Chapter 152: Her Curiosity About The Cufflinks

“Will you be at school for the rest of the day?” Serenity asked. “The school has invited the National Championship Fencing Team to give us a special demonstration and teach us a few moves. It will be a valuable opportunity, and I wouldn’t miss it if I were you!”

Crystal poked her head with her index finger and said, “You seem to be quite dissatisfied with my absence from school lately. Don’t worry. I won’t skip any classes today, especially if the National Championship Fencing Team is here!”

After the first class ended, they went to the dressing room. Crystal put on her fencing clothes: a white suit with white shoes and a black and white protective mask. The outfit not only showed off her figure but also made her look elegant and handsome.

Crystal tied up her hair, helped Serenity buckle up her suit, and then the girls picked up their swords and entered the gymnasium.

Fencing is an elegant sport, and the students were inevitably looking forward to this class. In the gymnasium, the students arranged themselves in two rows according to height. Men and women faced each other, and they were separated by a road that ran between them.

Because the teacher had not arrived yet, many students gossiped in low voices while they waited. Finally, a female student named April said, “I heard that the fencing teacher is the National Championship Fencing Team leader and that he has won ten consecutive matches.”

One of her peers, a boy named Archie, turned to her and said, “Really? Is the teacher a boy or a girl?”

“He is a man,” the girl replied. “If it is who I think it is, he is quite handsome. Unfortunately, he is a little old, though. I watched one of his matches on YouTube. He is good at the Epee Attack, and he can hit the opponent’s key points quickly and accurately every time.”

Archie: “Is the Epee Attack that effective?”

April: “Totally. If done properly, it can open up all of an opponent’s weaknesses.”

Archie: “If that’s the case, when we go against him, won’t we die?”

April: “Don’t worry. If that happens, you will be honored. Not everyone will have a chance to face off against him, though.”

As time passed, the whispering voices grew louder and louder. Then, after about ten minutes had passed, a group of people walked into the gymnasium. In front of the group was Johnny Angel, the school counselor. A man in a white shirt and dark casual pants walked beside him. From a distance, the man looked strong and slender. His hair was slightly curled, and although his face couldn’t be seen clearly, he looked like he was about forty years old.

Judging from his temperament, Crystal assumed that he would be their teacher. As the group approached, though, the man’s facial features became clearer and clearer, and she noticed that he was not nearly as handsome as April had said that he was. He had a very masculine face, but there were deep laugh lines at the corners of his eyes.

The group made their way to the front of the gymnasium, and Johnny Angel held his hand in the air. This was the agreed-upon gesture that staff used when they wanted students to be silent, and before long, they were.

Johnny Angel: “Hi, everyone. Today we are honored to have Professor Warren Kim with us. He is the leader of The National Championship Fencing Team. Professor Warren Kim will teach you today. Let’s give him a warm welcome.”

Warren smiled and nodded as the students cheered and clapped.

Johnny Angel raised his hand again, and once everyone had stopped cheering, he continued: “We all appreciate Professor Kim taking the time out of his busy schedule to spend time teaching us. He was running behind, though, and he didn’t have time to change into his fencing outfit. So, let’s give him some time to get suited up.”

The students began to chat again as the instructor made his way towards the men’s change room, but Crystal’s eyes never left the man. There was something about his cufflinks that had attracted her attention. They were made of amber, and they were inlaid with small black spiders, but the reason they had caught her interest was that they were identical to the ones that Tiffany had given her.

Tiffany had said that the cufflinks were very rare and that only ten had been made. When she’d shown them to Nathan, he’d said that they had probably belonged to her mother, but that hadn’t made sense to her. After all, why would her mother have men’s cufflinks?

Crystal felt like her heart had been struck by lightning, and her mind was no longer on fencing. What could this mean? - she wondered.

It wasn’t long before Warren returned in his fencing outfit. He had his sword in hand, and once he had everyone’s attention, he began to show off some of his moves. Of course, he was only warming up, but already he had some of the students shaking in their boots.

After the brief demonstration, he faced the students and said, “I will teach you a few simple moves, and then I will pick someone to go against me. After that, you will be free to face off against each other.”

Serenity leaned over and whispered into Crystal’s ear: “Do we need to fight against each other? Isn’t there only one outcome? Someone has to lose, and I don’t want it to be me!”

Crystal knew what Serenity was joking about, and she gently nudged her. “Come on,” she said. “Be serious. Who knows? Maybe you will be lucky!”

Serenity: “Can I refuse to fight?”

Crystal: “Probably not. Anyway, pay attention to the teacher. If you don’t pay attention, you will definitely lose!”

Serenity nodded and faced forward to watch as Warren explained, in detail, the different fencing techniques, stances, and maneuvers. Then he asked who wanted to fight him. Of course, nobody did, so Johnny Angel suggested they choose one randomly from among the boys. However, the boys all stepped back, and they refused to look him in the eyes.

The counselor was speechless. He couldn’t believe that they were all such cowards, and as the school counselor, he was embarrassed.

Suddenly, Crystal stepped forward, and everyone turned to stare at her. “I’ll do it,” she said.