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“Now we have floating island strategies that could be initiated by every mber of the team. Except Everly.” Vandy Carisson ran a highlighter over a line she’d written in her notebook, then capped it and lifted blue eyes to regard the tall, brunette girl in the green tank top who sat across the table from her. Their team was having a planning eting in one of Celena North Library’s group study rooms. “But I don’t think we can count your strategy, Heloísa. It’s too uncontrolled. It might kill so of us.”
“No risk, no victory!” Heloísa said, high-fiving Rebecca in the seat to her right.
“That’s how we do it,” said Rebecca.
“I ca up with sothing I could do for the island,” said Everly, crossing her arms over her chest. “But it would use up my spell impression casts, and it would take too long. It’s not like we need to have a strategy for everyone on the team. And it’s all right if I don’t get to run this week. I got to go last Friday.”
Vandy nodded at her, then looked pointedly at Heloísa again. “People can have victory without risk. That’s the best way to have victory.”
“Is it winning if you win against a baby?” Heloísa asked.
“I’m not sure how that relates to this.”
“You understand what I’m saying, don’t you, Maricel?” Heloísa held her hand up toward Maricel in the seat beside her. Maricel didn’t look over. She was watching footage of one their two runs from last week as it played on the wall, frowning critically at the small image of herself trying to shape an earthen ramp.
“Too slow,” she said quietly. “I’ll need Hasten Call.”
“Good for you,” said Heloísa, reaching farther to wave her hand in front of the other girl’s nose. “But won’t it probably be a few affixations before the System offers you that since you didn’t take it the first ti around? I don’t keep track of what’s usual for other classes, but I thought you’d gone more for the versatile Shaper route. You’re fast enough at moving dirt around anyway….slow at returning your friends’ high fives, though.”
Maricel batted at her hand, then stuffed her own hands back into the pockets of her hoodie and continued watching the video.
Tuyet looked at Maricel and then turned to Everly with a pleading expression. Everly shook her head. Their exchange went unacknowledged by anyone else at the table.
“Starting with that skill would be silly, so of course Mari didn’t do it,” said Jupiter. She’d spent the past hour making a grass skirt for Heloísa’s teddy bear purse, but she’d been frequently updating the shared group notes through her interface, so they all knew she was paying attention. “There’s no point in making the elent move faster than your normal limits if you don’t have anything interesting to do with it. What would an enhanced-speed basic push be for her? Just a little sand blower. People who start with obedient elent spells are wrong, too. Shapers need to learn to make shapes. Isn’t that right, Mari?”
“If there’s a chance to make another ramp on Friday's course, I’ll take it,” Maricel said.
“Well…” Vandy said, “…you did what you wanted a couple of tis last week, and it worked out. But I don’t want us to think so individually. Just because there’s an opportunity for a ramp, it doesn’t an that’s what’s best for the run. We’re practicing being a team, using communication before and during gym ti, not making up our own rules—”
“I don’t think I could ramp all the way to the floating island, so I’ll follow your plan for that.”
Tuyet looked to Everly again. This ti, Everly sighed. “Maricel…I think Vandy ans that you were pushing ahead of the rest of us too much last week. You were doing great. But we weren’t expecting you to be so far out in front building things on your own, and we didn’t know you were going to take the second attack opportunity. Tuyet had positioned herself to snipe, and she was just waiting for Vandy to pick the timing.”
Maricel blinked. “Oh.” She looked at Tuyet. “I thought since you weren’t going…”
Everly uncrossed her arms. “She was going. It was only four or five seconds before you jumped in, Mar—”
“It’s fine! I wasn’t upset. I’m not upset.” Tuyet smiled at Maricel. “Let’s just talk more during our next run, so that we’re all together.”
Maricel looked around the table. “Sorry. I didn’t realize I was bothering any of you.”
“It’s okay.”
“Don’t worry about it, Maricel.”
“Plans fall apart all the ti in the gym anyway!”
“People can make plans that won’t fall apart. Ideally—”
“Vandy, honestly…”
“I understand because sotis you just have a brainwave about a way to kill soone, and not trying it out right away is hard.”
“I’ve never had a brainwave like…that…Jupiter.”
The girls chattered, reassuring Maricel and one another about their upcoming performance until Vandy slapped the table a few tis to call them back to order. “Tonight and tomorrow, everyone should be sure to make it to bed on ti. I found a visualization exercise for team sports, and I think I’ve made it work for the obstacle course. I’m sending that to you all. Rember that being prepared on strategy day and course day is howork. Instructor Ash may ask any of us questions at any ti tomorrow, so know how you’ll answer if you’re the one who has to explain our strategy to him in more detail.”
“I don’t think he’s going to do that,” said Everly. “I think he’s going to skim whatever we give him, drink sugar, pick so teams, and then leave before any of us can complain.”
“I get that vibe, too,” said Rebecca. “I don’t have a major problem with the instructor since he’s not boring to listen to when he’s explaining all the video, and he told he’d seen a Brute invert Bounce Repeater, which I’ve never heard of before. I’ll be figuring that out or trying to make the System show whatever add-on talent makes it possible. But the man’s not into teaching much.”
“And he’s not very nice,” said Tuyet.
“He’s not nice at all,” said Rebecca. “I’d have stabbed him with a pen if I were Alden on the first day.”
“You would be expelled,” said Vandy.
“It would have been self-defense. I was so embarrassed for him.”
“Maybe Instructor Ash was jealous of his rings,” said Jupiter. “I’m jealous of both of their rings.”
“You can’t kill them for their jewelry,” Heloísa whispered.
Most of the girls burst into snorts and giggles.
“All right,” said Vandy once it had subsided. “I was going to suggest fifteen more minutes of planning strategies against specific mbers of the other teams, but we don’t know most of them well enough yet. And we’re getting too unserious, so I think a nutritious supper and heading back to our rooms for rest is the right call.”
“I don’t mind being unserious. It feels like everyone’s more…like this.” Everly held up a tightly clenched fist and scowled at it. “This term. Compared to last, it’s like we’re not arguing as much, but it’s because there’s more tension instead of less. Is that only ?”
“We lost a couple of class mbers to Elites, a couple to dropouts, we’ve got the new people in Combat I adding pressure,” said Rebecca. “Those all combine into sothing.”
“Are they adding pressure?” Vandy asked. “I fought Opal in a duel on Tuesday. She seems friendly. There wasn’t pressure.”
Rebecca rolled her eyes. “I didn’t an the B-rank could pressure an S like you in a one-on-one, Vandy. I ant that having living examples of people who have to retake Combat I among us is reminding everyone that we’re really in this program now, and even if it’s not Li Jean’s Elites, there are standards.”
Heloísa’s face fell. “The new strongman and I fought. And I know he’s had a couple more months of practice than , but I thought I’d be better than him since he…you know, he must have been one of the worst mbers of the group ahead of us or he wouldn’t be taking this with us. That makes sense, right?”
“So people who don’t move forward on schedule probably just recognize they need to go a little slower,” said Everly.
“But if you need to go slower at sothing than everyone else in a group, and you don’t have a special situation like Søren’s, doesn’t that an you were one of the worst at the thing?” Heloísa asked. “I’m not trying to say he should be terrible. But a Strength Brute isn’t a Light Shaper. There are tons of us, and our powers aren’t complicated, and the teachers know how to teach us. So I thought the one who was retaking this class must have been a slacker last term or naturally clumsy. Maybe even that he had so kind of personal restriction that made things harder for him, like how Lucille loses when she shouldn’t because she won’t risk delivering lethal damage.”
“She needs to get over that,” said Rebecca.
“I think it’s important to have principles,” Everly countered.
“What I’m saying is the new guy doesn’t have anything like that going on. He’s normal. A normal Strength Brute like . Maybe even a little better than since he won? By a pinch, a hair, an F-rank crumb! But he did win. And that’s…”
“Pressure,” Everly and Rebecca said at the sa ti.
The S-ranks in the room looked unconcerned except for Maricel, who’d gone back to brooding over her footage.
Rebecca sighed again. “It’s not like you all getting an extra gym period while A-ranks are playing tennis or whatever in our fitness class doesn’t contribute. I don’t bla you, but we hear people saying how much more challenging it is without the A-ranks around and talking about how much you might improve because of it.”
“I haven’t said anything like that,” said Tuyet.
“But plenty of people are saying things like that.”
“A’s and B’s are in the fitness class,” said Heloísa. “Don’t leave out the B’s, Rebecca, or you’re as bad as them.”
“Actually, I do think Opal might be a little behind,” said Rebecca. “Doesn’t she seem worse than Alden and Max?”
“Does she?” asked Vandy. “She wasn’t as good as either of them, but it was our first duel so she didn’t know anything about .”
“Again, Vandy, you’re not a good judge of this.”
“I don’t know, Rebecca,” said Everly. “As a fellow Adjuster, I think Opal’s fine. Our starter B’s are above average. Max is really tricky. And Alden beating Winston last quarter…I know Winston was trying too hard to show off, but that flicking a heavy bag thing Alden ca up with…”
“He should have been doing that all term!” Heloísa said, leaning across the table toward Vandy. “He should be doing that in class now so I can hit it back at him.”
Vandy leaned away from her. “Why are you telling about it?”
“Kon and I tried to figure out how heavy of an object he could do that move with by comparing what we’ve both seen of his skill holding weights and then guessing how much swinging sothing that way pushes him to magical fatigue. But then we realized we had no idea. He hardly ever lets himself get fatigued in class. By the way, did you finally watch him beat Winston with the bag and paracord, Maricel? It was great, wasn’t it?Maricel? Annnd…she’s zoned out again.” Everly’s tone was frustrated.
“Mari’s zoned in. On improving herself,” said Jupiter. She shook the bear purse so that its skirt swayed, and Heloísa reclaid it from her with a squeal.
“Anyway, Winston’s another example of the new pressure…or seriousness, whatever we’re going to call it, taking hold,” said Everly. “He’s winning in gym. He’s not posting as much online. I love posting for my fans, so I’m not soone who should criticize too much, but I think that’s a good idea for him. Since he’s so obsessed with it.”
“We’ll see,” Rebecca said doubtfully. “I looked into his eyes when I tried to explain to him that he shouldn’t be a useless traitor that day we worked together as a class to beat Klein, and I didn’t see my words landing in his brain if you know what I an.”
“I think he might really be doing better. Now would be the perfect ti for the old him to be more active online, since Finlay has left and can’t even post anything about Elites because of that social dia break they’re making all their students take.”
“Do you think they’re going to get the Elites to level up so before they let them talk about their training?” Tuyet asked.
“That’s what everyone thinks,” Everly replied. “It’s to build hype.”
“And because of things like that, the public isn’t using their gym suits on Sunday mornings.”
“Don’t complain about that again, Rebecca. You grossed out in the locker room.”
“Whoever got to borrow my suit slled like cheese! I know they didn’t clean it afterward. I had to go through a whole class in soone else’s cheesy sweat stink. I’m not turning it in this ti to be shared. Principal Saleh can co right through my bedroom wall to take it back if she wants to try, and I’ll tell her to her face about what happened to .”
“That’s enough. We’ve gotten much too unfocused,” said Vandy, standing. “Nutritious dinner and bed. Do you all want to eat together? I was going to the grab-and-go spot, but if you wanted to eat at Cafeteria North…?”
“Kon’s in F-city training with his team. He offered to bring sothing, so I’ll probably eat with him.”
They all looked at Everly.
“They’re training?” Heloísa asked eagerly. “Not just sitting around talking in a study room like us? What are they doing?”
“I’ll ask.” She moved her fingers through the air, typing the ssage. A few seconds later, she scoffed. “That…! Look what he sent !”
She added Konstantin’s ssage to the group notes under Jupiter’s last update.
[That’s secret team business, ice spider. We got an outdoor gym training session in thanks to Alden. Tomorrow we’ll be at the top of the run list. The next day, we’ll destroy you Vandy the rest of them in battle. Be prepared. Want gimbap? Or pesto ravioli from that place? I’m starving.
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