Éclair Academy

It felt comfortable wearing the judo suit and I struggled not to show my expanding smile as we both left the dojo and the academy itself.

“I’m blaming you if we get expelled,” Jenna muttered outside the gates.

I shrugged. “You didn’t HAVE to follow my…hair-brained scheme if you didn’t want to. You could’ve stayed and waited for your precious Ivan to come back after a whole day of doing nothing but worry. At least this way we can have some fun.”

“He’s not my precious Ivan,” Jenna mumbled blushing but I pretended not to have heard. If they were cousins then my name was Petrushka.

“I’m hungry, so I’m going to pop into a café,” I told her nonchalantly. “Join me or wander the streets ALONE.” I veered off to the right into a smaller street away from the busy one we were walking next to.

I heard Jenna sigh and reluctantly follow me. I hid my smug grin and slowed down to walk
next to her. People gave us odd stares but they were mainly aimed at Jenna who was obviously not from the Lu Hao Yang Academy. Firstly, even with her hair hidden behind under a hoodie and wearing the overlarge judo suit over that, no one could mistake her for being of the male gender.

We had stuffed our clothes into our school bags and now I wished I wasn’t carrying such a girly satchel and that I wasn’t wearing eyeliner. Jenna had contemplated that we just keep our normal clothing on, since Éclair didn’t have a uniform and who was to know we were from Éclair? But, I had argued, that seeing two underage girls who were clearly meant to be in school at this time of day could also have us caught but by wearing clothing belonging to Lu Hao Yang Academy we could at least claim to be out on First Year Day, where scarcely anyone, besides first years and prefects,

“How do you know so much…I only heard briefly about First Year,” Jenna had asked as she had begun to choose out a judo suit for herself.

“Trust me; you wouldn’t want to know,” I had replied looking around me.

Éclair’s position on the map was better strategized than most people realised; it was smack bam in the middle of the world’s food capital. Hamos. Chocolate, pastry, meat and wine connoisseurs flocked here to sample the products of highly trained chefs, wine makers and bakers. At the end of this year, if I make it that far, we would have the opportunity to watch an assortment of live shows presentedby famous chefs and graduated Éclair students.

Lost in daydreams I was scarcely aware when Jenna pulled us out of the picturesque cobble stoned street and into one of the many café’s lining the street. It happened to be one that boasted having the finest gourmet sandwiches in Hamos.

“We can’t afford to eat in here, at least I can’t,” I hissed at Jenna as she wove her way towards a table in the small and packed bistro.

Jenna promptly sat down and regarded me coolly. “Relax, we’ll just have a coffee and be on our way. How much can a simple coffee cost?”

“You’re clearly not from around here,” I told her but sat down across from her with merely a grunt.

Twenty minutes later we stood outside, me with a, ‘I told you so,’ smug expression and Jenna trying not to meet my eyes. “Let’s just taste with our eyes from now on,” she huffed and began walking down the street. I rolled my eyes and followed her, shaking my head.

We passed so many pastry shops, gourmet cake shops, sweet stores advertising mouth-watering truffles and so much more that it would be cruel to send a hungry man here.
And we were hungry. Not only could we not afford the food but we didn’t even have packed lunches as we had both thought we would be eating at the school’s cafeteria.

And then something even worse happened to top it all off.

We had been wandering for at least two hours since the coffee incident when we stumbled upon a haven. In a less upmarket and less well known district was a square lined with shops, food shops, on every side. A cracked marble fountain was in the centre of the square and spouted greenish looking water from an angel’s mouth. I was highly tempted to plunge my hands into the icy looking water, not only to cool myself after the day’s heat, but to partake of the generous shiny donations at the bottom.

Jenna caught my hand sneaking towards the water and slapped it away. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do Quin.”

I groaned but nevertheless stepped away from the fountain. “But there’s enough for both of us!” I whined.

Jenna “tsked” and grabbed my wrist. Her hand was surprisingly cool and warm at the same time and I willingly went wherever she dragged me to, which happened to be a bistro, but not those snobby ones from the eastern district with their pristine counter tops and signs for people to watch their children. This one seemed like a cosy, affordable one where you felt you had known the owner for years and called him uncle. A red checked cloth spanned across the window so we could not see inside and the diners could have privacy.

I peeked at the menu over Jenna’s shoulder and smiled insanely. “Salvation!” I shouted joyfully and pushed her towards the entrance where she slowly put out her hand and opened the door.

As soon as we stepped inside the babble of voices died down and we found dozens of pairs of eyes focused on us. Then the waiter, a boy slightly older than us, came over and the babble of voices and clinking of cutlery started up again. The place was more packed than anything we had come across since this morning and I noticed that most of the diners were either our age or slightly older.

Great, I thought grimly as we were led to a tiny table squished in between two others. We might be noticed as frauds; amongst all of these people there MUST be some guys from the Yang Academy. Just play it cool Quin. It doesn’t matter if you’re carrying a floral patterned satchel that you stole from your sister(who frankly has too many) and that you’re wearing eyeliner. A lot of guys go in for the cross dresser look these days right?

I snorted and Jenna looked at me curiously. Maybe in art and drama schools its okay to look…different but guys from the Yang Academy? They tried to look as buff and manly as possible. A few guys sniggered when I opened my bag to make sure I had enough money and my cheeks heated up.

Jenna glared at them and they looked away. “Don’t worry about them Quin. I think personally, if not for the bag, you make a very believable guy.”

I didn’t know whether to take that as a compliment or an offence so I stayed quiet. We each had a cheap but delicious bowl of spaghetti bolognaise and I struggled to finish mine seeing as it was almost bigger than me. The cook had sprinkled over basil, oregano and fresh parmesan and I wondered why this place didn’t charge more for such mouth-watering but simple dishes. Not that I was complaining.

We heartily thanked the waiter and he left looking slightly embarrassed. Did we look that bad? I sneaked a sidelong glance at Jenna as we stepped outside. Her hoodie had slipped off revealing her luxurious mane of hair and her clear blue eyes sparkled as she yawned…Gah! I looked away towards the fountain and when we sat down on its wide rim I looked at my reflection in the water. I looked…plain and flushed, and a sheen of sweat coated my upper lip. Stupid heat, I thought, wiping at my mouth.

Just then a shadow loomed over me and turning my head back to the front I found myself looking up at four mean looking male specimens of the punch first, asks questions later persuasion. I could sense trouble but Jenna seemed unperturbed and her smile had been replaced by a stern straight line.

I made to stand up but Jenna pulled me down. “Would you mind our personal space please?” she asked the biggest of the four and I saw with a shock that they were the four knuckleheads from this morning.

“Don’t have Ivan to protect you this time do ya?” he answered.

“What’s your problem with us? You’re going to tell on us huh?” Jenna said in a mocking imitation of the meathead’s voice. He growled and I saw with interest that he looked like my aunt’s blonde Rottweiler when it’s been challenged.

“You’re wearing our school’s uniform,” he stepped closer to Jenna, “and I don’t like that. You have no right, especially being a lowly first year Éclair girl.”

“What are you going to do about it?” Jenna asked standing up.

The guys whistled and one said, “She thinks she can actually take us on?”

“We’re going to make you give it back. Think you’re so special, strutting around town when you’re supposed to be getting an initiation.” The Rottweiler snarled.

“Okay then,” Jenna said her hands moving to untie the plain judo belt around her waist. We all looked on stunned as she removed the entire suit, even the pants and shoved the pile of it into the meathead number one’s chest. She was standing in a public square wearing just a pink spaghetti top and boy shorts that hugged her thighs. I quickly dug in my bag and passed her my leather jacket without looking at her. The guy holding the pile of clothing was bright red in the face, his almost white hair in stark contrast.

Jenna and I began to walk away but I was pulled back by my arm, sharply. I winced and came face to face with another block head, this one short and stout and I had the feeling large muscles bulged underneath his uniform.

“And what about you eh? Too shy?” he asked plucking at my jacket. I snarled and he stepped away quickly from me. “Watch out, this one’s a wild cat,” he joked with his friends behind him. They laughed and I tried to sneak away but he grabbed me again. “I’m dead serious. Give…back…the…suit.”

“Touch…me…again…moron…and I’ll kill you,” I said as an answer slipping out of his grasp with a simple twist.

By this time a few people had gathered but I saw with relief that none of them stayed very long after being glared at from the meatheads. Obviously these guys had some reputation in town.

“Let’s go,” I told Jenna, turning my back on shorty. But I was pulled back by my collar and fell on my back.

Shorty looked down at me and hissed, “Don’t try me girly.”

“Quin!” Jenna elbowed her way towards me. “Leave her alone!”

“Dude,” one of his friends said. “She’s just a girl…”

I batted my eyelashes at the guy looming over me. “I’m just a scared wittle gel.”

“Stop playing with me!” he roared and reaching down he lifted me up into the air by my collar. Stupid collar. I regarded him passively. He shook me and then dropped me down onto the ground. Something felt wrong besides for the pain in my backside. I looked down and found that my belt had been loosened revealing my white tank top underneath. It wouldn’t have been so bad hadn’t I been sweating this entire time and the top was sticking to my skin.

The guy looked down at my chest, shocked. “She’s a bloody…”