Rising Shards

I told myself that if I was ever in prison and needed to break out, that having Mahina Koridia and Stella's friend Pippi would be my best bet. As the Wildfire Hearts team swapped spots with us, I ended up on the outfield with those two. Stella was stationed at second base, so she wasn't too far away, but far enough that I couldn't easily chat with her. Instead, I got to hear Mahina and Pippi immediately start scheming, and realized the two had a fair amount of deviousness between them.

"If I feign an injury right as the next kicker is up, do you think they'd be thrown off their game?" Pippi asked.

"Unlikely, there would need to be a secondary distraction," Mahina said. "I imagine their lack of empathy would make them suspect you're faking the injury, and I suppose they would be right."

I kind of expected Mahina to be the type to want a totally fair game and to win via the power of sports or whatnot. Mahina turned to me.

"I know what you're thinking," She said. "If I am so clearly jacked and athletic, why would I even entertain the notion of cheating? Typically, I wouldn't. In a situation like this, I am merely preparing for our opponents to cheat first. Preemptive counter cheats here."

"I see," I said.

"I, on the other hand, would not hesitate in any situation," Pippi said. "Win at all costs, you know?"

Mahina laughed deeply, her voice echoing around the gym. "That is also an attitude I respect."

"Cut the chatter back there!" Kitty yelled. "I will aim my kick directly at you!"

"And I'll just catch the ball then, Kitty!" Mahina said.

Kitty responded with grumbles and a series of stretches and warmup vocal exercises before she kicked. Caya seemed very pleased that Kitty was so angry already.

"I'm impressed that you talk back to her so easily," I said. "I think I could, but I've mostly just avoided her since she started paying attention to the school again."

"It's all part of my plan," Mahina said. "A multifaceted one, and one my new friend Pippi and I are adding to each minute to ensure our total domination of this mat ball game."

"Huh," I said. "You guys really take this seriously."

"It's fun!" Mahina said. "And I'm not losing this chance to piss off Kitty Kilander and best her in anything."

"She does have it coming," I said.

"Ah, that reminds me," Pippi said. She rushed over to third base, where Ms. Corinani was stationed and whispered something in her ear. Corinani gasped and ran for the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kitty shouted as Corinani left. "You can't even be on their team right? Or do being on their team right? Or whatever!"

"What was that about?" I asked when Pippi returned.

"Oh, I just said I saw a beat-up car getting broken into with my car camera app." Pippi said. "She believed me immediately."

"Does she have a beat-up car?" I asked.

Pippi shrugged. "I assumed so. She seemed to think so too. And I know she's Kitty's assistant, so Kitty gets mad at her doing anything. I don't even have a car camera app, I don't know if that's a thing."

"Very, very devious." I said, suddenly feeling like I was a bystander to a war of easily angered folks versus master plotters, and I hoped I wouldn't be caught up in the maelstrom of whatever was about to occur in this mat ball game.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!