"Maia wait up!"
I stopped walking and looked back only to see Iavan, her short curly hair bobbing as she ran towards me. I crossed my arms as I waited for her in the hallway. She almost ran at some guy's back and I almost laughed at her almost flying across the hall. Being at 5 feet flat of course she was bound to fly if she bumped into someone taller and bigger than her. I smiled at her when she reached me.
"Happy Tournament Day"
I greeted her to which she greeted back.
"Happy Tournament Day"
I offered her half of the croissant I was eating and she gladly took it. It was the only kind of food I could keep down amidst my growing panic and anxiety.
"May the strongest never come from us"
We laughed it off and walked to the auditorium. Inside you'll find students from different classes gathered, chattering with other students they know because who knows, this may be their last time to see each other. Everyone was wearing the standard set of uniforms, navy collared blouses and polo shirts paired with black tight pants and black boots. Normally girls wear black knee-length skirts all throughout the year but on acquirement day, it was strictly all pants for all students. We walked right through the crowd to reach our other classmates. I greeted some of the students I've known since grade school but no further contact was made.
They said if you want to survive high school then you have to ignore those that will be in your class which is pretty much impossible especially when the friends you had since kindergarten are with you until 10th grade. I sat down near the walls and faced the other friend I have.
"So… any funny scenarios that came up earlier?"
I asked Miisa, her head immediately searched the area swaying her long brown hair and as if to see that the coast was clear, she whispered.
"Well for starters, some kid hysterically made a scene earlier backstage saying she's pregnant so some guards took her away. There were only a few of us who heard her."
"Wow talk about teenage pregnancy"
We laughed it off, I have two friends. Iavan whom I've been friends with since kindergarten and Miisa whom we've met during my middle school years. The three of us do everything together, from writing down notes, criticizing some of the kids in school to practicing some knife-throwing skills, secretly of course. It was forbidden to even practice any deadly weapons but it's not like we're the only ones doing it.
A few minutes later and the speakers inside the Auditorium started ringing off producing that horrible sound.
"Good Morning students, please proceed to your respective lines, the ceremony will start in 30..29..28.."
And the countdown starts. I saw some of the kids from my class heading our way. Our class consists of 42 girls and just 8 boys, yes a very disproportionate number for a class but it had something to do with our curriculum. Every class in our school has a special curriculum, one subject that is special to that class.
And no, it's not a grand subject, it's just dressmaking. As if sewing and making dresses would help us survive in the tournament.
The guys in our class sat across from the girls, and the guy sitting across from me is a tall, brunette guy who has hazel brown eyes, his name is Damian. And like always his masculine body and demeanor was enough to make every girl flinch. Contrary to his appearance, he is notoriously known for being a very quiet guy who by the way loves books more than the idea of dating or socializing. At Least that's what I've known so far.
"You're drooling"
I heard Iavan whisper and I instinctively pushed her away as my cheeks began to heat up.
"I am so not, idiot"
"Whatever you say princess of denial"
She laughed at me and patted my shoulder. I admit those muscles of his are every girl's dream, and when I mean every, I meant me in particular. You can say I have been attracted to him since the start of my senior years. My eyes would always wander towards him and I can't even tell why. There was nothing relatively special about him besides him being attractive and smart.
But that attraction was just that. Him and I never had any proper conversation before and we were never friends, just strangers who knew each other's name. Just classmates that we're bound to kill one another.
A little while later, the school principal walked on the podium, he's wearing one of those overly fashioned suits with sequins and glitters. The colors? I grimaced as I stared at the neon orange suit partnered up with yellow pants and purple boots. I do not have a thing for gay people but I totally want to just punch him in the face just because of his gauche appearance.
"HELLO, STUDENTS!! HAPPY HERCULEAN TOURNAMENT TO ALL OF YOU"
Followed by a loud silence, he must've sensed it since he proceeded to pick the class number from the magic fishbowl of fate. The only people who would be happy in our situation are the loyalists and the government.
"So this is the 6th year of our tournament, CAN YOU JUST IMAGINE THAT HAHAHAHA SIX WHOLE YEARS OF SENDING OUT KIDS TO A BATTLEFIELD WHAT A WONDERFUL DREAM"
"Did he just say what a wonderful dream?"
Miisa whispered behind me, I grimaced and nodded. He really isn't one who has that poetic sense. Makes you even wonder how he got to be principal.
"If this is a dream then I wouldn't have this feeling of throwing up the croissant I ate earlier"
"Ugh reality"
I looked at her and smiled sadly. This right here is our new reality. A horrifying and unapologetically gruesome reality and none of us can change that.
The principal held up the small paper that consists of every single person's fate here. As if noticing the already tensioned air, he deliberately slowly unfolded the paper, looked at us, and smiled our way.
"May the strongest rise above you all…
10-Einstein"
I would have thought that this was just a dream, that any minute now my mom would shake me awake just like how she always does. That I'd find my little brother and father on the dining table waiting for us to have breakfast. That none of this was real.
But everything about this was real. The stares of the other students inside that auditorium was vivid. Their pitied and worried gazes striking through me. Everyone's breaths seemed to have seized for none of us uttered any other words. Just gasps and occasional sobs from someone we don't know.
"Now 10-Einstein please proceed to the school's parking lot, the buses that will send you to your arena are waiting there."
The kids from my class were all stunned, so was I. None of us were making a move. That led to the guards rounding and hauling us up. They pushed us out of the auditorium to the hallway leading to the parking lot. We were arranged alphabetically according to the initials of our first name to see if anyone tried to escape but how could we even? When none of us has moved or made any attempt to cry and scream or just utter any word.
I searched for Iavan since she's going to be in front and when I finally did, she's not looking anywhere besides the ground. I turned around and saw Miisa doing the same thing. I let out a deep breath, something I didn't even know I was holding. I need to get it together, if Iavan and Miisa can't then I need to be the one to hold it together.
I held Miisa's hand and smiled slightly at her.
"It's okay, remember what we talked about. We got this as long as we're together."
For a moment she looked a bit stunned but then she nodded at me and smiled back before boarding the bus. I sat near the window in the last row and shrunk myself down the bus seat. Outside I saw the students from the other classes sending us off with those pity-looking eyes.
I scanned through the crowd and saw my cousin's worried look. Percival was six foot eight, his black hair exactly the same shade as mine and our grandma always told us that we were like two peas in a pod. Same personality, same attitude but Percy was luckier than me. Because Percy will graduate from 12th grade without having the need to join the tournament.
As fast as he could, he told me instructions with sign language, something we both learned together.
Weapons, Water, Shelter. Be brave and don't die. Don't cry, don't waste your energy doing so, you could cry after you win this.
It might be harsh but everything he said brought every single sense back into me. I don't have time to cry because I need to win this thing. But that doesn't mean I could stop myself from doing so. I signed to tell him what I wanted to tell everyone.
I love you, please tell mom, dad, Maki and grandma that I'll be alright.
With a final nod and our bus finally moving, I blew a kiss towards Percy and shrunk back in my seat. The tears started to betray me, stinging my eyes. I remember how my mom sent me to school earlier, how she and my dad hugged me. How my brother told me that we'll get to watch our favorite shows upon arriving home. It's like they're telling me that they love me but they cannot do anything once I die inside the arena because honestly speaking they can't.
Then mom's voice rang through my head, her silent and short order that made my tears useless as I wiped them away.
"My love, remember your nin and you will never lose your way"