Tuesday- The Next Morning

Stephanie had cried herself to sleep over yesterday’s ‘breakup’ with Mina. So when she arrived at school the next morning, she went straight to the bathroom mirror to check her face. Her eyes in particular. Darn, I still see the bags. And I hope nobody asks me about yesterday. I don’t need a pity party.

After adjusting her hair, Stephanie exited the bathroom to go to her homeroom. But when she neared the hallway corner, she spotted the volleyball team captain, Patricia “Big Pat,” watching a video on a phone. Next to Pat stood Mina, pointing at the footage. 

“Ah,” Stephanie gasped. With butterflies in her stomach, she walked closer. Don’t act weird, Stephanie. Just say hello and keep going. “Hi, Pat!” 

The wide-shouldered, Big Pat, looked up. “Hey, Stephanie. C’mere and check this out. It’s good stuff.”

“Oh, sure,” Stephanie replied on reflex since Pat was cool. But as Stephanie stepped over, she tried not to look at Mina. Pat then displayed the phone.

“Steph, look. It’s highlights of Hazel Ray and Bianca Peters,” Pat said.

“Hunh?” Stephanie’s eyes widened as she checked the footage of the rival team’s star athletes they’d be playing this Friday. The Clara Eastman Academy, Eagles. The edited footage showed the tactics the two players used to win. “Oh wow, this edit is gold.”

“Exactly,” Mina spoke up. “Steph, if we alternate high and low defense we can stop their game in its tracks.”

“Uh, yeah,” Stephanie replied, caught off guard by Mina’s confident presence. 

“That’s right!” Pat cheered. “So this is what we gotta do.”

Pat went on to explain a defensive plan. But while Pat and Mina went back and forth with details. Stephanie noted the leadership in Mina’s voice and posture. It appeared the black-haired beauty wanted to win. That’s good. Stephanie thought to herself while feeding off of Mina’s vibe. Because Stephanie was also competitive. 

“If we shadow them, they won’t have a chance,” Mina said to Stephanie. 

Stephanie nodded while eyeing the footage, trying not to look at Mina. “Hazel and Bianca aren’t as fast as we are.”

“Or as good.” Mina smiled. 

“And that’s a fact,” Pat agreed, just as the school warning bell rang. “Alright you two, I gotta get to class. And, oh, wait?” Pat glared at Stephanie and Mina. “You guys aren’t having a lover’s spat or no bullshit like that, right? Because if you are, please leave it off the court.”

“Nah. Me and Stephanie are cool,” Mina said. “She wants to win just like I do.”

“Heck yeah, I do,” Stephanie spoke up, happy that Mina defended her.

“Good,” Pat said, smiling. She then bumped fists with Mina and Stephanie. “See you guys at practice.” 

“Later, Pat.” Mina waved and then turned to Stephanie. “Hey, I posted the footage in the team chat. Check it out when you can.”

“I will.”

“Cool, see you at practice,” Mina said with a nod before walking off to her homeroom. 

Stephanie grinned before turning the other direction. But as she walked, a hole formed in her gut. Because in that entire conversation, Mina never once appeared sad or sullen in Stephanie’s presence. Stephanie then frowned. I guess Mina’s already over me. I can’t say I blame her. Now, I’d better get to homeroom before I’m late. 

Details   

Emilia giggled as she sat in homeroom listening to Angel brag to Skye about her organizational skills. And why that made her a good presidential candidate. 

“Pay attention, Skye. And observe my efficient operation underway. Perhaps you’ll learn something,” Angel said. 

“I’m observing,” Skye replied with a smirk. 

“Hmph!” Angel pouted and then turned to Emilia and Alice, who were seated next to her. And with a squinting scowl, she started with Emilia. “Emilia, have you considered my new campaign slogan yet?”

“Yes, Angel.” Emilia shuffled her notes. “How about this one: If you want something done, Angel's the one!”

“What?” Angel glared at Emilia. “Am I a bloody call girl service to you?”

“Eeep! No!” Emilia cried.

“Pfft! Hahaha!” Skye burst out laughing. “Now I know who to call when I want something done, haha!”

“Shut up, you!” Angel frowned. 

“My, my,” Cassia chuckled. “Emilia, do you have any other suggestions?”

“Oh, yeah.” Emilia looked at the notes. “How about this one: A vote for Angel is a vote for action.”

“Ah.” Angel smiled. “Yes, I rather like that one.”

“It does sound good,” Skye and Cassia agreed. “Go with it, dear sister.”

“Thank you, I will. For it’s simple and true since I’m all about action.” Angel then squinted and smiled at Emilia. “We’ll use that slogan. Excellent work, Em.”

“Thank you, Angel!” Emilia beamed. Proud to have helped. 

Angel then glared at Alice. “Alice, did you secure our headquarters?”

“I sure did, Angel. We got the third floor club room with the big window you requested.” 

“Good! The sunlight refreshes me.”

“Yeah, but the admins gave me a hard time about the room because you haven’t declared a running mate yet,” Alice said, showing the paperwork. 

“Oh pish-posh! I’ll have one shortly,” Angel shot back. “But either way, you did a fine job, Alice. I’m proud of you.” She cleared Alice’s bangs from her eyes. 

“Thank you, Angel!” Alice blushed. 

“Mhm.” Angel then turned and glared at Skye. “Well? Are you not impressed with my operation?”

“Sure, sure.” Skye nodded. “But it’s all a waste of time if you don’t get a running mate. Don’t you think?”

“I’m working on it,” Angel growled. Just then, Mina walked into the homeroom. “Hello, dear sister. Where’ve you been?”

“Hey everybody,” Mina greeted before answering. “I was in the hallway talking to Pat and them about volleyball stuff. ”Mina then sat down next to Emilia. “Yo, Em.”

“Good morning,” Emilia said. “Did you show Patricia the footage?”

“Yeah, thanks for sending me the links. And wow, you can find anything online.”

“Gotta know how to look.” Emilia then paused before asking. “Did you see Stephanie?”

“Yes. In the hallway. And I did what you said. I didn’t speak to her about anything but volleyball. I just kept the focus on the common goal.”

“Volleyball is the common goal?” Emilia asked. 

“No. Winning,” Mina said. “Stephanie wants to win. Just like I do.”

“Yeah, I suppose.” Emilia patted Mina’s head. “Because who wants to lose?”

Skip Ahead

The rest of the day went without incident as everyone attended class. But by fifth-period lunch, Angel grew concerned about not having a running mate. As the bell rang and she entered the hallway, she thought to herself. I need to take the running mate situation seriously. I'll speak to some of the girls in my biology class. They seem smart.

Just then, Skye Martinez appeared in front of her.

"Heya, Angel. Heading to lunch?" she asked

"Yes. So, what do you want?"

"Nothing bad. But I’m giving some thought to being your running mate."

"Eh?" Angel gasped. This was all of a sudden. "Who's to say I want you as a running mate?"

"Are you kidding?" Skye smirked. "You barely talk to any other girls in the school and you certainly don't have any friends. So who else are you going to ask?"

"Now see here, don't think that I don't have options!" Angel barked, but deep down, Skye sparked her interest. I mean, Skye is annoying but controllable. And she’s pretty and gaining in popularity. Hmm…

"Come on, we'll talk more about it at that cafe in town," Skye said, clutching Angel's hand and pulling her.

Angel resisted. "What are you talking about? What cafe?"

"The one your sister fought that creature at. The one with the great tiramisu."

"Hunh? But we're at school now?"

"Yeah, that's why I called a rideshare to take us there. It's waiting outside."

"Wait!" This was too much for Angel. This crazy Skye wants to sneak out of school to eat at a cafe. 

But Skye smiled and gently pulled Angel away. "Don't be square, Angel. We'll be right back. No one will even know we're gone."

"But, we'll be breaking the rules," Angel protested.

"Rules are meant to be broken," Skye affirmed while guiding a lamenting Angel out of the school and toward a waiting car service. "Quit crying, it’ll be fun."

“I’m not crying!”

“Heh, heh. Good times." The car then pulled off and headed into town. 

...