Rising Shards

In this silly 'keep a ball in the air' game, only myself, Kalei, and Lillia were still in it for our class. Shortly after getting the jacket from the biker girls, Aira walked off and I didn’t see her on the bleachers with our other classmates. My arms were getting sore, but every time I tried to bop the ball with my head or my tail, it led to a near catastrophe, so I was stuck with my current strategy.

“How did we outlast the Matoras?” Kalei asked. She was barely breaking a sweat.

“They each tried to keep their ball in the air with a backflip,” Lillia said. “Very impressive backflips that they landed well, especially from Ko, but then they fumbled shortly after when they tried to best themselves.”

“Damn, those sisters love their backflips,” Kalei said.

“You should try it, too,” Chickadee said. “I bet you could do it!”

“Shut up!” Kalei said. “Can you just go away already? Is that metal helmet chick gone?”

“Which one?” Chickadee asked. “There’s more than one girl wearing a metal helmet at my school, oh my god! Specify!”

“I see her on the stands,” I said quietly.

“Thanks,” Kalei said.

“Which one was it? I don’t even know?” Chickadee said. “Can you just lose already?”

“If we’re the last ones, doesn’t that mean we won already?” I said.

“If it’s like the practice, we keep going until there’s only one left,” Kalei said. “And that’s gonna be me.”

An idea struck me as my arms begged for a break.

“Hey, Kitty said we can’t use powers on each other, right?” I said. “Does that mean we can use powers on our E.B.’s?”

“Maybe? What good would that be with ice powers?” Kalei asked. “If I had my staff for beam chasers, this would be so easy. Do you think I could conjure an ice staff quick? Though that’d be pretty cold.”

“I was thinking I’d make like a trampoline,” I said, picturing making a perfectly woven work of vines that would let the ball just bounce and give my poor arms a break.

“When practicing with Ko, we learned that my flame breath is not suitable to this challenge,” Lillia said. She didn’t look too tired or sweaty or anything, but Lillia was the type of person that was difficult to see as anything less than pristine no matter the situation.

“Hey,” Kalei tilted her head to the side and then grinned. “Does that mean those scorched beam chasers balls I saw thrown out by the practice court were your doing?”

Lillia flinched. “That’s…none of your business!”

Kalei started chuckling.

“What? What’s so funny?” Lillia asked. “If you’re finding humor in me damaging school property, I offered to pay for replacements! Unless it’s something else?”

“Scorched balls.” Kalei said, barely able to get the words out.

“You are so insufferable!” Lillia said, which only made Kalei laugh harder.

While they bickered about that, still managing to keep in the game, I got to work on my plan. It was quickly clear I couldn’t conjure a whole trampoline. Or much more than a flower between bounces of the ball. The energy coming off of it would singe my skin or something, but it didn’t seem to have that effect even if it tickled a little each time it hit my forearms or fists. I hit the ball high in the air before conjuring some vines that I quickly wrapped around my wrists. It helped slightly, so I counted it as a win.

“I think that might be cheating, you,” Chickadee said.

“Then go tattle on me,” I said.

“What’s that thing on your wrist?” Chickadee asked.

“The vines you just said are cheating,” I said.

“Not that, that cloth deal,” Chickadee said. “Something up with that?”

When I first met Chickadee, she carried herself in kind of a pathetic way that made me sympathetic to her even if she was spying on us. But it was clear that impression was wrong, she had a mean streak in her. She could tell she hit a sore spot talking about my wrist cloth.

“It’s nothing,” I said.

“Alright, that was the last bit of intel I had,” Chickadee said. “Well, I had more, but I’m so bored.”

“Then go away already!” I snapped.

“Who’d you get intel from?” Lillia asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Chickadee said. “They’re very knowledgeable in all that gossip business. I learned a lot about my new rivals. And I got extra credit in spy class for learning things!”

“How is that allowed?” I said.

“I dunno, but I’m glad I’m not the one being spied on,” Chickadee said. “But with that, I think it’s time we wrap this whole shindig up, don’t you think?”

“She’s about to do something,” I said. “So…get ready?”

I wasn’t sure what I could do. Maybe call to Dr. Diast for help? Where was she? Where were any of our teachers? Surely this girl bothering us crossed some sort of line.

As I pondered that, a ball hit me right in the middle of my back.

“Hey!” I said. The energy on my ball faded as it plopped to the ground. I whirled to see who did that, but didn’t spot anyone. Was it some kind of trick? Two more thunks of energy balls, and Lillia and Kalei were out too.

“Ha! I didn’t even have to raise a finger.” Chickadee said. “With what you’re up against, you might as well quit now.”

“What the hell!” Kalei kicked at the ground. “You cheated!”

“I did nothing of the sort,” Chickadee said.

“Um, can you turn your power off?” Someone spoke, but I couldn’t see them.

“Oh yeah, good idea,” Chickadee said. She waved her hands, and the camouflaging power Chickadee had faded from four Wildfire Hearts students.

Either Chellsi or Mikeila-Keila had taken out Lillia, they were over by her. And by me was…a blue haired girl.

“09?” I asked, so much disbelief in my voice that her eliminating me and herself from the game barely registered to me. She was back to normal after being stuck as a wolf for what felt like months! A bunch of emotions hit me at once, like eating a weird food that had five different aftertastes in it. First was relief, being glad to finally see my cousin as herself again. Then a dash of sadness remembering the last time I saw her looking like herself, and even more from how she looked at me, like she was so sorry for this, maybe for everything, but with a glimmer in her eyes that maybe said otherwise.

Then fear hit me as I realized who had taken Kalei out. The group made a big scene of it, all dropping their energy balls at once so this girl would be the winner. I almost didn’t recognize her with her hair short again. But that sneer was unmistakable.

“I almost missed the idiotic looks on your faces,” Ovie said. “I can’t think of a much better way to welcome me back than to see you lot lose.”

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