Calista isolated herself the next morning for breakfast. She chose a quiet location on one of the Arena building’s balconies, overlooking the vast city of Los Angeles. In three days, they would return to the academy, where the accepted competitors would train for the interplanetaries and the eliminated students would sulk in their dorms.

She could only hope she wouldn’t be one of the latter. Lots of amazing, experienced fighters already got cut, even top Favorites. If they couldn’t make it…

“There you are.” Cam approached with Belinda. “We were wondering where your hiding place was.”

“It’s not really a hiding place, but… yeah.” Calista sipped her coffee. “AIDA, give me two more chairs.”

Two seats appeared in a couple flashes, and the two sat down, their meals appearing. “How’d it go yesterday?” Camelithia asked. “You didn’t tell us what happened during Review.”

“Well…” Calista put down her coffee cup. “They’re all bugs. They kept blaming each other, blaming me. They blamed Lílitha the most even though she literally saved them and got hurt. She’s fine now, though. Lots of them got punished for disrespecting Harrison. And… our Break periods were revoked.”

“Your Break periods?” Belinda repeated.

“And our Lunch and Dinner periods are shorter. So there’s that.” Calista sighed, putting her head in her hands. “I got the uber-worst team ever. They all hate me, and Harrison, and each other. At least that Tarzan guy is out, but still.”

“Ugh.” Cam rolled her eyes. “Do not get me started on him. He was so annoying. It was pure luck that got him through last Versus. He got eliminated in the first pair and group rounds, then he got cut in the third solo round. I don’t know how he passed the prelims with his attitude.”

“He doesn’t act his age, that’s for sure,” Belinda commented.

“You’re telling me. It’s a good thing he didn’t get another chance this time. He got far too overconfident. Overconfidence is a dangerous thing.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be overconfident. I’m hardly confident.” Calista finished her breakfast meal. “They were mean, but they were right. I was pretty useless this round. I guess because I’m in a group. I usually feel more confident when I’m alone, or just with Harrison. Now, it’s kinda like… I just defer to other people.”

“That’s natural,” said Belinda. “Especially as a new fighter. I do that, too. It’s a bad habit.”

“I went through that myself, Cali,” said Cam. “You’re new, you’re inexperienced, and after all the rumors about you, I don’t blame you. You tend to rely on people with more experience to get you through. But don’t. Dependence is as dangerous as overconfidence. Of course, follow your team leader and cooperate with those around you, but take charge of the role you’re given. And if you feel sure about yourself, and feel that you can do more, than do more. You can’t do worse than Tarzan.”

The human girl nodded. “That should be my mantra. I can’t do worse than Tarzan.” They all chuckled.

Their AIDA bands beeped. “30 minutes until the Breakfast period ends.”

“Ah, Warm-Ups are optional. You deserve a good break with a team like that.” Cam reached over and took her hand. “How about we have a girls’ morning out? We’re allowed to go to the minigames and such. There’s an arcade. We’ve got an hour and a half.”

“I’m done eating.” Belinda was stuffing her face with the last of her food.

“Me, too.” Cam took a few more bites. “What do you say, Cali?”

She deliberated, then nodded. “Why not?”

The girls cheered and stood. “I haven’t done this in a while. We all deserve a break.” The Seeyastian woman threw her fuchsia dreadlocks over her shoulder. “You guys fancy a DanceSim competition?”

“I’d be careful, Dropkick,” said Calista. “You don’t want to be humiliated by the queen of dance… again.”

“Bring it on, Ballerina,” Belinda challenged.

They went down to the Entertainment section of the Arena, where the mini-ERMMs, digit casinos, sky-coasters, and arcades bustled noisily. Calista was surprised to see fighters playing together in the midst of all the families and children in attendance.

She caught a familiar face in the waiting line for one of the sky-coasters. Javier Monterrey talked to a couple of his teammates, laughing heartily. He did a double take when he noticed her and waved. She waved back.

Camelithia lowered her wrist and pulled her away. Confused, Calista asked, “What?”

“Don’t fraternize with the enemy,” she whispered.

“The enemy? He’s that guy I met at the dinner last week, remember? I haven’t seen him since the water ski game. Good to see he’s still competing.”

“Yes, but don’t act too friendly. You never know what intentions people from other teams may have. Many are manipulative, trying to catch a secret.”

“I thought you said it was good to make friends from other teams.”

“That was at the beginning. We’re too close to the end to trust anyone now. I have plenty of friends in the UK team, but you don’t see me talking to them.”

“She’s right, Cali.” Belinda glanced behind them as they approached the arcade. “Before, it was to dissolve the tension before competing. Now, we have to be careful. We only have three days left.”

“You’ve seen our own teammates glitch us over enough,” Cam reminded her.

“Okay, I get it. I’ll be careful. I was just saying hi.”

“If he’s on the planet team with you, fine. But right now, he’s a stranger.” Cam pulled both girls to the DanceSim station in the arcade. “Now… let’s see who’s really the queen of dance.”

“You’re looking at her. Thinners weren’t the only things giving me these good looks.” Calista swayed her hips like a model, flipping her nylon locks.

“Okay, Miss Supermodel. You and me first. What song?”

“Don’t pick one you know. That’s cheating,” said Belinda.

“Hmm…” Calista browsed the selection. She recognized almost all of them. She continued until she finally found a song she didn’t recognize. She nodded her head to the beat. “Okay. Easy mode for you?” She looked at Cam pitifully.

“Oh, nice try. If you can’t handle Ultra Hard mode, I don’t know how you can call yourself a dancer.” Cam set the song and they took their positions.

“Dapla, record this for me, please,” Belinda commanded her Pet. The sphere detached from her belt and shone a light over the girls.

Calista’s hips were already shaking to the music as it started. The girls followed the dance directions, starting at a slow pace. Suddenly, the rhythm sped up and the dancer started doing very complicated moves. Both moved in sync, determined to keep up.

In the chorus, the screen said, ‘FREESTYLE’. Calista closed her eyes to focus and let her heart take over, moving her limbs and body in graceful pirouettes and fouettés. She stretched her leg up to the sky, then brought it down suddenly, spinning and landing in a split on the floor. Camelithia stopped momentarily, impressed.

The second stanza started and Calista spun to her feet, following the hologram. Cam quickly regained her rhythm, but she lost points.

“Where the glitch did you learn that?” Belinda commented on the side.

“Oh, you know, my dear Bel…” Calista panted. “It’s something you learn… in time.” She hopped. “It takes years and years to perfect the captivating art of dance.”

“Yeah, yeah.” The Mearthian girl rolled her eyes.

“Pretentious much?” Camelithia was also panting quite heavily.

“Can’t help it. I’m winning.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I have more points.”

“Yeah, enjoy it while you can.”

The second chorus started. This time, Cam was ready. Her freestyle dance was a lot fancier, racking up the points. She wasn’t an expert in ballet, but she was flexible.

“Who’s it going to be?” Belinda wondered aloud.

“I’m as captivated as you are,” her Pet, Dapla, commented.

The bridge came, calming the dance down. This allowed them to rest after a lot of movement, dancing slowly. It then kicked back up into the third chorus, where their points multiplied three times. Camelithia was coming very close.

“Come on, Cam, beat her!”

“Why are you on her side?” Calista exclaimed.

“I always root for the underdog.”

“I’m no underdog!” the other woman said. “I’m just rusty.”

At the end of the song, Calista won by 20 points. She raised her hands in victory, panting, and shrugged. “Told you. I warned you. I’m the dancing queen, baby.”

“You… you cheated.”

“How?” she laughed.

Cam shook her head. “I don’t know, but you did. Somehow. You knew the song.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“You cheated,” the Seeyastian insisted.

“Sore loser. Bel, your turn.”

“You have to pick a different song, though.” Belinda stepped up.

They browsed again until they found a song neither of them knew. Belinda was a bit faster this time, giving Calista even more of a challenge, but once again, the freestyle portion put her off. Calista could come up with amazing dance moves in seconds. At the end of the song, Calista won by only 9 points.

“You were a worthy contender…” She put on a fake British accent. “But alas, you will never beat Her Majesty, Calista Medley, Queen of DanceSim.” She curtsied dramatically.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Oh, shut up.” Belinda pouted. The three girls laughed.

“Excuse me.” A mother approached with two teenage daughters, both of whom looked a bit grumpy. “Could we have a turn on the Sim?” she asked.

“Oh, sure, we were leaving anyway.” The girls left the arcade, stepping into the hallway.

“You guys didn’t want to play something else?” Calista asked.

“Nah, the rest of the games are kind of… boring. And as you saw, there’s too many families and bratty kids in there.”

“We can go for a Sky-coaster,” Belinda suggested.

“I’ll join you.”

They turned, surprised to see Rosalina approaching them.

“Um… what are you doing here?” Camelithia asked her.

“It’s a public space, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but… you’re skipping warm-ups?”

“Mm-hmm. For your information, Dropkick, everyone needs a break every once in a while, even if they’re Hajjians.” She smiled. “I saw you in there. Impressive dancing, I’ll admit.”

“Why didn’t you come over?” Calista asked.

“I’m not much of a dancer. Best to leave it to the experts.” She glanced at the nearby Sky-coasters. “So, you want to try that new one people have been raving about?”

“What new one?”

“The newest coaster over there.” She pointed at a tunnel with a massive line. “It’s called Universe. Lame name, but I hear it’s the craziest ride. Let’s all go.”

The girls looked at each other, still confused by Rosalina’s friendliness, but nonetheless agreed. The line was quite long, taking about 10 minutes. Most rides’ wait times would go up to five.

“This better be good if I waited that long,” Belinda commented as they entered one of the ride’s sections. It looked like an old-fashioned 8D movie theater, back when AIDAs and HARPs didn’t exist just yet. Rows of seats facing every direction, surrounded by a circular screen. When people sat down, holo-belts would secure them in place.

Calista wrung her hands together, now feeling nervous. She was starting to regret agreeing to the ride. She hadn’t been on a Sky-coaster in years.

“You good?” Rosalina asked, sitting on her left.

“I’m fine. Just a bit… jumpy.”

“It’s a virtual environment. Nothing to be afraid of. You’ve been through seven Chaos Rounds, so you can handle this.”

She nodded. She was right. If she could handle the competition, she could handle this.

===

Sky-coasters were like a whole out-of-body experience. Calista could only scream as they were thrown, spun, and swung in all directions. Camelithia particularly enjoyed it, raising her arms and cheering. All around them were planets, stars, and galaxies of different kinds zooming past them in tunnels of light. There was so much to see, overwhelming her senses to the max.

At one point, the gravity was turned off, allowing their seats to float around space. When Calista thought she could give her heart a break, a ‘black hole’ opened beneath them, causing them to spin around until their seats reattached to their original spots.

When the ride was over, her emerald eyes stared ahead, trying to comprehend the experience. The girls stood, laughing, then stopped and looked back at her.

“You good, Cali?” Camelithia asked.

“I…” She swallowed. “I-I… I dunno.”

Belinda laughed. “This your first Sky-coaster?” She took her hands and lifted her out of her seat. Her legs were jelly, shaking violently.

“N-no… but… it’s been a while.”

Rosalina took her other arm and put it around her shoulders. “The girl can handle Chaos Rounds, but not a Sky-coaster?”

“It’s different.”

“Mm-hmm. That was fun, though. Worth the wait.”

“Totally worth it. I kind of want to go again.”

“Maybe when Calista isn’t about to pass out,” said Belinda.

“I think I’m gonna throw up.”

Rosalina leaned away. “Please don’t.”

“We have… about an hour until training starts.” Belinda checked her AIDA band. “Unless you guys want to warm up?”

“Nah,” they all said.

“Jinx!” Calista exclaimed.

They all stared at her.

“… You owe me 5 digits? Come on, how do you guys not know that?”

“We know it, it’s just really old,” said Belinda. “Our great-great-grandparents said that, not us.”

“Really? Socializers say it all the time. It never died.”

“Of course it didn’t,” Rosalina remarked.

“Shut up, Hothead.”

“Anyway, you guys want to go again?” Cam pointed back at the Universe Sky-coaster.

Calista gave her a look.

“How about we go for some milkshakes?” Belinda suggested. “I’ve been craving one for days.”

“That sounds good.”

“Milkshakes? Blech.” Rosalina shook her head.

“Have you tried one?”

“Once. Hated it.”

“Give them another chance.”

They went to a milkshake bar in the Food District. Calista chose an ‘extra-pink’ strawberry shake. Cam had a very strange one— probably Seeyastian— mixed with a bit of vodka. Belinda chose a classic chocolate-vanilla swirl.

“Come on, Rosalina, pick one.” Cam sipped her straw.

“I guess… I can try the Hot Coals shake.”

The order appeared before her. It was a glowing glass of orange and black lava. Calista stared at it in wonder. Rosalina sipped it, then paused, testing the flavor.

“Well?”

She nodded. “Pretty good.”

“Hot Coals? What the heck is that?” Calista asked.

“It’s volcanic magma mixed with lava berries and milk. On Hajja, magma is edible,” Rosalina explained. She sipped it again, this time closing her eyes. For a moment, her face seemed somewhat… nostalgic.

“You okay?”

She opened her eyes. “Yeah. You’re right, this is delicious.”

“Told you,” said Belinda.

For the rest of the hour, the girls exchanged stories and jokes. Rosalina was actually very personable when she wasn’t trying to kill anyone. She mostly talked about her and Reilly, her troubles with some teammates, and funny stories from her early years in the academy.

They returned to their wing once the hour was almost up. The others were leaving the gym, separating into their teams for training.

Lílitha exited and stopped when she saw them. “Where were you guys?”

“Skipping class,” said Camelithia. “You should try it sometime.”

“Maybe.” The little woman’s black marbles were fixed on them. Without visible pupils, it was impossible to tell who she was really looking at, but Calista had a feeling she was looking at Rosalina.

“We’ll see you later, Cali. This was fun!” Camelithia and Belinda detached from the group, joining their team.

“See you later, Rosa.” Calista joined Lílitha.

The little woman stared at her, then nudged her. “Rosa?”

Calista hesitated. “I said that?”

“Yes.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

“Huh.” She laughed. “Well, we had a girls’ morning out, so.”

“I noticed. What did you do?”

“We went to that Universe ride.”

“The new one?”

“Yeah. Um… I almost threw up,” she chuckled. “I felt like my soul was pulled out of my body. It was so crazy. Up and down, and all around…”

Lílitha shrugged. “Sounds like a Chaos Round.”

“No, no, this was different. This was worse.”

“I should try it. You rode that the whole hour?”

“Thank God, no. We went out for milkshakes and just hung out. Rosalina’s actually really funny. She told us stories. Like, she told us about this one time when she snuck out of the academy-”

Lílitha suddenly sighed, interrupting her. “Calista…”

“What?”

“I’m sorry. I’m glad you had a good time and all, but I know Rosalina. I’ve known her for years already. The way you’re speaking of her… that’s not who she is.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m just advising you, as your teammate, to proceed with caution. She can be… tricky.”

“Tricky how?”

Lílitha gazed at her for a bit, seeming apologetic, maybe even having pity. Calista couldn’t tell. What did she pity her for?

“I’m not stereotyping you, but… you’re a Socializer. I get it. You’re used to making a lot of friends, even with people that… well, didn’t treat you that great before. You like to be popular. You’re not one to hold a grudge, I noticed.”

Calista shrugged. “It depends. Like, the girls I used to be friends with before the academy? Uh-uh. I’m never talking to them again. Not until they actually apologize. And I know they never will. Well, except Elizabeth- oh, I forgot to call her!”

“What I’m trying to say, Calista, is that you need to be careful. I know that girl. She’s not worthy of your trust. Don’t you find it weird that she wants to be friends with you even though she literally hated you since you first arrived at Fistborn?”

“I mean… you hated me.”

“I didn’t hate you, I just didn’t like you. But I don’t like anybody.”

“You hate Rosalina, though.”

“Well, yeah.” Lílitha shrugged casually.

“Just because she wants to be friends with me doesn’t mean she’s looking for something. What do I have that she would want? Nothing.”

“You never know with her.”

“Why do you hate her so much?”

Lílitha looked confused. “You don’t know at all?”

“Know what?” Calista asked.

“Huh. With your former career, I expected you to listen in on all the gossip.”

“Well, since most of the gossip focuses on trashing me, I kinda stopped listening.”

“Camelithia hasn’t told you anything?”

Calista sighed, exasperated. “About what? Come on, Li, don’t leave me hanging like this.”

“Okay. Rosalina and I used to be friends. Best friends. In our first year, we met and immediately got along. Like you and Adenifi— but Adenifi’s actually very sweet, I don’t think she’s like Rosalina at all. So we were always together, and I trusted her. You know about her Versus parole, right?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Well, at that time, she had just started it, so she was quite desperate to get home.” Lílitha glanced ahead as they neared their training room. “Long story short, she used me and glitched me over. I was bugged off, obviously, and hurt. So I told on her. She was going to do something illegal to go back to Hajja, and I told the Dean about it. She got her parole extended and she was bugged at me, but I only did it because she wronged me first.”

“What did she do?” Calista’s green eyes were wide.

“It’s a lot of detail, Calista. I’ll tell you when we have time.”

“But… that was years ago, right?”

“She hasn’t changed much since then, honestly. That’s why I’m warning you. She might be using you the way she used me.”

“I don’t know… she said she’s seeing her family this year. At the planetaries. And I don’t think she’ll have a problem getting on the team.”

“Doesn’t matter. She’s always been determined to get back to Hajja before her sentence ends. Rosalina’s called ‘Hothead’ for many reasons.”

“I heard my name.” Rosalina approached with Camelithia behind her.

“What are you guys doing here?” Calista and Lílitha were right outside the door.

“We owe you five digits, remember?” She held out her wrist with her AIDA band. “From the jinx.”

Calista laughed. “That’s just a joke!”

“Why not? Five digits is nothing,” said Cam. “We jinxed.”

“But… you guys, that wasn’t serious.”

“Take it,” Rosalina insisted.

Confused, she reluctantly held out her band and touched it to their bands to get the transfer. “10 free digits. Thanks, guys.”

“Alright… we’ll see you in a bit.” Rosalina’s red eyes flickered to Lílitha momentarily as she turned.

“Wait. Hothead. Could I… discuss something with you?” Lílitha stopped her.

The two paused, hesitating. “I’ll see you,” Camelithia said, turning to leave.

“Li, we’re about to start,” said Calista.

“I’ll be right in. Harrison will understand.”

The human girl glanced between them. “Okay.” She entered.

Maybe Lílitha was right… but Rosalina didn’t seem fake. She acted so natural and open around Calista. It wasn’t like the SociaLights at all. She was actually… sweet. Would she really reveal so much of herself just to use someone?

Lílitha held grudges. She was just paranoid. Calista was sure that Rosalina could be a good friend if she wanted to.

===

Camelithia had gotten quite far from the other team’s training room, but something made her stop. Why did Piranha want to talk to Hothead like this, anyway?

It was none of her business. Why was she so… curious?

With a large sigh, she found herself turning around, forced by her nosiness. “I always have to stick my pink face in everyone else’s lives, don’t I?” she muttered to herself. “You’re going to regret this, Cam… it’s nothing to do with you. Then you’re going to be stuck with another stupid secret. Bloody hell.”

As she neared the hallway, she could hear them arguing. “… such a paranoid, self-absorbed glitch!”

“You’re just scared, Wiasod. You’re scared that I’m going to get in the way. You know I won’t let you get away with it.”

Camelithia’s fuchsia brows furrowed and she flattened herself against the wall, inching closer.

“Scared?” Rosalina scoffed. “Of you? Ants scare me more than you.”

“I can see right through your lies. Going for milkshakes, and Sky-coasters, sure, a regular day for someone like you. I bet the whole time you were with them, you were trying not to pull your fangs out. You hate being around people in general.”

“You don’t know me, Houdge. You really don’t.”

Were they talking about them? Camelithia wished she had a listener, or Belinda’s telepathy. She should’ve gone to get her first.

“You really think I’ll believe that you actually enjoyed yourself?” Lílitha laughed. “You’re always so miserable because you’re not on your home planet, and all of a sudden, you’re spending time with girls you loathed? Tell me you’re not using all of them without telling me you’re not using all of them.”

“Why is everything about using with you? Like you didn’t glitch me over all those years ago.”

“I only did that because you used me first!”

Camelithia bit her lip. Using who? Her? Belinda? Cali?

“You’re using her for something. To get to Harrison, to get to me.”

“Why does everything have to be about you?”

“I won’t let you pull the same trick twice, henna.”

Henna? Camelithia knew that word, but she couldn’t remember its meaning. It was an Ilamikoan insult.

“It’s not going to work.” Lílitha’s tone was smug. “It doesn’t work like that, anyway. Calista may be gullible enough to believe your snake face, but I’m here to show her who you really are.”

“Oh, you’re her little guardian angel. How cute,” Rosalina mocked. “You’re talking about me using her. What about you? You went from ignoring her to being all nice, giving advice, helping out in rounds. Not that different from me.”

“Why do I need to use someone? I have everything I ever need. You don’t.”

“You and I are more alike than you’d like to think, Piranha. Maybe look in a mirror screen every now and then. You want to convince yourself that you’re such an angel, so you project everything that’s wrong about you onto me. You don’t want to admit that you’re a manipulative little rat.”

“So you admit it. You’re manipulative. You’re evil. You know that.”

Silence. Footsteps approached Camelithia. She quickly ran away from the corner, her long legs carrying her back to her training room. She took a breath and mulled over the conversation.

Those two were enigmas. They weren’t the friendly type. They both had bad tempers. They both had goals they were determined to reach, through any means necessary.

Camelithia believed that either of them could be using Calista, and by extension, her and Belinda. Maybe even Harrison. This was exactly what they were warning Calista about earlier, and now she fell for it. Everyone could be lying, but everyone could be telling the truth.

But who could she believe?