I got to school the next day to meet a bubbly atmosphere. I walked to my locker and was just about to open it when Clover arrived.

"Hey Dani" she greeted, hugging me.

"Hey" I replied and then pulled back "Is it just me or does everybody seem excited?"

"Of course they are! Tomorrow is the big game between Arlington's Hornets and Blue Lake's Swans. Blue Lake is another school here in New York and the Swans and Hornets have been rivals for as long as I can remember" she explained, excited as well.

"Oh, okay but it's tomorrow right? Why are you all already excited?" I asked, confused as I brought my books out of my locker.

"Yeah, but it's a game everyone has been anticipating. The Hornets have always beaten the Swans before now, but at the last game they had, the swans actually beat them! So, everyone is excited to see how the Hornets bounce back by winning tomorrow's game" she explained, her eyes gleaming with pride.

"Oh okay then" I said just as I was done getting my books out. "Hey, what was the outcome of your mum's visit to the hospital yesterday?" I asked, remembering our conversation at the cafeteria the day before.

"Oh that" she replied, her excitement dying out as she turned to face me. I instantly regret asking that question. "She had to do a test but the result won't be out till tommorow"

"Alright then" I replied awkwardly, staring at the ground "Uh, so tell me about the Hornets" I piped, trying to cut through the tension in the air. Lucky for me, it wasn't very thick because though it wasn't as bright as before, her smile was back.

"Okay so as you know, Steve is the captain and Peter is the deputy" she started. We had both gotten our books out so we rested against our lockers as we talked. I nodded and she continued "Thomas is one of the great players and Blake, well he's the top scorer in most of their games. There's also Josh, Timothy, Freddie, Sam and a couple other guys on the team that you don't know"

At the mention of Blake's name, our little encounter of the day before flashed through my head and I realized something. The chip. I forgot to ask my mum about it. I made another mental note to check it out later and then replied Clover.

"Blake's a top scorer?" I asked and she nodded "Oh that's nice, I swear he should be captain and not Steve McJerkface" I added the last part, rolling my eyes and Clover giggled.

"Well, we can't always get what we want" she replied, shrugging, just as the bell went and we made our way to Chemistry.

We entered and walked to the back of the class to take our seats. My eyes scanned through the few heads present for a familiar mop of dark brown hair but it was nowhere in sight.

"He's most probably in the gym, practicing with his teammates" Clover said from the seat next to me.

"What? Who?" I asked, feigning ignorance.

"Oh come on Dani, I know you were searching for Blake" she replied, rolling her eyes.

"No I wasn't" I denied, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Yeah sure and Obama's my father" she replied sarcastically, bringing out her phone.

"Whatever" I dismissed but then after some minutes, I asked "But aren't they going to get into trouble for skipping classes?"

"Nope, all the guys on the team are excused for the day and besides, today is basically like a free day because most of the teachers won't come to teach and school closes for the day after recess. Looking at how scanty this classroom is should tell you why the teachers don't bother to come" she explained.

"Oh yeah, I noticed that the class is a bit empty. Where's everyone?" I asked.

"Well, some didn't bother to come to school today because they know how the day before a big game always goes and the ones that did, came mainly to watch the Hornets practice" she replied, tapping away on her phone screen.

"They're watching them just practice?" I asked, confused.

"Well yeah, it's a special type of practice. It's like a pre-game except from the fact that they're playing against each other" she explained but then I think she saw that I looked even more confused because she continued "It's like, the team splits in two and then one team plays against the other to test their skills and prepare"

"Ohhh, that's what you mean" I replied, finally catching on "Hey, how about we go to the gym too?"

"Not yet, what if the teacher shows up? Some of them actually come" she refused "And besides, we have a free period after this, we can go then"

"Come on, you know how lazy Mr. Sinclair can be, he most probably won't come" I said just as the door opened and in walked - that's right, you guessed it - Mr. Sinclair himself, making me groan. I didn't even have to look at Clover to know she was giving me the 'I told you so' look.

Due to the scanty nature of the class and the excitement buzzing in the atmosphere, Mr. S just gave us a few exercises to complete and he left.

After that, Clover and I went back to our lockers, returned our books and we headed for the gym.

We were just passing by the girl's locker room when the door burst open and out came Cynthia, Stacy and another girl I didn't recognize. They were in their cheerleading uniforms and it was actually quite nice. It was a two-piece yellow and black outfit that had a hornet embroidered at the top left side of the vest. They were chatting away happily until they noticed us.

"Well if it isn't Babraham Lincoln" Cynthia drawled, crossing her arms over her chest as her smile morphed into a scowl. Say what now?

"What?" I asked, laughing "What does that even mean?"

"Well, since you've take it upon yourself to save every little nerd from their inevitable fate in this school and you actually feel like a hero for doing that, might as well call you Babraham" she replied, crossing her arms across her chest.

"What? This just shows how bad you are at History, you're not even making any sense. Oh and you forgot to add the part where I talked back at you though it seems like you're still recovering from that" I replied, mirroring her stance, a smirk on my face.

"You little piece of -" she started, getting worked up but was interrupted by Stacy.

"Calm down C, don't let this little hoe work you up the day before a major game, she's not worth it" Stacy said, placing her hand on Cynthia's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, hoe?" I asked, looking over at Stacy.

"Yeah that's right, hoe, that's exactly what you are" she retorted, glaring at me now.

"I'm not the one forcing myself on someone who wants nothing to do with me" I scoffed.

"That's exactly what you're doing!" She accused, pointing a finger at me "You're always around Blake like a gutter fly on trash and that's why he hasn't realized the feelings he has for me yet".

I chuckled dryly before responding, "Sis, I may be a 'gutter fly on trash' according to you but at least I'm in check with reality. You should try it sometimes, being in check with reality I mean, you know, get out of your dream bubble and actually see what's going on around you"

"Hmmph, you're just jealous because you know I'm right. I know Blake better than you and why won't I? After all, we did date some years back" she retorted, a smug smile on her face.

"Liar!" Clover said but it was disguised as a cough. I laughed lightly at that but Stacy didn't seem to find it as funny as I did. No sense of humour. Tsk.

"What was that nerd?" She asked in a threatening tone.

"Nothing" Clover replied, looking anywhere but her face.

"So now you can talk" Cynthia piped in, taking a step towards Clover "Just know this, Thomas or this wretch wouldn't be around to save you all the time, so clip those little feathers you've started to grow or I'll be forced to do it myself"

"Leave her alone Bells" I said to Cynthia  "And trust me, Clover doesn't need me or Thomas to come to her rescue, she can take you on herself" I spat. At that, Clover, nudged me lightly, trying to get me to stop talking.

"That's a lie" she scoffed, crossing her arms again "She wouldn't dare"

"Whatever floats your boat sis. Now if you'll excuse us, we have a game to watch" I replied and with that, we were gone.

All this while, the third girl stood aside, enjoying our banter which served as entertainment to her. Personally, I think she was on our side, I heard her chip in a few 'ooohhs' and 'burns' under her breath but she dared not make it obvious because if any of the things I heard about Cynthia were true, she'd have to say goodbye to that sexy black and yellow outfit.

"The looks on their faces were priceless!" Clover burst out laughing as we neared the gym.

"I know right" I replied, chuckling, then asked "Oh and Clover, why did she say that they dated?"

"Oh, that" she said, her laughter dying out "There was a time the 'Elite' students of Arlington moved around in groups and they were quite tight. But ever since his parents died, Blake cut himself off from that group. He secluded himself so much that he became a loner. It's a good thing he's better now, at least now he talks to people. Anyways, Stacy always had her eye on him but unfortunately for her, he didn't like her that way. So one time, she spread the rumour that they were dating but it was obvious that it was a lie"

"Woah" I replied, chuckling "Was she that desperate?"

"Yeah. He might have even had the tiniest of feelings for her, but that would've vanished when she killed his pet iguana because she thought it was disgusting" she finished, laughing lightly at the memory.

"Really? Such a bitch right from the beginning" I replied, scrunching up my face.

"I know right" Clover said as we reached the entrance to the gym.

*  *  *  *  *

Hey guys! How are you? I hope you're staying safe.

Finally completed this chapter, phew! I hope you enjoy reading it like I enjoyed writing it.

Please don't forget to VOTE, drop COMMENTS and SHAREEE. xx