classes,
especially the science and math ones, at which she
excelled.
The highlight of each week was
when Simms took them flying. While others, such as Soo-Kyung and
Ronaldo, were extremely effective flyers that Aisha could never
hope to match, she did seem to have a knack for strategy. Simms
regularly called upon her to command groups of flyers against ones
that he set up.
At first, his teams won easily.
But, over time, she began to see how he thought, and how he did things. That was his weakness -- his
predictability.
The first time she beat him, it
was a tough slog and narrow victory. After that, the wins came
easier and easier, until he didn ’ t seem to
be much of a challenge anymore.
Her sessions with Patrice were
also extremely rewarding. Not only was she learning a lot about
self-defense, she also found herself growing in confidence as she
understood the art better. She remembered the first day that
Soo-Kyung had shown her basic throws, and how the smaller girl had
held herself. Now she felt more comfortable in her
stance.
She hadn ’ t yet dared go into the mess hall, but she knew the
day was coming soon.
Patrice became more and more
interesting every moment she spent with him. He was certainly a
very masculine guy, but not the clich é musclebound moron that she ’ d known around
her old school. It went beyond intelligence, too -- there was
something deeply insightful about him. When he began to share his
hopes and dreams for the future with her, she realized that she
wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.
Far from the privileged rich kid,
he was humble, he was caring, and he knew about the things
that mattered in the world. She had hated talking with rich kids in
the past, stuck in their little self-absorbed bubbles. But he
wasn ’ t like that.
He clapped her on the side of the
head with his bo. It had a huge set of pads on the end, which
softened the impact of any hit. The pads also added weight, and
therefore momentum and force to any attack.
“ Wake up,” he said, smiling.
“You ’ re daydreaming again.”
“ Sorry about that,” she replied,
before doing a spin move that caught him on the back of his leg,
buckling it and sinking him to one knee. Turning again, she got him
on the back of the head, knocking him flat. “Who ’ s daydreaming now?”
He laughed. That was one of the
things she was beginning to love about him. She had just
humiliated him, but he was good-natured enough to know that she had succeeded . That it wasn ’ t about
him. It was about her .
She returned his smile and helped
him up.
Then she heard the sound of a slow
clap. Sebastian stood in the door, mocking applause. “Utter crap,”
he said slowly, smirking towards Patrice. Lim was in tow, mockingly
watching Aisha.
But Patrice, credit to him,
didn ’ t take the bait. He ignored Sebastian
and returned to his fighting stance, facing Aisha.
This time, Sebastian
wouldn ’ t allow himself to be ignored.
Standing between them, he faced down Patrice. “I ’ ve beaten everybody in this school except you,” he
said. “Because you are too scared to fight me.”
“ If you insist.”
“ Don ’ t
mock me. Don ’ t brush me off.”
Patrice said nothing, and just met
the other boy ’ s eyes. He dropped his bo,
and stood straight.
“ You will fight me,” said
Sebastian, his eyes icy cool. “I ’ ll make
sure of it.”
Taking Lim ’ s arm, he swept out of the room. Aisha caught her eye
as they left, and Lim smiled a frozen smile.
***
Aisha lay in bed, unable to sleep
and not knowing why. She flicked on her window and set it to show
scenes from Canada.
His country.
She looked at the beautiful city
of Vancouver, a city on the water with grey/green skyscrapers
soaring into the sky, looking like they came straight out of a
science-fiction movie. Beyond to British Columbia and the dramatic
mountains. She looked at scenes of people skiing past snow ghosts,
of kids playing hockey on outdoor frozen
especially the science and math ones, at which she
excelled.
The highlight of each week was
when Simms took them flying. While others, such as Soo-Kyung and
Ronaldo, were extremely effective flyers that Aisha could never
hope to match, she did seem to have a knack for strategy. Simms
regularly called upon her to command groups of flyers against ones
that he set up.
At first, his teams won easily.
But, over time, she began to see how he thought, and how he did things. That was his weakness -- his
predictability.
The first time she beat him, it
was a tough slog and narrow victory. After that, the wins came
easier and easier, until he didn ’ t seem to
be much of a challenge anymore.
Her sessions with Patrice were
also extremely rewarding. Not only was she learning a lot about
self-defense, she also found herself growing in confidence as she
understood the art better. She remembered the first day that
Soo-Kyung had shown her basic throws, and how the smaller girl had
held herself. Now she felt more comfortable in her
stance.
She hadn ’ t yet dared go into the mess hall, but she knew the
day was coming soon.
Patrice became more and more
interesting every moment she spent with him. He was certainly a
very masculine guy, but not the clich é musclebound moron that she ’ d known around
her old school. It went beyond intelligence, too -- there was
something deeply insightful about him. When he began to share his
hopes and dreams for the future with her, she realized that she
wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.
Far from the privileged rich kid,
he was humble, he was caring, and he knew about the things
that mattered in the world. She had hated talking with rich kids in
the past, stuck in their little self-absorbed bubbles. But he
wasn ’ t like that.
He clapped her on the side of the
head with his bo. It had a huge set of pads on the end, which
softened the impact of any hit. The pads also added weight, and
therefore momentum and force to any attack.
“ Wake up,” he said, smiling.
“You ’ re daydreaming again.”
“ Sorry about that,” she replied,
before doing a spin move that caught him on the back of his leg,
buckling it and sinking him to one knee. Turning again, she got him
on the back of the head, knocking him flat. “Who ’ s daydreaming now?”
He laughed. That was one of the
things she was beginning to love about him. She had just
humiliated him, but he was good-natured enough to know that she had succeeded . That it wasn ’ t about
him. It was about her .
She returned his smile and helped
him up.
Then she heard the sound of a slow
clap. Sebastian stood in the door, mocking applause. “Utter crap,”
he said slowly, smirking towards Patrice. Lim was in tow, mockingly
watching Aisha.
But Patrice, credit to him,
didn ’ t take the bait. He ignored Sebastian
and returned to his fighting stance, facing Aisha.
This time, Sebastian
wouldn ’ t allow himself to be ignored.
Standing between them, he faced down Patrice. “I ’ ve beaten everybody in this school except you,” he
said. “Because you are too scared to fight me.”
“ If you insist.”
“ Don ’ t
mock me. Don ’ t brush me off.”
Patrice said nothing, and just met
the other boy ’ s eyes. He dropped his bo,
and stood straight.
“ You will fight me,” said
Sebastian, his eyes icy cool. “I ’ ll make
sure of it.”
Taking Lim ’ s arm, he swept out of the room. Aisha caught her eye
as they left, and Lim smiled a frozen smile.
***
Aisha lay in bed, unable to sleep
and not knowing why. She flicked on her window and set it to show
scenes from Canada.
His country.
She looked at the beautiful city
of Vancouver, a city on the water with grey/green skyscrapers
soaring into the sky, looking like they came straight out of a
science-fiction movie. Beyond to British Columbia and the dramatic
mountains. She looked at scenes of people skiing past snow ghosts,
of kids playing hockey on outdoor frozen
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