The Alpha Academy

chapter 22

"Remember that people are only guests in your story - the same way you are only a guest in theirs - so make the chapters worth reading" - Lauren Klarfeld

22.

"Vivian, for the millionth time, move your leg to the side, lean forward and then throw a pun-!"

"I know, I know! I'll do it right this time," I answered, quickly shifting back to my old stance to start over.

"You said the same thing last time, and the time before it, and before it and-"

I cut him off by sending a stern glare towards him. The fourteen year old me had mastered the art of glaring, courtesy of the Alpha - my father. Whenever he was mad, he didn't have to say or do anything but put a scowl on his face and stare very, very hard. That look alone scared the shit out of people and got things done. Realising what a useful tactic it was, I quickly adopted it and enlisted it in the folds of my memory. 

Zack chuckled, "This constipated face you're making? Pathetic attempt to scare me." he crossed his arms, one eyebrow raised and face smug, "I actually think you look adorable."

Not wasting a second, I jumped forward, hoping to catch him off-guard but damn those Alpha genes! He didn't even have to move an inch to grab my leg that was striving to hit him where the sun didn't shine. 

Now that he had my leg in his firm grasp, I started doing small hops to stay balanced on one leg. 

"No fair, Viv. That's cheating," he mocked and without wasting any time, aggressively pulled my leg upwards, making me land painfully on my butt, scraping my elbows in the process.

A groan escaped my lips, "Not cheating, that's called being clever - attacking when the enemy doesn't expect anything." I threw another glare his way while rubbing my elbows to ease the pain.

Zack gave me a smile and then offered his hand, "As you say, Miss-I-don't-cheat-I-am-just-clever."

Feeling annoyed, I made a silly face and then proceeded to put my hand in his - which was a stupid, stupid mistake.

Instead of helping me get up, he released his grip midway. The ground caught me for the second time as my body erupted in pain from the sudden landing. Ouch.

It took me a minute to catch my breath after being caught off-guard. Obviously he'd do that. I mean, what do you expect from someone who used his little sister as his personal pillow to practice wrestling moves when he was young? 

"Seriously, Zack? What the hell?" I growl, anger rolling of me in waves. 

The second time hurt a lot.

"That's called never trusting your enemy," he winked, reigniting my annoyance and anger. 

"You're unbelievable, worse teacher than father!" I sighed, and made an effort to get up myself. 

"Need help?" he leaned forward and teased.

I stuck my middle finger at him and then made a show of brushing the grass and dirt off my pants, waiting for the right moment. This time I was quick and managed to deliver an uppercut to his face. 

"Ow- Vivian?! What the hell?" 

"Now that is what you call an adorable face," I grinned at him. He tried to keep himself composed but after a few seconds, a boyish grin broke out on his face. 

We fooled around for a bit, running around, hitting each other back and forth, trying to be the last one to hit the other one - a playful competition we always had.