CHAPTER TWO

The rest of the school period went by fleetingly till the final period, sport. Other female students at the school used the sport period for cheerleading practice, volleyball, swim or gymnastic practice while Nora spent her sports period in the wrestling ring with other boys on the team. After changing in the girls’ locker room, Ruby went for cheerleading practice while Nora turned towards the gym for her wrestling practice.

On her way to the gym, she saw the basketball jocks running out to the field, through the locker room exit. Did they mop themselves with wet towels before practice?! She wondered as the muscular guys jogged out of their locker room, oozing testosterone. The female students, including Nora, gawked as they trooped out. This was one of the things she would miss about high school. Two months more and bye-bye sweaty hot jocks with fine, sexy muscles, bye-bye glorious high school teen spirit of rebellion and hello college where what you choose to study determines how your life would turn out.

When Nora entered the gym, her teammates were already doing laps around the gym, another sight to behold!

“Bennett! Nice of you to join us. Fall in now!” Mr Bradford’s voice echoed through the gym. He was the wrestling team coach. Nora was the only female in Meadow High School wrestling team. Thanks to her membership, the school wrestling team had more trophies in the school’s trophy case. Mr Bradford told her during a team practice that she was born with natural battle reflex. He once referred to her as a fighter who doesn’t give up or know how to back down.

Nora hurriedly joined the other guys. Mason, her friend and teammate slowed down for her to cut in front of him. She got her strong figure from her years of martial arts training. She took karate lessons when she was six years old until she was ten. Then, she took judo and jit-su classes for about three years before joining the wrestling team. Marisa never understood her interest in learning martial art but enrolled her for the classes anyway.

After running five more lapses round the gym, Mr Bradford blew his whistle for them to stop. All the team members apart from Nora were out of breath.

“How are you not out of breath?” Lance, her team member said raspingly.

“Don’t you know what they call her in the gym?” another team member, Jeff, answered. “Cyborg.”

Nora widened her feet and crossed her arms on her tummy “Do you want to be kicked?”

“No, seriously, you rarely break a sweat in practice,” Lance said, wiping sweat off his forehead.

“That is what happens when you take a lot of water,” Nora said.

“Nooo, I don’t think so. I think you are a cyborg,” Jeff chaffed.

Nora kicked his leg. “Is that something an eighteen years old should say?” she snickered, “Cyborg?”

Jeff laughed, backing away from her kick.

“Alright! Team up, team A on my right, team B on my left! Hustle up!” Mr Bradford ordered. The students divided themselves into teams. Nora, Lance and Mason were in B team with 7 other students while team A had 9 students. Each team sat opposite each other on the waxed pine gym floor. “Roberto! Davis! Let’s see what you’ve got!” Mr Bradford said, signalling to the two students, one from each team, to meet on the sparring mat. Davis was the first to tackle Roberto to the floor.

“Hey, you are coming to the party, right?” Mason said, seating on the floor next to Nora.

“What party?” she replied- not because she was interested in parties. She asked out of courtesy.

“Didn’t hear about the party Kyle and his friends are throwing for every senior at the Vell Waterfall?”

“Kyle? Kyle Marshall? the Mayor’s son?”

“Yep.”

“His mum was caught having an affair?” This was the latest small-town scandal that happened more than a week after Mr Henshaw’s attack. The scandal which drowned the Townspeople’s anxiety over the animal attacks and other strange animal sightings was between the Mayor’s wife and the Town’s head of the Sheriff department. The Mayor had stopped at the Chief Sheriff’s resident unannounced, to discuss widening security around the forest reserve. Instead, he got the shock of his life when he caught his wife and the Sheriff in bed. Neighbours had to separate the two men from tearing each other apart. The news which spread like wildfire brought back a semblance of normalcy to the small town.

“Yes Nora, thank you for pointing that out.” Mason let out a chuckle that made Mr Bradford gave him a stern warning look before shifting his concentration back to Davis and Roberto. Roberto was now in control of the fight. When Mason saw that Mr Bradford had turned his attention, he tilted his head closer to Nora. “Frankly, I think that’s why he is hosting the party,” he whispered. “To show that he is unaffected.”

“That’s twisted.” Nora sat up straight and folded her legs, hoping Mason would forget about inviting her for a party. Attending a party or hang out never ends well for Nora because she had never stayed till the end of any party. Whenever Ruby was able to drag her to a party, she’d see everybody there like a bunch of wild teenagers, drinking, hooking up and gallivanting like they were going to die the next day. Why did Mason think this would be different? She wanted to watch the duel.

Roberto won against Davis. Nora saw that coming, she was an expert in studying moves. The coach called out Marcus Young and Justin Sunders out to the ring.

“So, are you coming?” Mason pressed further. He wanted Nora at the party, an opportunity for him to spend time with her, maybe even express his feelings for Nora. He has had a crush on Nora since he joined the team in his 9th grade and everybody knew this except Nora. Nora was too emotionally detached to care or even notice it.

“Where are we going?” Jared, another team member interjected. Nora didn’t realize he had sat beside her.

Mason mumbled. “Vell Waterfall.” He did not appreciate the third-party intervention.

“Hooh, the party,” Jared’s face lit up.

“Are you going?” Nora asked him, half expecting that at least somebody shared her policy that party was a waste of time. But—

“Sure. Remember what happened there two months ago to Kyle and his Jock friends? That is why I am going there,” Jared said with creepy excitement, “to see the mystery of the forest reserve for myself.”

Now Nora was intrigued “What happened?”

“Jesus! Nora, do you even attend this school?” Jared said that a little too loud.

“WOOD!” Mr Bradford thundered and Jared sat up, still. “You want to tell me what is so important that can’t wait to be discussed after practice?!” he inquired. Jared swallowed hard. “You too, Bennett! You mind sharing?” Nora and Jared looked at themselves as if asking each other who should go first.

“Both of you fall into the ring!”

Finally! Something Nora wanted. She shot up to her feet and marched to the ring. Jared on the other hand froze and refused to move.

“Wood! What are you doing?” Bradford asked Jared, “What is wrong with him?” Bradford asked the other students in the gym.

“He’s afraid to spar with Nora!” Travis, a boy from the other team said with a big laugh which the other students joined in.

Reluctantly, Jared walked to the ring and Bradford blew the whistle for them to start their duel. Before he could launch any form of attack, Nora twisted his arm and tackled him to the ground. Jared tapped out immediately. Everybody let out a wide laugh as Jared held his arm in pain and plodded to take his seat- this time, far from Nora. Nora sat back down beside Mason who was still deep in laughter.

“Do you want to take his place, Chapman?” Bradford asked Mason.

Mason’s laughter got stuck in his throat. “No sir, I’m good,” he cleared his throat. Bradford called up two other students to the ring.

“So, are you coming?”

Oh no, not again with the party, Nora thought. “Hum? I don’t know— wait, Vell waterfall? Isn’t that on the other side of the Reserve?”

“Yeah but, it will be fine. The party is at the Fall, not the Reserve,” Mason said.

“The Fall is directly at the back of the Reserve. Nobody is allowed there since the attacks started,” Nora pointed out.

“Nobody is allowed at the Reserve, not the Fall,” he corrected. “Besides, the sheriff’s department don’t patrol the back of the Reserve, only the entrance. We will be fine,” Mason affirmed.

The Meadowville forest Reserve had hosted a lot of teenage and underage secret parties. It was the one place Meadow High School and Bliss High School students shared as a common ground for all their unapproved parties. The town’s sheriff department always made effort to break up the parties but the Reserve was 685 hectares. The students were more familiar with the Reserve than the Sherriff, so escaping was always easy for them.

“I don’t enjoy parties,” Nora protested.

Mason laughed quietly. “Like you need to remind me. You’ve managed to ditch me at every party I invited you for,” Mason retorted. “You always have an excuse for leaving a party as soon as you get there.”

“If it’s any consolation, I always ditch Ruby too,” she said with a smirk.

“It’s not you, it’s me?” He chuckled. “Typical— well, you have to be there. In two months, all this…,” motioning with his hands to the gym and the two boys fighting, “…is going to be over, so why not enjoy it?”

“Okay, I will think about it.” Nora wanted the conversation to end, she was not going to think about it. She was saved by Mr Bradford when he called Mason out to duel with another student.