I have to say, the first round is a bust. Not only did we fail to win, but Xander and Vanessa are the winners. Vanessa isn’t a gracious winner at all. There was one instance while Precilla was talking to Xander that I notice her looking at me. I thought nothing about it for a second until I see her flashing me a smug grin like she’s boasting about their win. It’s complete bullshit if I tell you that the gesture did not piss me off. In the next event, I will make sure that we end up as winners. Still, given my dedication for the second round, that does not mean that I cannot actr petty about what happened in the first one. “Trust me, he says.” I mumble in a low tone so that only Romeo can hear as I am standing beside him while giving him an annoyed glance. “A hundred percent chance of winning, if I may add.” I quoted the words in the air as I repeated what he said to me before. “Hey, hey, hey. Those were not my exact words!” Romeo complains. “Does it matter if we still lost?”

“I don’t know where you are taking me, but just so you know, even though I am depressed, I can kill kick your a–” “Please, don’t swear. We’re going to meet my little brother.” Xander cuts me off while we ride in silence in the backseat of his van. “You have a brother!?” I gape as I turn to him. Xander gives me a side glance. “You have already met him, Hailey. His name is Patrick.” Now that I think about it, I do recall that it was thanks to a particular child that I learned the real secret identities of the Pandorgriffs. How could I have forgotten about that? “Ah, right. That kid.” I say, even though I have basically forgotten that the brat exists. What can I do? I am a very busy individual, and Xander never allowed his younger brother in the school property the moment someone found out about their secret. “Where are we going to meet your brother?” “We’re going to their school. Today is their school festival.” I begin to give him a frown, letting him know that I wasn’t thrill

Patrick’s gaze registers fear and panic before he quickly masks them. “Did my brother forget to tell you that I am practicing martial arts? Getting a bruise is common.” Look at this sweet and adorable little child trying to fool me. “I agree. Getting a bruise is common for beginners practicing martial arts, but what I’m wondering is why is the bruise under your wrist? Kendo is a martial art that has four hitting spots—the head, neck, wrist, and stomach.” I counted them off slowly with my fingers, making sure that he understood where I was getting at. “The bruise is under your wrist, which is a spot that’s unlikely to be hit.” Getting hit under the wristtends to make it harder for the player to move his hand because of the swelling. Since Kendo is a sport that heavily uses wrist movements, it is pretty obvious that whoever did this to Patrick doesn’t want him to win. Patrick looks like he is going to be on the verge of tears, which is NOT what I wanted from him when I decided to co

“Hailey, stop acting like a wild animal and get down from the car.” Xander tries to coax me, but I just stay at the very back of the van, hiding. “Hailey, come on.” The manner in which he’s trying to lure me out reminds me of someone trying to befriend a feral cat. The nerve of this guy to tell me what to do afterward brought me to this place. And by this place, I mean Waynard High. THE TRAITOR! I try to leer at him, but from where I am hiding, it’s a little difficult. After all, I am in a crouching position while Xander is standing outside and waiting for me at the door of the van. He stands there looking confused as hell and probably wondering what’s up with my behavior. “Don’t try to tell me what to do after bringing me to this place.” I hiss and hide in the shadows when I am briefly exposed to sunlight. “You sound mad.” “That’s because I am mad.” “Why are you so mad when I just brought you to school, which, as I am to remind you, you’re a student of?”“Let me ask you thi

Maybe I was in over my head when I kind of made that promise to Xander. And by that, I mean returning to Waynard High. Standing before the gates of Waynard High with my hoodie covering my face is probably the only thing that’s keeping me from running back home and screaming in my pillow. I don’t even remember what drove me to get out of bed in the first place. “Hailey, is that you?” If I did not realize who it was that called my name, I might just bolt right then and there. When I turn around, Sandy is there, her eyes bright with happiness and anticipation. “H-Hey, would you mind keeping it down—” “It’s YOU!” Sandy screams gleefully before her face starts to look furious, for some reason. She starts to grab me by the shoulder and shake me violently, which surprises me that she has this much strength in her upper body. “HAILEY MAY COLLINS, HOW DARE YOU KEEP IGNORING MY CALLS!?” Ah. And there it is. The unwanted attention that I am so hoping to avoid. All of the nearby students l