New Year’s was stellar. Calista virtually visited New York with her family and watched the holo-ball drop in Digit Square, surrounded by professional dancers flying through the air, and digital fireworks bursting in the sky. She could feel 2350 smiling down at her, promising her a great future as a Versus fighter.
After a couple of weeks, the winter break was over, and Calista had to return to the academy and leave her family again. She could hardly wait to see them again at the preliminaries. They would arrive at the arena a little after she would. She could hardly wait to show them all she’d learned at Fistborn.
Calista met Belinda and Cam on the Air-Bus after teleporting back to D.C. She remembered the first time she’d gone to the academy with her family, getting panic attacks from the impending fight with Lílitha. Then, she was alone, going to a new school where everyone looked down on her.
Now, she had friends. She was still a hot topic, everyone having mixed feelings about her entry in the American team, but it was better than when she first went to school. Surprisingly, there were a few other people that congratulated her on the way back to Fistborn.
The academy seemed so empty without the other students. The rest of Fistborn would be returning after the team left for the preliminaries on Friday. The Versus Arena was in LA, California. This year, USA was given hosting rights for the preliminary rounds, thanks to Harrison getting the highest honor on the Earth team last Versus.
At least his accomplishments were properly recognized somehow.
At the moment, the team would take some refresher courses and training at the school, then head to the TelePort for California. Calista never really traveled much during her time as a Socializer, so the notion was exciting. She always wanted to physically visit California.
“I would love to see the ruins,” she gushed. “Like Stellar Studios, or Fantasia Land? You know those?”
“Yeah, it would be interesting. But the prelims only last a week,” said Belinda. “I don’t know if we’ll have time to go sightseeing after the games.”
“If we don’t get on the planet team, we might,” said Cam. “If we do, forget it. We’ll be training 24/7.”
The 150 contenders headed to the Auditorium, which was now full of classroom seats rising to the back of the room. Calista smiled brightly and waved enthusiastically at Harrison, who sat in the front row with the other Student Coaches. He smiled and returned the gesture with a calmer wave and a nod.
He’s so handsome… Calista sighed internally.
She sat in the second row with the Favorites that got on the team, next to Lílitha. The small woman smiled, albeit tightly, and whispered a, “Congrats.”
Definitely an improvement.
Lisa and Gina White entered the Auditorium, silencing the students. They stepped onto the stage, Gina standing behind her cousin.
“Welcome, Versus fighters,” said Lisa, her voice resounding throughout the room. “Congratulations to all of you. You are all the best students in this school. The chosen ones to not only represent our proud academy, but our entire country. Welcome to the preliminaries, Team America 2350.” She applauded, the students following with some excited whoops and cheers.
“Now, some of you may have already experienced the preliminaries. Others have experienced the main Versus. And there are others who are new to the Games. Whatever experience you’ve had, I expect your utmost attention. I don’t want to see any distracted eyes, anyone talking to each other, nothing like that. All eyes on me, even if you’ve taken this course before. Understood?”
Everyone nodded and murmured their assent.
“Make sure you take notes on your AIDA bands.” She turned, activating the HARP-ED. Calista rushed to set her AIDA band so it could record the important information she said.
“The Versus preliminary rounds, as you know, are hosted on each participating planet. In our preliminaries, 32 countries— including us— will be participating this year. We have the same amount of students per team, so…” She shrugged, wincing a bit. “There’s almost 5,000 competitors in the prelims alone.”
Calista blinked. 5,000? How would they cut off so many players in a week? She didn’t remember much from the prelims when she was little.
“The prelims are just a series of games,” Gina supported. “No one-on-one rounds, no this fighter vs. that fighter. They have the same groups; solo, pair, and team, but they’re all games. Basically a build-up to the Chaos Rounds in the interplanetary competition. When we get to the ceremony on Friday, they’ll announce the games we’ll be playing through a randomizer wheel.”
That made sense. But if they were so chaotic… Calista shivered. She could easily be eliminated by whatever crazy cache would happen in the games.
“You’ve all trained with these kinds of games during the training period here at Fistborn. Red Light, Green Light; Crash Landing; Minesweeper; you should have experience with ‘chaotic’ games like those from your Teamwork or Combat courses.”
Ah, yes, the various games that humiliated Calista throughout the semester. She didn’t do as well in the run-and-gun games. She worked better when she was directly confronting an opponent, especially if she had a team with her.
She would have to do what she was bad at first? Dread filled her stomach. If she didn’t improve enough, she’d be eliminated right off the bat.
As Lisa and Gina continued, Calista’s self-confidence grew worse and worse. The games they mentioned sounded unbelievably scary. She wished she could recall a prelim round from when she was young, but she’d paid more attention to the interplanetary tournament.
Once the lecture was over, they were excused to their lunch period. With the academy so empty, the Mess Hall seemed a lot bigger than before. The Student Coaches stayed at their table, with no one missing from their group. The Guilds were very small now, even missing a lot of Favorites. They wound up joining together, occupying about a table and a half. The rest of the non-Guild members sat together at other tables, separating into groups of friends.
Calista naturally gravitated to the table where Belinda and Cam were sitting. Lílitha sat at the end of the table, keeping to herself as she ate. Rosalina, Bark, and Hillary were seated at the other table.
She was pretty worried that the ‘enemies’ she’d made in Fistborn would specifically target her during the rounds. No doubt, they’d be looking to get her out of the competition and prove she was a ‘fraud’ after all. Maybe she could study them so she could know how to fight them if she had to.
“You excited, Cali?” Camelithia asked her.
“Excited and nervous.”
“I know it all sounds scary, but it’s not as bad. The first time is always quite jarring, even so.” She took a bite of her lunch. “I remember last Versus, the first prelim game was Earthquake. I was glitching traumatized. They started us off with a 7.5 mag quake, so everything was chaos, buildings collapsing and everything. I didn’t know what to do. All I practiced went out the window.”
“My first round was Kidnap,” a Paeseoan girl chimed in. Everyone groaned at the mention of the game.
“What’s Kidnap?” Calista asked.
“It’s a Hajjian children’s game. Pretty messed up. You go around a dark, creepy maze and try to find your way out. If you make it out, you’re safe. But along the way, there’s a group of fighters assigned to ‘kidnap’ you and lock you in an elimination cell. The ones with more than 5 victims pass, and the rest are cut.”
“That sounds creepy.”
“It’s very creepy.” The girl glanced behind her and leaned forward, lowering her voice. “That’s Hajjian kids for you.”
“I heard that,” Rosalina called from the other table. She didn’t look the least bit upset, however.
“All of you better pray we don’t get that game this year,” the girl continued.
“I got it my first Versus— in 2338,” a man spoke up. He was older than most of them, noticeably experienced. “It was in the pair rounds. My teammate and I were separated midway, then I heard him screaming for help. I tried to find him, but I got caught shortly. Thankfully, I escaped and made it out, but he was cut out of the games.”
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“I got it last time, but I was one of the seekers. I’m sorry to say this, but being a seeker… it’s fun.” The Seeyastearthian boy speaking chuckled. “I actually got some revenge on some cache-hole that was messing with me before the games started. Guy was screaming his throats out when I caught him. All I did was grab his arm.” He laughed. “He never bothered me again.”
Calista highly doubted she’d get to be on the other side of the code. If she had to play that game, and Rosalina or Hillary were seeking…
“I’m hoping for Wipeout Tower,” Belinda said, changing the subject. “I always loved that game.”
A Mercearthian girl near her scoffed. “You need to get over that game.”
“I’m just saying it’s my favorite.”
“Yes, but you’re singling yourself to one game. You need to expand.”
“I’m not singling, I’m just saying. Like your favorite game’s Capture the Flag.”
Calista glanced between Belinda and her Guild-mate. She noticed Belinda wasn’t sitting that close to the other Gamma members on the team.
“I like Capture the Dragon better than Capture the Flag,” a boy interjected.
Calista nodded in agreement. “Same. It’s so stellar. I remember it from when I watched the Versus. There was this guy there… I was too young back then to realize it, but now that I remember, he was GP. He was like the prince from…”
She trailed off, realizing the looks she was getting. She quieted down and focused on her food.
“The prince from Astrana,” said Charlotte, breaking the awkward wall of silence. She was the only Gamma that Belinda was sitting with.
The human looked up, surprised. “You watch it, too?”
“I love that show.”
“You never told us that.” Some of the other Gammas eyed her.
“I’m telling you now.”
“I need to watch this show,” Camelithia supported. “Calista’s told me a few episodes. They sound quite interesting.”
“I agree,” said Belinda.
“Of course you do.” Her Mercearthian Guild-mate scoffed.
For the first time, Calista could see the Mearthian girl growing angry. She wasn’t one to lose her temper. “Was I talking to you, Alesha?”
The girl looked a bit shocked at her tone. “You don’t have to be glitchy.”
“Oh, I’m being glitchy?”
“Belinda, you’re overreacting,” said the Seeyastearthian next to Alesha.
“I don’t recall talking to you, either, Neka.”
The lunch period ended before the argument could escalate. Belinda stood and stormed out of the cafeteria before anyone could follow her.
“Bel, wait!” Alesha ran after her. Calista stared at the door, wondering what got her so upset. Did she have a fight with her Guild-mates?
Charlotte approached Calista. She was a dark-skinned girl with wild, untamed curls. Calista could already imagine her former friends mocking the girl’s hairstyle. “Hey, during free time, you want to watch Astrana?” she said.
“Yeah, that sounds fun.”
“Count me in,” Cam said as she left.
Maybe Harrison could also come… maybe not. He wouldn’t like it.
Despite the positive note, Calista still wished she would’ve shut up. She had to stop acting so much like a Socializer.
===
“Here she comes!”
AIDA reacted at Cam’s words, dimming the lights and casting the invisibility barrier over the door to hide them all. They waited in anticipation.
Harrison came through the barrier, stepping back when they appeared in his vision. “It’s just me, sorry.”
They all groaned, the lights coming back on. “You’re late,” Cam chided him.
“Sorry. Had SC stuff to do.”
“Have you seen her?” Belinda asked him.
“She thinks we’re doing our freeze shots today, so she’s probably fixing herself up.”
“No, she’s going to come in her uniform!” Cam smacked her forehead. “Disaster.”
“I told her to dress casual, relax. Sheesh.”
“Well, knowing her, she’s going to spend a while in front of a mirror screen.” Lílitha mindlessly scrolled on her AIDA band, sitting at a table with her feet up.
Cam went up to her, smacking her ankle. “Stop putting your feet there! Were you raised in a barn?”
“Maybe.”
“I don’t have any good presents for her.” Belinda sulked in her seat.
“Me neither,” said Charlotte.
“I didn’t know what to get her,” another human girl, Damaris, said sheepishly. She had become a fan of Calista over the months.
“I didn’t get anything, either,” said Lílitha casually.
“Am I the only one that got her a present? Is everyone serious?” Camelithia looked at all of them. “What part of ‘birthday’ did you not understand? I have a new outfit, new hairstyle programs, I even custom-made a birthday jumper!”
“Well, I got her something, I just don’t know if she’ll like it,” said Belinda.
Harrison remained silent, leaning against the wall with an uncaring expression. Lílitha watched him, but didn’t comment.
Camelithia was the one with the initial idea. Once she read on Calista’s social profile that she would turn 18 on Thursday, she gathered every friend and non-hostile acquaintance Calista had made to celebrate. It seemed that with the stress of the competition, the girl had completely forgotten about her own birthday.
The girl’s ‘fans’ were a lot more numerous than everyone thought, with about 15 people from the team attending the event, including Cam, Belinda, Harrison, and Lílitha. Popularity seemed to matter a lot to Calista, so maybe this would lift her spirits.
“Calista Medley is approaching,” AIDA alerted them.
“Okay, keep her happy. Come up with some presents.” The lights dimmed and the invisibility barrier reactivated.
Calista entered, activating the surprise program. Everyone exclaimed, “Surprise!” and holo-confetti fell. Calista’s favorite songs started playing.
“You guys!” She blushed, covering her mouth. “You didn’t have to do this!”
“You’re 18!” Cam hugged her. “What are you talking about?” She guided her to the table, where the cake was waiting. It was a one-layer pink cake with an ‘18’ hovering over it. Her name was decorated across the surface. “Oh, the presents are right over there.” She pointed to a table with floating labels.
“You guys!” Calista went over to see them.
“It’s not much,” said Belinda. She winced when Calista picked her present first.
She gasped delightfully. “Bel, I love it!” The Mearthian had bought her a charm bracelet, the charms being their faces; herself on the left, Calista in the middle, and Cam on the right. “This is beautiful. Thank you.”
“It’s not lame?”
“No! It’s amazing.”
She opened Camelithia’s present next. She squealed, startling everyone. “These are adorable!” She opened the two outfits and three new hairstyles included in the package. She gasped again. “Is this for now?” She opened the birthday hoodie.
“Yes, put it on!” Cam replied.
Calista walked into the projection, allowing the sweater to materialize. It was a candy pink color. “Cam, I love it. I love all of this! Thank you.”
She opened everyone else’s presents, thanking each giver profusely. After taking many freeze shots together, they sang the birthday song commonly sung to Earthians and clapped. Even Lílitha sung along, though she maintained a half-hearted demeanor. Calista blew out the ‘18’, deactivating the germ shield protecting the cake.
“I can’t believe you guys did this. I thought about just celebrating tonight with my family on a call,” Calista told them as AIDA dished out slices of the cake.
“It wouldn’t be right,” said Belinda. “It was all Cam’s idea, though.”
“Belinda contributed, too,” Cam said modestly.
“I really appreciate it. This is so-”
“Stellar,” Belinda and Cam finished for her, laughing. “Happy birthday, Cali.”
They watched a few episodes of Astrana, getting quite a few of the guests invested in the series. Lílitha loathed it and Harrison zoned out for most of the show. The boys in attendance seemed quite uninterested. But aside from overly good-looking generated characters, the story was quite good.
It was a bit hard to follow for Camelithia, who annoyed everyone with constant questions throughout the runtime.
“Okay, so why does Prince Rainer hate his brother?” she asked.
“Because he stole his betrothed,” Calista explained. “He convinced their parents to betroth him to the princess instead.”
“But why would they just go along with it?”
“He lied about him. Just now, in the other scene.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize he was lying.”
“In the previous scene, he was clearly lying,” Belinda said.
“So they’re like that for the rest of the show?” Cam then inquired.
“Yeah, they’re enemies.” Calista chewed on a strawberry jelly bean.
“And what about the princess? Does she love him?”
“That’s what betrothal means,” Lílitha commented from the side, scrolling on her AIDA band. “You’re assigned to marry someone regardless of whether you love them or not.”
“I know what betrothal means, Lílitha.” Cam gave her a look. “I’m just curious if she loves him.”
“It’s pretty obvious she likes Rainer,” Charlotte chimed in.
“So the brother’s just a muppet, then?”
“Pretty much.”
“Is he going to try and convince the princess or something?”
Everyone watching the show groaned. “Can we kick her out?” a girl asked.
“Okay, I’ll shut up. Sorry.”
They sat in silence for a few moments. After the palace was attacked by an enemy kingdom, Cam’s questions popped up again.
“Is this the brother’s doing?” she asked.
“No, this is the rival kingdom,” Belinda said, clearly annoyed.
“Why did they attack so suddenly?”
“Cam, just watch the glitching show,” a boy snapped.
“Sorry, I just didn’t get it.”
Calista sighed. “I’ll rewind it, but this is the last time. Pay attention.”
Their free time soon ended and they cleared the room of party decorations. Calista’s presents were teleported to her room. She thanked everyone for the party and bid them a good night, giving Belinda and Cam the tightest hugs.
Lílitha held out a small present as she left. “Happy birthday.”
“Oh… thanks.” Calista didn’t hide her surprise. The little woman continued down the hall silently.
The small present was a very nice necklace. Calista could already imagine how many outfits this would look perfect with. Lílitha sure was an enigma.
“Hey, so… my present wasn’t on the table.” Harrison approached the girl once everyone else left. “I just… thought I should give this to you myself.” He held out his present.
“Thank you, Harrison.” She smiled and took it, pressing the button.
The present revealed a large, diamond-shaped figure, with various freeze shots of Calista. They varied between her walking the halls in her custom uniforms, to her training in the gym, to her fighting in combat armor. She looked pretty awesome in all of them. There was even one from her test with Lílitha— one that made her look good despite the humiliation she suffered that day.
On the top, letters hovered above, reading ‘Welcome to Club 18!’ in pink.
“How’d you get all these?” she asked.
“The school always takes random freeze shots of people to put on their tours and stuff. I asked the office for the ones you came out in and made this. Thought you’d want a way to remember your first Versus period, and your first year in general. When you graduate, it’ll be a heck of a nostalgia trip.”
She smiled, impressed and touched. “Wow. Thank you, Harrison, this is… this is beautiful. I love it.”
“And there’s room for today’s shots if you want. You can always change them. I got the one with 10 brontobytes, so it’s a good amount of space. I wanted to get one with more, but…”
“I think 10 brontobytes is enough,” Calista giggled. She hugged him tightly. “Thank you.”
“Welcome to 18,” he answered.
“Yeah, adulthood.” They started walking down the hall.
Harrison shook his head. “Yeah, no. This is not adulthood. I don’t think we’ll feel it until we’re, like, 30.”