A few hours had passed since Pearl's departure, and it was nearing the end of the day. The club had now been moved from inside to outside. The rain had stopped falling a while ago, and the setting sun was shining down upon the wet landscape. Starlight Academy was quite the big school hosting a plethora of buildings used for daily activities. A new modern school with at least close to two thousand individuals within it during schooling hours.

At the moment, Reynolds and his students were on the running track, which rotated around the football field. In his hand was his trusty clipboard filtered with whatever nonsense he wrote down from time to time. In the lanes, Alexia, Heidi, Roy, and Deveron were situated up against each other, lined up side-by-side.

"Be careful and watch where you're running. A few puddles linger about the place. Now. I want ten laps around the field. Feel free to go extra laps if you want. When you're done with the laps, you can go home." Reaching into his pocket, he took out a whistle.

Roy was hesitant looking over the long track before gripping his suppressor as tiny cracks began to appear around it. His veins could be seen popping out from his hands as his fat slowly began to turn into muscle.

Heidi noticed this and merely smiled; she looked a bit pale at the moment and not really ready to run. Her eyes only looked at the sunset in the distance, feigning weakness for the moment.

"Alas. Ol' Heidi isn't gonna make it~." Playfully saying this in her weakened state. She wasn't keen on the night setting and was always full of energy during the day. A bit of a yawn left her voice after saying that.

Deveron was merely looking at Alexia, who seemed full of energy despite going through training like the rest of them, unlike Heidi. They had been at it for most of the day with a few breaks in between. He'd merely turned his attention back to the lane in front of him, awaiting Reynolds' signal to begin.

"Ready!" Reynold's voice rang out across the empty field.

"Set!"

Without saying go. Rey blew into the whistle as the sound echoed through the nearby buildings and down the streets. Not even a moment's hesitation, Roy's body began to bulk up primarily on his legs as he made a quick dash forward. Alexia and Deveron followed along right behind him. Still, unlike Roy, they were running at a reasonable pace while his speed was someone desperate to end this quickly.

Heidi, on the other hand, started walking, pacing herself accordingly. Reynolds scratched his head, looking at them all.

"Hey! Roy, you're going to exhaust yourself like that if you keep it up!" Shouting across the field in hopes, Roy could hear, but it was useless. The lad was going mad with his sprinting already zooming past him in a matter of seconds.

"Or...Keep it up." Reynolds lowered his clipboard and merely continued to watch before glancing up at the sky, noticing a few stars were beginning to appear.

With Roy trying to finish up his laps quickly and Heidi lagging behind, Deveron thought it would be an excellent opportunity to chat it up with the newbie. After all, he was going to be positioned in front of her. Alexia was jogging in front of him by a few inches; Quickly, he caught up and tapped on her shoulders.

"Hey, New- I mean, Alexia. Sorry about earlier we got off on the wrong foot."

"Huh? No worries, we're fine, I suppose. Though, I'm still up for showing you a thing or two."

"Is that a challenge? Well, When we have time, let's have a one on one fight between you and me. I'll show you a prodigy in the making."

"Prodigy? I didn't think someone who boasts so much would consider themselves as such."

"You seem to doubt me, but I assure you. I am, in fact, one...At least that's what the media reports." Deveron continued to jog alongside Alexia, thinking back to the reports about him online.

"You don't seem to take kindly to the media?"

"It's not that, but they do creep up out of nowhere from time to time. Haven't you heard of me? I won the Idaho individual tournaments back in middle school. Of course, that was two years ago. But, this is the first time I'm taking part on the high school scale. It's going to be a blast!"

"You won the middle school individuals two years ago, and they're still keeping an eye on you?"

"What can I say. My power is quite the spectacle~."

"Care to fill me in on what it is?"

"No way. We're going to have a bit of a challenge sooner or later. That or you'll see it when the tournaments start. Don't even think of looking up old recordings!"

"Heh. Thanks for the idea. I'll just look back on your old recordings to gauge what it is." A smirk was now shifting across her face. Deveron wasn't pleased with himself for giving away at least that information.

"Fine. Do what you will. Not like they recorded all of them. Only two matches last I checked."

"Do they not record all the matches?"

"Not entirely. Only the matches they know that will garner a ton of views. They can shut matches off from being viewed, which sorta kills the mood for me when I'm trying to research other fighters." As Deveron and Alexia were conversing, Roy had collapsed to the ground, his muscles turning back into fat. He was exhausted. Luckily for him, Heidi was still walking and just so happened to stop where he collapsed, beginning to merely grab his arm and drag him along with her for the rest of her laps. Or at the very least until he got himself back up.

"So is that a good thing to do? Watch matches to research your opponents?"

"It is if you're the analytical type. Usually, it's a good idea, but the fights can be so bizarre it's hard to keep up. It's useful to get a vague sense of things."

"By the way, What made you want to do the tournaments?" Alexia became curious about such a person like Deveron. Physically, you'd think the guy was a football athlete or just a straight jock on a sports team. But, like it or not, she felt there was indeed something unique about him even if you looked at him naturally.

"I'm not really in the mood for talking about that."

"Why? Let me guess it's selfish just like me, huh?" Another smirk making its way onto Alexia's face.

"...Hmph. Sure, let's go with that." This situation was feeling a bit too familiar with him. He didn't quite like it before glancing upwards towards the stars now visible.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

"You're an odd one. I know you're my senior, but you have a knack for barking back." Deveron turned his attention back to Alexia. But, this time, his demeanor was starting to loosen up a bit.

"I also heard you had to take make-up classes. Not that smart, Little Senior?"

"L...Listen here! Just cause my grades aren't the best doesn't mean anything."

"Sure, it doesn't. Keep telling yourself that by next year."

"Overall, The grading system is in place on how well you follow the rules, in my opinion." Talking about her grades yet again. An inescapable subject.

"Haha! I'll admit that's an interesting way of looking at it. Can't say you're wrong. But I also can't say you're right. I think I've figured you out just a bit more."

"Figured me out? What's there to figure out about me?"

"A helluva lot. Admittedly, I'm still figuring things out. It seems you like to hide how you really feel. But, the real you does seem to bark back." Deveron was similar to Cheveyo in that both took a liking to figure people out, it seemed. Whatever the case, he was striking some mysterious cords.

"Well. I'm always barking for your information!"

"Then, next time you bark, I'll dangle a little treat for you."

Alexia merely punched the side of Deveron's shoulders. He didn't feel a thing from it and let out a gentle laugh.

"Hahaha! Relax, I'm only teasing. I know I come off as rude, but that's just me. Besides, Teach will get at me if we don't see eye to eye. You'll fit in, newbie…" He stopped himself towards the end before continuing.

"No, that's not right. Alexia, was it? You'll fit in well with this bizarre team. Honestly, sit back and relax while I handle the heavy lifting. Most of the other schools only know I recently joined a team. So they don't know you guys."

"Sitting on the sidelines isn't something I have in mind."

"Likewise, but you see where I'm coming from, right?"

"A bit, but knowing a few of our members. I'm sure we'll have a chance to go."

Deveron glanced back towards Heidi and Roy, both of which now jogging together. He couldn't help but smile at such a thing.

"Well, you're right about that. Luckily, Good Ol' Chevy is in between them. So no worries."

With that said, Deveron thought this was a good time to end the conversation. Like it or not, both were allies, and teamwork was a crucial concept for the team-based tournaments. Starting to jog much faster than Alexia, he gave a brief salute to her then started running off to finish the remaining laps.

"That guy is something else." Liked it or not, some of the things he said about her were true. In the back of her mind, she knew he was right about how she felt. The pains of expressing oneself were often met with rebuttal and tensions. Perhaps it was okay to loosen up around her new teammates.

A few more minutes would pass by as Reynolds tapped his clipboard then blew onto his whistle again, signaling for the running to end and for them to finish up.

"Okay. It's getting late. None of you finished the laps, so we'll continue another time. You're free to head home. Don't forget. I'll be contacting you all again sometime in July. So do keep your schedules free." Reynolds informed his students. Roy and Heidi seemed out of breath and too tired to move, while Deveron was merely sweating. Alexia was exhausted as well but seemed to still have the most energy out of everyone. Reynolds only noticed this and decided to jot it down anyway onto his clipboard of information.

"T...Thank god?!" Roy shouted at the top of his lungs before gasping for air.

"H-Heidi! Carry me home!"

Heidi was fanning herself with her hand and just stood there. She didn't run or jog at all during the entire process, yet seemed extinguished of all her energy.

"Huh? It would be a lot easier if you carried me instead. I'm too tired for this." Heidi replied.

"N-No way! My legs can't stand. If I continue to walk anymore, I'll break apart into a million pieces!" Roy began to lay back down onto the floor, gathering energy for the journey home.

"I'll just call my dad to pick us up." Heidi reached into her pocket and took out her phone, beginning to call her father while slowly walking away.

"Hey! Wait up!" Roy quickly stood up and chased after her before turning back to wave goodbye at Reynolds, Alexia, and Deveron.

"Those two sure are something," Reynolds added on, continuing to jot what he saw down on the clipboard.

"So I take it you two see eye to eye?" His eyes then darted up to look at Alexia and Deveron.

"For the most part. I'd say we have found a deepening bond~." Deveron smiled, beginning to walk away with a laugh.

"We've found common ground! Nothing more!"

"There's that bark. Anywho, I'm going now. I need to get this stink off me." With that, Deveron waved goodbye and headed home.

Reynolds scratched the side of his head, watching Deveron head home, then his gaze sat upon Alexia one final time.

"He's rude but hard working. Admittedly, his personality is a bit off from what I imagined. Hence why you can't judge anyone from just seeing them."

"You're telling me. Anywho, I need to get home. Thanks for the training, teach." Alexia similarly gave a brief salute in a fashion to Deveron. But, before she could walk off, Reynolds stopped her.

"By the way, before you go. I signed you up for boxing. When July comes, we'll be continuing your training."

"I'm only now hearing about this, Teach. At least warn me before doing so. Also, legit boxing? Like hand to hand?"

"Sorry, I do get ahead of myself sometimes, but I'm here to make it, so you guys shine in America. But, yes, hand to hand. From what I've gathered today, you don't appear to be a type that uses weapons all that much. But, you also rely heavily on a bit of trickery when fighting. So boxing is a good middle-ground for you."

"I've never tried boxing before." She'd begin to think for a brief moment the thought of learning a few new fighting techniques sounded fascinating to her overall. Reynolds lowered his clipboard and noticed a few burn marks on Alexia's hands.

"Yes. It will be a good experience for you. By the way. Those marks on hand. Is that from the training today?"

Alexia looked at the palms of her hands; both were burned, but she didn't feel any pain. Only when she gripped them did the pain start to sear. She hadn't realized she burned herself earlier today.

"I guess it was when I made the stars."

Again, Reynolds began to jot down something in his clipboard.

"Go home and get healed up."

Alexia continued to grip her hand here and there to test the pain, but overall it was merely burning. Not to the degree of it being severe but still painful. She glanced back up at Reynolds and only nodded before walking away.

"Here's hoping this heals quickly." She replied. Reynolds merely watched her walk away before reaching into his pocket for his phone.

"Well, better do it now before he forgets." He proceeded to contact someone on his phone.

Alexia would make it home on a safe note, but around thirty or so minutes from walking and not diverting from her route. When she walked through the door, her mother would catch her attention.

"Alexi! Come here!" Her mother's voice rang out. Quickly, Alexia dashed towards the kitchen, and on the counter were a few papers. She had a bad feeling about this. The kitchen smelled of savory food being cooked, yet its tension was always fierce with her mother around.

"Y-Yeah! I'm here!" Walking over to see what was on the papers, her mother gave no hint of expression thus far.

"Well. Have a look." Mrs.Winchester said, pointing to the papers.

Alexia looked through the papers and noticed they were test scores. Rummaging through a few, it clearly showed she passed. But, with her lowest being a C-Minus. Alexia gave a cheeky smile to her mother.

"See. Told ya, I would make it."

"Only barely, but our bet is still on. Of course, I'm still praying for your graduation. I expect you to give it your all. You hear me?" Mrs.Winchester was quite strict when it came to her family, especially when it came to Alexia. It was only recently she allowed Alexia to pursue a marginal dream. She also wasn't above betting against her own family to get things done.

"Of course, I'm going to give it my all." Alexia began to grip her hands, hiding the fact that they were burned from her mother. She'd start to back off and head upstairs to her room.

"Food is almost done. Go clean up." Her mother informed her while Alexia merely nodded.

"Yeah, Yeah. I'll be doing that." Quickly she hurried into her room and shut the door. Opening up her hands, she noticed the burns were still causing significant pain. She could only imagine how much it will hurt if she put water on it. Her eyes glanced over at the black power suppressor still on her. She had honestly forgotten it was still there, including her old one.

Slowly, she took the suppressors off. The pain from her burns began to vanish while her head was starting to feel dizzy. Her body was no longer cumbersome and felt extremely light. But, overall, she felt sick to her stomach. Singularity users rarely became ill and tended to be naturally immune to the most dangerous of diseases. But, getting a common cold was something of a rarity as well.

Alexia started to sneeze and quickly placed her suppressors on her bed. She was merely sniffling at the fact that she suddenly has a cold. What amazing luck. Whatever this experimental suppressor did to her, it gave her quite the experience that normal humans would undergo throughout the year. The rest of her night that day went about with a ton of sneezing and a feeling of sickness.