"You're going out in that?" My father usually didn't judge others, but now he stared at me over his coffee cup with one raised, bushy brow.
"Yes. Too much?" I asked, recalling the outfit I put together when I woke up that morning. A bird necklace hung around my neck, sparkling in the living room light. Old Halloween pants that looked like the legs of a bird from a bet I lost at my old school, a plain t-shirt with feathers printed on it, and a few feathers weaved into my hair with a bobby pin completed the look. I thought I looked pretty fly, but then again, I had no sense of fashion.
"Too much." He agreed, a small chortle escaping under his breath. "I get that you're trying to be like your new friends, but their references are a little more subtle from what you've told me."
"I'll ditch the pants for regular jeans." I laughed, left the room, and reemerged again in a few minutes as if at a promenade. The audience, in this case, happened to be my dad. He provided essential commentary.
"Nice. That's the winner." I got the thumbs up of approval from him. Now I could strut on the street like the harpy I was at heart.
"Thanks dad, see you later! Love you!" I called, already headed directly heading for the door. He called his undying love back, just before I exited the house and hit the road on the bus route for the school. No classes today, Saturday, but an event still awaited me. Honestly, I never thought any school would make me want to be there on a weekend. Yet, this one made me so enthusiastic about it.
When I finally made it to school, Rowdy met me outside the front doors with Nashita at his side. They both smirked like I won them a million dollars.
"You know what this means, Fey? It means we're most likely going into the final event as one of the top teams." Nashita said. Her eyes sparkled with admiration, inflating what nonexistent ego I had. This place really could raise my self-confidence.
"Where the hell was it, anyway?" Rowdy laughed, slapping my back and making me yelp. I guess it was supposed to be a friendly gesture, and he did apologize when he realized it hurt me. Despite that, he really didn't know his own strength.
"Red Rose Community Theatre," I said, and a quiet 'ohhh' rolled under their breath.
"That makes sense. Velvet seats of the audience, and the sounds and whispers back stage. Food at concessions." Nashita raised a finger in thought, smiling. She looked to Rowdy to see if he had a comment, but he remained silent. "Anyway, Fey, c'mon. The rest of the team is already out at the well, not to mention other teams, too."
We stalked to the back of the school and beyond, towards the well. Sure enough, multitudes of people crowded around the well, all from different teams. Some of them intermingled with others, but the obvious team division stood out, especially among certain groups.
We stayed near the entrance to our own path, and I realized that the announcer wasn't here. I couldn't pick out Abigail's face among the crowd. In fact, Ezekiel and Taylor weren't there, either. The only Badgers present were members, and they looked a little more than worried. My mind stirred with thoughts about what their event could be. Didn't they have something like a madhouse last year?
Finally down the path from the Badgers came a one, lone figure. For a moment I didn't know who, assuming the looks of Abigail to fill in the face, but eventually the features of Taylor fell appeared instead. They looked slightly out of it, as if they saw a ghost or something that they didn't want to believe on the way down. Regardless, as the crowd began to hush and turn towards them, that look faded. They turned into a leader, someone who could move crowds with incredible acting ability. They raised their hand in greeting, a smile sliding across their face. The dull rumble of noise reduced to absolutely nothing.
"Hello!" Taylor talked to the crowd like an announcer. "It's nice to see you all in such good health, and for those who aren't, I sincerely hope that your health improves." The eyes in the crowd unknowingly drifted over to Arthur and Jules. Jules seemed to be improving, though it looked like they used makeup to cover up as many wounds as possible. Arthur on the other hand had a bruise running along his jaw line that he didn't care to cover up. Something told me that came from the fight with Ezekiel that Ms. Spiefer suspended him over.
"The final trial of the beings of Dreamveil will take place inside Larimore High School." Taylor said, and the murmurs returned. Why wasn't Abigail delivering this speech? She was the Administrator, right? Taylor, only being the Moderator, couldn't put as much weight in their words, and yet I found myself hanging on every word as they smiled softly to the audience. "As always, it will take place on the first day of Spring Break. The teams will gather outside the school doors at 5 pm, so you have until then to prepare." This seemed to resonate more with the crowd and a sound of familiarity caressed all of their ears. "A mysterious field surrounded the school under the spell of the well. This prevents perk items from having effect inside the school unless you have them with you. Items left outside will be nullified during the event." Taylor spoke as if they'd practiced this speech over and over in the mirror. Maybe Abigail didn't intend to make the speech after all. My mind flickered to how they hung up the posters, too, with someone from another team, even. Did she make Taylor do everything for her?
"The event will last until the sun rises, around six a.m., on the second day of Spring Break. Therefore, I would recommend sleeping before arriving. As you know, there are five floors within the school, including the basement. Each team will get a starting floor, with the Badgers and the Phoenixes getting the top and bottom floors, respectively, as an advantage because of being the top two in the ranking as of this morning. You can capture other teams' floors to gain their supplies and eliminate them. The team with the most members standing and the most floors captured by the end of the night wins, which means we will not consider points for the winning team. The playing field is completely even now, so anyone has a chance to win the chance to direct the plot next year." While at first Tariq looked livid at the fact that the Badgers and the Phoenixes had an advantage, he seemed to calm when Taylor revealed that the final event wouldn't include points.
In fact, most people in the crowd seemed to be ecstatic that anyone had a chance at a win this year, other than the team that had ruled it for the past few years. Something told me Taylor came up with that particular bullet point.
"However, because of limited supplies and space, each team will only be allowed to have a select number of members enter. Each team gets to choose five members to enter the event, and the rest of their team must wait outside until the event concludes. No communication between the inside and outside will be allowed, so phones and things of the like will be temporarily confiscated from the members who are headed inside. This is because of the barrier." Taylor's voice never wavered. They definitely practiced this speech before.
No communication wouldn't be that big of a concern. It just meant that the people outside would be kept in suspense until the event ended. "There's no worry about who you choose to compete. Anyone can, as long as the number does not exceed five. You don't have to choose this until the moment of the event."
Taylor smiled as if the world happened to grace us all with the best riches. "That's all, everyone. It'll be a wonderful experience." The crowd fell back into chattering amongst themselves, sectioning into the five groups with few exceptions. My eyes fluttered around the people. My heart leaped at a stray thought that all this confusion would give me an advantage at something I'd been trying to do all week. I saw my chance. I intended to be an exception.
I weaved through the crowd of people, eventually ending up where I wanted to be- right next to a pixie. My eyes gazed up at the angelic beauty, filling to the brim with admiration.
"Hey Fey," The saintly being waved her fingers, and I waved back, unable to speak for a few moments. My nerdiness definitely fought against me in all respects of flirting.
"Hey Rachel!" The words fell out of my mouth a bit too emphatically. She giggled, and already my face felt like some type of goopy magma. "Um, are you busy?" I asked, fiddling with my own fingers.
"Not at all. Justin just told us the people that would be going in- Avery, Harriet, Shelby, him, and I." The pixie answered and shrugged her shoulders, which made the winged parts on her backpack shift as if in flight.
"Well, um, I know that you're really kind, and uh, stunningly gorgeous," She giggled again, and my train of thought dove into the abyss for a moment. "And I know that you don't know me too well, but um, I'd appreciate it if you'd take the opportunity and grant me the pleasure of going on a date with me to get to know me better today, like, soon." The last phrase ran out of my mouth so fast that all of my words seemed to crash and burn like a train wreck. She began to laugh; she laughed at me. My heart dissolved. The expression on her face proved that she didn't see any of my previous affections as anything but platonic. This always happened to me. Why was it so hard to establish what you felt like this?
"Actually, Fey, I'd absolutely adore it." Rachel answered, a flush gracing her face. I could hear Justin, not too far away, letting out a quiet 'aw'. I managed to look up at her again, and then I realized that I worried in vain. She wasn't laughing at me at all. She was just flattered. "Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know yet, but my Lord, I've never been more grateful." I let out a shaky breath, coming down from what possibly could have been a moment of extreme panic and embarrassment. My hand shook as I offered it to her, and surprisingly, she took it gracefully. Then, with her on her heels that made her gorgeously tower over most more than she already did, like an ethereal goddess, we walked back out to the front of the school. I gently led her onto the bus, where I would have to choose a destination rather quickly.