Emily didn't want to have secrets from Willy, especially after everything he had done to help her, but at the same time she didn't want to drag her best friend into an even deeper mess. It wasn't fair of her, and it was likely that it could endanger his life as well as that of his family, more so than she already had done.
"Oh this thing? My regular comm has been playing up a bit recently. You know about our financial situation, so I've used some of that money I had earned from that part time job to get myself that brick for emergencies. You know how those old comms can never die, and the battery lasts on them forever." Emily smiled, still feeling hurt inside.
As for Willy, he didn't know how to feel. Emily had shared one of her biggest secrets with him, so why would she need to lie about a second comm.
"Hey Emily, you did a great job in the first half of yesterday's Aerion football match! I never knew you were that strong." One of her classmates congratulated her. "Oh and Willy, how are you? I can't believe the referee didn't punish those bastards for clearly bashing onto you!"
Willy and Emily recognised him as one of the more popular kids of their year, meaning he was someone who would usually never associate with either one of them.
"A shame Emily didn't punch them out. Seriously, when you jumped those Heaven Dune High students I was rooting for you, they would have deserved it. I'm still surprised you did that with their bad rep. I thought they were all going to jump you!" Another one added.
The compliments didn't seem to stop, and after the day that Emily had, it was a nice change of things. She thanked them all and just smiled back.
Lessons went on as normal, but as was to be expected, Emily couldn't focus on the classes. Dire fang was the main worry she had in her head. Emily had no idea how to beat the other, especially since Dire fang had already Started learning skils, making him even stronger. The longer she waited, the worse her chances of dealing with him became.
A little while later, she felt her comm vibrate, and it was coming from her secret comm. Willy, who had been keeping an eye on Emily, took note of this. When it was finally time for lunch, her best friend asked her if they could go and grab a bite to eat together.
"Sorry, I have to make a report to Mrs. Ava about the game. She said she wanted to talk to me about something." Emily lied again.
'"… Okay, I understand. I might just stay here and catch up on some sleep." Willy replied.
Watching carefully, Willy soon saw that Red Sunn also looked at his comm, one that looked eerily similar to the brick model his best friend had, and went off in the same direction as Emily.
'That comm and Daniel, something is up with all of them. I wonder if this has something to do with how Emily was making money. Emily…I just hope you're not getting yourself in another mess.'
Willy's guess was spot on. The high schooler had headed to the roof, where Daniel and Amy were both already waiting for her. A little while later Red Sunn joined them as well.
Anyway, regardless of this, tomorrow is the big day for you two, it's your first match, and it's also our first debut as a gang. The reason why I called you all here today was because I wanted for us all to come up with a name, as members."
This came as a surprise to Emily. She had seen Amy interact with Daniel that one time she had followed after her, yet she had never thought that she would also be involved with this whole gang business.
"How about, the Unbreakable Iron Group? Or I know, the Black Flames!" Red Sunn suggested while pretending to wield the power of fire. It was when the group noticed that Red Sunn had quite the childlike side to him… and that his naming sense was horrible, yet Emily didn't have any better suggestions herself which was why she decided to keep quiet.
"After watching your debut fight, I actually felt inspired. What do you all think about, The Midnight Crucifix?" Daniel suggested, looking at Emily in particular.
"I like it." Amy said, while Red Sunn nodded. However, he had to admit that it was a good name. A gang name should send fear into whoever heard their name, though usually their own members should be exempt.
I think…it's good as well." Emily answered, really not having any better ideas.