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CHAPTER NINETEEN unexpected goodbye
⋆*✧･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ:
THINKING BACK, KADENCE still didn't quite understand the circumstances that had led to Pogo's departure from the Sparrow Academy. The day had started out just like any other, after all, and even the bits in the middle hadn't been out of the ordinary for their messed-up team. But, for whatever reason, it had proven to be the final straw for him. He hadn't returned since.
Growing up, Pogo had always been a constant in the Sparrow Academy's lives. Oh, sure, he followed Reginald's beck and call, but it wasn't like anyone else had rebelled back then, either. Grace's hardware had been in its prime, Reginald had kept an iron fist over the household, and Kadence was still allowing her siblings to walk all over her.
Kadence wouldn't exactly say she'd been close to Pogo—she'd had her attachments beaten out of her along with her disobedience—but she still wholeheartedly appreciated his presence. With his gentle voice, soft discipline, and sage advice, he'd been a welcome refresher from the harshness of her father. When she was younger, he used to tuck her in, folding the covers over her shoulders. He held her hand the time she'd dislocated her elbow and had to have Grace pop it back in. He sometimes even agreed to spar with her, back before his joints started to fail.
Which was why it was such a shock when, out of nowhere, he decided to leave them all behind.
It had been five years ago—almost to the day, actually. The Sparrow Academy had gone for their bi-weekly training with Pogo, which was usually a lot easier than the training with their father. They all wore martial arts robes held together with black belts (though this wasn't a graduated colour system, as in normal karate. They'd had black belts from day one), standing straight with their arms behind their backs. Here, their number order didn't matter—Kadence stood in between Ben and Alphonso. And Christopher, who didn't need such training, was absent.
Pogo, dressed in a Sparrow Academy branded yellow and black tracksuit, paced behind them, smacking his cane to the palm of his hairy hand as he spoke. "Just because something is right in front of you does not mean..." he tapped Alphonso's back with his cane, getting him to stand up straighter. Alphonso protested, but only weakly. "...it is within reach. There is always something in the way." He crossed back out onto the training floor. "Sometimes it is your opponent."
Jayme and Ben stepped forward. They'd been the two paired together for the first sparring session—Kadence was with Sloane next, Alphonso and Fei would go third, and Marcus would face whoever got the best time. There was a bell between them, lying innocently on the floor. But Kadence had been to enough of these sessions to know that nothing here was innocent.
And indeed, it wasn't. The goal of this challenge was to be the first to ring the bell—something that sounded easy until you factored in your opponent. Given how skilled each member of the Sparrow Academy was, it would be tough to even get close to the target.
