The weeks passed quickly. In the morning, I trained with Silas, Freya, Naomi, Rhys, and Nolan. They all continued to act friendly with each other. Still, their behavior against me and each other changed every time we entered the school building as if we hadn't done anything together. The only person who acted the same toward me was Nolan. He always felt a bit distant from me, and it didn't change at school either. Silas also started to act distant from me too. Naomi somehow started to get more energetic. She felt different; she was not the person who had cried when we first met.

Darren's bullying didn't change much. About a week, it made me feel bad, hate at school, hate everyone. I remember crying many times watching the week because of this, but a week later, it started not to bother me. It was as if something in me had frozen, which made me feel indifferent. Every time they mocked me, pushed me, hit me, pour their food or drinks on me, I felt completely calm. I act as if nothing happened. I believe that I started to get used to these treatments.

With only one week left until the flag race, it was time to meet our competitors. As I was getting ready to leave for our morning training, I received a notification on my device. I quickly put on my glasses to see the message. It was from the school. They want every student who is going to participate in the flag race to group up at the school's gym early in the morning, around eight a.m.

This is new, I thought. Soon after, I received a message notification from others in our private chat.

Freya: So, we are going to the school then?

Rhys: Damn, we were going good with the passing days. Like, did they have to?

Silas: Calm down, Romeo. We can train after school.

Rhys: That's a good idea.

I frowned. I once told them that I couldn't do the training after school since that was when Alaric and I trained. I sighed and started to type.

Bumble: I can't join you guys after school.

Nolan: You have to—only a week left to the games.

I felt annoyed with Nolan's message. I typed harshly.

Bumble: Sorry, I can't do it. I will join you tomorrow, though.

Freya: It will likely be the same. From now on, the school will train us early in the morning; at least, that's what I heard from my brother. Also, I can't join you guys today too.

Naomi: So, no training today?

After Naomi's message on the chat, everyone went silent. About a few seconds later, Nolan answered.

Nolan: I think so.

No one answered after that. I took a deep sigh and changed my outfit back to my pajamas. When I left the room and went downstairs, Alaric looked over from his book, confused.

"Strange outfit choice for the training, don't you think?"

"We canceled it," I replied, taking a glass of water.

"Canceled?" He asked. I nodded.

"The school send a message to us. They want us to come to school at 8 o'clock for the flag race."

Alaric nodded and continued to read his book. I opened the fridge, took a fruit, and returned to my room. The remaining one and a half hours passed in the blink of an eye. I stayed there, sitting on my bed, watching outside the window while eating. At first, I only saw cars, then I started to see people: some happy, some serious, some with their animals. I saw flying voidspawns in the sky, not caring about us, thanks to the shield. When the time came, I slowly changed my outfit to the school uniform. For a few weeks, I have had this urge not to leave the house except on weekends. Weekends were nice, training with Alaric and learning something new every day, but not weekdays. I sighed, tied up my hair, and approached our door. Alaric stopped taking me or dropping me off at school a week ago, telling me that every student was walking to the school or using public transportation. He told me I should learn this way, too.

"I'm leaving!" I called out.

"Have a nice day, Bumble," Alaric responded calmly inside the house. I nodded and left.

Walking to school has been stressful for me since I started. I got to see other people's faces. They looked at me with judgmental, unease looks. Today was no different. I looked at the ground and walked as fast as I could. When I reached the school's gaze, I took a relaxed breath till I felt something cold and liquid on my head. Then, I heard one of Darren's friends laughter, a sound that had become all too familiar.

"What's wrong, Beetle? Can't handle a little splash?" He mocked loudly, ensuring the surrounding crowd caught every word as I looked at my wet hair. Luckily, it was just water. I smiled, as Alaric told me to, meanwhile feeling nothing on inside.

"Oh, hi there. Thank you for the freshening, umm—"I stopped, trying to remember the boy's name. He looked annoyed.

" Frank."

"Yeah, Frank, yeah," I approved him, slowly nodding. He clicked his tongue and left my side. I got inside behind him and went to the school's gym. Nolan and Silas were there, talking with each other. When I looked around, I saw everyone grouped up, probably with their team. I nodded to myself and walked toward Silas and Nolan till I tripped something and fell.

"Beetle, I wasn't expecting you to be in the game," he smirked. I looked at him indifferently.

"Watch your step, Beetle! Even the floor can't stand you," Darren sneered, mocking laughter echoing through the gym as I struggled to get up.

Right, I thought. Silas is here.

Unlike his friends, I realized Darren only messed with me when Silas was near. There were many times when he just left me alone, but only when Silas couldn't see us.

As I continued to walk towards them with a smile, I saw Silas's concerned gaze. Nolan was holding his arm tightly. I looked at other students as I was getting closer to Nolan and Silas. Some looked at me with pity, some were happy, and some didn't care. My gaze suddenly went to where Elijah and his team were, with an exception. He wasn't looking my way and having a cheerful conversation with his teammates. At first, I was hopeful. I believed that he might help me as he helped Silas. But soon realized he was kind to me on the first day because of Hanna. And as Alaric said, he came to our rescue because of the Silas. Like everyone else, he probably hated me because I was an outsider, and because of that, he chose not to care about me. It hurt when I finally accepted that truth; it made me cry. Alaric was there when this happened and told me it was normal. He also told me that I felt these emotions stronger because it was the first time I felt them within 14 years. Everything was my first.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"You okay Bambi?" Silas asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. His gaze was always filled with pity and guilt when Darren did something to hurt me. I continued to smile.

"I am fine!" I chirped, the words almost too bright against the strain in my voice. My smile stayed fixed, a practiced mask, but there was a slight tremor in my hands as I brushed off my uniform. Silas's eyes narrowed slightly, not entirely convinced, but he didn't press further. Soon, others came as well. Nolan, Rhys, Freya, and Silas were friendly with each other as always, having pleasant conversations, not including Naomi or me. When this happened at first, it made me feel horrible. I still remember the shock they gave me because they were nice to me, but suddenly, they stopped being that nice. Alaric told me it was to be expected. Naomi was always indifferent to these situations, but now, so do I. The strange numbness affects me even now.

As Hanna and our gym teacher came here, everyone went silent. He was also responsible for our combat training. So far, he has shown us the basics about attacking voidspawn. The techniques were the ones I learned around age seven or eight. After considering this, I tuned down even more during training. This came back to me as a positive effect. They all believed that they got better and trained harder as a response.

"Okay, students," Hanna started. "Only one week left for the flag race. For the ones who joined this race for the first time, we want to get through the rules again. Every student will wear a special outfit and equipment at the Flag Race. You are forbidden to enter the competition without the outfits nor remove them during the event. You can't use real weapons during the event. You can't attack a downed player during the game. It will cause you and your team to be disqualified. You can't leave the arena while in the game as long as the flag race hasn't finished. You can't bring any objects from outside. Everything you need will be provided by us. Before the flag race, all students will be tested to make sure all students are okay and healthy biologically. Attacking your teammates will cause that student to be disqualified after three turns. The rank fights will be like this: E rank against class D, C rank against class B. The winning groups will be against each other; then, the last class will be against class A. If class A fails, they must fight all ranks to determine their rank. Now, Mister Couper will tell you about all of your equipment."

"Thank you, Miss Griffith," Mister Couper said and raised his hands, showing us what he was holding. In his left hand, he showed us a tight blue-white jumpsuit. On his right was a helmet of the same color. "These will be your outfit during the games. It is very elastic, so you don't need to worry about whether you will fit or not. It also protects you from any damage and is very sturdy. The helmet has a map and communication device on it. We will provide all helmets to prevent any cheating that might happen."

He put the outfits down slowly and raised some gadgets.

"Every role will be assigned randomly, as always. You can't change your role once Mai decides it randomly. There are three roles for every team, as you might know. One flag holder, two gun bearers, and three melee weapon bearers. I believe that everyone knows the roles of the flag race, but in summary, the flag holder holds the flag. They are important and must be protected since they don't have any weapons on them. Gun bearers are equipped with guns, providing ranged support and defense. Lastly, melee weapon bearers were armed with simple weapons like knives and thick sticks meant for close combat. They get to choose their weapon before entering the arena every turn, and the same goes for gun bearers. If any team player captures the flag belonging to their opponent, they will slow down as a consequence. Additionally, capturing the flag causes the bearer to appear on the enemy's map for a few seconds, increasing the risk as they become a focused target for the enemy team. Everyone's job is to bring the flag to their respective stations. Now, let's return to the gadgets again. They are not harmful, but using them on the outfits will result in a time-out, depending on where they hit. If the enemy attacks where your vital organs are located, the outfits will put you in a 'death' state, causing you to fall and freeze. Other places will be hardened and tighter, restricting your movements."

He stopped and took a deep breath before continuing.

"Within this week, as Miss Griffith said, we will check your vitals to see if there is any obstacle for you to enter the race. We will also provide you with special training to prepare for the race. There is only one extra rule: the students currently in outsider status can't enter this special training."

Here we go again, I thought and looked around. Some students were not happy with this news.

"How is that fair?" Rhys called out. "We have two teammates in this status! We will be at a disadvantage!"

"Please don't be upset, dear student. This decision was made after careful consideration with the school manager and your parents for everyone's safety. So, for the students who are in the outsider statue, please leave the area."

Freya looked at us with pity. "Let's meet at class," she whispered. Naomi and I nodded, turned our backs, and walked away. Very few others in the same situation followed us.

As we entered the main building, Naomi started to talk.

"I am surprised, Bumble," Naomi whispered. I looked at her, confused.

"You didn't show any reactions I expected you to do."

"I can say the same for you, too," I said. "You seemed more happier."

"Well," Naomi shrugged. "These days, I don't see Marcus and his friends anymore. Even if we met, I started to didn't care about their bullying."

"Looks like we both are changing," I said with a smile.

"Maybe," she shrugged again. She was smiling, too. Together, we walked through the classroom.

As we were about to enter the class, we noticed a commotion near the bulletin board. Students were crowding around, their voices a mix of excitement and anxiety.

"What's going on?" I asked, trying to peer over the heads of our classmates.

Naomi, being slightly taller, managed to get a better view. "They've posted the official team rosters for the flag race, and they were also kind enough to put win possibilities," she said, her voice tinged with nervous anticipation.

We squeezed through the crowd, finally making it to the front. I was unfamiliar with the names, so instead of looking at teams, I looked at the 'win possibilities'. The rankings were listed clearly, with Class A at the top, followed by the other classes in descending order. Our team, unsurprisingly, was at the bottom.

"Last place," someone muttered nearby. "Of course, with two outsiders on the team."

I looked at the person who said that and then looked back at the bullet.

"Is that supposed to tell the future?"

Naomi giggled at my question.

"This doesn't mean anything," she answered. "These are just predictions. We can prove them wrong, though."

Just then, Silas and the others from our team approached.

"What's going on?" Rhys asked.

"They put a prediction list here," Naomi replied. Rhys's face was set in a grim expression as he looked at it.

"Well, we've got our work cut out for us," he said, facing us all. "But we're not out of this yet. We've got a week to prepare thoroughly, and we'll make every second count. Speaking of which," Rhys looked at Naomi and me carefully.

"What do you say of us showing you the tricks that coach will show us?"

"No," Naomi jumped before I could say anything. "They don't want us to learn. It might even cause us to be disqualified if we got caught. Don't worry, though; Bumble and I will manage!"

"We are?" I asked. She nodded with a smile on her face.

"Of course!" Naomi answered. Silas nodded enthusiastically, too. "We'll show them what we're really made of in the race. Who cares what some stupid list says?"

Everyone agreed with Silas. The group's morale was up, making me smile with joy. We decided to go somewhere quieter and began to discuss strategy. As we did that, I noticed Marcus and his group eyeing us across the hall. More specifically, they were looking at Naomi, who didn't realize she was being watched. There was no overt bullying, but the tension was palpable. This wasn't just about individuals anymore; it was about proving our worth as a team.

"We should focus on our strengths," Freya suggested. "Find ways to compensate for... our limitations." She glanced briefly at Naomi, but there was no malice in her gaze, just pragmatism.

"Don't worry about me, you guys, really," Naomi said as she waved her hands.

"I am sure Bumble can show me some cool moves in the morning, right?"

"Of course," I replied. Her being this friendly made me confused and happy.

"See!" Naomi turned her gaze to the Freya again. "Nothing to worry about."

"If you guys say so," Freya said, and then we returned to what we should do within this week. When the bell rang, we moved into the classroom. The air buzzed with nervous energy. Students were discussing the upcoming race, speculating about strategies and outcomes everywhere. It was clear that the next week would be crucial for everyone.

I turned to Naomi as we took our seats. "Looks like we've got a lot of work ahead of us," I said.

She nodded, a determined smile on her face. "Yes, but we're not backing down. Outsiders or not, we're part of this team. Let's show them what we can do."

As the teacher entered and class began, I couldn't help but feel a mix of anxiety and excitement. The flag race was more than just a game now; it was a chance to prove ourselves and challenge the expectations placed upon us. Whatever the outcome, I knew the next week would change everything.