I looked him up and down skeptically, he resembled a lost dog. The emptiness of his eyes, and a haggard edge to his face made me wonder what type of duelist he would be like. He extended his hand to me, and I was only half tempted to shake it. Just something about his humor. But my natural state was to sulk back and push it off. However, if we were going to be stuck together for the entire year, I may as well be civil.

“First of all, nice to meet you, second. It’s [i][b]BRIDGET[/b][/i]. I don’t like being addressed by the wrong name. I’d like to think I’m good at dueling. False modesty isn’t my strong suit, sorry,” I said, unabashed by the attitude I was throwing out. Reaching out, I did shake his hand, providing a stronger grip than most girls would give. It was both a challenge and an attempt at showing I wouldn’t be intimidated by him. “Shall we?” I gestured over toward the rest of the group with my hand, and without asking for his approval, walked over to stand at the end of the large line of pairs, waiting for him to stand opposite of me.