The wooden floor was beneath me. I was looking down and there was a woman in front of me. The most powerful woman in my life: mom.

The room itself was full of people and I felt more than just embarrassed and yet, it just had to be like this.

"Now-" Her voice was calm. The glasses in the room were shaking. Something very bad was about to happen. "Do you mind explaining yourself?"

It was awfully quiet. Too quiet. The people around us looked at us but everyone was just expressionless. There were actually a lot fewer members present today than yesterday, which was a good thing I guess.

"Um… I can-" I can explain, I wanted to say, but my mouth stopped on its own.

Mom fumed. She didn't say anything but I could hear her breath. She was furious. "Don't I pay you enough allowance?" Her words had a sharp tang to them.

"I mean-"

"And yet here you are, still applying for this club just for the sake of one competition."

'Huh? So she isn't lecturing me about the food habits?'

There was another reason for me not taking a liking to sabers and that was mom. She'd given me a strict lecture of how I should have just focused on studies just two days before my departure: she didn't want me to learn fighting. Unfortunately didn't know that I already knew that stuff from a long while ago.

Of course, I tried to keep that promise but, eventually, greed kicked in. And of course, I never ever told her about me joining the club and I got the impression she just assumed I received a pair of sabers for free. I might or might not have shaded it out that way.

Basically, I brought my own downfall.

"Think about it. If I can perform well," I stopped.

A glass broke in the furthest corner of the room.

'If she's this mad about the completion, then…. What will happen if she learns, I'm surviving on chocolate milk and bread?'

Honestly, I did not dare to think about it.

I took a deep breath. If I ran from mother like this all the time, then I'd never grow up and she'd never understood what I wanted. "I want to do this." I looked up and met her gaze. "I want to join this club."

She crossed her arms looked at me, utterly condescendingly. "Is that so?"

Another glass broke. I instinctively shrank a little. "Ye-yes."

A lot of the crowd was literally busy taking cover from the glass shards.

And another glass broke. Everyone was still quiet even now.

"Pack your things. We're going back." She was serious. She wasn't messing around.

I was also serious. "No." I knew I couldn't and shouldn't have disagreed with her. But I had to do this, no I wanted to this. "I know how hard you work for my sake. But mom, I'm not going to be a kid forever. Let me make my own choices for once please."

Mom was listening carefully, eyes closed. She didn't say anything, nothing at all.

She sighed. She walked closer to the door. Actually, now that I looked behind me, there were two girls standing right next to the door. Oops, make it three.

"Oh and Helio?" Mom's attitude changed drastically, her voice was awfully cold, almost enough to give me a shiver.

"Yes?"

"What did you eat yesterday?"

The ground beneath me shook. I was screwed and I knew it.

There was no mistaking it, she knew.

'Heh?!"

And here I thought I'd won the argument. I couldn't even formulate a smile let alone an answer to convince her.

"Well," she grabbed the hands of one of the girls. "We'll be waiting in your room. Arguing here seems to be a bad thing for our family name." She sighed again. "Congratulations for getting in." She left. She left with the girl: Elsa.

'You're worried about the reputation of your weird family?'

I felt relieved and almost fell. I felt faint.

This was probably my first time arguing with mom. I won, and yet, 'Why does it feel so bad?'

Judging from mom's reaction I could assume she was going to let me do this, but she didn't like this, and that much I could understand, no problem.

One of the three girls stayed behind. She grinned as nonchalantly as ever and walked towards the other side.

With a breath, I picked myself up. I couldn't let all my thoughts be clouded. 'I already decided this… I'll have to see it through.'

But it did feel weird to disobey mom like that. And not to mention, I never thought she'd actually agree. I was afraid she was going to slap me and drag me back home, but I guess I avoided that reality for now.

"Alright." I made a fist. This was serious and I had to take it seriously.

"Well, that was something." Amie came forward from the bunch.

As usual I didn't see the captain and most of the seniors. Eve and Selene weren't here either. Only one transfer student was here, that Battlesuin girl. 'Rin, was it?' But then there was the question, what was she doing with Elsa?

But more importantly, I was really glad there weren't as many people here as yesterday.

"Yeah. But now she won't stop me from fighting." I most certainly hoped so.

But she sure was going to throw a tantrum when I'd get back. My eating habits were mom's top priority. She always made me go through a strict diet. And maybe that's why when I got free, I didn't go near that diet and just ate what I liked: namely, chocolate milk and bread.

Sighing wasn't going to get me anywhere. "Anyway, this is basically like the first day for me. I don't know anything about the club rules or what I'm supposed to do. I need a sword and I want to know more about the newcomer's competition."

"Whoa, whoa, calm down." Amie chuckled. "One at a time please."

"I don't really have that much time though." But I really wanted to take my sweet time with this, since I didn't want to go back to my room anytime soon.

"Okay so, why don't we move to the compatibility chamber and get your ratings? We can talk as we go through the process."

"Sure, lead the way." I kind of wanted to get out of here anyway. Just moments ago mom and I made a lot of drama in here. I wanted to run away yesterday, but the sheer reason of seeing this thing through kept me here.

"Come."

I followed Amie to the second floor. The whole building was made of wood: very thick wood that is. The building was three stories but it looked sturdier than an actual brick building. Not to mention definitely a lot more fashionable.

"We had Ariel made this building for us. I trust you already know her from your palm adventures?"

'Palm adventures!?'

"How do you know that." this whole thing felt weird if nothing else. "So she's a member here?"

"Not really. Just a friend. And Eve had taken a picture of you hitting face first on a palm tree. We have an entire novel series of you and your palm adventures. It's actually pretty well written."

"Hey, that's copyright infringement!"

And since when did I have my very own novel?

Amie giggled. "The club doesn't have many rules. As long as you don't fight without permission and respect your seniors, it's all good." Amie walked on ahead. She didn't even bother giving me an honest answer. "Anyway, the newcomer's competition will begin by the end of this month. The prelims will start from next week."

"You mean, it starts in two days." I was salty if nothing else. I had my own novel and I didn't even know what it was about.

"Precisely." She winked. "This is entirely an interschool competition so the prizes are modest, but if you do well here, your seat in the Grand World Saber Tournament- GWST: might not be a dream you know."

'Who comes up with these names! And how the hell did you pronounce that!'

"I thought first years never make it." The grand tournament or whatever was a very special tournament held near the end of the year. And according to the rumors I heard only third years were chosen. And if the chosen student makes it to one of the top three spots, the headmaster grants them one wish. I didn't know how much of it was credible but it seemed fair enough.

It wasn't a place for the first years.

"Actually most of the places are always taken by third years. But last year both Dan and Blaze had gone to the nationals of their respective countries. Of course, they weren't students of this school at the time. They only transferred this year. And I assure you they wouldn't have cut it if they were here. Neither of them made it to the international tournament but-"

"But you're saying, I have a shot?"

"We're here. Let's get in." She smiled and didn't even bother answering.

It was kind of annoying.

I didn't know what she was getting to, but at this point, complaining would have got me nowhere, so I just rolled with it.

***

A small room with nothing but a table and a scabbard, both wooden. There wasn't even a window. The only light source was the fruit bulb on top of the wooden ceiling.

It gave me déjà vu.

"What am I supposed to do now?"

Amie went to the corner of the room and touched the wall. A control panel of some sorts popped up and so it a holo monitor.

"What the hell?"

"Oh, did I forgot to mention this building is also wired rather nicely?" She winked again.

'YES!!! You did!'

I calmed my nerves. 'This place won't burn down in case of a short, would it?'

I erased the question from my mind.

"So what do I do?"

"Pick up the scabbard and give it a swing. The computer would record your compatibility and what sword would be best for you. Don't worry, the club will cover all the expenses."

A smile crept upon my lips. If I didn't need to pay, I didn't need to worry about anything.

I picked up the scabbard and gave it a shake. It was weird swinging something like this.

"Hey, nothing's happening." I kept on swinging it but I felt nothing.

I looked back at Amie.

She was pale and sweating a lot. "Immeasurable." She looked at me with utter horror. "You're immeasurable!"