𝐻𝑎𝑧𝑒𝑙 𝐸𝑦𝑒𝑠 | 𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑥 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟

5- Hero Training

✏️EDITED🖊

That's when the nightmares started.

---

I groaned and sat up in my bed, head hurting. It wasn't a 'oh, I hit my head on the wall' kind of pain. More of a 'hey, I've had nightmares all night and desperately need sleep' kind of way. But hey- what sort of teenager had a decent sleep schedule in our world?

My eyes focused as the world around me formed, the fairy lights offed and the main one flooding the room with light.

I would have liked to say I could slowly wake up perfectly pretty like a Disney princess- but my hair was a mess, and Guppy had jumped onto my mattress, hitting my pillows. "Wake up, wake up! It's time for your hero lesson!"

Still in her pyjamas, A Cappella stifled a yawn and giggled. "Is this how you wake up everyday?" I asked, scratching my scalp and slowly climbing down the ladder. "Guppy the alarm clock?"

"You could say that," She replied.

"What does she mean, 'Hero Training?" I asked, feeling my feet on the fuzzy carpet.

"Once a month, they bring us for a staged mission, to make sure we're ready for anything," She explained, helping Guppy off the last rung, and the girl ran to the bathroom. "One of our trainers, Craze-Raze, is a little, you know, crazy." She twirled her index finger around her ear, grabbing a brush off her bedside table and combing through her hair

"And the other trainer?" I asked, taking the comb she extended to me.

"Oh, he's nice. Morpher."

"Okay," I said. "What are we doing, then?"

"They send us on fake missions. If we fail -which happens more than I like to admit-, Craze-Raze sends us for punishment: A week of washing his socks. Believe me, not a good deal," She muttered, fanning her nose. "Anyway, they sent us team shirts to wear for training."

"Team shirts," I repeated, using my hands to separate a particularly thick tangle. "Team shirts."

"It's cheesy, but kinda fun."  She set down her brush and headed into the bathroom. Guppy bounded out in a bright blue shirt and overalls.

I helped Guppy work her way through her hair, passing the comb to A Cappella when she came out wearing a similar outfit- blue shirt, jeans and sneakers. I walked into the bathroom and changed into the last set of clothes neatly folded on the counter, brushing my teeth and washing my face.

As I walked out, my stomach rumbled. "Breakfast, anyone?"

"Let's go, then!" Guppy squeaked. It was unnerving how she could be adorable without being sickly sweet, and at the same time, be fierce and menacing.

We climbed up the ladder, A Cappella in the lead and showing my the hidden button to activate the sliding tile. The table was still pushed to this side like we left it yesterday, and all three of us pushed it back as the others ascended from their own rooms. Three of the tables in the centre had be pushed to form a larger one, and tons of food covered the wood.

Some of them were wearing blue shirts like me and the other half were wearing red. "Blue is so not my color," Rewind complained, fidgeting with his blue shirt and sipping his apple juice.

Fast Forward smirked beside him, legs propped up on the chair beside her, nibbling on a pop-tart. "It definitely isn't. And that's why I took a picture."

Rewind scowled and snatched her phone, looking like he was struggling to guess her passcode. A Cappella led me over to the only empty seat, in between her and Missy.