Chapter 27: Let the Battle Begins
"D-Dego, w-why me?" We were outside the gymnasium because our professor let us to go outside for five minutes before the activity would officially start.
"Don't make it a big deal," he uttered firmly before he walked away and left me alone inside the cafeteria. Those words from him pinched my heart for some reasons...it was a big deal for me. If only he knew what I felt.
I was about to bite my cheeseburger, but...
"Don't cry. It'll just bring out your wrinkles." It was him again. His presence just made me set aside the burger that I was supposed to eat.
"Are you a clown, huh?" I was having a serious moment, but he had ruined it. I might look snob or what, but I really hated him for being so officious.
"Kind of. I just want you not to cry. You don't deserve to cry." He seemed to have care about me, but I did not need someone to pity me.
"Leave me alone, attention-seeker! Just leave!" I commanded with a serious face, but with a voice not so loud because there were too many people inside the cafeteria. I did not want to put him on shame, what I wanted was him to stay away from me.
But he did not move or say anything. "Okay!" I said casually before I turned my back and left him inside the cafeteria. If he did not want to leave, then I would be the one who would do it.
My attitude was so shameful...that was my problem when I was already consumed by my anger, negative thoughts, and many more dreadful occurrences.
"Let's start," Professor Autre announced the moment I sat on the floor together with my groupmates.
"Let the battle begins!" Marc shouted carelessly as it made him looked like a troublemaker. I wondered how he would participate, when in fact, his girlfriend was the target.
"Group one, position your queen and packs of ice water on the right side of this gymnasium. Group two, on the left side." I started panicking when she told us that we would start the activity. Something was also bothering me. Draco was not showing himself yet.
"Where are you, Draco?" I whispered as I ran to the left side of the gymnasium where my groupmates were waiting. I was worried about him.
"Tskkk. Sluggish turtle," a girl said the moment I reached our base. I knew that she was pertaining to me, but I just let her be. She was from the other course, and I did not know her at all. She also did not know me.
"Hurry up. Wear this." Dego gave me the white shirt, and I immediately wore it because I did not want to fail my groupmates. I did not want to hear another sour word from that girl, also.
"Just sit down and we'll cover you using our bodies. Do something also to protect yourself. Remember that you have no one but yourself to take care of you," he instructed. I could feel that he cared for a groupmate like me even though I was the toy of their famous group known as the CINCO. He cared because it was part of the activity. Leadership.
"I understand." I sat down on the floor, and they started hiding me by standing in front of me.
Dego and Marc were the main shield and the ones who would primarily throw the packs of ice water. Each member of the group was holding a pack of ice water and was ready to protect me. I could see from where I was that the other group was already positioned to fire their bullets to us. Mayb and Lura were also standing in front of their members, but I could not vividly see Zen because she seemed to be super protected by the group.
I did not know how I would be able to protect myself during the main battle; I could feel that the water would surely hit me right on my face.
"I can feel that the two groups are ready, so let the water party begins! Fire!" Professor Autre shouted and that was the signal that the two groups were waiting.
Our group was the first one to fire up. "Good job, blues!" Dego acclaimed and that gave us a hope because they were able to hit Mayb and her uniform became slightly wet as the water directly splashed on her clothes...but she was not the main target.
"Fire!" Mayb shouted angrily and the next thing I knew was that my groupmates were very close to one another as they were trying everything to save me from getting wet.
The exchange of colored water surrounded the place, there were loud shouts and laughs. But the tension was higher than the happiness that the game was bringing to the players. I could hear the splash sounds every time someone or something was being hit...it was either the floor or the players.
I knew that no one would surrender and that there should be one winner.
I was covering my head using my two hands, but I could not hide the fact that some drops of the water from Mayb's group were hitting me. It was impossible to come out as one hundred perfect dry in that kind of game. The negative thought knocked on my head and proclaimed that we would lose the fight...we would lose the game.
"They only have six packs! I know that we will win even though we only have two," Dego said. "Let's just wait a little more."
It seemed like no one wanted to throw the last packs that they had but someone would give up soon enough.
"Give it all, bloods!" Mayb's voice was so loud and gladiatorial as I heard the water splashed again.
"Maybelle still have one on her hand. Be cautious!" Dego warned the group. Until I heard the last flash as it hit my groupmates' body, it meant that she already thrown their last bullet to us.
"Victory!" Marc shouted proudly after he had thrown the last two packs that we were taking care of. He confidently believed that it hit Zen. My groupmates loosen their grasps with each other and separated to celebrate the triumph of the group.
I was also tempted to stand up and so did I.
"Double kill!" Zen shouted before I felt someone hugged me as he was trying to protect me, but what he did was of no use because the pack of the ice water still hit my head and made the white shirt bloody red. The one who tried to save me was also a victim of complacent.
It was a mistake that we let our guards down.
"D-Dego?" I uttered as I was trying to tell him to let go of me. Fortunately, he got what I wanted him to do. He freed me from his hug. Awkward at finest.