the weekd its here now

So? Michael, it was the finals! Imagine everyone watching, in silence, as the last two Rithmatists begin their duel. Imagine how nervous Adelle would have been! Her team had never a Melee before, and now she faced down one of the most skilled Rithmatists of her generation. Pauls team had shielded him at their center so that the lesser players fell first. They knew that would get him to the end practically fresh, his defensive circle almost completely untouched. It was the champion against the underdog. Boring, Michael said. They just sit there and draw. Youre hopeless, Joel replied. You are going to the very school where Rithmatists are trained. Arent you even a little interested in them? They have enough people interested in them, Michael said with a scowl. They keep to themselves, Joel. Im fine with that. Id rather they werent even here. A breeze ruffled his blond hair. Around them spread the green hills and stately brick buildings of Armedius Academy. Nearby, a clockwork crab continued its quiet duty, chopping at the grass to keep it level. You wouldnt think that way if you understood, Joel said, getting out some chalk. Here, take this. And stand here. He positioned his friend, then knelt and drew a circle on the sidewalk around him. Youre Paul. See, defensive circle. If that gets breached, you lose the match. Joel paced back a ways on the concrete quad, then knelt and drew his own circle. Now, Adelles circle was nearly breached in four places. She quickly began to shift from the Matson Defense to Okay, you know what, thats too technical. Just know that her circle was weak, and Paul had a strong, dominant position.

Michael shrugged, stopping and looking back at Joel. I dont know. I stopped reading after a page or so. Youre just not imagining it right, Joel said, walking up and resting one hand on his friends shoulder. He held his other hand in front of him, panning it as if to wipe away their surroundingsthe green lawns of Armedius Academyand replace them with the dueling arena. Imagine, Boring? Joel demanded, stopping in place. You think the 1888 CrewChoi duel was boring? Joel said, its the end of the Melee, the biggest Rithmatic event in the country. Paul Crew and Adelle Choi are the only two duelists left. Adelle survived, against all odds, after her entire team was picked off in the first few minutes. A few other students stopped on the sidewalk to listen nearby as they passed between classes. So? Michael said, yawning. If you say so, Michael said. He smiled at Eva ters as she walked past, holding books in front of her. Now, Joel said. Paul started pounding her circle with Lines of Vigor, and she knew she wouldnt be able to shift defenses quickly enough to recover. Pounding Lines of what? Michael asked. Lines of Vigor, Joel said. Duelists shoot them at each other. Thats the point; its how you breach the circle. I thought they made little chalk things. Creatures. That too, Joel said. Theyre called chalklings. But thats not why everyone remembers the 1888 Melee, even some twenty years later. It was the lines she shot. Conventional wisdom would have been for her to last as long as she could, draw out the match, make a good shog of it. He set his chalk out in front of his circle. She didnt do that, he whispered. She saw something. Paul had a small weakened section on the back of his circle. Of course, the only way to attack it would be to bounce a shot off three different lines left by other duelists. It was an impossible shot. She took it anyway. She drew one Line of Vigor as Pauls chalklings ate at her defenses. She fired it and Caught up in the moment, Joel finished drag the Line of Vigor in front of him, raising his hand with a flourish. With surprise, he realized that some thirty students had gathered to listen to him, and he could feel them holding breaths, expecting his drag to come to life. It didnt. Joel wasnt a Rithmatist. His drags were just ordinary chalk. Everyone knew that, Joel most of all, but the moment somehow broke the spell of his story. The gathered students continued on their way, leaving him kneeling on the ground in the middle of his circle. And let me guess, Michael said, yawning again. Her shot got through? Yeah, Joel said, suddenly feeling foolish. He stood up, putting away his chalk. The shot worked. She the Melee, though her team had been lowest favored in the odds. That shot. It was beautiful. At least, so the accounts say. And Im sure youd love to have been there, Michael said, stepping out of the circle Joel had drawn. By the Master, Joel. Ill bet if you could travel through time, youd waste it going to Rithmatic duels! Sure, I guess. What else would I do? Oh, Michael said, maybe prevent some assassinations, get rich, find out whats really happening in Nebrask. Yeah, I suppose, Joel said, pocketing his chalk, then jumping out of the way as a soccer ball shot past, followed by Jephs Daring. Jephs gave Michael and Joel a wave before chasing down his ball. Joel joined Michael, continuing across campus. The beautiful, low green hills were topped by flowering trees, and green vines wound their way up the sides of buildings. Students darted this way and that between classes, in a variety of dresses and trousers. Many of the s wore their sleeves rolled up in the late spring warmth. Only the Rithmatists were required to wear uniforms. That made them stick out; a group of three of them walked between buildings, and the other students casually made way, most not looking at them. Look, Joel, Michael said. Have you ever dered if maybe you know, you think about this stuff too much? Rithmatics and all that?

Its interesting to me, Joel said. Yes, but I mean, its a little odd, considering