Gifteds: And Then There Were None

Chapter 1. III

Wake up, eat, badminton. Wake up, eat, badminton. This was the schedule of the elite badminton athlete, Henry Zhang. Everyday, he pushed himself to the limit. He had to, after all; he needed to qualify into the the 2024 summer olympics. He had missed 2020's qualification by just one spot. This time would have to be different.

It was a normal day, following his normal schedule. He ate his typical breakfast. Packed his normal stuff. Went to badminton like usual. As he trained by himself, he did not expect anyone to be there, but turns out it was not an average day after all.

Sitting in the locker room was a man who appeared to be about Henry's age. They exchanged glances but that was about it.

Strange, I've never seen him before, Henry thought.

"Hey, want to spar?" he asked. The man only nodded.

This match was a humiliating one for Henry. The odd stranger creamed him. Not a single birdie fell on his side, leading to a crushing 21-0 defeat. Henry was in complete and utter shock.

And just like that, the victor vanished. Henry looked everywhere but he couldn't find him after the match. He probably thought this place was for amateurs, he thought.

Henry was about to leave, when he spotted something where the stranger was standing earlier. It was a letter. Normally, he would have just thought it was an item someone had left behind (which is quite common), but it had his name on it. Curiosity got the better of him and he opened the letter.

To, and only to, Henry Zhang,

Greetings Mr. Zhang. We are contacting you on behalf of the Worldwide Badminton Association. We are pleased to announce that you have qualified for the 2024 summer Olympics to be held in Athens, Greece. However, we wish for you to come to our special orientation located on an island off the coast of the Pacific Ocean. All your fellow opponents will also be attending. A ticket to the destination is enclosed.

Please refrain from disclosing this information to anyone as it is highly confidential.

Sincerely,

T.W.B.A

(The Worldwide Badminton Association)

Henry was quite cynical about this. For one, this was so sudden. Second, there was no return address. However, there was a ticket in the letter that seemed valid.

"Why not?" Henry reasoned with himself, "What's the worse that could happen?".

In a matter of days, Henry would be on a plane to this remote island. But for now, he wiped the sweat from his brow, and picked up his racket. Training, back to training.

***

A/N Hey guys, I'm one of the 5 writers writing this story, and it's my first time writing an Author's Note for this story. So, another character has been revealed *clapclapclapclap* Only 7 more main characters to go. We really appreciate you guys viewing our story but we would really appreciate it if we had less 'invisible' readers, ones who do not comment/subscribe/upvote. If you guys write, you should understand us wanting to hear feedback and different ideas. BONUS: If you saw the first comment, part 1, the first line was us dedicating the chapter to one of our readers. THAT READER COULD BE YOU! Please show us some love~~~~~~~~~~

Happy reading~~~