Alvura

"Wait a minute, that's Alfred Knox?" I asked, wide-eyed.

"That's Alfred Knox." Leo repeated, calmly.

I felt like I'd been hit on the head with a hard ball by that revelation and I stumbled backwards.

"By Alfred, you mean supreme alpha Knox’s son?" I asked again, with a dry chortle. Not that I didn't hear at first, but for clarity.

"Bingo!" Came the response with an unusual calmness that scared me.

"Why didn't you say so?" I asked, pacing around at the back of the crowd.

Leo had dragged me out of the pitch like a naughty child after I'd hastily accepted his challenge without finding out who he was. Alfred Knox is my roommate? Unbelievable!

"Well, you didn't ask." Leo stuttered a reply, raising his hands up. "Besides, I thought you would play safe and not step on his toe."

My jaw dropped, my head reeled and suddenly I felt like I was floating midair. Remind me how I got into this mess? How the hell did I jump right back into the same trap I was fleeing from? Getaway cars don't do the job, maybe I should've used a plane.

"Arrrgh!" I groaned, making a fit, but that didn't pacify anything. I was already knee-deep in trouble.

Come on, Alvura, think. I thought, biting my lower lip and fistfighting the wind. There has to be something I can do to change the situation.

"Hey," someone called, and I turned to the referee guy running towards me with a whistle between his lips. "They're all waiting. You can't keep the alpha waiting." He said, and I sneaked my head to peep at Alfred.

He smiled at me: a wicked, cynical smirk that made my heart quake in fear. Not the fear of losing to him, but I knew what consequence losing could proffer. Other than that, I stood a risk of being discovered and thrown out before the semester even began.

“This is end game!” I said, with a resigning sigh.

“It sure is. You should just give up now, he might be merciful if you do.” Leo offered, completely clueless about my situation.

But wait, a dangerous idea rustled into my mind. What's the one place the enemy can never suspect look in? It's around him. No one would ever suspect I was a girl, and not even Alfred could look for me in an all boys school, if I played my cards well.

I got it! I spanked the air, smiling as if I'd gotten the idea that could change the world.

“Let's do this,” I croaked, looking ahead into the field.

“What are you doing?” Leo asked, running after me as I made my way to the pitch. “There's no good standing up to him? The others failed, no one ever won. At least you're still the champion who defeated unbeatable Adolph, that should do.” He said convincingly, standing in my way.

“Sorry, Leo, but I'm not one to give up.” I seethed, swatting his hand off my shoulders and making for the pitch.

I gave up once to Alfred by running away to avoid marrying him, but not anymore. I won't give up, nor run away, at least not from him again.

“What if you lose?” Leo asked, looking troubled.

“I don't lose.” I answered, quite confidently. I've been playing baseball since I was a kid, so I had my way around the game.

“But what if you do?” Leo repeated, vehemently this time. “Answer me.”

I thought for a while. If I lost, I could end up as his puppet, or get sidelined by the entire school. But if I won, I was going to be untouchable. How bad could it get? If it got really worse, I could ditch this school and run far away to another school. I had nothing to lose, I was still young.

“At least he won't kill me even if he turns me into his servant.”

“You can't tell, Alvin. Alfred is worse than his father. I heard the mansion is a trafficking site. Listen to me, and stop this madness.” Leo was gritting his teeth now, and trying so hard to keep it low. “Again, I ask you, think about it. What will you do if you lose?”

I didn't need to think. “It is what it is,” I shrugged, marching forward like a soldier returning from battle.

Alfred was sitting on a stone when I resurfaced in the pitch with his back to the crowd, and his hair tousled by the wind. I thought he looked like a male model in his posture, until he swerved around and the smirk on his face ruined his look.

“So ballsy of you to push through. I didn't think you'd take up the challenge.” Alfred mocked as I came to stand at the other end of the net.

“I don't give up.” I whispered so only he could hear.

“You should learn to.” He groaned back and without warning hit the ball into the air.

I'd been so distracted by him that I hadn't noticed when the referee threw the ball. But at least, I knew one thing about him, he used his brain more than he did his strength. He was a master strategist. I needed to be careful from now on, especially since I would be living with him in the same room.

It was only the first inning, yet he was already a score ahead, I had to double up. The sun had reached its peak in the sky, but that didn't matter to me, I had one goal in mind - defeat Alfred, and probably stay or leave. At the end of the sixth inning, and I'd only managed to land one goal, I knew I couldn't against him with my fist.

"You're quite strong, stronger than me, even, don't you think this is an abuse of power?" I whimpered, hoping to manipulate him, but what did I learn?

"The more reason I came down to your level. I couldn't abuse my power on a weakling, it's not worth it." He replied, with an impassive expression.

I couldn't tell if he hated me - why would he? Or he was only being his grumpy self.

"Then just let me win." I groaned, watching the sky for the arrival of the ball and sweat dripping down my brows.

"Earn it, kid!" He gritted, soullessly.

With lightning-fast reflexes, I swung my bat at the ball but missed by a fraction too small for a second. Damn, how did that happen?

Alfred smiled from the corners of his mouth and went back to the ball, connecting with a satisfying crack. The ball curved over a trajectory, clearing the outfield fence for a smooth home run. Like earlier, before I'd been declared champion, the referee blew the whistle and the same crowd who'd cheered for me only minutes ago deserted me for a new champ. All, except my friend, Leo. Their loyalty was as fleeting as a woman’s love.

What? A woman’s love? Even my loyalty to the women's fold was questionable. Look, how quickly I denied my clan for one that would never accept me.

"Damn!” I smacked, tossing my bat to the ground and repeating the loser’s cry.

“Hey, cheer up, you did amazing.” Leo encouraged, slapping me on the shoulder. That felt strange, but I knew I had to get used to it.

The others wafted past, not even sparing a glance at their defeated champ. Even Adolph didn't pass without laughing at me. I realized that the adage was all true: champions are only respected until they're not.

Leo and I lingered around the pitch for a little longer before I returned to my room to rest. It may have been an eventful day, but it was still my first day and I needed to prepare for the end. However, the sight of my room in disarray left me in utter shock and fear.

There, behind the wall, with my bag opened and laid out in front of him, Alfred cocked his head like he was about to reveal a shocking revelation.

“Who are you?”

I froze!