Chapter One
Bullseye!
Aim for the bullseye!
You and your arrows are one and the same.
Aim.
Breathe.
Release.
I took a deep breath as I held onto my bow. I squinted a bit and pointed my arrow towards the center of the big circular board. The sound of the arrow being released filled my ears, followed by the cheering of the girls around me.
A lot of them hit the bullseye, I guess.
Now, I’m even more under pressure to hit the bullseye myself. Otherwise…
“What are you still doing, Celine? Release it already!” I blinked multiple times when I heard my instructor. All eyes were on me now. Suddenly, I felt my heart pounding loudly inside my ribcage. I took a deep breath to keep my hands steady.
“Bet she couldn’t even release that,” I heard someone say. Her comment was followed by a fit of laughter.
I took a deep breath again.
Damn it! Here goes nothing!
I calmed myself before finally having the courage to release the arrow. I watched it travel to the board, hoping it would somehow reach that sweet yellow spot at the center, but then instead of hitting the bullseye, it went to the edge of the board, making it ricochet.
My eyes widened in shock when I saw the arrow going straight for my instructor, who was standing on the sidelines. Everyone in the room gasped.
Oh my god! Kill me now!
“Celine!” the instructor shouted in frustration. I bit my lip hard and held onto my chest.
Oh, thank God, she was able to dodge it!
Everybody in the room recovered from their shock and started laughing.
“I-I’m s-sorry…” was all I could say as I stepped back. The instructor groaned in frustration and walked out. The room continued to roar in laughter. Everyone was staring and pointing at me.
I sighed and looked down.
“What a loser!”
“Well, what do you expect?”
“Pft. I bet she cannot even aim straight!”
“Why is she still even here? I mean, her father died, and she’s basically useless now.”
“I know, right. Tsk.”
The laughter continued, and I was just there with my head bowed down, listening to their insults.
“Why does she even train for this, anyway? It’s not as if a weakling like her could compete in the Luna Games,” They laughed again.
“What a fucking loser!”