Intermix Nation by M.P. Attardo

Niko?
    Cato holds Anzares in a firm bind on the
floor, until finally she concedes and pushes him off her. He
returns to his spot beside Nazirah.
    “Nice job, Caal,” Grum says to him. “The
Medis will appreciate your tenderness.” Aldrik snorts and Cato
looks perplexed. Grum returns to his list, lazily running a finger
down the column of names. “Let’s see here, who do we have next? Ah,
here we go. Nation, step forward.”
    Nazirah walks slowly to the middle of the
room, looking around skeptically. Is Grum going to make her fight
herself or something? That’s definitely the type of twisted scheme
he would pull. Nazirah looks at Nikolaus for reassurance, but he is
focused on Grum. He looks angry, like he knows something is
off.
    “Professor?”
    “Yes, Nation?” asks Grum, setting down his
clipboard.
    “We have an odd numbers of students
today.”
    “Your powers of observation are
astounding.”
    “I don’t have a partner.”
    “Thrilled as I am to see you taking an
interest in your training,” Grum says, cracking his knuckles, “you
are, as usual, wrong.”
    “Who am I fighting?” Nazirah asks.
    “Me.”
    The entire class gasps. Nazirah is supposed
to fight Grum? She glances over at Niko, whose fists are clenched.
Adamek looks unsurprised. Aldrik appears positively appalled.
    “Professor!” Cato speaks up immediately,
completely distraught. “I volunteer to fight Nazirah!”
    “That’s very sweet, Caal,” Grum says,
walking slowly towards Nazirah. “But I don’t think she will benefit
from having her hair stroked to death. And besides, you’ve already
fought once today. We can’t have any favoritism here, can we?” Grum
looks pointedly at Nikolaus.
    Panic rises in Nazirah’s chest. Grum is
clearly mad that Niko has shown up unannounced in his classroom,
questioning his authority, and that Nazirah has defied him for
weeks. Now, he intends to teach both Nations a lesson. Nazirah
glances again at Niko, but she knows his hands are tied. Grum has
set their fight up to seem coincidental. And if Nikolaus tries to
intervene, it will look like he’s favoring his sister. Nazirah
watches Aldrik storm from the room. Her eyes settle on Adamek, who
gives her a small, imperceptible nod.
    Nazirah watches as Grum gets into a
fighter’s stance. But her thoughts remain on Adamek. He told her
the first rule is to always know your enemy. And Nazirah does know
Grum. She knows he’s big and threatening, but that makes him slow
and cocky. She knows he has a huge ego, is not particularly
intelligent, and would never imagine he could be outsmarted by a
little girl. Nazirah knows he thinks she’s scared of him, is scared
of fighting, and that she couldn’t possibly defend herself.
    Nazirah knows Grum.
    But Grum doesn’t know her.
    Nazirah stands in her normal passive
position, waiting for him to attack. No, Grum doesn’t know her at
all.
    His fist flies at Nazirah’s face, fast, but
not fast enough. She dodges it easily. That alone shocks the entire
classroom, since Nazirah has never defended herself before.
    Enraged and embarrassed, Grum pounces. He
fakes with his left and then jabs her with his right. Nazirah isn’t
quick enough this time. She tries to block, but Grum’s second blow
hits her square in the face. Her lip splits open. Nazirah tastes
iron, but refuses to concede. This isn’t about standing up to Grum.
This is about standing up to herself … for herself. This is about
proving she can still be the person she once was.
    Grum punches her again, this time in the
stomach. Nazirah keels over, coughing up blood. She vaguely sees
Nikolaus stepping forward from the wall on her left. Adamek holds
onto his shoulder, stopping him. Nazirah stomps into Grum’s instep.
He shouts out in pain and Nazirah throws his clipboard at him. She
knows it will have no effect, but she needs to buy time. The class
watches them silently in horror. Grum catches the clipboard easily,
cracking it in half over his knee. He