Still wrapped up in a dense fog of confusion and unanswered questions, Zavier decided to take a look around to find some clues. Much to his horror, he found out that the same spiteful look had replicated itself on the faces of some of the high school students around him. Their eyes burned into him, making him feel like a deer in the sight of several hunters.
It seemed that the boy's hateful contempt had spread around like a virus, infecting just about everyone around him. Zavier's heart sank. He suddenly felt claustrophobic, like he was in den of foxes or something. It was unnerving. More than ever, Zavier knew he needed to find out what the hell was happening. It was like his name carried a stench of reproach that he just couldn't shake off. What had he done?
Kacie who was a very sensitive creature was quick to discern the atmosphere that was now charged with a negative energy. She had heard the entire exchange between Zavier and the boy. Even before the boy had started to speak, she had sensed something was wrong. It had all happened so fast. Being the forward thinker that she was, she didn't intervene for a couple of reasons.
First off she needed to know where all this was coming from.
It hadn't been the regular battle of egos beotween males, and it certainly hadn't been about the rivalry of potential adversaries as participants of this competition. Kacie was keen enough to discern that it had genuinely seemed like there had been some deep seated hatred there. It was illogical hatred, but it was undeniable.
Watching poor Zavier go through all that was excruciating, but she decided she had seen enough. So, she edged her way closer to her kin and sat by his side. Zavier was still too dazed to even notice that someone had sat down by his side.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Zavier lifted up his head absent mindedly to look at Kacie by his side. She was staring at him with those warm comforting eyes that seemed to see through him.
"Yeah, I guess I'm alright. It's nothing really."
"No need to act all tough Zavier, I heard everything."
Zavier stared at her blankly, trying to mask his feelimgs. Kacie quickly gave him her own thoughts on the matter.
"Did you hear what he called you the first time? He called you a privileged scum."
Zavier continued to look at Kacie, egging her to continue.
"I think he and the others are pissed because they suspect you might have gotten your recommendations through the Adam family's connections." Kacie pursed her lips tightly and then stated the obvious part; "You understand what that means right? Like you understand why they're so pissed right? Zavier, they don't think you deserve to be here at all."
Kacie stared at Zavier with a gentle and comforting look. She thought that it would made him feel bad. Any regular person would be pissed by the fact that others were undermining his efforts by ascribing his accomplishments to family connections. She expected Zavier to be furious or at least, as sad even. But she got the exact opposite of what she had been expecting.
On the contrary, Zavier seemed a tad bit relieved. He merely shrugged his shoulders at the revelation, making it out not to be a big deal. Like it wasn't a reason to be worried in the first place. A look of indifference replaced the worry lines that had etched themselves on the front of his forehead. It was Kacie's turn to be surprised. Zavier's reaction surprised her, and her logical mind couldn't wrap itself around the reason why.
A moment ago, Zavier had been clearly worried. Receiving a tongue lash from a total stranger in public (especially when he had been nothing but friendly) was more than enough to make anyone feel bad. Kacie thought Zavier deserved more than just comforting words, so she had proceeded to tell him the truth. Much to her uttermost surprise, Zavier had taken the reason for the verbal attack pretty well. This made her extremely curious.
Why? Was he merely putting up a front so as to not seem hurt? Was he trying not to appear vulnerable in front of the others? Kacie could almost certainly tell that it wasn't the case here.
Zavier caught Kacie staring at him in awe. "What?"
"Nothing. Just thought you might be a little bit more concerned."
"Why? I honestly don't care enough to be bothered right now. Just let it go Kay, it's not worth it. They're not worth it."
Actually, the case wasn't as difficult to crack as Kacie thought. The truth was Zavier was relieved. He couldn't believe that they were hating on him for such a frivolous reason. It was very petty, and a product of just how small minded high school students were. But he was very glad that this was the reason. For a moment, he had been worried that one or more of his secrets had leaked.
His mind had been turning itself inside out just trying to find out what exactly was going on. Consequently, when Kacie came with an explanation that was far less innocent that any of the other things he was guilty of, Zavier welcomed it wholeheartedly. Almost gladly. So, when he shrugged it off like it was nothing, it had created a very peculiar hole in Kacie's analysis.
Below them, far from the spectator stand, on the lower plane that was the field, a major dignified personnel in the person of the president of the University- Glen stepped up on the podium. There was a resounding applause across all sides of the venue. The college students, the high school students, the members of the staff all clapped and clapped for the impressive entity. Galen wallowed in the honor for a moment. Then finally, he lifted up his right hand to bring an end to it all.
In a tone and stance that could be considered regal, he addressed the crowd;
"That was some applause right there. For a moment, you all had me thinking it was the end of the world or something…"
The audience laughed wholeheartedly at the old man's joke. The chatter died down and the old man continued;
"I sure am glad to be here. What a time to be alive indeed. Well, don't worry about it, I am not about to bore you with some elaborate speech espousing the great university. I am sure you all know just how great Caesar University is…"
That sparked some light cheering from some of the young energetic college students. Honestly, they seemed to be hyped all the time.
"Thank you, thank you. But I'll skip the bring speech part and get right to business. I am pretty sure we all can't wait for the real action to begin! And so, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, I hereby announce the official start of the second round of this year's tournament."
Another tide of anxious expectation rippled through the audience, sparking some more cheering and whistling.
Galen rode the wave. He adjusted his glasses and called out the names and schools of the teams who were supposed to battle each other. Soon, two different students from different high schools jogged out from opposite entrances into the field. Serious faced, and a bit tense, they met each other in the middle like a boxing ring and began to stare each other down as they prepared to joust.
After a sufficient amount of time had passed, the order came from above the podium with a resounding command; "BEGIN!!!"
And so it began; the second round of the tournament that involved one on one battles between opposing teams. While everyone eagerly feasted their eyes on the joust between the two students, Zavier found himself stifling a yawn. He didn't give a damn about these low level battles. In his opinion, they were extremely boring, and wouldn't offer him the level of thrill and entertainment he was craving. He took only one single look at the two students involved and saw that they were very much ordinary. There was nothing special that would be expected from them.
And so, the goddess of boredom swaddled Zavier in her bland wings, causing him to begin to look around in the audience, desperately hunting for any kind of entertainment at all. Anything at all that would keep him from going crazy with BOREDOM. Occasionally, his eyes would wander to the field below, and he would see just how choreographed the fight was. It was almost as if both students knew each other's routine.
They danced around each other like they were afraid to engage, and centered their fight on long range attacks rather than up close and personal. Zavier wasn't annoyed, he was just disappointed. He really expected a show, but only saw an embodiment of mediocrity in both students. It seemed like they weren't even trying, and this was pathetic because they were actually at their best.
The first battle ended after an agonizing three quarter of an hour. The next came up and lasted slightly shorter. Each fight more distinctly uninteresting than the previous one. And then finally, the fourth battle of the day brought a bit of life not just into Zavier's life, but the stadium at large. It was finally their team's turn, and just as they had already agreed, Calista allowed Dahila to run point on this one.
Dahila didn't even do the traditional ritual of good luck with her fellow team mates, she simply bundled off to the entrance where she stood until she and her opponent's name was called up.
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