The sky was clear. The air was cool. The students of TISE High were lined up in two groups, one wearing red strings and the other wearing blue. Parents and guests huddled around the boundaries, cameras aimed at their children. The students from Tartis Middle School were on the side, watching as their upperclassmen stood still in their lines.

Demund gulped. The day was finally here.

“AND NOW, I AM HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THE 81ST ANNUAL SPORTS TOURNAMENT OF TARTIS HIGH!” shouted the student council president. He was on a giant stage that was set up at the end of the central field, next to the restricted area. The elegant vice-president stood behind him, arms crossed.

“THIS YEAR, WE WILL SKIP OVER THE PRINCIPAL'S SPEECH AFTER A MAJORITY VOTE BY THE STUDENT COUNCIL!”

The whole field cheered at the announcement. They really wanted to head to the events as soon as possible.

“THE EVENT ORGANIZERS ARE ALREADY AT THEIR PLACES!” shouted the president through the loudspeakers. “PLEASE GO TO THE TIME BOARD AT THE FRONT OF THE FIELD NEAR THE WATER FOUNTAINS TO CHECK WHICH EVENTS START WHEN. FIRST OF ALL, WE WILL…”

The President yelled his instructions to the students. They had already been separated by their colors, so all there was left to do was proceed with the actual competition.

“GIVE ME A CHEER FOR EXTRA POINTS!” screamed the President. Both sides of the field erupted into noise at the President’s command. Likewise, Demund screamed at the top of his lungs. The president’s enthusiasm was seeping into everyone.

“THAT WAS A PRACTICE CHEER!” stated the President. “GIVE ME ANOTHER ONE!”

The crowds exploded into screams again. The President held his hands to his ears and nodded.

“ANOTHER ONE!” he screamed as the Vice-President smacked him on his head and took the microphone away from him.

“Sorry for the trouble, everyone,” the Vice-President coolly said. “Ignore the extra points. The events that will be starting now will be the long-jump, high-jump, group-jump roping, and sack-jumping. Anyone can participate to contribute to their team’s points. Please cheer if you aren’t! That will be all.”

She set down the mike as the President blew his whistle.

“LET THE EVENTS – BEGIN!!!”

The crowds exploded into cheering as they moved to the designated event stations. The sports tournament had finally begun.

〄 〄 〄

“This sucks,” said Demund.

“Indeed,” agreed Riley.

“Tell me about it,” added Rhyne.

All three of them were seated on the benches to the sides of the field. Their purpose was to serve people who cheered for the game. Demund and his friends let out a weak cheer as an upperclassman threw a shotput across an immense distance.

They had underestimated the power of the special class. They were having fun, no doubt. But in almost every single event they participated in, they were never ranked at the top. Their records would always be broken sooner or later by an ability-user. Demund, Riley, and Rhyne, with their purely mental abilities, didn’t stand a chance against the C-classes with physical augmentations. Like the senior who had just thrown the shot put.

“Can’t you do anything about this?” asked Riley to Rhyne.

“I’m the same as you guys,” complained Rhyne. “Seeing things faster doesn’t make me stronger. I’ll rock in dodgeball, though.”

“Uh-huh. Just try not to die. I heard Enariss might be participating.”

“Oh crap.”

Demund had already participated in soccer for guys with Riley and Rhyne. They had won, but by a tiny margin. It was all thanks to Rhyne’s amazing feints with the ball that had allowed them to score. With that combined with Demund’s endless stamina and Riley’s calm judgment, they had been able to manage goal by goal until they overtook the red team. If not for that, they would have lost. The blue team’s goalie was trash and the other team had a sophomore from the special class who could accelerate himself. The match had been tough, and they had barely pulled through.

They were too exhausted to do it again. So, they were resting now, enjoying the others’ performances.

It was just too depressing that none of them had set a record in any of the sports.

“Maybe I’ll try out the eating competition…” said Demund.

“Don’t. You’re running later, aren’t you? The relay race is the final event, so you’ll barf if you eat,” said Riley.

“Besides, some students are crazy,” said Rhyne. “I heard a student last year managed to eat over twenty bowls of noodles for the competition.”

“Twenty?! How do you even beat that?”

“You don’t.”

The friends looked at the clouds floating by. The day seemed peaceful and quiet compared to before. The cool wind blew across the field, cooling everyone’s sweat off. Then Demund spotted something red enter his vision. He looked down and nudged his friends.

“Guys, isn’t that Enariss?”

Riley and Rhyne looked where Demund’s hand was pointing.

“It is.”

“She’s here.”

The trio watched silently as Enariss stretched her arms and twisted them around. She then lifted a metal ball from the bottom of the field and felt its weight.

“There’s no way she can beat the previous throw, is there…?” whispered Rhyne.

Their eyes followed the ball on Enariss’s hand. She put it on her shoulder, tensed her muscles. With a sudden jolt, the ball flew forwards, forwards, forwards, past the other ball, forwards, and landed. Outside the 30-meter line.

The red team exploded into applause as Enariss shook her long, beautiful hair in satisfaction. It was a sight to behold.

“Alright, I quit,” declared Rhyne.

“Dude, you can’t! You’re our only hope in dodgeball!” pleaded Demund.

“He’s right,” said Riley. “We believe in you.”

“I’ll DIE!” exclaimed Rhyne. “If she hits me with her ball, I’ll definitely die!”

“If she does.”

“You guys are crazy! Fine, tell you what.”

“What?”

“I’ll do it,” said Rhyne while putting his arms around Riley and Demund. “But only if you guys come with me. Friends stick together until the end, right?”

“You are crazy.”

“Do you want us to die?”

Rhyne smiled slyly. “Are you guys in or what? Or are you just going to betray me?” He gave his friends each a glance. “I’ll buy drinks if you manage to survive longer than me.”

Riley and Demund looked at each other. Free drinks for participation? There was also no way they’d really die. Their energy was replenished by now, and they were itching to do something again.

“Deal,” they both said at the same time.

“Let’s dominate.”

〄 〄 〄

Like Riley had predicted, Enariss was participating in the dodgeball match. There was plenty of room left for Demund and Riley as some of the designated members had quit. Everyone was aware of Enariss’s destructive power.

“The rules are simple!” shouted the event organizer. “If you get hit by the other team’s ball, you are out! If you catch it, the ball is yours! No one is out! If it bounces off a teammate and you catch it, both of you are safe! All parts of the body will count, including the head!”

The participants shuddered at this. The game would be much more dangerous if headshots were allowed.

“Six people from each team will stay inside the lines while one person from each team will stand outside. When you are out, you must go to the outside of the lines. Only people who are outside may retrieve the balls that go out of the field! Is that clear?”

After seeing no one ask questions, the organizer folded his sheet of rules. “Pick your players and get on the field! The match will start when all players are assembled!”

The crowd became noisy again. Enariss’s red team was already set up; seven people including her were positioned on the court. The problem was the blue team. No one wanted to participate in what seemed would be a one-sided slaughter. Demund, Riley, and Rhyne, along with two other seniors, were the only ones ready. They were missing two more people.

“I knew it’d be like this,” said Rhyne. “Should we quit now?”

“Are you an idiot!” scolded Riley. “If we quit, who’s going to play?”

“We are so screwed,” stated Demund. The other two nodded in agreement. They were currently feeling the thrill of the atmosphere. Even Riley was slightly losing his calm. They seriously didn’t want to do a 5v7 against Enariss. It was as if the outcome was already decided.

The blue team’s nervousness grew as the time continued to tick by. Worried whispers and gestures were seen throughout the crowd, and yet no one was coming up to take the final two spots on the dodgeball team. The event organizer looked at his clock, then looked back at the crowd. The match would have to start soon, but if no one was going to join, he would have to take out players from the other team. It was a sad choice, but it was better than canceling the whole event.

“If no one will participate soon—”

“Wait!” shouted a fresh voice from the back of the crowd.

Everyone’s eyes turned towards the source of the sound. The blue team slowly split apart to make way for the tall figure that approached the dodgeball field. Gasps and small cheers were heard as the student approached the court. Face that looked like it had been chiseled, grey hair that gleamed like silver under the sunlight. A muscular body that had perfectly toned, pale skin. Eyes that looked like they were made of mercury. A stylish blue band tied around his arm.

“Oh shoot,” breathed Rhyne. “We might have a chance.”

He swallowed his spit. Would this match be like the one they had seen before?

Riley placed his hand on Rhyne's shoulder and corrected him.

"You mean we definitely have a chance."

The charismatic figure placed his feet inside the dodgeball court. The blue team, though bewildered at first, started to cheer following an excited individual’s example. The red team grew wary of their new opponent. Even with one less player, the blue team’s power had risen to their level.

“Hello everyone! I’m here to join!” he said cheerfully.

The captain of the MMA club—

Deion had arrived.