xChapter 31 - Turning Things Around

To understand how the miracle clinic would be able to turn things around, we first need to look back to when the game first started. Back to when Ronnie & Alex ran down the right hallway, while Marcus ran down the left.

As Marcus runs down the hallway, he hears the sound of several footsteps coming toward him, however in order to avoid them he quickly hides in a nearby classroom. After a group of black market members runs passed him, he sneakily gets out of the classroom and runs down the hall.

The further Marcus runs he notices he's getting closer to the gym, the place where they'd keep any of the people who've gotten out.

"Eh, it's probably worth checking," Marcus thinks out loud.

As Marcus opens the doors and looks into the gym he sees both Ronnie & Alex sitting up against a wall. Ronnie is playing the harmonica while Alex uses a piece of chalk to make tally marks on the brick walls.

"YOU GUYS GOT OUT?!" Marcus yells shocked.

Ronnie & Alex quickly toss the harmonica and chalk respectively as they see Marcus.

"Marcus, am I glad to see you!" Ronnie yells.

"Fuckin' Aye!" Alex triumphantly roars.

Marcus walks over to go tag them so the two can get back in the game. As he does so, the wall where all the people who got taken out on the other team are booing. Marcus walks over and gives the two high fives, allowing them to get back in the game.

"Alright, now we gotta head back to the cafeteria so we can get their flag!" Ronnie says.

Marcus & Alex nod in agreement and the trio begin to run out of the gym, however, before they do so Alex flips off the other team that is still out.

As the trio enters the cafeteria, Ronnie grabs the flag from the base and begins to head out, however, when they open the door to the hallway, they see Crunch standing there with their flag.

"Gotcha," Crunch says as he's about to take a step into the base.

However before Crunch can do that and win the game, Alex throws a straight jab at Crunch. Crunch dodges by stepping backward.

"If you get tagged you're out, that's the rule right?" Alex begins to say as he gets into a boxer's stance, "Then if I land a hit on this guy then he's automatically out!"

Alex begins to toss several jabs, straights, hooks, and uppercuts, but Crunch continues to dodge them all. Ronnie realizes that Alex isn't just trying to hit Crunch, he's trying to stall him. Ronnie nods as he and Marcus book it down the hall.

"So you wanna do it this way huh?" Crunch says as a smile creeps onto his face.

Alex goes for another attack but Crunch dodges it and tries to counter him. Alex steps back to avoid the attack.

"Once I'm done with you, I'll go and take those two out all by myself!" Crunch yells.

Alex remains calm as he goes for a flurry of punches, however, Crunch falls to the ground.

"You know the problem with you lot is that you never know how to dodge..." Crunch begins to say as he kicks in Alex's feet, causing him to fall to the ground and get out, "Hits from below the belt!"

Alex lands on the ground while Crunch laughs at him before he skips his way down the hall.

"Damn it," Alex groans.

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Marcus & Ronnie are running down the hall as they see all the remaining black market members that aren't out trying to tag them. Ronnie manages to weave his way through while Marcus has several close calls. As the two get closer to their base they begin to hear animal snarls.

"Uh, when did the school allow animals?" Ronnie asked.

"They didn't!" Marcus yelled.

The two look behind them to see Crunch Bakson running down the halls on all fours after them, Ronnie & Marcus both scream in pure terror as they both begin to sprint faster than they've ever done before.

"I THOUGHT THEY ONLY SOLD PENCILS!" Ronnie yells.

"Hey Ronnie, you know what they say about trying to escape from a bear?" Marcus asks.

"What?"

"You don't have to be faster than a bear," Marcus says as he stops running, "You just have to be faster than your friend."

Ronnie looks back shocked as Crunch pummels his way toward Marcus.

"You have the flag so you have to get back to the base no matter what! I don't know how to fight but I do know how to hold people back, so get going!" Marcus yells.

Ronnie nods and looks forward as he continues to run forward. As Crunch comes crashing into Marcus, Crunch slows down for a few seconds, and it was just those few seconds, that little bit of time, that would allow Ronnie to reach the base.

The game was over. And so was the black market.

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After that day, some stuff did begin to change at Starlight High. For starters, with the pencil black market gone, people could go back to asking to borrow pencils for free and not having to pay, and it was all thanks to The Miracle Clinic.

However speaking of the club, they'd get a little bit more crowded during club meetings, such as the day after the incident where Carli, Crunch, Suzy, & Cameron all gathered to talk with the club.

"Thanks a lot, you really helped me a ton," Carli said to Ronnie as she handed him a few gifts.

"Eh thanks, Carli but I don't think I need all of these coloring books," Ronnie awkwardly says as he holds a mountain of coloring books that Carli gave him.

"Oh you don't have to use them if you don't like them, I just heard that it could be beneficial to teens & adults if they use those."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Sitting at a desk, Crunch is lightly tapping Alex's arm with his fist as Suzy & Marcus stand next to them.

"That was the most fun I've ever had! We should totally go to an amusement park or something! If you did that would be like a super cool miracle!" Crunch says.

"Maybe if you learn how to shower," Alex groans as he pinches his nose, "besides I need to practice on my bike if I want to get faster."

"You mean that little kid one?" Marcus asks.

"Shut up! It's the only one I've got!" Alex defensively yells while blushing.

"I'm sorry for my friend," Suzy says as she pinches Crunch's ear causing him to stop, "he doesn't know what boundaries are."

"Oh, it's fine I guess," Alex awkwardly replies.

And elsewhere in the classroom, Elizabeth is trying to get some work done, however, Cameron Dots walks over to her and tries to get some small talk going.

"Hey uh, I just want to say sorry for trying to have you buy that pencil," Cameron says nervously.

"It's fine," Elizabeth awkwardly replies.

"To make it up to you guys I was wondering if uh...I could be a member?" Cameron awkwardly suggests.

The room goes silent as the club members look at him.

"I'm all fine with that, are you guys?" Marcus asks.

Ronnie gives a thumbs-up while Alex shrugs.

"Alright then, let me get out the paperwork so you can join!" Marcus excitedly states.

And so with another miracle occurring, the clinic would finally get a new member with the shy and introverted Cameron Dots. While they would celebrate the new member for now, none of them would realize the twisted journey they'd all go on due to this decision, however, that's a story for another time. For now, there would be some other issues soon to arise for the clinic, some that they'd take on together.

See You Next Chapter!~