well...Jess would probably be better off if I showed her parents I took her home, but I want you to ring me as soon as you get in, okay?" he said, as I turned to see Jess come out the front door.
"Ava, are you going home alone? Get Chase to take you home and I'll wait here for him." she suggested.
"Nah, I'm fine. But you better get home before your mum blows a fuse." I said giving her a tight squeeze.
"REMEMBER TO RING ME!" I heard Chase shout from somewhere behind me.
"Yeah, yeah!" I shouted without looking back, and turned to say goodbye to the others. I waved at them, as I started to walk away, towards the bright traffic lights.
I took a quick route through the park, and inhaled the moist air of mid-summer of London. The wind blew gently, causing the trees to rustle a soft tune. The sky was still lit by the city lights, but when it got closer to midnight you could see the stars. I crossed over the grass and out the gate, making my way to the ally. Since today was Wednesday, the ally was dotted with green and brown wheely bins ready for collection day tomorrow.
I dug my hands deep in my pockets as a sudden gust of wind blew my hair into my face. A small thud sounded behind me and a rustle came from one of the wheely bins. I shot my head around to find nothing, and paced myself faster as I sensed something shift in the shadows. An urge telling me to walk faster souding in my mind, as my heart pounded. When I felt a nip on my cheek, I sprinted forward out of the allyway. A surge of white light shone bright in my eyes, and something knocked the air out of me.
I felt myself roll over something as I landed on the rough ground. I heard a roar that was cut off when two pairs of feet rushed towards me. Riddled with panic, I heard voices call frantically, "Call 999! Call 999!"
--
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
I awoke to a steady beeping noise. The smell of disinfectant stung my nose, and my eyes fluttered open. I saw a group of people in green scrubs and caps gather around a table, bleached white light shone down from the ceiling above them. As I looked around, finding medical components and different types of monitors around the room, my eyes focused on the people and I realized the obvious. They were doctors. I wondered to myself why I was in a operating room, while I wasn't being operated on, as I went see what they were doing.
I looked over a slightly small woman and saw a girl lying on the operating table. Her brown hair was splayed haphazardly above her head, and blood covered the entire left side of her face, which looked to be caved in. She had a long, deep gash down her arm, and across her chest, and scrapes all over her forehead and legs. Her lanky figure contorted in the wrong places, where her joints shouldn't naturally be.
"Doctor, the patient's heart rate is decreasing rapidly!" A man said loudly, his voice slightly muffled by the face mask.
"Give me the tweezers, needle and the thread I need to close the artery up as fast as I can!" the small woman reached her hand through me and gave the man the instruments.
"Holy--what the hell just happened?!" my eyes widened in shock, and my mouth hung open.
Did her hand just pass right through me?
BEEP BEEP BEEP, the monitor beeped rapidly,
"Doctor, her heart rate is unsteady," one of the men urged as he checked the monitor again, "Sir! It's getting dangerously low, 45 bpm!"
The monitor beeped frantically again, it's beeps increasing in speed. Faster and faster and faster, until the people quickly re-positioned themselves and the woman handed the surgeon two metal pads with plastic handles.
"Three...two...one. Clear!" the surgeon called, her chest rose and jolted as he pressed the pads against it.
"No improvement, Sir." The man called back
"Three...Two...One. Clear!" He called again, and again, the girl jolted.
The monitor was beeping like crazy until it, suddenly, went silent. The silence was defeaning, and no one dared break it. The surgeon gave the pads back to the woman and she handed him a small torch. He side-stepped her, and with his hands up and made his way to the patient's head. He peeled open her eyelids--dark blue eyes stared back at him, pupils dilated--and I realised, dread filling me, that I recognized this girl. The girl was me. A scream ripped through my throat, and my hands rose to my face in terror.
"OH, MY GOD. I'M DEAD?!"
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Sorry about the typos and things that didn't make sense my English skills aren't that great T___T but please don't post nasty comments criticism is good but no nasty ones :D if you don't like don't read well next chapter should be more interesting see you later bubbies. -Zoe
^I edited, so the above A/N is invalid. xD -Helena.