“Sweating is good, huh? Yeah. Tell that to my blocked pores… and my greasy hair…” Calista paused her arm curls. She was lying on her back, starting with 5-pound barbells. She let out an exhausted breath. “I miss the spa. I need a face mask.”
“You need to stop being so fragile,” her Pet groaned.
Calista lifted her head from her workout mat, which was placed in front of her balcony. It wasn’t worth getting laughed at and demotivated in the gym, so she decided to work out in her dorm alone. “What do you mean, ‘fragile’?” she asked Lindsay, who was still sitting comfortably in her belt, recording her progress.
“You’re complaining about sweat. It’s a natural bodily function, you know. All kinds of species have it.”
“It just feels gross, okay?” She picked up the barbells again. “I stayed up here so I wouldn’t get made fun of. Don’t start.”
“Sorry. But like Lisa said, you need to get used to it.”
Calista looked around her room. “Maybe I can make up some motivation.”
“What do you mean?”
“Hey, AIDA, can I customize my room?”
“Personal space customization is permitted so long as the alterations fall under the Appropriate Décor Guidelines according to Fistborn Bylaws.”
She put down the barbells again. “Okay… could you change the wall color to a cherry blossom pink?”
“Oh, brother,” Lindsay muttered.
“Shut up. Color my capsule pink, too, make the borders a hot pink and everything else light pink shades. Make the door rose pink.” At her commands, all the red, white, and blue faded into the requested pink shades.
“Now I can work out.” Calista smiled and returned to her routine.
In her belt, Lindsay groaned, saying, “Of course my owner’s favorite color is the one I hate the most.”
“Why do you hate it? It’s pretty.”
“I dunno. I just do.”
“A visitor is requesting to enter,” AIDA announced.
“Uh… is it Cam? Or Belinda?”
“They are… ‘some of your neighbors from the hall’.”
Calista grimaced, putting down her weights once again. “Can’t they come by later?”
AIDA paused, listening to the visitors’ message. “They will ‘only take a moment of your time’.”
“But I look…” Calista wiped her sweaty palms on her peach uniform, cringing at her appearance. She never thought she could look this messy.
“Actually, if they see you sweating and not complaining, they might realize you’re actually working and not cheating,” Lindsay advised. “You’re taking the time to work out and build your muscles. Prove them wrong.”
That was a good point…
Taking a breath, she asked AIDA to let the visitors in. The door opened, revealing a trio of girls around Calista’s age. One was Voraxmartian; a tall girl with vibrant green hair that clashed horribly with her blue-gray skin. The second girl was a short, curvy Paeseoan of lime green skin and perfectly combed teal-colored hair, and the third was a Mercumartian of red, smooth skin— unlike the rocky skin most Mercurians had— and black magma crust on her head, which resembled a pixie cut. Mercurians’ bodies produced too much heat to produce hair.
One thing Calista noticed was their clothes; they wore the formal uniforms, but they looked customized. The Paeseoan wore a yellow uniform with a pleated skirt and a cropped jacket, and the Mercumartian had a white uniform on with skin-tight white jeans. The other girl had the school colors, but she’d changed her skirt and jacket. Did they copy her?
“Hi?” Calista said shyly, trying not to focus on the Voraxmartian’s clashing colors. It was hurting her eyes.
“Hi. You’re Calista, right? The new human girl?” the Paeseoan said.
“Uh-huh.”
“We all live on the same floor. I’m Geija, this is Alka, and that’s Flix.” She pointed to herself, then the Mercumartian, then the Voraxmartian. “We wanted to ask you some stuff, if you don’t mind… sorry for interrupting your workout.”
“Oh, you’re fine. I was taking a break, anyway. Come in.” Calista stepped inside to let them in. They seemed caught off-guard at the pink room. Calista grimaced to herself, hiding her face, wishing she’d reversed the new décor when they came.
“So, Calista.” Geija sat in one of the comfort chairs around the HARP area. “We’ve seen you around school. You’re so different from the other girls here, you know?”
“You don’t have to tell me.”
“It must be hard,” Alka said sympathetically. “Being a Socializer and a fighter at the same time. We’ve heard stuff on the Hub. Your old channel doesn’t like you anymore, and people here don’t treat you right. How do you keep yourself so motivated?”
Calista got down for push-ups, hoping the workout would keep them distracted from the embarrassing amount of pink in her room. “I… just want to prove everyone wrong.” She tried not to sound too strained. “Fighting is what I’ve always wanted to do, and I spent too long denying it. I don’t want to make the same mistake and let everyone convince me not to at least try.”
“That’s really admirable,” Flix remarked. “Which is why we thought you’d be the perfect person for this.”
“For what?” She paused, leaning on her mat.
“None of our friends know this, but… we actually watch Socializers all the time.” Alka giggled nervously. “There’s a whole community that supports the Versus, you know?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard… but it’s pretty small.” Guilt coiled in her stomach as she remembered one broadcast her channel did… all dedicated to shutting down an independent Socializer’s channel that supported the competition. The girl never showed her face on the Hub again.
“We can make it bigger!” Alka continued. “You can help. Try and find some middle ground for Socializers and fighters, you know? There’s a lot of people in both worlds that actually get along with each other, but they don’t say anything because that’s just… ‘not the norm’.”
“What can I do?”
“Keep doing what you’re doing. Make the team, most importantly. And show that the Versus isn’t so bad, and being a Socializer isn’t so bad, either.”
“We actually wanted some advice,” said Geija. “You see… since our first year, we’ve wanted to start a cheerleading squad here at Fistborn.”
She couldn’t hide her surprise. “A cheerleading squad?” That was something even she hadn’t thought of trying.
“Yeah, and you’ve already inspired us a lot with your new uniform!” Geija motioned to her yellow outfit. “I’m in the Theta Guild, under Stösten ‘Grill’ Durchdenwald. Alka’s in Iota with Catherine ‘Lasso’ Graham.” Alka proudly showed her Guild patch, which glinted against her cream-colored jacket. “We haven’t showed these off to our Guilds yet, because… you know,” Geija said shyly. “You can pull it off, but I don’t know if we can. We’re not as confident as you.”
“To be honest, I didn’t feel as confident as I looked.” Calista got off her exercise mat and went to the sofas to join the girls. “But I figured, everyone’s gonna keep making fun of me for being a Socializer no matter how much I try not to be one. So I decided to own it. My family really helped me out there.”
“Your family still talks to you? We heard they disowned you or something,” said Flix.
“What?! No, no!” Calista laughed. “I’m very close to my family. They got me through all this. Always thanking God for them.”
“So they were okay with you being a Socializer?”
“Yes… well, no. But they weren’t embarrassed or anything. My mom was one. She won Miss Milky Way twice.”
Flix’s mouth dropped. “Your mom’s Jennifer Zyben?!”
“Well, Medley now… you know her?” A Versus school student who knew her mother? Maybe she’d actually passed out during workout and started dreaming.
“I was always wondering what happened to her! She just… kinda disappeared after a few years. Last I heard, people were mad at her because she decided to have a natural pregnancy instead of-”
“Flix!” The other two girls stared at her in horror.
Her blue-gray skin turned a bit bluer— was that her version of blushing? “I’m so, so sorry… I didn’t…”
“It’s fine.” Calista awkwardly wrung her hands, wanting to avoid the touchy subject. “Anyways… what did you guys mean about the cheer squad?”
“Right!” Geija gave Flix a hard glance. “Cheer used to be a huge thing on Earth a few hundred years ago, and since the Versus was created, it got less and less popular. Now it’s mostly a Socializer thing, right? So we were thinking of reviving it in the sports world. We’re making a squad here at Fistborn so we can show support to our fighters, and also give more people here a chance to go to the tournament, even if they don’t make the team.”
“How do you know it’ll go on topic?”
“On what?” Alka inquired.
“You know. Work out, get popular.”
“Oh…”
“We have you,” said Geija. “You’re really confident and pretty, and I’m pretty sure there’s a lot of people here that actually like you, but they’re just too scared to say it. You’re so much more confident than we are.”
“And you could design the uniforms,” said Alka. “You’re really good at fashion. We can meet after school is over. If you know anyone that could be interested, you can spread the word!”
“I don’t know… designing clothes is one thing, but making a whole cheer squad? A lot of people here won’t like that.”
“There are people who will. I feel like… just the fact that you’re involved with it will make them curious.” Geija smiled hopefully. “You’re pretty famous because of your circumstance. People want to meet you, but they don’t talk to you because of all the Alphas, Betas, and other people that…”
“Don’t like me. Which is why I think this is a bad idea.”
“If enough people come, they can’t say anything about it. There’s no bylaw against us making a squad.”
“What do you say?” Flix asked.
These girls couldn’t be serious. Even if they were to go through with this, it would be very hard. Could Calista really take her time to try this out while trying to make the team?
Then again, it was a good alternative if she didn’t make the team… which was still pretty likely. All these other fighters had trained for years without stopping. She wouldn’t ever measure up to them, at least, not in a few years.
“Tomorrow after school?”
The girls all brightened excitedly, sharing glances. “Tomorrow it is!” said Geija. She stood, nodding at the other two, and lifted her arms, swishing her hips side-to-side. They joined her, leaving Calista baffled.
“Fly high, soar high! Gooo, Eagles!” they cheered, high-fiving.
Calista chuckled. “We’ll work on that.”
===
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Camelithia accompanied Calista and Belinda to breakfast, having just met the latter. Both were wearing identical uniforms to Calista’s. The human girl wanted to go ‘matchies’ for today. Despite the two’s confusion at the term, they eventually conceded and joined her in showing off the new style to popularize it around school.
They decided to sit at Calista’s Guild table as Guild Guests for the day. While Belinda seemed a little insecure, glancing at her Guild mates, Camelithia didn’t care in the least. She even waved at them as she went to the orange table, as if relishing in their disgust.
“A cheer squad? I don’t understand.” They sat down and their food appeared before them. Camelithia’s fuchsia brows were low, her pink skin knitted.
“Yeah, I thought it was crazy, too. But they really want to do it.”
“How would that take off? Cheerleading hasn’t been considered a sport for centuries, and it would never be added to the tournament. How would the school approve of it?”
“It does seem like a long shot, Calista,” said Belinda.
“Not if we get enough people interested. Those are three girls that like Socializers, but don’t want to admit it. Maybe there will be more like them.” Calista took a bite of her eggs. She never thought she’d grow to like them so much after so many years without them.
“I’ve been in this school for over four years,” said Cam. “Trust me, if there’s people like them, there’s very few.”
“Same,” Belinda agreed. “This just seems so… sudden. It doesn’t feel right.”
“Where are these girls?”
“One’s from Theta, and one’s from Iota, and the other girl… I don’t think she’s in a Guild.”
Camelithia looked over at the Iota table behind Calista. Many eyes glanced back at them, accompanied by occasional giggles. “It does sound a bit dodgy. I’ll go with you, just in case.”
“In case of what? They just want to start a club.”
“You never know in this school. When people develop a grudge, it gets hairy,” Belinda told her.
“She’s right. We’ll both go. It’s after Guild Training, correct?”
“Yup. Maybe you can join, too!”
“Calista… I like you. I think you’re cool. I’m glad we met. But I am not doing that,” Camelithia laughed.
Calista then looked at Belinda, who smiled apologetically. “I’m with Camelithia.”
The human girl huffed and ate grumpily. If her friends wouldn’t even join… how could they hope others would?
===
Geija and her group agreed to meet in one of the Game Training facilities in the Training Center. They were smaller versions of Versus game maps that allowed students to practice for complicated rounds like Capture the Flag, Laser Tag, and other games.
Calista found it a bit odd that they would go there instead of a gym. Maybe they were trying to avoid the other Guilds, who frequented those parts of the Center.
She hadn’t told Harrison about the little club at Guild Training. While he was nice, it was likely he’d discourage her, or tell his fellow Student Coaches. It was best if she kept it between her and the girls she trusted.
After stopping by the spa to clean up her sweat and fix her hair, she arrived in her customized Practicum uniform with Cam and Belinda. She stopped short, expecting just the three girls, but instead finding a large group of about 20 to 30 people.
“It can’t be,” Cam muttered.
“Apparently, it can,” Belinda responded.
Geija, Alka, and Flix then approached, wearing matching uniforms; white, sleeveless crop tops with ‘EAGLES’ printed in red and blue, which changed to ‘FISTBORN’ every few seconds. Blue and white pleated skirts and matching sneakers completed the set. They even had glowing blue pom-poms to give it that retro look.
Calista couldn’t help noticing how the red accents clashed with Geija’s lime green skin. Flix’s clashing hair and skin still remained a distraction. The only one that looked perfect in the outfit was Alka, with her carmine red skin.
“You girlies went all out,” she observed.
“We thought we could try our hand. Do they look good?” Geija said shyly.
“They look great,” Calista told them. “You didn’t even need me.”
“I wouldn’t say that. Oh, we rounded up a few people that were interested. Told you it would work.” Alka nodded at the group behind them, all of whom looked at Calista. Some of them were Guild members. “You brought people, too?”
“Right, sorry. Girls, this is Camelithia and Belinda.”
“Camelithia ‘Dropkick’, you mean? Wow. You’ve made some pretty influential friends,” said Flix. “You girls mind putting in a good word for me? I’ve always wanted to join a Guild. Geija and Alka have tried talking to their coaches, but… nothing’s worked out so far.”
“I can try, but I’m not exactly close to Minx,” Belinda said shyly.
“Yeah, sure, what’s your name?” Cam asked the Mercumartian.
“Flix Thima. Thank you.”
“Cool. Elisa’s a nice girl, I’m sure she’ll consider. Being a Favorite has its perks.”
“I’m surprised they haven’t, like… left you out much,” Alka remarked. “You know, since you’re really nice to Calista, and most aren’t, especially the higher ones.” She looked at Belinda.
“Well… I’ve never been the most popular girl in my Guild,” the Mearthian girl said nervously. “It doesn’t really matter who I’m friends with. I know what it’s like to be left out, and I didn’t want someone else to go through that.”
“I couldn’t care less,” Cam said, rolling her eyes. “They can say what they want about me. Doesn’t make it true. I make friends with whoever the glitch I want. I’m still a better fighter than most of them, and I don’t even like half of them lot. Why should I earn their approval?”
Calista stared at the Seeyastian. Where did she get such confidence? She’d made an effort to be herself and not care about the other students, but she still felt self-conscious about the laughter in the halls and the gossip about her on the Hub. Did Cam truly not care at all?
“Wow. We could use your help,” said Alka. “Anyway, you see a lot of people came. We were thinking of showing off one of our cheers, and then you can tell us what you think.” She nodded at Calista.
“Sure, that’s a good start.”
“Everyone!” Geija silenced the light chatter. “So, as you know, we want to start a cheer team here at Fistborn, and we need a good amount of people to agree so we can take it up to the trustees and get it approved! We’re gonna show you one of our cheers and you guys can give your opinions on it, but of course, we have our expert, Calista Medley here!” She put an arm around the human girl’s shoulders, catching her off guard. “Since she’s an ex-Socializer, she should know more about cheerleaders and stuff like that.”
“Not exactly-”
“Let’s go for it.” The three girls lined up, their feet at shoulder-width, and their pom-poms on their hips. They lifted one of their arms and waved. “Fistborn, Fistborn, destined to win! A champion from the beginning! Kick them, hit them, beat them all in! Academy proud, victory within!”
Everyone clapped enthusiastically. Camelithia leaned over and whispered, “Are cheers supposed to be that bad?”
Calista put on a polite smile. “Wow, girls, that was… nice.”
Their smiles disappeared. “It bugged, didn’t it?” said Alka.
“No, it just needs a little work. For one, you’re not moving a lot. You’re just waving like this.” She imitated the simple, rhythmic step and wave they’d done. “I like the chant, but… it sounds familiar.”
“It’s the first few verses of the academy’s anthem,” said Cam.
Geija nodded. “Yeah, we thought it would be easier to just use that for the first try.”
“Okay… so, yeah, definitely work on getting something more original-”
“I feel like we’re not motivated,” Alka interrupted. “We’re just standing here, you know? Maybe if we hyped things up a bit, we’d do better.”
“How about we play a game?” someone suggested. “On the map. That way you feel like you’re cheering for the team.”
Geija gasped, somewhat overdramatically, and said, “That’s a great idea! Anyone wanna play?”
“I’ll pass.” Camelithia had a sudden deadpan on her face, her rhombus-shaped eyes swimming with suspicion. Belinda didn’t seem too keen, either.
“Calista, how about you play?” said Flix.
“Me?”
“Yeah, so we can cheer for you! We know you’ll make the team. Also, uh… we can see how you react with us cheering.”
“We can know if it works as motivation,” Geija added, with Alka nodding enthusiastically.
“You don’t have to play if you don’t want to, Cali,” said Belinda.
“No, I think it’s a good idea. I’ll play.” She half-expected the group to groan, maybe even change their minds, but they were surprisingly happy about it. Maybe they were the right group to do this with.
About half of the group agreed to join the game. They eventually decided on ‘Multi-Dutch’. They loaded a basic map with five red laser ropes placed across the room.
“Welcome to Multi Dutch Floor!” a voice rang out. “The last fighter standing wins the grand prize of the game!”
Everyone got into position at the beginning of the map. They had to cross the map without tripping. Calista felt a bit nervous, sure she would fall, but if she lasted longer than most of the others, she could avoid mockery.
“Prepare your fancy feet! Starting out with five ropes on the set…”
Before Calista could react, all of her teammates ran off the map, leaving her alone. The game wall solidified, preventing entry and exit. “Why are you guys…?” Her voice was drowned out by the three cheerleaders, who now danced in exaggerated, overly-girly motions.
“Fistborn, Fistborn, destined to win! But Socializers might do us in! Perfect, prissy, masky prudes! Our academy doesn’t want you!”
“What the glitch?!” Camelithia exclaimed.
Calista’s mouth flapped as she felt her face drain. This could not be happening. It just couldn’t be real.
“Three… two… one!” The laser ropes suddenly started moving, flipping in alternating loops. Behind her, a laser wall appeared, slowly approaching so she couldn’t stay at the sidelines.
A rope swept down and scorched Calista’s foot. She squealed, jumping away. “Wha- hey! What’s going- aah!” She jumped again. Her feet bounced away from the burning ropes, getting into a rhythm.
“Yeah! Do a ballet jump, Socializer!” someone taunted.
The ropes stopped, bringing relief to the girl. “Round 1 was easy. Of course you made it. Increasing to 8 ropes!”
“Hey! What are you-” The ropes multiplied and started again. Calista moved, jumping over them clumsily. One rope hit her arm, then her calf. They didn’t actually burn her skin, but they hurt.
Outside the game barriers, Calista could see Camelithia and Belinda arguing with the group, trying to shut down the game, but there were too many people barricading them. The cheerleaders continued their taunting dance of exaggerated femininity.
“Gooo, Eagles!”
“Guys, stop this!” She ducked under a rope and leapt over all of them. They stopped after a while, but multiplied again.
“Round 3… let’s see if you survive 12!”
“12?! Will someone- aah!” She flinched away and a searing pain penetrated her back. She screamed and tripped forward, a rope burning her chin. The laser wall got even closer.
She quickly got to her feet and endured the following burns, running to the end of the room while leaping over ropes. She reached the other wall and pressed her back against it, the nearest rope missing her face by just an inch. The wall didn’t stop.
She closed her eyes, awaiting the pain, but it never came. She opened an eye and saw the wall retracting to the other side. Everyone cheered and laughed raucously, ridicule thick in their voices.
Her stomach dropped when the ropes multiplied once again. “Oh, come on…”
“Those little burns are nothing without water,” the announcer voice said ominously. The floor beneath Calista retracted slowly. Spaces between the ropes had now opened, giving way to strips of water. Calista now had very little room to move and jump over the ropes.
“Get to the exit if you want to escape!” The laser wall appeared behind her again, facing the opposite way now. “Three! Two! One!”
Calista glanced at the next section, timing herself to leap across the water. The exit was 10 jumps away.
“Okay… I can do this…” She continued jumping, glancing at the next rope. Once the laser wall was closer, she bounced to the next section.
She made about three more jumps before the ropes doubled, scorching her ankles. She screamed at the change and scrambled to get back in rhythm, double-Dutch jumping her way through. She leapt over one more strip of water. 6 more to go.
“Let’s speed things up, people!” The ropes got faster. Calista kept up as long as she could, but the wall was getting too close for comfort.
She desperately leapt, missing the edge and splashing into the water. Every ‘burned’ part of her stung fiercely. She spluttered, lifting her head up, and screamed when the laser wall reached her. She shielded her face and waited for the pain.
A buzzer sounded. “Thank you for playing!” the announcer said. Opening her eyes, Calista saw the laser ropes and wall disappear. Outside, Camelithia stood over a human man, who rolled on the floor and clutched his stomach. Everyone stared at her, horrified. The cheers had stopped.
“What in the glitch is going on here?!” the Seeyastian girl exclaimed.
Calista stepped out of the water, soaked to the skin. Her hair dripped at the ends, the high ponytail ruined, and her uniform stuck uncomfortably to her body. She’d worn a peach-colored workout bodysuit today, which was sweat-absorbent, so it would tighten a bit to properly absorb liquid whenever it got wet.
“What kind of scheme did you cook up, huh?” Cam continued. She grabbed the human boy and yanked him to his feet, tossing him aside. “All this was to, what? Make her look like a fool?”
“It was more to make her quit,” Geija snickered, though her fear of the angry Eta Guild Favorite showed.
Belinda stood behind Cam, obviously upset, but less vocal than the other girl. She went over to Calista and helped her wring out her long, nylon black locks.
“What did you think, humie? We were pretty, weren’t we?” said Alka.
“Maybe we should wear pink next time,” Geija suggested.
Calista stared at them, speechless. They came up to her room, pretended to like Socializers, and brought all their friends just to humiliate her?
“You did all this… just because you don’t like me, huh?” she finally said after a few more taunts from the other students.
“We’re showing you how stupid you really are.” Geija approached her, her teal eyes narrowed. “You really thought people here would actually like people like you? You stole a spot that belonged to someone that actually has neurons in their brain. How about you go back to your anti-fighting beauty pageant and your Thinners, and leave the fighting to people who actually work? Take off that stupid uniform and let a real fighter take your place.”
“I’m really shocked you two didn’t laugh,” Alka told Calista’s friends. “You really do like her? Don’t you think dropkicking someone was a bit of an overreaction, Courier? It was just a prank.”
“Don’t make me dropkick the lot of you,” Cam threatened them, barring them from her friend.
“I wonder what Double Dutch thinks of her Favorite making friends with an airhead humie,” Geija inquired sarcastically.
“I don’t know. I wonder why neither of you are Favorites. Oh, right, because you’re just cache. Ever wonder why they make Harrison Smith ‘substitute’ for them? Because you’re a waste of their time.”
The girls’ smiles faded, but Flix bit her lip, as if trying not to laugh at her ‘friends’.
“Oh, didn’t like that, did you? Before making fun of someone, take a look in the mirror screen. I’m going to tell your coaches all about how instead of training, you spent your time scheming up a plan to pick on someone.” She grinned at Flix. “You’re never getting into a Guild, sweetcodes.”
Geija scoffed, dismissing her. “Typical. You need someone else to stand up for you, human? I thought Socializers said what’s on their mind.”
“Let’s go, Cali.” Belinda and Cam led her towards the door.
“Did you like the routine, though?” Flix then said, provoking laughter.
Calista stopped, looking back at her new enemies. “They’re not worth it,” Cam whispered to her.
The bevy stared at Calista expectantly, as if daring her to say a word. The former Socializer twirled a lock of wet hair around her finger, approaching them with swaying hips.
“The routine?” she began. “It was okay… you guys aren’t that flexible, though. Or creative. You should use your neurons to come up with something worth watching. Not to mention your ugly hair was distracting me the whole time.” She smiled sweetly at Flix. “You were the only one that looked remotely pretty, but you can’t dance to save your life,” she then told Alka. She turned to the clique leader. “And for a Paeseoan, Gila-”
“Geija.”
“Sorry, Aja… you really are a nasty glitch, aren’t you? You said Socializers are masky. What you guys did? Pretending to be nice and doing all this? You’re reminding me a lot of my ex-friends. Guess fighters and Socializers aren’t that different. You’re the same. Fake and petty, obsessed over reputation. You’d get along great.”
“We just took data out of your code,” Geija said, though a bit of dark green had appeared in her lime green cheeks— a blush. “We figured, only way to trick you was to act like you. And you fell for it hard.”
“Mm-hmm, and yet…” Calista shrugged. “Maybe I should take some data out of your code. The fighter code. If someone bugs me off, then-” She cut herself off by rapidly firing her fist into Geija’s face. Caught off guard, she fell back, hands flying to her nose.
Calista tried to ignore the pain in her hand and ran to her shocked friends, grabbing their arms and hurrying out of there. With a group that big, she didn’t stand a chance.