by Jenna Payne
“Good afternoon, future space fighters,” he greeted without any expression on his face. He snapped his fingers and the space ship behind him vanished into thin air. “Welcome to your last space combat class. My name is Mike Gomez and I’ll be your instructor for this remaining quarter of your academy training.”
Carrie’s mouth dropped open as she stared at the stunningly attractive teacher. She felt Lyca squeezing her arm beside her, but she could not tear her eyes away from the celebrated space fighter whom many students had idolized for so many years. He looked quite young in person and much better-looking than in the photos she had seen of him. For the first time since coming to the academy, she felt her heartbeat racing and heat escalating within her body.
*****
It was definitely rigorous for a first meeting. The new instructor was tough, strict, and highly organized. After giving a short introduction, he divided the class into pairs and immediately got them doing an hour of arduous physical exercises while suspended in mid-air!
Carrie focused on completing all the drills with her partner Troy, whom she hardly knew but often saw alone and withdrawn. He hardly interacted with anybody on campus. Nevertheless, he was just as serious as her in doing well so she was happy to have been paired with him.
All the students donned a uniform white space suit with a special device that made them float in the air as if they were actually in outer space. A helmet, however, was not necessary.
Lyca, who was luckily partnered with her boyfriend Dan, seemed to be enjoying herself despite the incessant trickling of sweat on either side of her face. Carrie saw her face lighting up as she engaged in various combat positions in very close proximity with Dan. At the same time, she kept stealing glances at the strikingly handsome cyborg. Carrie couldn’t tell which excited her more.
At one point, Lyca leaned over to Carrie and whispered, “He’s such a hottie!”
Carrie wanted to ask who he was referring to, but it seemed as if Dan had overheard her so she just smiled and nodded.
“Miss Bennett,” a booming voice suddenly called, making everybody turn toward Mike and then stare at Lyca. “Concentrate.”
“Sorry!” she called back with a sweet smile, not the least bothered.
It was Carrie who threw him an annoyed look discreetly, but continued her work with Troy. It wasn’t long after when he passed by and stopped to observe them.
After a minute, he grunted and approached them. “Do that last defensive move again, Miller,” he commanded Troy.
Troy nodded quietly, before moving backward a bit to position himself again. Carrie threw him a punch, which he blocked skillfully, grabbing her wrist and twisting her around. She was flung toward his chest, which made him sort of stumble backward instead of wrapping his arms around her tightly as he was supposed to do.
“What’s the problem, Miller?” Mike barked. “Afraid to touch a girl?”
Troy reddened, muttering “sorry” under his breath and refusing to look at their instructor. Carrie felt sorry for him.
“Watch and learn,” Mike told him. Carrie stared at him with nervousness as he took over Troy’s position. He motioned for her to attack him.
Without hesitation, she swung a punch at his face which he swiftly dodged. In a flash, he’d grasped her wrist, twisted her around toward him, and trapped him within his strong muscular arms. Her heart hammered fast as he held her tightly against his brawny chest, with her back on him.
She saw her best friend turn around to watch them, gasping in surprise. Her round eyes meaningfully gazed at Carrie and a smile began playing on her lips. In response, Carrie just glared at her.
Mike then released her and fixed his steely stare at Troy. “That’s how it’s done.”
“Uh, yes, sir,” Troy said uncertainly. “I’ll do it better.”
“Later,” Mike answered. Then he turned to Carrie. “Exchange positions. It’s your turn.”
Carrie nodded, although she was still a little shaken up by the cyborg’s touch. With a determined face, she got ready for the defensive move. When Troy hurled a punch at her, she expertly ducked and completed the move without any problem. She waited for Mike to comment but he stayed quiet so she finally let go of Troy.
Mike’s face remained blank. “You move like a girl,” was all he said before walking away.
Carrie felt hurt and insulted. She knew she’d done it right and a lot better than others too. I am a girl, asshole, she retorted in her mind.
As the instructor hovered around the other students, Carrie tried her best to keep on working well with Troy who also looked crestfallen.
Meanwhile, Lyca gave her a pitiful look which Carrie did not react to. She had to get her act together and show Mike Gomez that he’d made a mistake picking on her. She was determined to show him that she was the best student he could possibly ever have in his lifetime.
*****
“I’m going to graduate and be one of the best space fighters of this batch,” Carrie said with great resolve as she looked at the photo of her dad on her bedside table.
She was sitting on top of her bed in the dorm room she shared with Lyca, deep in thought as she once again recalled how her father had been killed by members of the Sphunkon clan while in battle. He’d been given a special posthumous award by the government but that did not make the pain less in any way. She’d lost the only family she had and she would never find peace until she somehow got back at the Sphunkons or contributed to their downfall. It wasn’t just a duty to her planet, but a personal vendetta that she had to fulfill.
It had been a week now and it didn’t look like she was gaining any respect from the new terror teacher. No matter how hard she tried to do well or to please him, he continued to look down on her. He never gave her even one compliment. She was getting fed up, although she still struggled to put up with it just to pass the class and graduate on time. She’d worked hard for this for two and a half long and hard years. She wasn’t about to give up.
The bathroom door opened. Lyca came out all glammed up and cheerful, but upon seeing her friend, her face was filled with concern. “Hey,” Lyca said, plopping down on the bed beside her.
“Hey,” Carrie said, forcing a smile. “Going out with Dan?”
“Yup,” Lyca replied, putting an arm around her. “Will you be alright?”
“Of course,” Carrie answered quickly. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Lyca took both of Carrie’s hands in hers and squeezed them reassuringly. “I forgot… you’re a tough woman. I’m sure you can handle the terror hottie.”
Carrie couldn’t help but laugh at the nickname. Lyca joined in. “You know, I have a feeling he likes you…”
Carrie’s eyes widened. “Don’t start,” she warned.
“No, really,” Lyca insisted. “He’s strict and sometimes harsh, but he seems to be singling you out most of the time.”
“Probably, but it doesn’t mean—”
“Maybe the machine inside his body has messed up with his mind and heart,” Lyca wondered with a giggle. “Or maybe his heart’s not human anymore. It’s just a machine now!”
Carrie laughed aloud. “You always know how to make things lighter.”
“That’s me! Light and bubbly Lyca!” she proudly said.
“Go on your date,” Carrie said, shooing her friend. “Don’t keep Dan waiting.”
“Okay!” Lyca said, standing up and smoothing her skirt. “Next Saturday, I’ve set you up with Dan’s cousin Jack who’s coming to visit from the neighboring city. You promised!”
Carrie gave her an irritated look but could not protest. “Fine. Go now.”
That evening, Carrie had planned to just curl up in bed and read. But she couldn’t focus on the book. She couldn’t keep her mind off Space Combat 301. It was the only class that she’d had to work this hard for and yet she didn’t seem to have made any progress yet.
“Damn you, Mike Gomez,” she muttered, her body tensing as she mentioned his name. She c
ould feel the familiar sensation of anger and frustration rising up within her as she remembered how he’d embarrassed her the day before.
He’d actually called on her for a live demonstration in front of the class. “You, Cox,” he’d said, motioning for her to come to the center. “The other teachers have been raving about you. Let’s see what you’ve got, Miss Top Student.”
It took all of Carrie’s self-control not to glare at him openly. She wanted to hit him right then and there, but of course she didn’t. The only way to keep him off her back was to show him what she was made of.
He then brought out a new weapon she had never seen before. It looked like a regular laser gun, except that it was quite lengthy and had several more buttons to press. “Zap out as many enemies as you can, Miss Cox.”
The lights then went off, leaving Carrie in the darkness with only a few stars surrounding her. The dome transformed into deep space. A platform risen from the ground, appearing like the surface of an unknown planet. Carrie actually felt thankful to have her feet on the ground for a change.
Without any warning, even before she figured out how to use the shiny weapon, a monstrous alien emerged. She quickly pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger. To her astonishment, it was immediately pulled toward her. And because she had not been ready, the alien was able to kick her hard. A buzz sounded and she knew that the digital scoreboard had lit up with one demerit.
Nevertheless, she quickly recovered and slid across the surface to trip him and make him fall. She followed it up with a couple of punches which eventually made him disappear. In the darkness, she heard her classmates cheer while a loud ping signaled a point for her on the scoreboard.
Two more aliens then appeared on either side of her. She gave one a side kick while pressing another button on her gun and shooting. She silently cheered as she had actually zapped the one that she had pointed the weapon to.
The impromptu simulation went on for a few more minutes. She had a difficult time figuring out how to use the weapon to her advantage while performing physical moves on the opponents which increased in number every minute. But in the end, she gave a fairly good fight, garnering 11 points as opposed to 12 demerits.
“That was amazing!” Lyca had shouted encouragingly once the lights in the dome had gone back.
Many of Carrie’s classmates seemed impressed. But then their instructor, the famous space fighting champion, actually launched into a litany of all the wrong things she’d done. Not once did he cite anything positive, which made Carrie’s blood boil. Instead, he had ended the short lecture by saying, “This should serve as a lesson to all of you. Just because you did well in your other classes doesn’t mean you can excel in an actual space battle, much less perform well. There will be a lot of times when you’ll encounter unexpected enemies, pick up unfamiliar weapons, and need to improvise as you go along. Hence, the bottom line is— practice, practice, practice. You can never be too confident.”
Carrie opened her mouth to defend herself, but her mind had gone blank, overpowered by the fury yearning to burst out. Hot tears threatened to fall down her cheeks as the humiliation settled. But she held them back and stood her ground even after he dismissed the class. He even had the nerve to pat her on the shoulder and say, “Better luck next time, Cox.”
“Aaaahhh!” Carrie screamed, throwing her book across the room as the memory incited her anger again. She stood up, changed into her navy blue sweats and rubber shoes, and then headed to the gym.
*****
After warming up and lifting some weights, Carrie went over to one corner of the colossal gym where a series of metal rings in decreasing sizes from right to left were hanging from a high ceiling. The ceiling was perpendicular to a tall, plain wall with rubber covering.
Carrie put on a pair of the springing shoes available along with the padded clothing necessary for the exercise. The special shoes were utilized to help the wearer run faster and jump higher. The material on the soles enabled the wearer actually to climb up the vertical rubber wall and try to leap high toward the metal rings while facing the ceiling and moving parallel to it. The challenge was to move swiftly through the rings and reach the smallest one at the end before touching the opposite wall and dropping back to the ground. In the past, Carrie had always been able to reach just the second ring.
She untied her ponytail, shook her black hair loose and then pulled up all the strands together into a tight bun. She put on a modern see-through helmet then crouched low to gather some momentum before springing forward toward the rubber wall. “I can do this,” she whispered to herself in full concentration and with intense determination.
In a flash, she was off to the wall, her legs moving swiftly and gracefully. As soon as she reached the top of the wall, she bent her knees quickly to speed up her horizontal jump and allow her to zoom past the metal rings with her arms folded like an ‘X’ across her chest. She felt herself slowing down after the third ring so she shifted her arms forward and pushed against the ceiling to bring herself downward. As she did, her horizontal position changed into a standing position and she efficiently landed on her two feet on the ground.
Somebody clapped, the sound echoing around the room. The gym was often quite empty on Saturday nights so she was surprised to find that someone had actually even taken the time to watch her.
When Carrie turned around, she found herself face-to-face with none other than the person she despised the most at that time. He stood a few feet away with an arrogant expression.
“That was…” the gorgeous legendary space fighter seemed to be groping for words. Then in a haughty tone, he finished, “… quite acceptable for someone who claims she’s a top student here.”
Carrie’s eyes narrowed, despite the remark that was obviously the closest to a compliment she’d ever received from him. “I did not claim any such title ever,” she pointed out bitterly.
“If you say so,” Mike Gomez answered. He then laughed, which actually made Carrie shiver because it was the very first time she’d ever heard or seen him laugh.
Her dark brown eyes quickly scanned his appearance. In a sleeveless gym shirt and matching shorts, his biceps were truly remarkable. They perfectly coordinated with the rest of his strong arms, his protruding chest, and the well-defined abs that usually made a lot of the other female students swoon. But when her eyes swept over his legs, she saw that these were his machine parts. They appeared to be made with metal, and she found herself pondering whether he’d chosen this himself or not.
Quickly she looked up again to his ruggedly handsome face. The smirk on his full red lips added to his tough demeanor while his gray eyes flashed with mockery, igniting a blaze of irritation within her.
“So, aren’t you supposed to be hanging out with your friends for a weekend party or getaway?” he wondered aloud, actually walking closer toward her.
For some reason, her heart started to pound as he closed in the gap between them. Yet she did not dare step back because she didn’t want to seem weak or to show him that she was intimidated by his presence. “I don’t do clubbing, partying, vacationing, that sort of thing,” was her curt reply.
“I see,” was all he said, his deep gray eyes seeming to drill a hole into hers.
There was something about his gaze that, combined with their close proximity, was making her breathe faster and intensifying her body heat.
“Let’s see what you’ve got then, Miss Top Student,” he taunted her. “Join me in the boxing ring.”
“Fine,” Carrie said indignantly. “I’ll fight you.” Then she automatically glanced at his legs, which he was quick to notice.
“Don’t worry,” he assured her. “I’ll fight fair and square, which is why we’re doing boxing and not having a track race.”
Carrie nodded. “Okay, let me just take these off.” As she removed her helmet and the paddings on her body, she could feel his eyes on her. It was kind of uncomfortable yet at the same time, his gaze was stirring something
within her that she did not want to welcome nor admit.
They transferred to the boxing ring and got ready with their gloves, protective vests, head gear, and mouth pieces. Carrie could feel her heart racing once more. She didn’t know exactly what was causing it to pound like crazy, but she knew she had to at least give a good fight. He may be stronger, but I can be faster, she reminded herself silently. Besides, my smaller and lighter frame may just be an advantage.
As they began circling around each other, Carrie tried to anticipate his moves. He sneered at her, seeming to mock her with his eyes. But she ignored him and tried to focus. “Come on, Cox,” he goaded, motioning her to come forward. She jabbed at him repeatedly, attempting to hit him, but he was able to dodge her every time.
He jabbed back and at one point threw an uppercut that slightly hit her and made her woozy. But she was able to regain her balance immediately after. She sidestepped his next punch and was able to give him a boxing combination that was right on target, hitting his torso time after time. As she warmed up and gained confidence, she did even better.
“Punch my face, Cox,” he challenged her. “And don’t do it like a girl. Do it like the space fighter you want so badly to become!”
Carrie’s eyebrows furrowed in concentration while her heart beat faster against her ribcage. He was really getting to her but she was trying her best not to let her emotions get in the way.
Just when he wasn’t expecting it, her right hook hit him squarely on the jaw and made him stumble backward. He grunted and shook his head, moved forward, and kept throwing a series of punches to get back at her. As she evaded them, she found herself getting backed into one corner of the ring. When he sprang toward her, she wrapped one arm around his neck and punched him on the stomach. Their sweaty skin tingled as they touched, sending sudden sparks of electricity across her body.
A clanging sound went off, signaling the end of the round. They took a break for a few seconds just to gulp down water. The clanging sound came back to indicate the start of the next round.