TESSA’S POV
The past few days passed in a blur. Needless to say, the shifters at school had started not paying attention to me. With the midterm examinations coming right up, and the intramurals that would be held after, most of the students at Edevane University busied themselves with studying and coming up with super awesome activities for the intramurals, knowing it only happened once a year.
I should say that it was beneficial to me. I didn’t have to be bothered by the attention the same way I was getting it when I was on my first week of being a student here and when the mating season happened. The uncomfortable feeling of being gawked at and talked about had slowly faded and I got to live like a normal student-except that the people around me were still werewolves and somehow kept me amazed from time to time.
“So have you decided which club you are going to join for the intramurals?” Mikhaela asked me and Julie as we both sat down at our desks for our first class.
As I put my bag down, I glanced between Julie and Mikhaela. Both were giving me different expressions. While Mikhaela seemed excited about the upcoming intramurals, Julie looked like someone who was exhausted simply by hearing the word of it.
“Seriously, we have to focus on the exams first, Mik,” Julie stated, running her fingers through the side of her long black hair. “It’s not like an academic exam where we can cheat by using our minds. It’s practical.”
“Right,” I seconded and gave Mikhaela a wince.
She groaned, and then later on pouted her lips. “I mean, don’t you feel excited? Last year’s intramurals were a blast, and I can’t wait to see what the school has in store for us this year. It should be more exciting!”
“Like how exciting it really was? I wonder,” I said, looking at her curiously. “If ever that would be the first time I’d attend one.”
“Why? Weren’t you having that kind of school activity in White Bridge?” Julie innocently asked.
“Well, it’s a thing on human land.” I bit my lower lip and smiled thinly. “But I never had a chance to join one because, you know, personal reasons.”
Julie looked at me as if she was trying to uncover the secret behind those words, “personal reasons.” Seconds later, she smiled sincerely at me. That gave me a little comfort. During the first week of having her around, I had to say that it was a bit awkward knowing she was Atlas’ ex-girlfriend. However, she made it clear to me that she wasn’t bothered about Atlas’ claiming to be my mate. In fact, she was concerned about me, thinking that my situation was hard to process and offered help in case I needed a shoulder to lean on.
She was so kind and really thoughtful.
“Fine, geeks. We’re going to focus on the upcoming exams!” Mikhaela sighed, folding her arms against her chest. “But after it, we’re going to prepare for the intramurals, especially the intrams night!”
Julie giggled beside me. “For someone who finally met her mate, you’re still that excited about joining intrams night, huh?”
“Of course! I can’t wait for me and Ambrose to dance under that big grand ball!”
“It must be really a fun night,” I commented, and in my mind, I could not help but envision myself attending the event too.
How would it feel to dance under the grand ball with romantic classic music playing in the background?
My lips formed a smile. It must be exciting…
***
When the midterm exam came, everyone in the same class was excited and nervous. We were in the campus field, standing under the sunlight, and were waiting for our professor to brief us about the practical exam that we would have to pass.
“The practical test is easy. This is about you using your heightened abilities to defend yourselves. You have to know that this is very important as we, werewolves, do have enemies lurking outside the territory,” explained the professor as he walked back and forth, looking at each one of us with his hands on his back. “Survival when the situation goes wrong is a must. As I’ve discussed in the class, your heightened abilities can save you if you know how to use them. The practical test will challenge you to use your senses and strength to defend yourself from one another. We call it a match.”
I heaved a long, deep breath as I listened to the professor.
It wasn’t like we weren’t taught about physical defence for the past few weeks, but doing a practical made my palms sweat coldly.
“Who wins the match would have an A+ grade, while the ones who do not make it would have to undergo written exams that I assure you would be very difficult,” added the professor.
We sat down on the bleachers when the match had started. The first ones to fight were Mikhaela and Andrew, one of our classmates.
“Hey, you okay?” Julie asked me as she nudged me on my elbow.
“Y-Yes, I’m just nervous, I think.” I huffed and offered her a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry, Tessa.” She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and poked my nose. “You can do it.”
“We can do it,” I corrected, as it wasn’t like I was the only one who would undergo this dreadful practical test.
She chuckled and nodded. “Right, we can do it! Now, let’s cheer for Mikhaela!”
When Mikhaela started to fight Andrew, I thought my heart would actually explode as her opponent was so tall and bulky. He attempted to throw a punch on her face, but she was able to dodge it, making me and Julie scream in surprise. Without a sweat, Mikhaela was able to corner Andrew by grabbing his arms and twisting them. She used so much strength and was able to throw him on the ground. With a few strong punches, Andrew could no longer stand. In less than ten minutes, she won.
“Next!” called by the professor, and then he checked the paper in his hand.
“I’d like to call on Evelyn Scott…” he paused for a bit and then looked at us. “And Tessa Finley!”
I sucked in a long deep breath. The cold shivers went down my spine after hearing my name being cold, and for a split second I felt like my feet were glued to the ground.
“Tessa Finley!”
“Go, go, go, Tessa!” Julie nudged and pushed me. “You can do it!”
“Defeat her, Tess!” Mikhaela cheered. “I’m sure you will win the fight!”
Swallowing the lump that suddenly built in my throat, I nodded at them and stood up. This was the very first time I’d be engaging myself in a fight. Sure, the dread was eating me up, but I had to go through this to become stronger.
I looked at my classmate Evelyn, who was chewing gum while throwing me a distasteful look. She was one of the minions of the campus Queen B, and had been telling people gossip about me. I had to defeat her at all cost…
I walked down the center part of the field, across from Evelyn, with only one goal in mind.
“I have to win…” I whispered.