Second Chance

[Nicolas Constantine]

This was only the second request and he was already asking them to do something idiotic. But what was stranger than his requests was his ability. Bending sound waves!? Nick knew what that could mean. He knew from his many hours of music theory that there's something called the "Threshold of Sound" which includes different levels of noise from inaudible sounds to ones that can cause death. Apparently that last blast really hurt Sam because she looked at him with a "this guy is psycho" look, which he returned, and she was already doing what he had asked.

Nick debated in his head. If he didn't perform the request, he would probably get blasted with another bend of sound, and once he survived that, he would be threatened with a more powerful blast until he either gave in or died.

He sighed and copied Sam, but his clucks were monotone.

[Damien Kross, Jester]

"Wow, I can barely hear these NOISY chickens... Hmm... Maybe if I turn up the volume." I said with a smile. I raised my hand and grabbed an invisible knob, turning it slowly in a well-played pantomime. As I turned it, I used my Qi to loop their own clucks back directly into their ears. Thus, both Sam and Nick would hear themselves getting louder without actually doing anything. It was just another taste of my power.

"Well, that one was fun... But I am in the mood to do something really fun..." I put my finger on my chin, tapping it in thought. "I can use a massage. Sam, Jester says give him a shoulder massage." I grinned. "Now, what to do with Nick... Well, you should be my entertainment. "I know! IMPROV!" I clapped my hands together. "Nick, here is your scene to improvise. You are in a market when suddenly, things go wrong. And... begin."

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam could hear herself getting louder and louder, but she wasn't doing it. It was like an invisible microphone was being held up to her face. She was beginning to see why he was calling himself Jester, though his "jests" didn't seem to be amusing to anyone but himself.

He ordered her to give him a massage, and she growled to herself. "Sure, have the girl do it," she muttered. But she complied, walking behind him and placing her hands on his shoulders. She moved her fingers as hard as she possibly could, hoping to cause him more pain than pleasure. And if he got mad, all she had to say was that her dad preferred the hard ones, and that's what she was used to. He couldn't fault her for it, and there was no way or reason for him to check.

She peeked around Damien's shoulders, giving Nick an apologetic look. Much more of this and she thought she might actually be willing to take the whistle, and the detention, and whatever else he decided to punish them with.

[Nicolas Constantine]

Whoa, the noise that was entering his ears, were the sounds that were coming out of his mouth, but continuously getting louder. Nick stopped being a chicken and looked around, confused. This "ability" of his was tripping Nick out, and he didn't like it. Plus, he wasn't about to do improve, he didn't know how.

He just stood there for a few seconds and faced Damien.

"Tell me something, Damien Kross. Do you enjoy torturing those who are weaker than you, are you that messed up in the head? Because I've heard things about you, and even if I do what you say now, don't think think I'll become your lackey." he said, looking at Sam lastly.

Nick paused again with a stern look on his face. He grumbled.

"... plus I don't know how to improv."

[Damien Kross, Jester]

Again, Nick went out of his way to make his stupidity known. And also once again, I would have to lecture him. I found his jab at my apprentice to be quite interesting... Certainly wouldn't HELP his situation...

"Hehehehe~" I let out an entertained laugh. "Well Mister Constantine, you certainly know how to talk to the ladies... Calling my apprentice a lackey... How can you say such things? She gives one of the greatest massages I've ever had..." I looked back to Sam. "Don't let him get to you. You're a fine apprentice."

I turned back to Nick. "Listen Nicky Boy, I'm just gonna go ahead and give you a week's worth of lunch detention. Monday through friday, starting next week. No off-campus lunch. Get campus lunch and come directly to the auditorium for detention. Got me?"

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam stared at Nick, too shocked to even be angry. Her fingers froze on Damien's shoulders. Lackey? "How dare you..." She whispered. She only distantly heard Damien defending her, in a fashion. Her fingers clenched, pinching his shoulders, before she removed her hands completely and stepped in front of him.

"You think that's what I'm doing?" She stepped slowly toward Nick, getting angrier and louder with each word. "That I'm just bending to his every whim? Right now, all I'm doing is getting out of another ear piercing whistle. You think I'd be doing this otherwise?" She gestured violently behind her to Damien, motioning to the massage she'd been giving him. "If you want your eardrums blown out, then fine, go to it. I don't fucking care."

Tears filled her eyes. "I told you, Nick, I can't fight. Three years of martial arts training and I can't even defend myself for five seconds against him. I'm going to be swallowed whole by this place, and he offered to help me out. That's. All." She clenched her jaw, and the tears went away, not one of them ever falling to her cheeks. She walked back to Damien. "But fine. If you want to think I'm his slave, then you go right ahead thinking that."

[Nicolas Constantine]

Nick was dumbfounded at the response he received from both of them. Glad he didn't have to improv and be a slave to Damien anymore, just all he had to do was give up a week of lunches, which he didn't eat the school food anyways, so he what did he care? What really shocked him was Sam's response. She practically yelled at him and he was stricken by every word as he saw the tears building in her eyes. Nick looked at Sam with disbelief.

"Sam, I can't believe you! You would rather do as this guy says, just so he can teach you how to fight!? I thought you would have more pride then to sink that low. Damien, I'll take the fucking lunch detention, I'm out of here..." he shook his head.

He would leave the gym and whom he thought to be his close friend behind, unless there were any interjections from the other two people in the gym.

[Damien Kross, Jester]

I love high school drama... It was entertaining, it had its own little plot twists, and I was always on the outskirts of it, never in the mix... Sigh, I love life. I let Nick go in silence, seeing that as better than provoking him farther. I wasn't in the mood to whistle anymore.

"Now, you..." I said, putting an arm around Sam's waist from behind. "What am I supposed to do with you? You've been awfully mean to the guy who's teaching you to fight... Not very nice at all, especially after giving you a chance to get out of detention..." I smirked.

"So Sam, in all honesty, what AM I supposed to do with you?" I repeated, my arm lightly pressing her closer against my body, my mouth almost whispering to her teasingly just a few inches from her ear.

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam let out a breath, dismayed and exasperated. He wasn't getting it. Her apprenticeship to him and the screwed up Simon Says Damien had put the two of them through were two separate issues. She wasn't his... was she? The deal was that he offered to train her. Nothing more. If she was expected to do something in return, Damien hadn't specified.

She watched Nick walk away, and she almost called after him, but she couldn't see it doing any good at the moment. She'd talk to him when they both had a chance to cool down. A single tear fell from her eye, and she quickly wiped it away, lest Damien see it.

Then Damien slipped an arm around her, and all the muscles in her torso tensed. He spoke softly in her ear, pulling her close to him. Mean? She was being mean?? HE was the one who - no, She wasn't going to go into that. He was still playing games. And she still didn't want to play. She moved his arm, attempting to twist out of his grasp and turn to face him.

"I don't know, Damien," she said, blankly. "Give me detention, blow the whistle on me or let me go back to class, or pummel me into the floor. I don't care."

[Damien Kross, Jester]

With a sigh, I slumped my shoulders and shook my head. Why didn't people listen when I said things? Did I speak another language?

"I asked you to decide your own punishment, but it seems you aren't interested in such a treat- since I assure you, it IS a treat." I scowled. "Fine, if you're really going to leave it to me, then I'll decide." I stepped towards Sam, closing the short distance between us. "The Court is finished. We're going there, and as far as I'm concerned, you're on active training duty the rest of the day. Here's how it's going to go down. I'll go on ahead to make preparations. Ricardo will pick you up in a half hour. Once you arrive, you will clean yourself up, we will have a short lunch, and then, the most rigorous training of your life will begin." I squinted.

"No lectures. No tips. No hints. You will show me what you can do in a life threatening situation, because I promise you, I won't be holding anything back like last time..." I smiled. "Do we have an understanding my lovely apprentice?"

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam's eyebrows lifted in surprise. So he'd actually gotten the Court finished that fast? She'd expected it to take a lot longer; contractors tended to take a lot longer than they needed to to finish a job. But her eyes widened and her jaw dropped as Damien laid out his plans for them for the rest of the day. This was not going to work out well for her, she could tell already. He had a look in his eyes that told her he wasn't bluffing in the least bit; she was gonna get the living shit beaten out of her today, and they both knew it.

She almost said no to him - she had dance classes and Aikido sessions that day, and she'd be brutally murdered by somebody if she missed either. But she wasn't about to disagree with him now - if she tried he'd probably come up with an even worse punishment for her, and this was bad enough as it was. She was wishing now that he'd just given her lunch detention and let her go home.

She swallowed hard, and nodded. "Yes, sir." She managed to get out. She backed up and ran to pick up her bags. If she had a half hour to get home and get ready, she was going to have to walk pretty fast.