Chapter 2: Chapter 1 - Ella
Winner. My opponent was clad with sweat, exhaustion and burnt out energy. I imagined my body mirrored hers, after all I'd also been running all over the place, swinging my racket, hitting that ball and flinging myself across the court. But there was a difference. I'd won. The blood, sweat and tears I'd put in had paid off because at the end of it all I'd come out on top. Smugly, I grinned at her. Maybe later on she'd say that I'm cocky, a sore winner, but I kept my grin as I ran over to my parents.
"Well done Ella!" my mother and father swept me into a hug.
"I hope I'm not getting sweat on you guys," I laughed, but my voice began to shake as I noticed a man I'd never seen before dwelling over their shoulders. I'd never done well with strangers, and this one set me on edge within a second of my seeing him. A t-shirt and sweatpants hung off a skeletally scrawny frame. I considered myself quite tall for my age but this boy had no trouble looming over me, casting a vast shadow over me. This definitely was not the usual family friend my parents brought along to my matches, but what really disturbed me about his presence were his eyes. They were dull and sunken into a gaunt face, almost as if he were struggling to keep them in his sockets, and during the entire interaction they never met mine - not even once.
"Ella!" my mum beamed at me, "Coach Lee here wants to give you some good news!" She gestured to a woman who I hadn't noticed, my attention preoccupied with the odd looking boy. With dark hair tied back in a neat ponytail and a body that suggested an athletic background she undoubtedly looked much more in her element than her male counterpoint. However, despite her unseemly normal appearance, the disturbing chill I'd gotten didn't disappear when I shifted my focus to her. Her eyes held the same lifelessness, the same troubling quality I couldn't quite place.
"Wonderful to meet you Ella," she smiled, "I'm Coach Lee from the tennis club at Alder's Academy, and this is Kalen our captain." What? There's no way this lanky ass, beanstalk of a kid was the captain! His arms looked as if he could barely lift a racket, let alone manage to hit a ball.
You can never judge a book by its cover I guess.
My parents told me something about a scholarship, a renowned school far in the country, and new possibilities I couldn't even dream to think of. Coach handed me a leaflet and I stared at her, taking it all in.
Alder's Academy
It showed me a picture of a mansion that had to be at least two centuries old. The rooms were just as gorgeous as the exterior, all four poster beds, spiral staircases and wall length windows. I flipped over to the sports section and gazed at the state of the art courts I was immediately desperate to play on. Forgetting my scepticism at the odd pair and glanced at the other player. Maybe they'd wanted this scholarship; maybe they wanted to get noticed. 'But I was chosen, not you' I thought. Because I won. Maybe they kind of gave me the creeps, but who cared? I was still buzzing from my win, and hey, who was I to not let it get to me?
"Thank you so much for this opportunity I-" What? Where'd they go? I wanted them to know I was grateful, that I looked forward to playing with them; but before I'd gotten the chance, they'd vanished.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
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