“I don’t want to fight you,” Jioni said as she rocked back and forth. “You should stop whatever you’re doing.”
Mac held his stomach with tears in his eyes. “Fight me? I know you won’t.”
Jioni held the lance higher and took a step closer.
“And that stance, your posture, oh, that’s embarrassing,” Mac said between laughs. “Clearly, those community lessons don’t work to your advantage.”
Jioni briefly looked away and tucked her arms at her side. Before she could react—Mac crouched down, spun, and threw off her balance–she hit the ground hard, shoulder and ribs aching as it collided with the pavement. Her eyes remained shut, changing positions from lying on her face to her back. Mac snatched the lance from her hands and shook his head.
“Congrats, consider this the second test you failed,” Mac said. Then he ran off.
Jioni sat up and held her side, then attained a headache that throbbed—she owned no lance and failed one test—but now that’s all anyone ever talks about: It had only been a couple of days. Jioni’s mind concentrated on her most recent pain instead—her side was tender to the touch and ached as the strong wind blew against it.
