A Dark Horse

Na splayed her hands on the floor.

"Anyway, enough about him. We should all go for lunch after this," she declared.

'Oh, right,' Lai remembered, biting her lip as she remembered that she had agreed to have lunch with Fan Qing.

Jingyi noticed Lai's expression.

"Something wrong?" he questioned her, tilting his head.

Lai quickly glanced at Fan Qing, who waved at her with a smile. She sighed and looked at Na.

"I kinda promised Fan Qing I would have lunch with him," she quietly spoke, afraid to speak loudly.

"What was that?" Zhenya asked, leaning forward, "We couldn't hear you."

"I said I promised to have lunch with Fan Qing," Lai quickly blurted the words with her eyes shut.

She earned gasps and a "What the fuck?" from Na, whose mouth was agape.

"W-what? Why?" Na widened her eyes, "Why would you have lunch with that psycho?"

Lai sighed and rubbed the nape of her neck.

"He wouldn't leave me alone unless I agreed! So I did to chase him away," she explained, shrinking her body, "I'm sorry."

She said the last part quietly, feeling as if she had betrayed them. Na pinched her nose and shut her eyes. She shook her head and pressed her lips together.

"Give her a break, Na," Lingxin told her, patting her shoulder.

"Yeah," Jingyi nodded, "At least we warned her about him.

"And I don't think Fan Qing is Lai's type," Zhenya scrunched her nose in disgust at the mere thought of it, "Right, Lai?"

Lai nodded vigorously and waved her hands dismissively.

"Yeah," she agreed, "He's not my type at all, so don't worry. Plus, I'll be extra, extra cautious."

"Well, good," Na instantly responded, "We'll have lunch together next time."

Chi-Chi began to walk to the middle of the court.

"Looks like she's about to announce the winners," Zhenya stated excitedly.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen. The points have been tallied!" Chi-Chi began, holding an envelope in her hand.

Chi-Chi pulled out a piece of paper and smiled upon setting her eyes at its content. She brought the mic to her lips.

"I'll first announce the third-place winner!" she declared.

Na and Lai clasped their hands together after they stood up. Every department was anxious - each silently prayed and hoped their department was the winner or at least in the top three.

"Third place goes to, drumroll please!" Chi-Chi exclaimed.

The employees began to pat their thighs. The sound of the drumroll created by them echoed throughout the basketball court.

Min and Bai smiled as they stared at the anxious and excited employees.

"... Purchasing Department with a total of 380 points!" Chi-Chi announced.

A loud cheer erupted from the Purchasing Department, who excitedly ran towards Chi-Chi They all smiled sheepishly, eyes brimming with happiness at their accomplishment.

"Although you are not first," she explained, "you won't walk away empty-handed. You guys win a $2000 gift card to the Dark Star Cinema!"

The employees cheered while Lai's mouth dropped. She was amazed at the prize money.

'So much money,' she thought, wide-eyed.

Chi-Chi handed the envelope with the gift card to a male employee of the Purchasing Department. The employee held the envelope in the air as if he was holding a gold Olympic medal.

"Congratulations," Chi-Chi beamed, "Please give them a round of applause."

The other employees cheered for them, clapping as loudly as possible.

"I'm so jealous!" one employee joked.

"Take me with you!" another added.

Some employees laughed.

"Now let me tell you guys this," Chi-Chi declared, "the difference between the first and second place is ten points!"

Na exchanged glances with Lai, who pressed her lips together. Zhenya began to tap her right leg on the floor, unable to stand still.

"Now, without further ado," Chi-Chi brought the paper to her face, "I will announce the two departments running for the first place. However, before that, let me hear your suggestions. Who do you think they are?"

"HR Department!" one employee yelled.

"The Finance Department!" another screamed.

"No, Sales!"

"My department! Ow!"

One employee from the Marketing Department got elbowed on the side by his colleague for that wild guess.

"Don't be silly. We're nowhere close to even being in the top three!"

Chi-Chi laughed, amused by everyone's predictions.

"Let's find out if your predictions are true!" she beamed, "Will we have a totally different department, a dark horse, that has won, which no one is expecting? Let's find out. Drumroll, please!"

Drumrolls echoed within the basketball court.

"The winner is..." Chi-Chi paused, "The winner is..."

A groan was heard from the HR Department.

"The suspense is killing me," one employee whined, causing Chi-Chi to laugh.

"And the winner is..."

Mo Bi slowly stepped forward, confident that her department had won and would crush the other departments -like they always did.

"...the Sales Department with 420 points!"

Mo Bi stopped in her tracks - her eyes widened. She bit her lip in anger. Na gasped loudly and fell to the floor, mouth wide open. Zhenya knelt down and hugged her.

"We did it!" Zhenya yelled, "We actually did it, Na!"

Lai couldn't believe it. They actually won?

"The Finance Department comes in second with 410 points!" Chi-Chi announced, "They will receive a $2500 gift card for the Dark Star Cinema! Congratulations!"

The employees slowly cheered. Some could not fathom that the Finance Department - which had always dominated the company's athletic meet - had been beaten by a department that had never been in the top three before.

Like ever.

"May I have someone from the Finance Department come and collect their prize," Chi-Chi stared at the Finance Department employees since no one from there was coming to her.

Fan Qing walked forward and grabbed the envelope, giving her a polite nod and thank you.

'I can see that they are not happy,' Chi-Chi nodded.

She held up the envelope with the prize for the first place department.

"May I have the Sales Department come here to collect their prize."

The Sales Department employees, and Lai, walked to the middle of the court where Chi-Chi was standing. Na took the envelope in her hand, staring at it with bewilderment.

"Congratulations on winning first place!" Chi-Chi exclaimed, "Please can everyone clap loudly for the first place winners, the Sales Department!"

The employees cheered loudly. Some whistled, and others shouted, "Hooray!"

Na felt tears form in the corners of her eyes.

"We did it!" she yelled and jumped excitedly, "We freaking did it!"

Lai clapped her hands and smiled proudly. She actually had a blast and enjoyed the atmosphere of the whole athletic meet.

She glanced at the Finance Department and saw Mo Bi moping, a frown on her porcelain-like face.

"I thought you said moping is pathetic," Fan Qing whispered to Mo Bi who glared at him and walked out the basketball court.

Fan Qing smiled as she walked away.

"Congratulations once again to all the winners," Chi-Chi stated, concluding the athletic meet, "Thank you for trying your best and being part of this wonderful and exciting athletic meet. My name is Chi-Chi, and I enjoyed being your MC!"

The employees clapped and cheered for her.

"You were great!"

"Perfect MC!"

"Good job!"

They all complimented her.

"Date me!"

She giggled at that comment. She bowed at them and switched off the microphone. Sighing in relief, she was happy that she executed her role as an MC appropriately, considering it was her first time being one.