Stronger than Bone Read Free Page A

interpreted the slight head movement associated with opening his mouth as the nod. He bolted before Kelly had uttered a word.
    Chase could hear Kelly sputtering as he sped across campus to his next tutor. He would pay for that tomorrow, but like any 11 year old boy, he wasn’t thinking about tomorrow. He chuckled to himself and ran faster, proud of his act of defiance.
    Kelly quickly regained his composure, and did not chase the boy. He could have caught him, probably, but he could just as easily deal with it in the ring tomorrow. He fumed quietly as he watched the academy’s brightest student, most promising fighter, and biggest pain in the backside running away.
    “Are you kidding me?” thought Corvis. He eyed the remains of the chocolate desert angrily while the other students stuffed their skinny faces with it. He looked over at Chase, who gave a knowing smirk, and his scowl deepened. Chase raised his hands in supplication and quickly changed his expression to one of sympathy.
    Chase and Corvis had been friends since Chase arrived. At first, Chase was an outsider like him. Corvis, who had always been large, took pride in standing up for the little guy. But in the years since his arrival, Chase had sprouted physically and socially, while Corvis had grown…out. Through it all, they had remained friends.
    After the meal, they walked out of the hall together. Corvis was still stewing over the new prohibition levied on him against sweets. As they rounded the corner, Chase said “Here Corvis, I saved you a piece.” He took a folded napkin out of his pocket, and handed it to him. Corvis peeled it open and beamed.
    “Awww, thanks Chase!” he said before gingerly nibbling a bit from the edge. “Mmmm! It’s as good as I imagined.” He smiled, and to Chase’s amazement, handed it back.
    “What? Why are you…?” He stammered.
    “Hey, I appreciate it, but I don’t want to be the fat kid anymore,” he explained. He grabbed a handful of stomach flab for emphasis and said, “It’s time to turn this…into muscle.”
    Chase stared at him, dumbfounded. Amazement gave way to admiration, and smiling, Chase slapped his friend on the back. “Good on ya Corvis!”
    Corvis grinned back.

Chapter Five
     
    (234 Cycles into the Light)
    Kelly winced and rubbed his aching forearm. He was not looking forward to his morning lesson with Chase. The boy was getting rather difficult to beat, and Kelly had begun receiving some of the pain he’d been dealing out all these years.
    “Keep it together. The little pup is fast to be sure, and strong as an ox, but he’s got a thing or two to learn from this old fox,” Kelly reassured himself.
    A moment later, Kelly was surprised to see Corvis walk stiffly into the training ring instead of Chase.
    “Corvis?” he said. By all measures the boy had changed dramatically in the last 3 years. Where he had been a ball of soft baby fat, he was now bulging with muscle. Where he was withdrawn and defensive, he was now becoming forthright and kind. Kelly was unsure what had happened with the young man, but he was very impressed with the change. It was not common.
    “Pardon the confusion Sir, but Chase has been re-directed to the headmaster’s office. I believe it has something to do with his birthday. I was hoping to get in an extra practice session today if you don’t mind giving instruction to one of Master Simanu’s students.”
    “Corvis, if you are in need of a beating, you should just ask,” said Kelly. He stepped to the center of the ring and nodded. “This should be a fun morning after all,” he thought and allowed the corner of his mouth to rise in a slight smirk.
    “Thank you Sir,” answered Corvis as he moved to meet Kelly in the center. He was masking his excitement as best he could, but he wasn’t sure he could keep from smiling much longer. He and Chase had been working on this plan for several weeks and the anticipation was killing him.
    They started circling each other