Middle School Heroes

Chapter 25 - Christmas and the Box by the Door

The last few weeks of class went by quickly and soon Christmas break began. Once again, most of the kids were spending the holidays in the dorms, while some kids were off spending time with their families. Skye felt like she kind of had the best of both worlds as she got to stay in the dorms, but still spend time with the Parkers, who had become like family to her over the last few months. All the kids staying behind were treated to a trip to the local town mall, where they were able to do some shopping. Their team decided to draw names for a gift exchange, and Skye pulled Natasha's name. She found her a sliver necklace with a little gun charm and a circle charm that read, 'Shoot like a Girl.'

Christmas Eve was cold, with the promise of snow in the air. Still, most of the kids bundled up and spent the morning outside on the field. Coach May had left for a few days to spend Christmas with her husband, but Coach Garret was there, and Professors Coulson and Magneto were also there to watch over them. Principal Fury even came down to referee sparing matches. Skye learned pretty quickly that she was right about him. He had a lot of experience with fighting.

Thanks to Natasha's stepped up training program, Skye found herself facing Drax. He was more than happy to spar with her and help her learn to fight with the bigger kids. Of course, that meant that she spent most of her time on her back, much to the delight of the few STRIKE team members who were there. Rumlow and Rollins were happy to watch the proceedings and laugh when she'd lose.

"One of you boys wanna step in here instead?" Drax growled at them after helping Skye up from a particularly nasty pin.

"You think Sunshine wants to take me on again?" Rumlow grinned at Skye. "I'm up for it."

"Oh. I'm sure she could do that, but I'd have so much more fun doing it. Shall we?"

Skye watched Rollins take a step back, obviously not wanting to get involved, but Rumlow, who looked like he probably never backed down from a fight in his life, began taking off his coat and walking toward them. "Oh yeah. Let's do it."

When he reached them, he motioned for Skye to step away. She joined the group that was now forming to watch, and Principal Fury came over to referee.

This wasn't a short match at all. It was long and brutal. Both of them were far beyond Skye's ability in sparring. They weren't just trying to wrestle each other to the ground, they were actually fighting. She couldn't help but realize that she was very lucky that day with Rumlow, because he really could have hurt her. Not that she thought that Principal Fury would have let it go that far, but the idea still gave her chills.

After what seemed like an eternity, the match ended when Rumlow managed to get the best of Drax and send him crashing to the mat. He jumped down on him and held him until Fury called the match for him. Both boys looked exhausted, were breathing heavily, and to Skye's astonishment, they were both laughing. Rumlow moved, allowing Drax to get up. "Always a pleasure, Drax," he said as they shook hands.

Drax smiled at him. "Yeah, first time you've beaten me all year, buddy. Consider it a Christmas miracle." He turned and grinned at Skye. "You ready to continue your lesson?"

"Are you crazy?" Skye looked at him doubtfully. "After that?"

Rumlow grinned at her. "You better take your shot, Sunshine. I weakened him for ya." Before he walked off, Rumlow grabbed her arm and leaned in close. "You probably want to avoid the left entrance to the dining hall. Someone hung some mistletoe up there, and I'm just guessing there are people here that you don't want to find yourself stuck under that with. Also, Drax favors his left side. Get him on his right and push him off balance." He then pushed her away and walked back to Rollins, smirking at her as he left. He whispered something to Rollins, which made both boys laugh hysterically.