Professor Anwar's Secret Training

Just as the boys set down their quills, stretching out their aching hands after their last-minute scramble to finish the dream assignment, the common room doors swung open.

Amihan, Ivara, and Emmeranne strode in, still catching their breath from what was clearly an intense training session.

Their hair was damp with sweat, and their clothes were slightly disheveled- proof of how hard they had been pushing themselves.

Adrian glanced up from his paper. "Rough training?"

Ivara rolled her shoulders, sighing. "More like exhausting. Some of us actually work at night instead of panicking over assignments."

"Hey, we weren't panicking," Jarek defended, though his ink-stained hands and the pile of hastily written notes said otherwise.

Emmeranne didn't even spare them a glance as she walked past, heading straight for the stairs. "You reek of stress."

"Funny," Adrian shot back, "I was about to say you reek of sweat."