This chapter is not edited! Forgive me if there are any grammatical mistakes!

Hush, Howl {3}

Sapphire

“We are the winners!

Aves-High the losers!

Jackson High,

Home of the wolves.

Champion of all!

The missing trophy in that stand now solves,

The high hall of fame we are trying to resolve!

In this game we will call!

We winners shall stand!

And you losers shall fall!

Aves-high, you hear?

Our words are loud and clear!”

The high-pitched chants coming from the cheerleaders rang in my ears, followed by the screaming excitement coming from the crowd. I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed quietly as I watched the cheerleaders wave their pom-poms in the air. They finished their jobs with an incredulous cartwheel and backbend poses with their incredibly flexible muscles.

        Ugh, I can’t stand this! I shouldn’t be here in the first place.

        Rosy should learn confronting me when deciding. Especially I will be the one to do the job and not her! I am not a child anymore for god’s sake! 

        We stood on the corner of the field, Rosy pumping her fists in the air while cheering for the cheerleading team. I rolled my eyes as I watched her. I gripped the body of my silver flute in my other hand and used the free one to throw some signs in the air, knowing Rosy would notice me.

        She then turned to me with agitation. “It’s not good cursing you know.” She pointed an accusing finger at me while I just shrugged.

         “It wasn’t meant for anyone, though.” I told her, letting my hands drop after tiring from the continuous signals I made.

         “You still cursed.” She said before turning away and looking ahead of her, giving me no chance to respond. I sighed and blew the strangling hair off my face.

        This is the worst night ever! The sun had now set from the sky and the field was lit up by bright, fluorescent lights that were attached on the high walls of the sports arena.

        After our rival school's cheerleading team had performed their little ‘stunt’ against my school, someone grabbed the microphone from the speaker. His voice often croaked so I instantly knew who it was. Our principal, Houston Dorothy.

         “I would like to say something even before the game starts.” He cleared his throat. “Jackson High only happens to have taught some of the best, talented students. Here and now, I am proud to present, Sapphire Stronghold for performing her talent tonight . . . playing the flute!” He said, his words followed by a small round of applause from the audience.

        My heart practically lodged on my throat when I heard my name called. My fingers instantly felt clammy in that very second. I felt sick to my stomach, which was maybe caused by my anxiety.

        Rosy pushed me towards where the speaker and the principal were. They were standing just by the corner of the arena, so I headed towards them and looked nervously between the two men.

        I took a deep breath and glanced at Principal Houston. His eyes looked back at me, an encouraging smile tugging on his lips. I can tell this presentation was abrupt.

        All the people sitting around in the area looked at me questioningly. I took a deep breath as Principal Houston held the mike for me and I started playing my piece. I closed my eyes, feeling the anxiety being washed away from the melody coming from my flute. 

        All my emotions were carried through the mysic that I can feel a tear fall from the corner of my eyes. This was the same song that I rehearse everyday in the woods. I often play it, meaning I’ve mastered it to the heart. I don’t know what’s in this symphony, but I always tend to tear up on it. Even though it seems only a normal music to everybody else, this tune means the world to me.

        Once I was finish playing the song, I allowed my hands to fall to my sides and absentmindedly wiped the tears of my eyes. Everybody suddenly clapped and stood up as a sign of standing ovation . . . I never really thought that that would happen.

         “That was . . . stupendous!” The speaker exclaimed, a smile beaming at his face. I faced him and gave out a grateful nod. “Thank you for playing such a wonderful piece for us tonight, Sapphire. Now, everyone please take your seats, the game will be starting.” He announced, his voice ringing through the intercom while he held the mike in front of his mouth. “Players! Out!” He said. The doors suddenly burst open, followed by a jogging troop of footballers.

        Rosy clapped proudly as I approached her. I have a big, uncontrollable grin plastered across my face as my cousin engulfed me into a tight embrace.

         “That was awesome!” She exclaimed, pulling away and placing her hands on my shoulders. 

        I guess so…

Darren

        I arrived on the sports arena just in time for the game. I pulled on my jersey and football pants, applying all the necessary gears for protection. Tucking my helmet under my right arm, I faced the mirror in my locker and combed my blonde hair with my free hand.

        I heard the crowd cheering outside while the speaker explained the events that will be happening tonight.

        Tonight is Jackson High’s game against our rival school. We are sure to win, though. Every members of the football team, as I assumed, are in perfect state. We will be able to beat those nasty opponents since most of my pack members are here too. Also, with all the thoughts about that tune… I already forgot about the fact that I’m their star-player.

         “Hey, man.” Daniel draped his arms around my shoulders in a manly gesture. I turned and looked at him. “Good luck with the game, by the way.”

         I nodded. “Yeah, same to you, too.” I said, flashing him a short-lived smile. I looked straight back to my sports bag. I placed my extra, folded shirt inside and zipped it up back again.

         The loud cheering coming from outside made me shake my head as I heard the microphone being taken from the speaker. After a while, a croaking voice crooned over the microphone which I instantly recognized as Principal Houston’s. Crazy old man. 

         “I would like to say something even before the game starts.” He cleared his throat. “Jackson High only happens to have taught some of the best, talented students. Here and now, I am proud to present, Sapphire Stronghold for performing her talent tonight . . . playing the flute!”

         I ignored the announcement and continued to fiddle with my things inside the bag. I was absentminded, feeling myself zone out from the real world while I continued to fix my things. I want to make sure they’re in order so that I can find them easily after the game. Having yourself lost things isn’t a pleasant experience, so I tried much to avoid them.

         I was suddenly shocked when I heard the weeping tune from the woods play. I felt a sudden urgency, which I still did not know what caused the pull I felt towards that music. I spun around and headed straight for the door, my pace faster than normal.

         Daniel spotted me and grabbed my arm. “Dude, what are you doing? It’s not time for us to come out yet.” He said, pulling me back. I struggled to get his arms off me and get to the source of the sound. Though I already am losing control, my other pack members held me on different parts of my body and pulled me back.

         “Let me go.” I said through gritted teeth. I think I’m going to break down if I still did not find where that tune is coming from! It’s torturous!

         “Man, what’s wrong with you?” Felix asked, pulling me back harder than before.

         “Yeah, you’ve never been out of control like this before.” Daniel added as I managed to break free of a hold from a single restrainer.

         “I need to know where that music comes from.” I said, struggling harder.

         They all exchanged glances before letting me go. Unfortunately, the music stopped the moment I finally made it out of the door.

         Crazy. I know. What is wrong with me?

         I reached the field the same time the speaker took hold of the mike and began to speak once more. I saw a girl with a flaming red hair walking back into the side of the field and hugging another girl in happiness. I didn’t see her whole face because I was pushed off by the other players when jogging out into the field.

         I suddenly knew about the fact that the players were called out.

         I tried to walk in towards her but our coach scolded me and told me to get into position to warm up.

         Damn! The game haven’t even started yet! I scratched the back of my neck and jogged towards the other players, having no choice. I started doing some warm-up stretching, but kept my eyes on the girl with the red hair. Both her and the other girl she was with climbed up the stairs and grabbed seats among the audiences.

         This is going to be a long . . . night.

___________

<EDITED> 

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