After the Tsunami game, the team had lunch during their Review period, where they’d discuss the round and point out any glaring mistakes that could’ve gotten them eliminated. Everyone was quick to mention Rosalina saving Calista, which had surprised the whole team. The woman had declined to share why she found it necessary, and Calista couldn’t do much to answer their questions.
Now that the solo rounds were over, everyone started focusing on training with their partners. Calista’s entire morning on the fourth day consisted on training with Harrison, the first round coming up at 2 in the afternoon, two hours after lunch.
They trained in combat, games, and weapons. Harrison was especially adamant about weapons training, given that Calista had an aversion to them. Her aim with guns was terrible and she couldn’t find a way to maneuver with them. The only ones she liked were the sashes, the ‘girly’ weapon, as Lílitha called them the previous day.
It was 10:30 in the morning, their third training period. They were currently in one of the many ERMM rooms practicing a smaller version of Chutes and Ladders. At the moment, there were no CDSim holograms to act as opponents. They were merely figuring out their strategy by themselves to facilitate speed and tactical intelligence.
Calista was in charge of opening the ladders for Harrison so he could climb to the top. The game randomly turned the ladders into chutes to send him back down to a lower level. He avoided some of them, jumping to a ladder or using his impulse boots to get up higher.
She ran from lever to lever, turning every chute possible into a ladder. Once Harrison reached the top, he high-fived Calista. A buzzer sounded moments later.
“FINALLY!” Calista pumped her fists, panting. She leaned over the railing. “Can we take a break?”
“Five minutes.”
She sat against the railing, holding her hand out for a bottle of water. It appeared and she drank it greedily.
“If we get on the Earth team… are you ready to go?” Harrison asked, also sitting down and drinking water.
“What do you mean? Go where?”
“To other planets.”
Calista paused. “I don’t know. It’s exciting to think about, but kinda scary, too. What was it like for you?”
“It was cool. Last time, we went to Mercury’s trade planet, then Dnili, then Klaus. We got to fly over actual Mercury, though. We could feel the heat through the ship walls.”
“What’s Mercury’s trade planet?”
“Disu. That’s where their Arena is. Since, you know, no one else can live on Mercury except their own people.”
“Right.” Calista sipped her water again. “Where are we going first again?”
“Vorax. I’ve never been, either. I heard it’s sorta like…” He stopped, a smile stretching across his face.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“No, what?”
He bit his lip. “I just thought… the way Voraxians live— at least, from what I’ve heard— is kinda like that show you like. You know, with the princess, and everything.”
“Astrana?”
“Yeah. You know, the lifestyle, magic… pretty similar.”
Calista smirked. “Similar how?”
“You know, with the swords and everything. But actual swords. Made of iron. And stuff like that.”
“Mmm. Do they have something like Astrana’s magic staff?”
“Astrana doesn’t have a staff-” Harrison paled, then blushed. Calista burst into giggles.
“That doesn’t mean anything.” He stood. “We should get back to training.”
“You like that show!” she exclaimed, also standing.
“No, I don’t. It’s lame.”
“Sure it is.”
“It is. It’s stupid. You don’t even focus on the main character! You’re always crazy about that prince guy.”
“Oh, like you don’t like Princess Theba,” Calista teased.
“Why should I? She’s not even real.”
She swayed her hips, pointing at his face. “I saw your puppy eyes. If she were real, you’d marry her.”
“Alright. Let’s get back to work.”
Calista’s grin never left her face. He kept his eyes turned away as he reinitiated the program. “We’re switching,” he said. “You go down, I’ll do the levers.”
“Okay.” She continued smiling as she descended using the elevator platform.
“Stop smiling.”
“I’m not smiling.” She snickered.
“Yeah, you are! You’re laughing.”
“It’s just so cute!” She hopped off the platform. “What’s the big deal if you like the show? Lots of guys watch it, too.”
“ERMM, start the game.” The machines whirred and the ladders all turned to chutes. Harrison pulled a lever to activate the bottom ladder. “It’s not that. I just… don’t like it.”
“But you do. That’s the thing.” Calista climbed up the ladder. “What are you so embarrassed about? It’s just me.”
Harrison scratched his head. “I don’t know.”
“You’re weird.”
“You’re weird.”
“Good comeback.” She leapt to the next ladder.
“Alright, fine. It’s interesting. There, you happy?”
“Eh, that’ll do.” She climbed up to the 7th level. “You know, you could pass as the real Prince Rainer.”
“Oh, God- see, this is why.”
“You don’t want to be compared to fictional hunks?” Calista inquired. “That’s a weird reason to hide the fact you like the show.”
“You’re making it weird.”
“Why? He’s Prince Rainer. He’s nice to be compared to.”
An arrogant smirk crossed his face. “Are you saying you want to marry me?”
Calista’s hand slipped, sending her falling down the ladder to the previous level. She looked up at Harrison in indignance. “Excuse me?”
“You’re always sighing and saying you want to marry the fake prince. Then you say he looks like me.”
“I didn’t-” She stammered and spluttered, her face turning beet red. “That’s… not what I meant.”
Harrison’s smile grew more irritating. “Well, why wouldn’t you want to marry me? I’m quite a catch.”
She scoffed. “That’s why. You’re so full of yourself.” She climbed the ladder again. “You’re nice when you want to be, but when it comes down to it, you just want everyone to tell you how great you are.”
“You’re the same way.” He opened another ladder.
“No, I’m not!”
“That was your job, wasn’t it? Getting attention. That’s what a Socializer does.”
“I’m not a Socializer anymore.”
“You like the attention, though. That’s why you dance ballet instead of actually fighting.” He imitated her doing her spinning kick in an exaggerated, girly way.
“Shut up and give me another ladder.” She rolled her eyes.
He pulled a lever, chuckling. Calista gazed at his face for a bit, taking in the details of his joyful sapphires and deep dimples.
He was her friend… but she wanted to know more about him. There was so much she didn’t know, so much she wanted to ask him. Now that she really thought about it… she didn’t really know him. Not him-him. She just knew him as her Student Coach, the famous Cheater, the guy from her school, her teammate.
She screamed when the ladder suddenly turned into a chute, letting her slide down to the lower level. She fell on her rear and frowned at Harrison, who laughed hysterically.
“What was that for?”
“You were just staring at me!” He clutched his stomach. “You just stopped… and…”
“I just got… lost in thought!” She blushed hard. “Just… get me up there, you jerk.”
He activated the ladder for her again, still laughing. As she climbed up, the buzzer sounded. “Oh, come on!”
“We got pretty distracted.” He breathed deeply, calming his laughter down. “That was hilarious.”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Calista stepped on the elevating platform and stomped over to him, shoving him over. “Get down there.”
“Aw, come on, don’t be like that.”
“Just go.” Calista looked away, gulping down a lump of tears. She wanted to smack herself for sitting there on the ladder, staring at him like a desperate fangirl. What an idiot.
Harrison noticed her demeanor and the humor faded from his face. “Hey…” He approached her. “I didn’t mean anything, Cali. I just… I was just teasing, that’s all. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t.” She smiled at him. “I’m fine, I just…”
“You what?”
“I…” She stopped short. “I… don’t… know.” She said the last word in a whisper.
“You don’t know what?”
She stared at the map in front of her, confused. What the heck was she feeling right now?
She… wanted to know him more. She wanted to know the real him. If he would let her, of course. He was the type of guy everyone loved and scorned at the same time. She saw those girls in the crowd, all of them drooling over him and falling at his feet.
Were there girls in the academy that liked him that way? Were there girls on the team vying for a chance with him? Was that another reason Calista herself was disliked, because she got to be with him all the time? Lílitha had warned Calista not to ‘break his heart’. Had someone broken his heart before? Did he even have a love life besides training?
All those girls in the school, on the team, in the Versus in general, they were like him. They were dedicated, strong, focused, and independent. If they liked him, they didn’t make it obvious. were calmer and cooler, more focused on their careers than relationships.
Calista was a typical fangirl squealing and fainting over anyone she found attractive. For Pete’s sake, she was in love with Prince Rainer— a fake person! A generated actor. Now that she started liking someone real again, she found herself… afraid. Her love life wasn’t the best.
“Cali?” He put a hand on her shoulder, causing goosebumps to erupt. “What’s on your mind? Is it the round?”
“I… yeah.” She nodded. “Yeah, I’m just…”
“Don’t worry about it. We’re going in together now. It’ll be a bit less scary.”
“I know.”
He patted her back. “Come on, you’re gonna be just fine. We’ll just lay low during this round, we won’t confront anyone if we don’t need to… we’ll be okay.”
She smiled, this time a bit more genuinely. “Sorry about that. I… was being sensitive.”
“No, no, I was being a jerk.”
“Weird that you admit it,” she joked.
“Hey, I admit enough.”
“Alright, get down there.” She patted his back, then suddenly dropped down and swept his feet out. Harrison found himself flipping over the railing and onto a chute, sliding down. He landed at the very bottom.
Now it was Calista’s turn to laugh. He looked up at her with an indignant glare, but slowly started laughing himself.
Calista knelt down, trying to breathe. “The way your feet went up in the air…” She snorted. She covered her mouth, wondering where that sound came from.
“Shut up, Miss Piggy.” Harrison dusted himself off.
“Hey! Just for that, I won’t give you a ladder.”
“We’re running out of time,” he reminded her. “Our round’s at 2.”
“Good point.” She pulled a lever.
Harrison expertly maneuvered upwards, avoiding the chutes and jumping up when the ladders changed back. It would be a lot more difficult with fighters, though— if they played this game.
He reached the top in time, panting and wiping a bead of sweat off his forehead. “You’re mean, you know that?”
“I’m mean?”
“You threw me down!”
“Yeah, you deserved it for being a bughead.”
“A bughead?” He chuckled, going to the levers. “You were distracted, and I un-distracted you. It’s my job.”
“It’s your job,” Calista repeated sarcastically. “If I ever become Student Coach, I’ll be the nicest one.”
“I am the nicest one.”
“Holy glitch.”
Harrison smirked, but frowned, approaching her. “What’s that?”
She stopped, her smile disappearing. “What?”
“On your face.”
“On my face?!” She wiped her entire face, then stopped. “Oh, God, I just made it worse, didn’t I? What is it? A zit? Those still exist, right? A-a mark? A stain? Makeup?”
“No, no, it’s right…” He reached out. Calista’s heart quickened as his fingers almost reached her cheek.
“There!” He swooped down and tripped her like she’d done. She screamed and grabbed onto a ladder. Harrison sighed, disappointed. “Forgot to change those back.”
“You son of a…” She climbed back up, hopping over the railing. “You are seriously such a jerk! You’re all nice out there, but in training…”
“What can I say? I’m just too perfect,” he said, deepening his voice. The imitation sent Calista into full fangirl mode.
She squealed. “You do like that show! Oh-my-God, you sounded exactly like Prince Rainer!” She giggled, following him around by poking his shoulders teasingly. He leaned against the railing and away from her. “You like Astrana! You like Astrana!” she sang.
“We established that. Now, get back down so we can train.” His blue eyes looked away.
“You’re adorable when you’re embarrassed.” She widened her eyes and looked at Harrison as if he were a cute little puppy. “Aw, does the big bad fighter have a secret? He doesn’t want people to know he likes a ‘Socializer’ show, does he?” She pinched his cheek.
His skin tinted red and he put her hand down. “Cut it out.”
“Allowing access to Lílitha Houdge.” The door opened, letting the little woman in. She stopped short when she saw them. Harrison was against the railing, holding Calista’s hand. Calista herself was pretty close to him.
“Um… am I interrupting anything?” she asked.
The two glanced at each other and Calista stepped away. They fidgeted awkwardly. “No, not at all,” said Harrison.
“Okay…” Lílitha’s black eyes narrowed. “Your Game Training’s over. You guys didn’t hear it?”
“Oh…” Harrison looked at Calista again. “I guess we lost track of time.”
“Mm-hmm.” Lílitha crossed her arms. “Well, I have my Game Training scheduled here with my partner, so…”
“Right. Weapons. Let’s go, Cali.” Harrison reset the map. The lower half of the room rose until the room was normal and empty, the railing disappearing.
Calista couldn’t hide her shame. It wasn’t what it looked like at all, but Lílitha came in a little too late to know the full context.
Although, she didn’t have to be that mean about it. It would only be a simple kiss if it were anything more. Maybe she was just protective. Harrison did say she saw him as a younger brother.
“See you, Li.” Harrison hurried to the door.
“We’ll talk later, Harrison.” Lílitha gave him a stern look, setting up her game.
===
After lunch, Calista only had about 30 minutes of free time. She collapsed on her large sleep capsule, exhausted. Once the round was over, she planned to go to the spa and sink into a warm cream bath to soothe her aching muscles.
She browsed the Versus Hub in the meanwhile, catching up on fans’ reactions to the rounds so far. She smiled at the articles about her, which noted her drastic improvement and teamwork with Rosalina, which she still didn’t believe actually happened.
Out of curiosity, she checked the Socializer Hub, finding a recent broadcast from the SociaLights. They had been pretty quiet lately, so she wondered what they’d finally come up with.
‘Add and Subtract’ was the title. Frowning, Calista opened it. Only Danica and Rebecca were on the screen.
“Hey, Lights!” the two greeted. “First off, we’re really sorry we’ve been kinda quiet lately,” Danica began, “it’s just hard to find material other than the death game to talk about, and honestly, I don’t feel like talking about it, do you, Becca?”
“Nope. At all.” The blond shook her head.
“We have some good news, but we also have some bad news, sadly. Good news is, we’ve found a new Light! Let’s welcome our new Loyalty representative, Litzy Eaton!” Danica waved her hand over the space next to her, revealing a girl around their age.
She was a pretty, skinny girl of dark brown skin— a few shades darker than Danica’s— and flattened black hair that reached her shoulders. Her hairstyle didn’t look natural; it was as if she’d changed it. In Calista’s critical eye, she would look better with a curly blunt bob.
Litzy waved with a sweet smile. “Hi, everyone. I’ve always been a huge fan of the SociaLights, and I’m so excited to be an actual part of it!”
“We’re excited for you to be here, too!” said Rebecca. “Adding a new SociaLight on the channel really gives us a fresh, new look, right? Which brings us to the bad news…”
“We are so sorry about this, but Elizabeth isn’t a SociaLight anymore,” Danica announced. Calista’s black brows raised in shock. “That’s the, uh… ‘subtract’ part of the title. We had some conflicts a couple days ago, and we decided all together that she was better off not being on the channel. So now, we have another open spot to represent Freedom! Giving another chance to everyone who was interested.”
“Keeping our promise to be honest with you,” said Rebecca, “it unfortunately turns out that Elizabeth has been secretly supporting the Versus Games behind our backs. It was a huge betrayal, right, Danica? It hurts a lot. You trust someone, and then…”
“I know. It’s a shame,” Danica continued. “Please don’t lose trust in us, though. We will always be loyal to you, unlike the other two. And I’m sure our new member will definitely be loyal to us, and stick with her symbol, unlike someone we know. Right, Litzy?” She looked at the new girl.
Litzy smiled and nodded quickly. “Absolutely. I’ve never, ever supported the Versus. I-” She stopped for a moment. “I understand why people do it, though. It’s popular, it’s worked for a long time, but there’s a lot of flaws to it, especially in the moral sense. I don’t want to say that everyone involved with the Versus is a horrible person. That’s not true. Lots of people are just dazzled with-”
“Anyways, moving on. The more we talk about that, the more promotion we’ll give it!” Rebecca giggled. “Let’s answer some holo-messages!”
A young boy’s face appeared beside them in a hologram. “Hey, I’m Victor Calibur. About Elizabeth leaving, did you guys know she has her own channel now?”
“Yes, we know. Do us a favor, all of you: DO NOT WATCH HER. Even if you want to give her hate messages. Anything you do will give her more popularity and get her on topic. So, please, just pretend it doesn’t exist, ‘kay?” Rebecca tossed her blond hair.
She started her own channel? Notwithstanding her confusion, Calista exited the broadcast and searched for the girl. It didn’t take long: she’d simply named it ‘Elizabeth Devon’. It only had one broadcast dated two days ago, titled, ‘This Is Me’.
Elizabeth’s rosy face appeared. It was strange to see her alone. “Hey, everyone. My name is Elizabeth Devon. Lots of you might know me from the SociaLights channel with Danica Lavini and Rebecca Silverman. And Calista Medley, but she’s a fighter now, so she’s not there anymore, either.” She wrung her hands together, turning as red as her curly hair. “So… I’m not part of that channel anymore, and I’ve decided to start my own. The reason why is because I had a huge fight with the other two girls yesterday, and I thought it was better for all of us if I just left.”
She then explained the reason for their fight, which were two; one, they found out about her watching the Versus behind their backs. Two, they received an answer from the all-girl Socializer school in New York, the NYWS.
Apparently, after applying, only Elizabeth received and accepted the full scholarship. The other two were furious she would accept when she would be going alone. Calista didn’t have a doubt in her mind that they were deathly envious, too. They never appreciated or respected Elizabeth.
She felt bad for the poor soul they’d dragged into the channel to replace her… and whoever else they’d choose to replace Elizabeth. It was clear they didn’t have the personality or the talent to run the channel themselves.
“I’ve wanted to be in the Versus-Socializer circle for a long time. I can already see all the hateful things most of you will say about me, but I don’t really care anymore. Now I can finally breathe. I’m free.” She closed her eyes, sighing serenely. It was as if she’d broken out of prison. “I never felt welcome in that channel. After I joined, I knew I’d made a mistake, but I was too Makakian to say anything about it.”
Calista couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She knew Elizabeth wasn’t accepted by the other two girls, but she didn’t think she wanted to leave. If anything, she thought Elizabeth wanted the girls’ approval. She must’ve felt trapped the whole time.
Like she did all those years, until she went to Fistborn.
“I’m planning to do coverage on the Versus so far. You’ll see some broadcasts about the previous rounds soon. I know this community is very small. It’s two opposite worlds coming together. But I know we can expand. And when I go to the NYWS in September, I’m sure I’ll find a lot of people that think the same. I’m going in February for Orientation. Really excited.” She smiled brightly. “I know she’s probably not watching this, but I’ll take a shot in the dark… Calista.”
Calista’s green eyes widened slightly.
“If you’re watching this… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for everything. I should’ve stood up for you, supported you… I’ve been a horrible friend, and I’m so sorry. I’ve always been happy for you, and maybe a little jealous, too. Maybe that was why I was mad that day. You broke free before I did. I’m so proud and excited for you, and I’m a HUGE fan now. You’re an incredible fighter. I can’t wait to see what you do in the competition.”
Tears pricked at her eyes. She didn’t expect to get emotional. Maybe she could call her after the day was over.
“As for this channel… I’m planning to do my own thing. When I get to NYWS, I know it’s gonna be a challenge. The whole school is based on a popularity contest. I’ll deal with that later. If it’s not meant to be, then it’s not. But I’m done doing things I don’t want to do for other people. Now I’m doing my thing. This is me.” She shrugged with an awkward smile, her freckles glowing with… Calista couldn’t decipher it. She just seemed so happy now. She’d never seen her like this before. “I’ll see you guys in the next broadcast. I can’t wait to see the last solo round. And today’s round was amazing, I can’t wait to talk about it! So… until tomorrow. Bye.”
Calista closed her screen, still shocked. She let out a chuckle. It seemed that she still had a fan in the Socializer world after all.