Lunch had more of a selection than breakfast did. There were falafel wraps, bean burritos, veggie and fruit salads alike, soups of different savory flavors, dumplings, spicy noodles, rice, mashed potatoes, crispy cauliflower with sauce, apples with peanut spread, grilled fruit, sweet açaí bowls, and even fruit tarts. A few snacks were available, from salty pretzels and crackers to healthier carrots and sunflower seeds. More drinks were added to the variety of teas and blends from that morning too: fresh smoothies and fruit juices. There were even popsicles and pie slices at the ready for dessert!

Once the line finally moved, the two collected food on their trays. They got a third tray for Sarala, selecting random foods to add to it.

“She eats bread with everything, I’ve noticed,” Ren said, grabbing a fluffy roll.

“Does she like spicy stuff?” Zyn asked, tossing on a burrito.

“Ooh, let’s give her a popsicle!” Ren exclaimed, snatching one from the counter.

“Yeah, maybe that’ll teach her to chill out a bit.”

They grabbed three different smoothies, then looked around for Sarala. She was sitting at a table near the start of the line, reserving two seats at the benches by sticking her arms on one and her feet on the other. She sneered at anyone even looking at her. Zyn and Ren made their way to her, chuckling at the sight.

“Here’s some food,” Zyn said, setting down the third tray in front of her.

She eyed the bread, burrito, and popsicle. “How very…kind…of you,” she murmured.

“Wanna go outside?” Zyn asked. “It’s pretty warm and loud in here.”

“But I had to jump at this table before someone else took it!” Sarala complained.

However, the trio went outside, entering the garden to the left. Ren, who loved spending time in the gardens, knew exactly where a bench lay hidden within the tangle of plants. The bench sat beside a willow tree, which provided shade from the bright sun above. It was only big enough for two people to sit on though, so Zyn sat on the soft grass.

They ate in silence for a while, then discussed their classes and wondered what they could expect for Kung Fu. Getting food and eating took awhile, that they did not have time to get any sort of head-start on the homework they’d been assigned. They instead walked to the Kung Fu Studio in the northern building, determined to arrive on time to their next class.

They entered the building to see it wasn’t empty. Ak-tu and C3 stood off to the side, on the small bit of ground that wasn’t covered in orange mats. C3 seemed to be asking Ak-tu more questions.

“I was wondering, why are humans able to eat plenty of different foods? In the few documentaries we’ve gotten on wildlife, it appears that other animals merely eat one or two things. Like elephants have only been seen to eat grass and a bit of fruit. But humans eat a variety of things, from fruits and vegetables to grains and beans. I suppose a bean can count as a vegetable, but I mean to say…why don’t wild animals eat as many foods as we do? I am talking about herbivorous animals, of course, as we aren’t carnivores or omnivores. Aren’t these herbivores missing out on nutrition? Or are we just eating lots of food, simply due to our cultivation of plants? Do we need to eat that much food? Are there side effects of having too much nutrition?”

Ak-tu looked over at Zyn, Ren, and Sarala as they entered. He smiled at them in a bemused fashion, then replied to C3.

“We don’t know much about animals, considering they tend to keep to themselves. We cannot come to any conclusions as to what sort of nutrition they might need, or how much nutrition they’re gaining from the food they eat. But I admire your inquisitive mind, C3.

“Welcome, you three! Excited for class, then? I hope you didn’t eat too late, or too much!” Ak-tu continued, hurrying over to them. {Glad you came in!} He added to Zyn and Ren telepathically.

The sisters glanced at each other and chuckled.

The minute-bell soon rang, bringing the other first-year students with it. Once the final bell rang and everyone was in, Ak-tu began the class.

“Some of you are probably wondering why you have to learn Kung Fu. Yes, there’s the defense mechanism of magic, and Kung Fu teaches self-defense. But there is so much more to it than that. Kung Fu will get your body stronger and conditioned to handle magic. And when it comes time to channel magic with your body, martial arts will give you a stronger connection to it, making magic easier to channel. Of course, exercise is also very important, so this is our version of physical education that you’d find at other schools.

“Now, Kung Fu classes (and Tai Chi, for that matter) work in a different way from the other classes. You advance depending on your rank. What we term as Kung Fu 1, or the first-year Kung Fu class, is actually for the white, yellow, and green sashes. Kung Fu 2 is blue and purple sashes. Kung Fu 3 is brown and black sashes, and where a bit of magic comes in. Kung Fu 4 is focused entirely on magic.

“In order to move up in rank, you will each have to test. If you move more quickly than the other students, you could find yourself switching to the Kung Fu 2 class, which takes place on Trizday. Not many students advance that quickly within a year though. If you don’t advance as fast as the others, that is totally fine. The average student should test for blue sash by the very end of the year, so they can start next year in the Kung Fu 2 class. 

“You will need to change out of your normal clothes and into the proper uniform.” Ak-tu flicked his hand and caught a white vest, baggy black pants, and a white sash that appeared out of thin air. The vest had a small black-and-white symbol on the front left, and a large one on the back—just like Ak-tu’s robe. “I’d like you to get dressed in this before class starts, so we can jump right into it. Any questions?”

There weren’t, so he got to work once they had all changed. Ak-tu had them practicing blocks and basic strikes for a good chunk of the class. These were mostly done in the air, until Ak-tu came around with a blocker bat or target for them to strike. They had to call out different sounds with each move, making their breath come out sharp and aggressive. The remainder of the class was spent drilling a few of the basic kicks, though they didn’t have time to get through all of them. 

“I thought we were supposed to be learning self-defense,” Sarala muttered once the Kung Fu class was over. 

“We are,” Ak-tu said, hearing her. “The first two classes will be focused on learning basic strikes and kicks, then we’ll be making techniques out of them. And, as I said at the beginning of the class, we’ll split into groups according to rank. Mr. Jihan will be helping me out in teaching you once we have two different ranks here.”

They then moved onto the next Kung Fu class, which was “Kung Fu 1B” on the schedule.

“The second Kung Fu and Tai Chi classes are the combative classes. For Kung Fu 1, we will only be doing kickboxing and grappling. Weapon sparring comes at Kung Fu 2. We will work on kickboxing one week, grappling the next, and alternate. Kickboxing is exactly what it sounds like: kicking and boxing combined. Grappling is all about ground fighting. We won’t be holding matches anytime soon, but I still want you to get dressed up in the kickboxing gear.”

He opened a door to one of the small rooms on the left side of the large mat, which led to a closet (the other two doors were personal training rooms). Ak-tu pulled out bags of gear, which included helmets, gloves, chest protectors, shin guards, and groin protectors. The sturdy material was made from rough plants. 

As everyone put the gear on over their uniforms, Ak-tu explained the rules of kickboxing, with the most important one being that they were only allowed to strike to the chest protector.

Once everyone was dressed, Ak-tu had them pair up to practice simple drills. They started off with jab-cross back and forth, and how to block the two punches. They then did the same drill with swinging hooks to either side of the body. Finally, they learned how to do straight snap kicks off either leg, and the different ways to block kicks.