Everybody's Stakes

The first day of training in Yuel's camp has been progressing smoothly. However, it came to an abrupt halt.

"Well," Dan stood up. "I'm beat. That's it for me."

"Yeah," Roi left his chair too. "I think that's enough for today."

"But, it's only five," Yuel argued. "We can still keep going for a while. They lock the gate at around eleven."

"Haha!" Roi laughed. "You're not seriously saying we should stay here the whole night, are ya?"

"May as well suggest we sleep here." Dan chuckled.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea." Yuel nodded to himself.

"C'mon," Roi shrugged. "We still got four days. We got plenty of time."

"We ONLY got four days," Yuel corrected. "We need to dedicate every last second to this, or else we won't win."

"Zero trusts in your team, huh." Roi shook his head. "Overworking yourself not gonna do you any favors."

"That's hardly overworking," Yuel argued back. He just couldn't help it. Every second, every millisecond, of practice was of utmost importance for this newly formed team. They had to pour their everything into practice to get a real chance at beating Howard's team.

"We must win no matter what," Yuel insisted. "We can't waste a single moment."

"Yeah well," Roi shrugged. "We don't practice that much even on the first string, you know."

"But, you do get to practice with pros. I bet it's great to gain so much experience in such a short time."

"Oh," Roi averted his eyes with an awkward smile. "You heard about that, huh."

"Not from you, that's for sure." Yuel judged Roi and Dan with his eyes. Even though these two visited the clubroom, they never uttered a word about training with pros. Dan was one thing, but Roi usually bragged about any "cool" games he had. And yet, this same Roi kept silent about playing pros. The two of them followed Howard's instructions to a T like faithful soldiers.

"We just didn't want to make you feel bad," Dan explained. "I asked Howard what are the chances of letting some of you guys play with the Sweepers, but he said that's not gonna happen. Sucks, I know."

[That excuse again.] Yuel frowned. It's the same excuse Howard gave him before. Did Howard go as far as planning what excuse they should use in case they're questioned? Considering how good he was at preparing the perfect defense, that's more than likely.

"Anyway," Roi shook his head. "What's that got to do with our training today? Just because we can't play any pros doesn't excuse training 25 hours a day, ya know."

"My point was: everything is different here," Yuel explained. "The resources we got for training and the amount of time we have to prepare for the next match - everything is different from your regular training. The first string gets a year to prepare for tournaments, but we don't have that kind of time. Our match is on Friday."

"And that's an excuse to work ourselves to the bone? You gotta take a breather too, man."

"We don't have time for any 'breathers'."

"Well then," Dan said as he approached the door. "You two can keep discussing this until midnight, but I gotta go."

"Wait, we-"

"Sorry, I didn't sign up for this. Even if you were Howard or 'The President of the Universe', I still wouldn't stay extra hours after such a long day."

"Because you don't have anything at stake this match, right?" Yuel pressed. Ugh, what a pain. As he feared, Roi and Dan weren't quite on the same page as. They didn't have anything to lose in this match, so they didn't feel like doing their best. They won't be putting on their best performance on Friday,...

"Hey now, kid," Roi raised his voice. "Don't make me mad. That was pretty insulting, you know. We told ya we'll be taking this match seriously, right? We're competitive players, so it'd be great if you didn't look down on us."

"Ugh." Yuel clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. Roi's glare was sharp like a knife, ready to dig into Yuel as soon as he utters a single word. But, this discussion was too important. This was no time to be intimidated. Yuel couldn't possibly give-

"Yo, my dudes," Lars weighted down on Yuel's shoulders with his arm, stopping Yuel from arguing further. "Let's just leave it at that. Yuel is just nervous about the match and all. Ya know, being the captain and all."

"I'm not- ugh."

"Look how stiff his shoulders are." Lars squeezed Yuel's shoulders, doing what he probably thought was a "massage".

"Aah!" This was no massage! It was a public execution in broad daylight!

"These shoulders are made of rocks I'm tellin' ya, haha."

"Ugh...!" Yuel's bones were gonna break!

"Heh," Roi chuckled. This wasn't funny, goddammit! "Sorry, I also pressed too much. I know this match is important for you, guys. I was in your shoes last year, we also had a similar 'starters selection' match. So, no way me or Dan gonna do anything to ruin your chances."

"You heard the man." Dan nodded in agreement.

"I see," Yuel mumbled. Somehow, the whole argument now felt childish and embarrassing. "Sorry, maybe I'm really a little nervous."

"Don't sweat it," Roi gave a thumb up. "There's still time. Get used to it little by little."

"Sure." Expect, there's NO time. Sigh, whatever. Roi probably had good intentions when he said that, so Yuel didn't retort.

After they reached a compromise of sorts, Roi and Dan left the clubroom.

"Guess that's that," Yuel sighed and turned to Lars. "Thanks for stepping in before it got ugly. It's okay, you can let go of me now."

"No problem, dude," Lars continued to press Yuel's shoulders, applying his "Massage from Hell" ultimate. "It'll help ya relax."

[Yeah, I'll be very relaxed after this. In my grave.] Yuel mentally retorted. Though, he had to admit this massage had some effect. Lars's grip had like 600 horsepower and hurt like hell at first, but it started feeling better over time. [I'll just endure this punishment. I probably deserve it anyway.]

"Did I really say too much?" Yuel asked.

"You're asking if you acted like a total ass?" Julia crossed her arms and lifted her chin. "Yep, like a total ass. We're not your slaves, you know."

"Yeah, I just..." Yuel pursed his lips. He just wanted the team to spend as much time as possible on preparing for this fateful match. His and Lars's futures were riding on it. The outcome of this match will decide whether they'll spend the next year as real players or as nothing more than cheerleaders for the first string.

"It's not like I enjoy staying here the whole day either, ya know," Julia said. "I'm doing you a huge favor, so you better be grateful."

[You're only here because Lars is here.] Yuel squinted his eyes but kept his mouth shut. He had enough tedious conversations for one day.

"Thanks, July!" Lars flashed her a smile. "Let's all train to death so we get on the first string together!"

"Y-Yeah!" Julia's cheeks were tinted pink, which made her beaming smile look that much cuter. She could actually be such an agreeable girl when she wanted. A shame that Yuel was on her blacklist.

With their determination reaffirmed, the three of them stayed in the clubroom until 10pm. Yuel still wanted to keep going, but now it was really getting late and his mom called to ask where he was. So, with that, their first day of training was over. Only four days left until the match.

"Seeya, my dudes." Lars waved.

"Don't forget that plan we discussed." Yuel waved back.

"No problem, I'mma practice some more Gunslinger before sleep. Let's all do our best!"

On that note, Yuel and Julia parted ways with Lars and went on together because their houses were in the same direction.

Once Lars vanished from view, Julia stopped and spoke up. "I'll do everything I can this Friday." She clenched her fists and her eyes glinted like a blade.

"Of course," Yuel nodded. "After all, it's an important match for Lars."

"Don't get me wrong," Julia shook her head. "True, I want Lars to become a starter because he deserves it. And well, I guess you too. Kinda. Maybe." It felt like she was going to choke to death while pushing these words through her throat. "But, I also wanna play on the first string, you know!"

"Oh." Yuel just stood there. The chilling night breeze hit against his skin, but he didn't budge. Julia wanted to become a starter? This was new.

It's something Yuel has been noticing throughout the year, but now it was clearer than ever: Julia changed a lot. What started as a silly desire woo Lars gradually transformed into a genuine interest in playing competitive Classmancers. Though, Julia will poke his eyes out if he says that out loud.

"That's good to hear," Yuel found himself smiling. "You've become a strong player, so there's a chance you'll be picked.."

"Sheesh, please. You flatter me." Julia covered her mouth like some sophisticated lady, except the expression she was hiding was definitely far from ladylike. ["Praise me more!"] her eyes said. Yuel had to poke at that smug.

"But, if you really want to play your best, you have to learn how to use your aggressive-"

"Nope! Nopenopenope!" Julia exaggeratedly waved her arms. "I know, I know. No need to rub it in. Sheesh, you can't say anything nice without following up with a jab, can you? We're trying to be positive here, so learn to read the damn mood."

"Sure..." [Says the girl who almost coughed blood when calling me "kinda maybe decent".]

"Also," Julia continued. "Once we win, I plan to confess."

"Confess what?"

"To Lars, you idio- Ahem. To Lars, of course, you dummy." Julia put on the fakest friendly smile ever.

"Huh, I see."

"What's with the weak reaction?"

"Well..." [You should've confessed to him ages ago. No idea what you're waiting for.] Yuel stopped himself from blurting these thoughts. [Stop. Read the mood. Don't poke her.] This was was a rare occasion when "Nice Julia" graced Yuel with her divine presence. Or, at least it was "Julia Who Wants Him Dead a Little Less Than Usual"

"I mean," Yuel finally continued. "That's between you and Lars. Why are you telling me?"

"Because you're the captain, duh." Julia thrust her finger at him. "It's your job to make sure we win, so better work yourself to the bone!"

[My job? Classmancers was a team game last time I checked.] Yuel was [this] close to shooting back at her but he somehow held himself.

"Got it?" Julia repeated. "You gotta make sure we win so I can confess to Lars!"

[Just go confesses already. Sigh.] "Yes, your highness. I'll do everything in my power."

"I sense sarcasm but I'll let it slide," Julia crossed her arms. At first, it looked like she was about to complain about something again, but instead, she smiled softly. "Well, I'll do my best too, so let's win this thing."

"Definitely." Yuel smiled back. No matter how annoyed Julia usually was, Yuel couldn't help but melt during these rare moments when she showed her bright smile. It turned any nonsense she pulled into forgivable. With the streetlight shining on her, she looked like an angel. She was cute- no, beautiful. It's no surprise she was popular with boys at school.

Also, despite being a pain every so often, Julia actually had a modest and diligent side to her. For a long time now, she has been secretly pouring extra hours into practicing Classmancers without showing off to Lars. She worked on her decision-making with Yuel, she practiced her aggressive playstyle on Yuel and she got general advice from Yuel.

They really trained a lot together. Maybe that's why Yuel couldn't help but give her a pass for anything she did. He saw with his own eyes how hard she worked and how much she developed as a player. Julia's training became even more intense after the StormBlitz vs. Leopards scrimmage. She won't admit it, but she must have been really frustrated that she didn't get to play on the stage that day.

Seeing all that, Yuel couldn't help but root for her. Even though Julia treated him like trash, he wanted to see her succeed. He wanted to bask in the warmth of her brilliant smile, even if the smile wasn't meant for him. Perhaps, he even... well, that didn't matter.

Anyway, same as Yuel and Lars, Julia had a lot riding on this match. She had to help Lars get into the first string, she wanted to use the victory as good timing for a confession and she also wanted to debut in the competitive scene herself.

Julia had to win no matter what, even if it meant pleading with Yuel. She was far from polite or straightforward about it, but this whole conversation was her unique way of asking for Yuel's help with the upcoming match. And, Yuel was compelled to comply.

Yuel, Lars and Julia - all three of them had an entire year of their lives at stake this match. They had to win. No, they WILL win this. As the captain, Yuel will ensure that. Even against Howard, he'll find a way.

[Tomorrow, I should ask Roi and Dan to stick at least until 6pm...]