The Titan Slayer

Chapter 4

Anais joined her peers for the first time since she arrived on the night that she had her talk. The main cabin was a dimly lit room, with its only light a few flickering torches. Anais didn't have the stars winking over her head, but she did have blithe laughter all around her. People sat in clusters all through the large dining room, talking while they ate. Anais sat with Petra, Nailea, Diane, and another pretty girl with platinum blonde hair, Rico Brzenska. Immediately, Anais liked Rico. She was level-headed and refined. Plus, she wasn't Diane-heighted.

Screw Diane and her maniacal height. 

Despite the smile on her face, Anais felt nervous and awkward. She couldn't quite keep pace with their conversations. Hell, she knew close to none of their names. Fortunately, Petra was talkative. She and Nailea kept the conversation going smoothly. Freakishly-tall-Diane was quiet most of the time, but she laughed heartily at the jokes that Petra cracked, and Rico threw in occasional snarky remarks. They mostly talked about the different customs of their homes and how well they were doing in training.

It turned out that both Petra and Rico also got perfect scores on the ODM gear simulators, and Nailea and Diane both succeeded on their second try. Anais noticed that the physical combat lessons and boys were also hot topics. Anais stayed quiet as she studied the way the conversation rolled with such expertise between the girls. In fact, almost everyone there talked with each other with such ease that Anais couldn't help but admire the skill they had. 

"How are you doing in your hand-to-hand combat, Anais?" Rico inquired in her bored tone. She pushed her round-rimmed glasses up the bridge of her nose. 

Alarms flared in Anais's head. She was no expert in small talk; she didn't know the regulations and rules. There was pressure on what she had to say next. So, with a smile, she just replied, "Good."

"Good?" Petra shrieked. "Anais, you're awesome!"

Anais grimaced a bit. "I wouldn't say awesome," she responded, taking a drink of her soup. "I'm merely well-practiced."

Freaky-tall rolled her eyes, her black eyes boring into Anais. She scoffed, "You pinned me to the ground last time I sparred with you." Anais tried to remember when that happened. The first few weeks of training were all a blur of sore muscles, fatigue, and grieving to her. 

"You beat Diane?" Nailea exclaimed. She tucked her chocolate hair behind her ears and leaned forward eagerly. Nailea was the only other person Anais knew who continued to keep her hair long. "Wow, you must be impressive."

Rico smirked. "I remember, you were the first one to get yelled at during initiation, too."

"Except it didn't work on her," Petra added with a hint of pride in her voice. Anais couldn't help but smile at Petra's confidence in her. "Everyone was surprised. Not another soul wasn't terrified of Shadis. Crap, that gigantic man still scares me."

"She might be promising," another voice intruded from the table next to theirs. A group of boys was sitting there. "But can she beat us?" Anais examined the owner of the voice. He was a boy with slightly curly brown hair styled in an undercut, and he owned relatively small eyes. Petra's breath hitched next to Anais. 

Another boy – one with red hair that Anais recognized from a combat session – Marcus was his name, punched the boy in the arm. "I wouldn't underestimate her, Oluo. She beat my ass the last time I fought her." Oluo glared at Marcus as his table erupted in laughter. 

Another voice spoke. It was a leisure tone like the person couldn't care less. "That good, huh?" All eyes turned to the boy sitting at the other side of the bench. Anais couldn't care less about the social status in the Training Corps, but she knew who he was. Petra had talked about him.