The new week started off hectic for Yesu.
She was constantly jumping from one extracurricular activity to another.
And she got no relief from any.
At Archery, she nearly took out a classmate when she mistakenly shot an arrow backwards.
And she had gotten a fairly large rock to her gut in return.
During fencing the tip of her foil had jabbed into the butt of soone behind her.
And the girl had given her a deliberate cut along her cheek. Then called it an accident.
Next was swim practice.
Yesu hadn't swum before. Her previous school had a swimming facility but it was long decayed and no one had used it for years. Plus, there were no water bodies in the district.
She stood at the edge of the pool and watched as other students swam from one side to the other gracefully.
She studied their movents for a while.
Then finally took a deep breath and held her body upright.
"Okay, Yesu." She said to herself. "Try not to drown."
She dove into the pool.
And imdiately vanished.
The students nearest to the edge blinked.
A second passed.
Then two.
Then three.
Bubbles rose lazily to the surface.
"Uh..."
A girl pointed into the water.
"Is she supposed to be down there?"
The instructor was already moving. He dove into the pool without hesitation.
Several students rushed to the edge.
The water churned briefly.
Then the instructor erged, dragging Yesu up with him.
Students gathered around as he pulled her onto the deck.
"Kaelitha!" he snapped. "What were you doing down there?"
Yesu opened one eye.
"Swimming."
"You were at the bottom of the pool!"
"Yes."
The instructor stared.
"So why didn't you co back up?"
Yesu looked genuinely confused
There was a long pause.
"...Was I supposed to?"
Silence.
The instructor brought a hand to his face.
A few students burst out laughing.
One nearly fell into the pool.
Yesu sat up, water dripping from her swimsuit.
"Oh.
She thought about it
"That actually explains a lot."
***
Yesu was running late for Prep. Mostly because she had overslept and Ava hadn't bothered to wake her
Both elevators were packed with latecors in a hurry to get to class. There were even lines outside the doors. Argunts followed each other.
Yesu took the stairs, barely letting one foot land before raising the other.
She sprinted past the lobby, burst out of the dorm and raced down the road.
Boys were rushing out of the street that led to the male dormitory.
Yesu ran past them.
Past the administrative building, the greenhouse, science wing, assembly hall, lecture theatre, work shops, power house, dining hall, café, gym.
And a whole lot of others she didn't know what they were for.
Students stared as she breezed past.
Yesu had almost gotten to the segregated area for APG Prep.
The road ahead led straight to the academic buildings.
She took a sharp bend.
And ran smack into a solid fra.
The collision sent her flying to the ground.
Sothing tallic hit the ground the exact second she did.
Along with a thud.
"Ow." Soone exclaid.
Yesu raised her head.
A few ters away, Apollo lay sprawled on the ground.
The lower part of his left foot was tightly secured in a walking boot.
And a crutch lay next to him.
He pushed himself up a bit, then went still the mont he saw her.
Yesu got up quickly.
"Oh, I'm sorry." She apologized, reached out and tried helping him up.
Apollo ignored her, grabbed the crutch and lifted himself.
"Try watching where you're going." He said, dusting his shirt.
"Sorry. I was running late."
Her gaze shifted to Apollo's wristwatch. She was now officially late.
Apollo ignored her completely and started walking up the road. His leg made him slow.
Yesu stared after him, puzzled. Then she shrugged and walked briskly ahead.
She was soon past him. She didn't look back.
The mini gate of APG Prep was closed.
A security man stood behind it.
"Another latecor." He remarked as Yesu approached.
"Good morning." Yesu said.
"You are late."
"There was an ergency."
"Too bad. Try again next week."
"I ran all the way here."
"Didn't see you running."
Yesu sighed. What would Arrow say if she skipped Prep?
"Can I be pardoned just for today?"
"No."
Apollo was approaching the gate.
The security man began opening the lock before he reached.
Apollo finally got to them and stopped, waiting for the security man to unlock the gate.
Yesu's eyes lit up.
She linked an arm around his left hand holding the crutch.
Apollo went stiff.
"Hey." She called out to the security man, smiling innocently. "I told you there was an ergency. Here he is."
Apollo stared at her. He almost looked surprised. Almost.
The security man paused. He scanned them both from head to toe in complete surprise.
Then snorted.
"Is that true?" He asked Apollo. "Is she late for helping you?"
Apollo kept his gaze on Yesu.
"I've never seen her before in my life."
Yesu snapped her head up at him, and scowled.
The security man opened the gate.
Apollo walked in and moved forward without glancing back.
"Nice try." The security man laughed at Yesu, locking the gate.
Yesu kept scowling at Apollo's distancing figure.
As Apollo stepped into the building, a smile crept up his face.
***
Apollo entered the classroom and imdiately drew attention.
Conversations paused.
Heads turned.
Daryl stared at the walking boot on Apollo's foot.
"Okay, that's new."
Roshan leaned back in his chair, grinning.
"And here I was starting to think you were immortal."
Mahirah frowned.
"What happened?"
Apollo didn't answer.
He simply walked past them, crutch tapping lightly against the floor.
Then he got to his seat and sat down.
His gaze dropped briefly to the walking boot strapped around his foot.
The mory surfaced imdiately.
Last Friday evening…
Students raced bicycles along the road leading from the dormitories.
Reggie was among them.
Ahead, Yesu was walking alone.
Reggie's eyes landed on her.
He still hadn't forgiven the embarrassnt she'd caused him earlier that week.
He grinned mischievously as a petty idea ford in his mind.
And in the next second, he swerved.
The bicycle shot straight toward Yesu.
Apollo happened to be walking out from a side path.
He saw it instantly.
Before thinking, he moved.
The bicycle reached Yesu.
Apollo stepped between them.
Reggie's eyes widened.
Too late.
The front wheel slamd into Apollo's leg and rolled over his left foot.
The rear wheel followed a split second later.
The impact made him flinch.
His shoulder barely brushed Yesu's.
The bicycle wobbled violently before Reggie managed to stop several ters away.
At the sa mont, Ava's voice carried from further ahead.
"Yesu, co on!"
"Yes, yes."
Yesu didn't so much as glance back. To her, nothing had happened.
Completely oblivious.
Apollo watched her disappear down the road.
For a mont, he felt nothing.
Then the pain arrived.
Apollo's expression froze.
"Ah."
His breath caught.
"You've got to be kidding ."
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