had no plans on stopping now.
With a r esigned sigh, Hayden got ready for bed and went to sleep.
When Hayden realized that he didn’t have any classes with Lorn Trout this year, his first thought was, Finally! Then it occurred to him that since he wanted to ask Lorn to be in his arena group again this year, he was going to have to go out of his way to look for him.
He spent the better part of the week searching for hi m in the hallways between lessons, but the only time he actually laid eyes on his target was during mealtimes in the dining hall. On the last day before the team requests were due, he swallowed his displeasure and went to sit beside Lorn at dinner.
Judging by the way half the hall stared at him, you’d think he’d walked up to Lorn and punched him in the jaw. Even Masters Sark and Asher raised their eyebrows from their respective tables before they resumed eating.
“What are you doing here?” Lorn greeted him with the customary bite of derision in his voice.
“I go to school here too, remember?” he answered automatically, unable to temper his sarcasm when he was this hungry and uncomfortable.
One of Lorn’s rat-faced cronies scowled and said, “What’s the matter, Frost? Did your loser friends get tired of you already?”
Hayden ignored him completely, continuing to focus on Lorn. “I wanted to know if you’ll be in my arena group again this year. I know I’ve left it a bit late to ask, but I never saw you in the hallways between classes.”
Lorn stared at him as though he’d just grown another head, and Hayden noticed that Oliver was watching the pair of them from a nearby table with an unsettling look on his face, like he was preparing to come over and pound Hayden into the floor if necessary. Reflecting on Oliver’s performance in the Inter-School Championship last year, that was a very real possibility.
“Are you joking, Frost?” Lorn recaptured his attention.
“I wish people would stop asking me that,” Hayden sighed.
Lorn stared at him for a moment and then said, as though compelled, “You do remember that we’re not friends, right?”
Hayden snorted in amusement. “Thanks, I’d nearly forgotten.” He rolled his eyes.
“Then why do you want me to be in your group again?” For the first time since Hayden had sat down, Lorn sounded genuinely curious instead of annoyed.
“As obnoxious as I find you, there’s no denying that you’re good at what you do. You pulled your weight last year, and I have a better feel for where your strengths and weaknesses are now. I think if we have another go at it, we could top the rankings.” He shrugged.
“Get lost, Frost,” another of Lorn’s friends snapped at him. “No one is interested in being in your arena group.”
Again, Hayden ignored him. Lorn looked unusually pensive but said nothing for a long moment.
“There’s another reason,” Hayden continued mildly. “The Masters threw us together last year as a challenge for both of us—I’m sure you figured that out as soon as I did. They wanted to see if we would be able to man up and get past our differences, and we mostly did that last year.” He took a breath to let that sink in. “This year, if we work together by choice, it’ll send a message to the Masters that not only can we take whatever they throw at us, but we can go one better. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got something to prove.”
Lorn narrowed his eyes and looked around the dining hall with interest, focusing briefly on each of the Masters as he found them. He spared Sark a slightly longer consideration than the others.
Finally he said, “Alright, Frost, I’ll give it a go. I suppose we didn’t disgrace ourselves in the rankings last year, so why not?”
His friends looked at him like he said something dangerous and alarming, but Hayden smirked and held out his hand. Hesitantly, Lorn shook it.
“Now go away before people start to think we’re friends,” he said with his typical
With a r esigned sigh, Hayden got ready for bed and went to sleep.
When Hayden realized that he didn’t have any classes with Lorn Trout this year, his first thought was, Finally! Then it occurred to him that since he wanted to ask Lorn to be in his arena group again this year, he was going to have to go out of his way to look for him.
He spent the better part of the week searching for hi m in the hallways between lessons, but the only time he actually laid eyes on his target was during mealtimes in the dining hall. On the last day before the team requests were due, he swallowed his displeasure and went to sit beside Lorn at dinner.
Judging by the way half the hall stared at him, you’d think he’d walked up to Lorn and punched him in the jaw. Even Masters Sark and Asher raised their eyebrows from their respective tables before they resumed eating.
“What are you doing here?” Lorn greeted him with the customary bite of derision in his voice.
“I go to school here too, remember?” he answered automatically, unable to temper his sarcasm when he was this hungry and uncomfortable.
One of Lorn’s rat-faced cronies scowled and said, “What’s the matter, Frost? Did your loser friends get tired of you already?”
Hayden ignored him completely, continuing to focus on Lorn. “I wanted to know if you’ll be in my arena group again this year. I know I’ve left it a bit late to ask, but I never saw you in the hallways between classes.”
Lorn stared at him as though he’d just grown another head, and Hayden noticed that Oliver was watching the pair of them from a nearby table with an unsettling look on his face, like he was preparing to come over and pound Hayden into the floor if necessary. Reflecting on Oliver’s performance in the Inter-School Championship last year, that was a very real possibility.
“Are you joking, Frost?” Lorn recaptured his attention.
“I wish people would stop asking me that,” Hayden sighed.
Lorn stared at him for a moment and then said, as though compelled, “You do remember that we’re not friends, right?”
Hayden snorted in amusement. “Thanks, I’d nearly forgotten.” He rolled his eyes.
“Then why do you want me to be in your group again?” For the first time since Hayden had sat down, Lorn sounded genuinely curious instead of annoyed.
“As obnoxious as I find you, there’s no denying that you’re good at what you do. You pulled your weight last year, and I have a better feel for where your strengths and weaknesses are now. I think if we have another go at it, we could top the rankings.” He shrugged.
“Get lost, Frost,” another of Lorn’s friends snapped at him. “No one is interested in being in your arena group.”
Again, Hayden ignored him. Lorn looked unusually pensive but said nothing for a long moment.
“There’s another reason,” Hayden continued mildly. “The Masters threw us together last year as a challenge for both of us—I’m sure you figured that out as soon as I did. They wanted to see if we would be able to man up and get past our differences, and we mostly did that last year.” He took a breath to let that sink in. “This year, if we work together by choice, it’ll send a message to the Masters that not only can we take whatever they throw at us, but we can go one better. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got something to prove.”
Lorn narrowed his eyes and looked around the dining hall with interest, focusing briefly on each of the Masters as he found them. He spared Sark a slightly longer consideration than the others.
Finally he said, “Alright, Frost, I’ll give it a go. I suppose we didn’t disgrace ourselves in the rankings last year, so why not?”
His friends looked at him like he said something dangerous and alarming, but Hayden smirked and held out his hand. Hesitantly, Lorn shook it.
“Now go away before people start to think we’re friends,” he said with his typical
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