The Academy Read online

  Most of the class was watching us now but Coach Janus remained unaware of what was going on. I kept hoping he would look up and stop us—it should have been obvious to anyone watching that Broward was out of control. But when the coach finally did glance up, he simply nodded absently in our direction. “Good work, ladies. Keep up the fancy footwork,” he called. Then, to my disbelief, he headed back to his office. I wasn’t sure if he was going to get more equipment or do some paperwork but the result was the same—I was now in a room with a very angry bully and no authority figure to stop him from hurting me.

  Broward registered the coach’s absence at the same time I did. The minute the blue metal door of Janus’s office door snicked shut, he nodded at Dawson and Nodes and barked, “Get ‘im.”

  Dawson grabbed me by my left arm and Nodes my right as Broward advanced on me, his epee pointed at my head and a nasty smile on his face. “Not so fast now, are you, freshie?” he grated. “Hold him still, boys—I want one of those pretty brown eyes for a souvenir.”

  My stomach felt like I had swallowed a fist-sized lump of ice that wouldn’t melt. I could see exactly what was going to happen. Broward was going to blind me with the entire class looking on. Then, when Coach Janus came back, he would claim it was an accident and none of the other boys in our class would have the nerve to contradict him. I was going to be maimed for life simply to appease his brutal temper.

  No, I can’t—I won’t let that happen! Desperately, I twisted in the grip of the two older cadets. Dawson had me tightly by the arm but Nodes, who was holding my sword arm, only had a grip on my sleeve. With a lunge, I managed to break free of him just as Broward’s epee was heading straight for my face.

  I ducked and blocked the blow, to Broward’s obvious surprise and anger. Then, without thinking, I attacked. Leaning forward to extend my reach, I got past his guard easily. Turning my saber, I slapped him hard on the cheek with the flat of my blade—a move which would have earned me a black card from the referee if we were fighting a traditional match. Of course, in a traditional match we would both have been wearing masks and nobody would have been holding me down.

  “Hey!” Broward’s left eye was beginning to water and there was a look of enraged astonishment on his face. “How did you—?”

  Turning my blade, I slapped his other cheek as well. Then I aimed my blade at Dawson, who hastily let me go. He and Nodes stepped back as I faced Broward again.

  “Why, you little—” He started advancing again but I held my blade up between us.

  “Stop!” I pointed the saber at his heart. “I could have taken your eyes just now,” I told him, lifting my chin. “Both of them. But I didn’t. I think we should end this, Broward, here and now. Let’s just call it even—what do you say?”

  “I say I’m gonna mess you up, runt.” Broward’s face was purple with rage. Apparently my plea for a reconciliation had fallen on deaf ears.

  “What’s this?” Coach Janus was suddenly there—appearing as if by magic from the confines of his office. His eyes flicked rapidly between us. “What the hell is going on out here?” he demanded.

  “Nothing, Coach,” Broward grated, his eyes never leaving mine. “Nothing at all. Jameson here was just showing me some pointers.”

  The coach looked at both of us suspiciously and then appeared to notice the red marks on Broward’s cheeks. “Looks like you’re getting the worst of it, Broward,” he growled. “Both of you get on some masks before somebody loses an eye.”

  It was so ironic that a small giggle bubbled up in my throat and escaped me before I could stop it. Broward glared at me, his face turning a whole new shade of purple. “You think this is funny?” he hissed as the coach wandered away to instruct some other cadets. “You’ll be laughing out the other side of your mouth at the end of class, freshie—I promise you that.”

  Throwing down his epee, he stalked away, his shoulders tight with fury. I felt a lump rise in my throat and swallowed it down with difficulty. Now I had done it. There was no telling what Broward would do to me if he did, indeed, catch me after class but I was certain of one thing—it was going to be painful.

  Trying not to think about my imminent and no doubt agonizing fate, I moved to the far end of the gym from Broward, and found myself teaching some of the other cadets the rudiments of fencing. Since the entire class had seen me best the big bully, many of them were eager to learn what I knew. I reflected that it would have made me feel better if any of them had been brave enough to stand beside me when Broward came looking for me. Unfortunately, I knew they would all melt away the moment I needed help. Only North was strong and fearless enough to face down Broward and his crew, and he was at the other end of the campus right now, taking Advance Applied Chemistry.

  Coach Janus continued to wander around the gym, giving halfhearted fencing instruction which was mostly wrong. I thought about going to him and asking for help but I sensed it would do little good. The Academy seemed to operate on a dog-eat-dog principle where the weak succumbed to the strong. Even if the coach had agreed to punish Broward for his actions, it would only make my situation worse because the bully would hate me more.

  Besides, Coach Janus had his hands full. Several of the cadets managed to hurt themselves and others with their inexpertly wielded weapons—no surprise considering that no one had taught them even the rudiments of sword play before setting them loose. I was certain that if the fencing blades had been sharp instead of dull, more than one eye would have been put out. Finally, when a cadet called Simpkins got cut with the edge of a saber just above his temple, Janus called a halt to the class.

  “Simpkins, to the infirmary.” He gestured at the wounded cadet who was wiping blood out of his eyes. “The rest of you, put up your equipment and sit on the line.”

  One by one we complied, though I was the last to put back my blade, keeping a wary eye on Broward as I did so.

  “I’m disappointed in you,” Janus told us as we settled on the thick black line in the middle of the gym. “Very disappointed. I was trying to let you have a little fun but it’s clear you’re not mature enough to handle fencing. With the possible exception of Jameson, here.” He gave me a nod which I returned miserably. “So we’re moving on to volleyball, another sport from Earth-that-was, tomorrow. Now…” He frowned at all of us in turn. “You’re going to sit here in complete silence for the rest of the class and think about what a mess you all made. And next time I give you equipment, I expect you to use it right.”

  I wondered how in the world he expected anyone to know how to use the equipment correctly if he didn’t teach them. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one.

  “Excuse me, sir?” Jakes, who was one of the cadets I had been instructing, raised his hand. “I think we’d do better if we knew more about the sport,” he said.

  Coach Janus’s face darkened. “Too late for that now, Jakes. Look it up in the library if you want.”

  “Why not let Jameson show us?” Jakes nodded at me. “He’s had private lessons—he knows what he’s doing.”

  To my surprise, there were murmurs of assent from all sides. Either the other cadets liked me more than I thought, or anything was preferable to spending the last twenty minutes of the class doing nothing. That was more probable, I thought, but regardless of the reason, I found myself touched by my classmate’s vote of confidence in me.

  Janus actually looked like he was considering the idea. “Jameson?” he asked, looking at me. “Care to come up here and share your knowledge?”

  It was a good thing I had no fear of public speaking. Ignoring the glares coming from Broward and his cronies, I rose. “I’m not an expert,” I said, coming to stand at the front of the room. “But I can tell you where to begin.”

  For the rest of the class I explained the three different types of fencing swords, their styles of fighting, and strike zones. I had Jakes come up and assist me in teaching proper form and balance. Together, we demonstrated attacks, feints, and counter attacks and for a wonder