CHAPTER 08

A/N: For those asking, yes, there was a time skip a few chapters back, before the shopping scene. So for clarifications… It's been three years since Satomi helped Malia with her shift.. Yikes. And canon is about to start. 

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They both sat on the stands lucky enough that Lori had reserved some seats for them, somehow knowing that they'd be running the time to its edge for their arrival. The reserved seats were only a few rows behind the players so they were able to get a good enough look for the whole game. 

"What held you guys up? The game is about to start!" Lori ran to them the moment she caught their scents and shouted at them before dragging them to where she had been able to secure their seats. 

"Malia." Tristan wasted no time in throwing Malia under the bus and leaving her to deal with the hyper girl. Being one of the few people who taught him how to learn compassion, Lori was someone he was rather fond of despite only understanding what he felt for her a little while back. Turns out emotions aren't that easy to learn. 

"What?-" 

"Malia! I told you to make sure you guys come early, argh! Brett is starting so you guys are going to help me cheer him up." Lori said with a tone of finality and sat them down with Tristan in the middle while giving them a few signs to hold. She was a really determined sister. 

Having fallen into her pace, they both held up a 'Brett is No. 1' and 'You are the best, Brett' sign while Lori wore a '#1' glove. 

The game started off with Beacon Hills quickly winning the ball and immediately making a run towards Devenford Prep's goalie while they did their best to defend. 

It could be seen pretty easily that while Devenford Prep's team wasn't exactly solid, they made sure to capitalize on every chance they got by passing to the person with the highest probability to score. Beacon Hills on the other hand had a rather solid team but not strong enough that they could easily overpower Devenford Prep. 

The first goal was eventually won by Beacon Hills which officially opened the game as far as the players were concerned. Though Tristan didn't understand the game all that much, he at least knew the simplicity of scoring a point and winning further ahead without anyone needing to explain it to him. 

"Go Brett!!" Subconsciously, Tristan raised the sign in his hands as Lori cheered for her elder brother along with the crowd as Brett got the ball and started weaving through the defense before risking a long shot a few meters away from the goalie and his two defenders. The crowd erupted in a more manic cheer that even Malia was drawn into as Brett's shot landed on the net, signifying a tie in the score. The game was just starting and it was already getting heated up with the players doing all what they could to score against an evenly matched opponent before the fatigue started kicking in. 

"Brett's pretty good, isn't he?" Lori nudged Tristan on his sides, waving one of her hands in the air in the hopes of signaling her brother. 

"Yeah he is." Was Tristan's honest reply as he knew the amount of time and effort Brett had put in to get a sportsmanship scholarship just so he could get Lori into Devenford Prep with him. It wasn't about his supernatural reflexes and physique. Though it did help a lot as it kept him in top shape throughout the game, the experience was something he entirely worked hard for. "Though it's pretty much early on to decide if they'll win." He added. 

He could spot a few good players on Beacon Hills' side – Whittemore, Mahealani and Greenburg – who seemed to have a good synergy with each other with Whittemore taking most of the goals. 

"Devenford lacks many good players unlike Beacon Hills, but that doesn't stop us from playing with all we got. Brett might be a freshman but he's good enough to play first-line. We've got a list of freshmen this year but most of them are still rough and the coach have no reason but to bench them." Lori took her time in between cheers to explain the dynamic between the two teams and also what she'd learnt from Brett to Tristan. Having grown up in the midst of the pack after they lost their family, Tristan and Malia were two people she'd truly open up to, with Malia been the airhead brute elder sister of sorts and Tristan been some sort of a younger brother to her despite the fact that he was most likely older than her which could be attributed to the fact that she practically help raised him. It was a very weird relationship but that was just how it was between the four of them. 

"Unfortunately, even if Brett can hold his team up due to his supernatural physique, he can't cover the whole team so they'll start to lose once his teammates can't keep up. The coach must have taken that into consideration given how Brett is doing most of the forward runs since he has the most stamina. It's a tight hoop but they can win if they manage to hold on for some time and hope their changes can cover their apparent weakness." Tristan's eyes narrowed as he paid a lot of his attention to the game while giving his own observations to her. Despite hearing what he said and knowing how true it was since even Brett had pointed that out, she still forced Tristan and Malia to put up their signs to motivate her brother. 

They watched as Beacon Hills coach called for a timeout and started shouting rather enthusiastically to one of his players. Even though they didn't strain their senses to hear what was being said, they all knew the player was probably getting a dressing down from Beacon Hills infamous coach. 

The game resumed after a quick change on both sides with Devenford being ahead with three points. 

"Hey, Lori." Tristan called out to the girl who had resumed her cheering after Brett had gotten the ball but unfortunately he was tackled to the ground which made him lose the ball. 

"That's a foul you stupid ref!" She screamed at the ref who didn't blow the whistle for Brett's tackle. "You called me?" She turned to him after getting it out of her system. 

"Yeah. I was wondering which school to go to when the new year starts. I'm thinking Beacon Hills because of their lax system rather than Devenford." Satomi had asked during her last visit what they wanted to do because even though she let her pack do as they wanted, she still valued productivity. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop' was something she'd always tell Tristan whenever they spoke. Unlike the others who had something that took most of their time, Malia and Tristan had nothing going for them and spent the whole day hanging in the woods since that was Malia's comfort zone, as well as Tristan's. 

Despite them being werewolves and Tristan being what he is, that didn't make them animals with low base instincts. She'd suggested they find something doing or waste their time going to school like Brett and Lori were doing. All they needed to do was pass the exams and she'd take care of the rest. 

Hearing his words, Lori's upbeat attitude seemed to have calmed down a bit as she held her face down. "So you want to go to Beacon Hills?"

"Mhm. I managed to convince Malia too." The reason he took his time to explain to her his reasons for wanting to go to Beacon Hills rather than the prestigious Devenford Prep was because he knew exactly what he meant to her. She was like an older and younger sister to him and also being one of the few people she was really close to since Satomi's pack weren't living together so it was just her and Brett. 

Despite being her brother, he was also one of the few friends she had so he knew how she was feeling after finding out he wasn't going to apply for Devenford Prep, not that he was that good with his studies to begin with. 

"Aww, that sucks. You don't have to worry about me, Trist. And it's not like I don't know where you live." 

Looking at her eyes that seemed to be devoid of any falsehood, he nodded and focused back on the game. 

"I think I'm gonna go grab some snacks. Don't let anybody take my spot." Lori stood up and handed her glove to Tristan before hurrying to get the snacks so she wouldn't miss much of the game. 

"Sooooo, how'd she take it?" Malia asked after having her fun pretending like she wasn't there during the entirety of the conversation. 

"Mhm." Was the only shrug of a response she received. 

"I still don't know why we have to go to school, Trist. Is Satomi still angry that I blew through our funds last month, that's why she suggested we go to school?" Malia had every right to be irritated. Unlike the others, she was more in touch with her animal side than her human side and she seemed to be perfectly fine with it, except on full moons. 

Despite the fact that the pack followed Buddhist practices and their teachings, Malia was the sole exception to it. Even when she was in control of her emotions, she'd always pick the most violent resolution to any conflict and behind her was always Tristan silently following behind. She was more coyote than a human teen. 

"That or work." Those were the only choices Satomi gave to Tristan. She spoke to him because she didn't want to have an aneurysm arguing with Malia so she opted to speak with the most level-headed of the dunce duo. She just couldn't let them spend their entire day in the woods after all. 

"Work? Ugh!" And Malia was also a lazy coyote when the situation didn't involve baring her fangs at things she hated. Telling her to work, under someone, most likely a human for that matter, was just asking for blood to be spilled. "Can't we just say no? She can't force us to do something we don't want, right?"

For her question, Tristan only had one word to say that made her reconsider. "Allowance."

Malia immediately got the message. The old hag was threatening their allowance by forcing them to make a choice between going to school or looking for a job. And between the two choices, Malia hated the latter with a passion which left the former with the only avenue they could take.

And if they were both being completely honest with themselves, the school deal seemed to benefit them as they could just use the next few years to laze around as they went through high school and college. They both looked at each other having come to the same conclusion that made the option of going to school not look so bad. They save their allowance and also get to laze around and do the least amount of studying to stay afloat, basically two birds with one stone. 

"Hey guys, I'm back. What did I miss?" Lori asked as she sat back in her seat before passing them the drinks and chips she got them. 

"Nothing much. Just that Beacon's Whittemore scored a few goals which put them ahead… again." Malia said as she popped open the bag of chips. 

"That reminds me. Are you thinking of joining the lacrosse team?" She directed her question at Tristan who shook his head as he took a sip from his drink. Joining the lacrosse team was an intriguing prospect but he was certain he wasn't going to enjoy it and not to mention that he'd rather spend his time either with Malia at home or in the forest, with Malia. There was no way he would dedicate his new school year to a game that required constant practice and expectations from him and he was fully aware of why Lori asked that question. 

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