The entire Alpha Guild sauntered into the bar for their annual tradition: a celebration of the final round of the prelims. This was the last time the Guild members would be together before the interplanetaries began, and they wanted to make it count.
Rosalina ordered a glass of the hardest human liquor. Human alcohol was pathetic against her Hajjian body. It probably wouldn’t affect her further than making her a bit more social… and maybe a bit gassy. She would have to take care and not burp in anyone’s face, lest she wanted to burn them.
“Attention, Alpha!” Reilly called.
“Yes, Clocker!” everyone replied.
“Tomorrow, any one of us could finish our run in the Versus 2350. So, beforehand, I wanted to congratulate those competing in the round for making it this far. I also wanted to acknowledge those that got eliminated in today’s game. You did very well.”
They raised their glasses and cheered. Other customers looked over, many irritated, being from other country teams.
“And to those who were eliminated in other rounds: you made this team. Good work.”
They clapped, a bit more low-key this time.
“Lastly, I’m giving a special shout-out to…” He paused. “Myself.” He tipped his glass towards his chest.
Everyone groaned, laughing.
“No, seriously… I’m not one to really play favorites— I have my Favorites, of course.” He cast a loving glance at his girlfriend. “But ultimately, all of you are Alphas. All of you earned your places on the team and in my Guild. I’ve worked long and hard to earn my place as the first-seed Student Coach in the entire academy, and all of you have worked hard enough to earn my attention and time to teach you.” He lifted his glass. “To Alpha, Fistborn, and Team USA!”
“To Alpha, Fistborn, and USA!”
Rosalina adored Reilly. But there was a bit of conflict within her when he said that. It was surprising, even for herself.
Reilly had worked hard and was very experienced in fighting, so his first-place seed was deserved. But at the same time, it was supposed to be Harrison’s spot. Reilly fell short in the 2346 finals and should’ve gotten the second seed.
Then again, maybe it was best for both of them. This was Reilly’s last Versus. He deserved to graduate with a high rank. And with the way all the Kappas left the 10th-seed Guild, transferring to others, or rescinding their Guild membership altogether, they wouldn’t have taken it kindly if Harrison was named the ‘best student in Fistborn Academy’. The Alpha Guild would’ve been nonexistent… until Calista came.
If he were the Alpha Student Coach, and he would’ve accepted Calista, making her a default Alpha Favorite, everyone would’ve hated her even more than they did with all of them in Kappa. As unfair as it was that Harrison didn’t get his deserved rank, he would’ve been worse off if he did.
She shook her head. What was she thinking? She didn’t understand how she went from hating Calista and Harrison to having sympathy for them. She didn’t expect to actually like spending time with Calista. She thought she would have to fake it the whole way through.
Could she really call Calista a friend?
Reilly sat next to her, taking a long draft of his mug of Flying Dark Ale. It looked very unappetizing, being a sickly green in color, but the taste was smooth and strong, going down warmly.
“Where are your other Student Coach friends?” Rosalina asked him, drinking her own glass.
“They’ll be along shortly.” He looked at her, his eyes holding a mysterious glint.
She smiled. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“What is it?”
“I’m just… wondering if you’re ready.”
“For what?”
“To take over.” He motioned to the Alpha members laughing and joking behind them. “They’ll look up to you. It’s quite a lot of pressure. I’m extremely confident you can handle it, maybe even better than me. But are you ready?”
Rosalina gazed at Reilly’s students— her students, in a few months. “I think I am. I never imagined myself being a coach, though. Don’t know if I’ll have the patience. Wouldn’t want to scare them away.”
“I mean, if you can spend the day with Cheater’s Favorite without steaming, I’m sure you can do this.”
Guilt gripped her stomach and she clutched her glass. She finished the drink and put it down, letting the AIDA refill it. She gulped it down again.
Reilly noticed her sudden desperation for alcohol, and he put down his mug, scrunching his eyebrows. “Something wrong?”
She shook her head. “No, nothing.” She gulped down a third.
“Rosa, control yourself.”
“It’s a human drink. It’s hardly potent.”
“Still. What’s the matter?”
She smiled, chuckling dismissively. “It’s nothing.” She turned around in her barstool, drinking a fourth. After she swallowed, she burped loudly, fire shooting out of her mouth. She looked back at her boyfriend, slapping her hand over her lips, and laughed.
“Rosa…” He took her glass away. “Human drink or not, if you drink it too fast, you will get tipsy. You haven’t even eaten anything yet.”
“I’m fine.”
“Come on, talk to me.” His demeanor was calm, but just a bit of desperation snuck into his voice.
She stared at him, then sighed. “I just… I was all for our little plan before. But now… I feel really… like a glitch.”
“Why is that?”
“Reilly, I don’t like to sneak around and be a spy. I did this because you wouldn’t stop ranting about how Cheater has it so easy, and how he’s going to cheat again, and I was honestly getting tired of hearing it. I hated it, too, but after a while, I didn’t really care.”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“I mean that I’m not comfortable spying on Cheater and Calista anymore. As annoying as she can be, she’s actually… really sweet.”
Reilly smirked, taking a gulp of his drink. “Let me get this straight. This girl you loathed… you’re starting to care for her?”
“I’m not a monster, Reilly.”
“I never said you were a monster! I’m only saying it’s strange. You legitimately enjoy your time with her?”
“Well… yeah.” She turned to the bar. “AIDA, give me a shot of Bloody Murder.” The empty glass of liquor switched to a shot glass of blood-red Hajjian jilk— their version of alcohol. She threw her head back, her skin releasing steam when the jilk went down her throat. She shuddered at the bitterness on her tongue.
“Will you stop drinking so much?” Reilly half-snapped. “That’s not a human drink. You’re going to make a fool of yourself if you have so many.”
“I just don’t like the way you’re judging me right now.”
“Rosa, I’m not judging you.” He held her shoulders. “I’m just surprised. You can’t blame me. Calista Medley is… basically the opposite of a fighter. Her personality, her mannerisms are all… very irritating. She’s had everything fall in her lap, just like with Cheater, and he’s carrying her along… you know the whole story.”
“I know. Okay? I know. But as I spent time with her, I realized… she’s really just trying to make it through. I can smell a fraud very well, and I don’t smell it on her. She’s not like those other three we saw on her ‘channel’.”
“Cheater is still dragging her along. He lives up to his call sign,” Reilly reminded her.
“I don’t think so,” she countered. “I’m sorry, Reilly, I don’t. I’ve seen them train. I’ve seen them fight. You can’t fake that. And the way Calista improved? He can’t cheat that. He taught her all that.”
“So your entire worldview has completely changed because you went on a Sky-coaster with this girl?”
“No! It started since you told me to go and ‘gain her trust’. I thought it would be binary code; she’s gullible, she loves making friends, and with her reputation, she can’t really pass up on friends. But as I talked to her, I saw how… how she is. I don’t think I would have any answers for you, really. I think they really are just… lucky.” She gulped a second shot of jilk.
“Well, you don’t know that. You haven’t asked her how Harrison trains her. What he tells her. You keep stalling,” Reilly told her. He leaned against the counter on his elbows.
“Because I don’t want to, Reilly! Not anymore. I wish you hadn’t made me do this. I see her with her family, and training there, and I can see it. I can’t try and rip that away.”
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“So you’re not doing it anymore?”
“No. I’m not. If you still want information, try and get it yourself. Because I’m not doing this. Calista is… Calista. But there’s a likable side to her.”
Reilly sighed. “Alright. If that’s how you feel.” He looked like he didn’t care, but Rosalina could tell he was frustrated as he gulped down his own mug.
“I’m sorry, Reilly,” Rosalina said sincerely. “I may be the way I am, and I hold grudges, but this girl… she hasn’t really wronged me. And I promised myself so many things, and I keep breaking them. After what happened with Lílitha…”
“Lílitha stopped being your friend years ago.”
“I remember feeling so terrible… then not anymore, after what she did. She went too far.” She took a third shot. Usually, with Reilly, she was always comfortable sharing her feelings, but in private settings. She was out and about in a public bar, spilling out her guts. Maybe she was a bit too tipsy.
Moments passed. She played with her empty shot glass.
“Reilly, I had… I had fun,” she found herself saying. “I haven’t had fun like that in years. All I do is eat, train, study, and sleep. That’s all. I constantly think about going home. But when I was with her, and Dropkick, and Adenifi… I actually had fun. I have fun with you, but this was different. I never imagined having friends like that… or friends in general.”
“You have friends,” he reasoned.
“No. I have only you. Everyone else… they’re just scared of me.” She looked at the other Alphas. “I haven’t had a real friend since Lílitha. Since then, I just have followers. And it gets lonely. And now that you’re leaving… I won’t have anything. Not until I graduate and finally get to go home. Going for milkshakes, joking about life… it felt amazing. I can see why Calista likes it so much.”
“She’s having her first experience with friends, too— if those girls are as genuine as they seem.” Reilly finished his mug. “Those she spent time with before the academy were a load of cache.”
“Yeah… and I… I didn’t realize how hotheaded I really am. I get angry for almost everything. I get irritated easily. Everyone’s always cowering around me. Maybe I am a monster.” She looked down at her red hands.
“You’re not a monster. You’re just guarded. And that’s good, especially in this world. You don’t know who to trust.” His large hand surrounded hers, caressing her fingers.
“I told her things I’ve only told you. And Lílitha— some of them. I don’t know why. I told her about my family. I didn’t even think twice.”
Reilly stared at her. “I told you to become friends with her to see if she and Cheater were glitching with the tournament. But now I’m wondering if she’s on the same mission.”
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe she’s manipulated you. Maybe she’s trying to gain your trust. You told her all of that?”
Rosalina frowned. “I’m not easily glitched with, Reilly.”
“You just openly admitted it. You told her personal things. I didn’t tell you to do that.”
“So what? I just felt like saying it. Maybe because I only have you to tell. Maybe because I’m tired of keeping it all inside all the time. Maybe I’m tired of just getting angry. Like I said, I know when someone is fake.”
“Okay… I think you’ve had too much.” He took her glass away.
“I’m serious, Reilly! Calista is not what you think she is.” She pulled her hand from his.
“Maybe your sensor’s a little off.”
“Maybe you’re just overly paranoid.”
“You have to be in this world, Rosa,” he said.
“Is that why you have literally no friends, either?”
Silence. Rosalina looked down guiltily. Reilly tapped his fingers against his glass.
“Reilly…” Her mouth flapped. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s fine.” He refilled his drink and gulped it down in seconds. “I should tend to my other students, make sure they’re sober enough. We don’t want to cause a scene.”
“Wait-” She watched him leave his seat, approaching the drunker part of the crowd. Just then, the other Student Coaches finally arrived, going up to Reilly to greet him. The only ones missing were Disaris— who was probably still upset over his elimination today— and Harrison, who was underage.
But Melsen and Catherine were, too, so that was a flimsy excuse.
“You’re late,” she heard Reilly say.
“We’re fashionably late,” said Catherine.
Reilly always seemed to get along well with the other coaches, but was he really friends with them? Were they just nice because he was the first seed? Or were they genuine? Was that his mentality, that no one could be a true friend?
Was Rosalina the only one he really trusted?
He was just as lonely as she was… but he had his family. He could always go back to the UK when he wanted to see them. He didn’t have timed calls with them.
She turned back to the bar. “AIDA, another shot.”
===
“I think that just about covers today’s recap, don’t you think, Yvonne?”
“Yes, it- oh! Forgot something else about Team USA. USA Team 3, headed by Harrison ‘Cheater’ Smith, had a very exciting round today. After their humiliating performance in yesterday’s Battleship round, I thought they wouldn’t stand a chance, but once again, both Harrison and Calista Medley have surprised us. All of Team 3’s members did an excellent job.”
“You’re right. Team 3 only lost three members this round, while Team 1— headed by Clocker— lost five. Not to mention the epic elimination of Disaris ‘Waterski’ Okione, their second-best student, just seconds before the round ended.”
Calista watched the HARP excitedly, chills wracking her spine as the newscasters recalled everything that happened during the round. Eliminating a Student Coach was big. She was excited for the last round of the prelims. Hopefully, she’d still be granted the strength and talent she had throughout the rounds. If she failed now… it would be a pity.
She prayed to God that he would continue granting her dreams, as he’d done so far. No matter how many Chaos Rounds she’d played, there was still a chance she wouldn’t survive.
“Reporters attempted to get a comment from Okione, but he didn’t seem to be in a good mood, did he?” They showed a recording of Disaris storming out of the lobby, Delaine chasing him. He brushed past the reporters as if they weren’t there.
Meanwhile, Harrison’s team had been surrounded by reporters, many of whom were Versus Socializers looking to grow their channels. Damaris and Charlotte got a lot of publicity, having been clever in using their Pets during the round.
Freezer seemed pretty disappointed knowing she was out of the game, but she didn’t seem too bothered… then again, no one ever knew what that woman truly felt. The whole team, even those eliminated, were content with the round’s result.
The Versus News report was interrupted by AIDA announcing someone at the door, then a weird banging.
“Hiii!”
Confused, she paused the program and told AIDA to open the door. Rosalina came stumbling in, laughing maniacally. “Calista!” she exclaimed happily. “Where were you? You’re missing all the fun!” Her Hajjian accent was even stronger now, all her r’s rolling.
“Hey, Rosalina…” She approached the woman cautiously.
Rosalina waved a hand dismissively. “Rosa. Call me Rosa. RRROSA! We’re friends!” She looked around Calista’s dorm, realizing how it was decorated in pink. “Your room… it’s so… girly. It’s cute!”
“Thanks?” Calista held back a laugh. “So, um… you’re drunk.”
“You need to come to the celebration!” She took Calista’s hands, pulling her to the door. “Everyone’s there!”
“I can’t drink.”
“Just get a milkshake! Come ooon!”
“Rosa, how many did you have?” Calista steadied her as she almost slammed herself into the wall.
Rosalina put a finger on her chin thoughtfully. “You know… I can’t remember.”
“I thought the AIDA stopped you when you had too much.”
“Shh…” She put a finger to her lips and pulled Calista close. Her breath was sharp and pungent, causing the human girl to lean away. “I’m going to tell you a big secret,” she whispered.
“You need a Mint Blast or something. Didn’t you take a tolerance pill?”
“Shh,” Rosalina repeated. “You want to have a secret? Best friend secret?”
Calista chuckled. Rosalina sure was different when she was drunk. She humored her. “Okay, pinkies.”
Rosalina accepted the pinky, then said, “The bar’s AIDA… it’s broken.” She burst into laughter.
“It’s broken?”
“Someone broke it yesterday… so it can’t know how much we drink.” She shook her finger back and forth. “And no one’s said anything!” She cackled again and started singing.
Calista could only hope it wasn’t one of their team that broke it. If it was an employee trying to cheat out a few more shots, the Versus company could be penalized for letting patrons drink in excess… but they were trillionaires. It was cache digits for them.
“Fistborn, Fistborn, destined to win… a champion from the beginning…”
Calista raised her brows when the Hajjian woman got on her sleep capsule and started jumping. AIDA detected it and hardened the mattress to a bouncier material.
“Kick them, hit them, beat them all in!
Academy proud, victory within!”
“Okay.” Calista was tempted to record her drunken episode, but that would be mean. Someone at the bar probably already did the job. “You should get down from there. You’re going to crack your head open.” She helped her down the bed.
“Calista.” Rosalina slung an arm around the human girl’s neck. She turned away to avoid her breath. “You are a really cool person.” Rosalina poked her shoulder as she spoke. “You know, I thought… when you went to the academy, I thought you were a wimp, a cheater, blah, blah, blahhh…”
“Uh-huh.” Calista led her to the door. If her Hajjian system succumbed to such intoxication, she must’ve had a lot to drink.
“But now that I look at you… you’re alright.” She giggled. “And Reilly said you and Cheater were cheating.” She then paused. “Huh. Cheater cheating. Cheater-cheating, Cheater-cheating, Cheater-cheating.”
“Okay, Rosa, you need to sober up. Go to your room and sleep it off.”
She broke away. “Come ooon!” She went to Calista’s sofa, collapsing on her back. “I don’t have any friends. I want friends! Girlfriends! To go and hang out and do stuff…”
“We can hang out and do stuff when you’re not drunk out of your circuits,” Calista reasoned.
“Yeah… I don’t want to do the spy thing anymore. I like you. I do. And Harrison’s not as bad as I thought… I see him teach you. He’s good. You’re good. Good job.”
“S… spy? What do you mean?”
“Yeah. Reilly wanted me to spy on you.”
She blinked. “What?”
“He thought you were cheating. So he said I should be your friend and see what you were doing. But I don’t wanna anymore.”
Calista’s face paled.
“I didn’t think I’d actually like being around you. Who woulda thought? I thought it was gonna be torture. But no… you’re cool. You’re nice. Sorry for spying.”
She shook her head, coming closer. “Wait, so… you saved me in Tsunami, and started talking to me, not because you wanted to be friends… but because you were spying on me?”
“Before. Before. Now… I like having friends. And I don’t think you guys are cheating.”
“So you were nice to me because you wanted to… what?”
“Well…” She swallowed. “Reilly wanted to know how you were learning… then he would figure out how you were cheating… and report you. Then boop! You would be out.”
“And… you agreed.”
“I didn’t like you! Not back then.”
Calista felt a burning anger in her stomach, and while part of it was directed towards Rosalina, it was mostly towards herself. She felt like such an idiot.
Lílitha was right. She was way too gullible. She told her to her face that Rosalina could be using her, and she completely ignored it. Why else would the woman suddenly start being nice to her?
She ignored it all… because she wanted to be friends with the popular girl. Because she thought their friendship would earn her some respect.
Maybe, in some aspect, she was using Rosalina. Just not intentionally. She, on the other hand… she and her boyfriend were trying to kick her and Harrison out. He was plotting to ruin them.
“Rosalina. You should go. You’re too drunk.”
“Aww, don’t be mad! It’s all in the past now.” She rolled off the sofa, faceplanting into the floor.
Calista pulled her to her feet and steered her to the door. “Go to your room and sleep.”
“But I wanna-”
“Just go!” She pushed her into the hallway. “AIDA, lock her out. Don’t let her back in.”
The door closed. Rosalina knocked again. “Come on, bestie! I want some company… Reilly’s mad at me… please? Can we get a milkshake?”
Calista didn’t answer, sitting against the door. She wanted to cry, feeling tears pushing out of her eyes, but she refused to. She heard Rosalina give up and walk away, stumbling down the hall.
Lindsay came out of her wall socket and flew towards the girl. “You okay?”
“I’m bugged. Bugged at myself. Lílitha told me… you told me. And I had to ignore it all. I have friends.” She covered her face. “Why am I so pathetic?”
“You’re not pathetic, Calista.”
“Lindsay, it was obvious she was using me. Lílitha told me. And I made up excuses. And then I’m surprised when she comes in here and tells me the truth!”
“I’m sorry.”
“I thought… she was a nice person. I thought she had changed.”
“She said she didn’t want to do it anymore,” Lindsay pointed out.
“She was drunk. Tomorrow, she’ll probably apologize to Reilly and try to play her mind game again, but this time… this time I’m ready.”
“Calista-”
“I don’t want to be the idiot who falls for everything anymore. I don’t. I’m sick of this.”