On a bench, a boy was sitting, holding an open book. The room's light illuminated the pages, revealing the cover: the Bible.
The silence was broken by a knock at the door.
"It's your turn, contestant Taylor Gloomhart."
Taylor closed the book. A slight smile appeared as he stood up.
He stretched, sighed, and opened the room's locker. He placed the Bible inside and closed the door.
He walked toward the door. Once through, he made his way down the corridor until he reached the arena.
On the other side stood a girl. Around the arena, the stands were filled with seated spectators.
Taylor moved to his corner, his eyes fixed on the girl from the moment he entered.
Her blue hair blended with her outfit. Green eyes examined the spear she held in her hands.
The referee, noticing Taylor's entrance, addressed the two:
"Are you ready, contestant Taylor and contestant Claire?"
Claire looked away from her weapon, staring at Taylor. She clenched her teeth and tightened her grip on the spear. She nodded.
Seeing her hostile gaze, Taylor barely held back a laugh.
"Absolutely. I've been looking forward to competing against her."
The referee signaled the start, hand moving from top to bottom.
Taylor drew the sword from the sheath at his side.
Claire lunged forward. As soon as she got close, she swung in a crescent strike.
Taylor stepped back. As the spear moved beyond his radar, his sword ignited in flames. From his position, he delivered a diagonal slash.
Seeing the flame approach, Claire took a deep breath.
She redirected her spear upward against the incoming fiery slash.
At the moment of contact, water enveloped the spear. As soon as it touched the flame, it vanished.
Taylor, having just delivered the slash, already moved to Claire's side.
Focused on the flames, she didn't notice him approaching.
As he got close, Taylor delivered a circular kick to her shoulder.
Claire staggered slightly from the hit; her hands trembled, loosening her grip on the spear.
She tried to swing a lateral slash, but Taylor parried and, at close range, delivered a front kick to her abdomen. Claire stepped back a few paces, breathing heavily, staring at him.
He was there, his red irises fixed on her, raising a hand to hide his widening smile, thinking, 'It's not easy to stay serious with her so focused… and after all the show I've put on, if I lost now it would be believable.'
Claire took a breath and lunged at him, rotating the spear. Taylor loosened his grip on the sword handle slightly;
at the moment of impact with the spear, as he parried, the sword slipped from his hand. He raised his hands and, with a trembling laugh, said, "I lost."
The crowd, silent until then, erupted into applause.
The referee exclaimed, "Claire Selvane wins!"
Taylor lowered his hands and began applauding along with the others.
Claire, still on guard, widened her eyes as she heard the referee. Seeing Taylor applauding with the crowd, she let her spear fall.
She wondered to herself, "Did I really win?" Seeing the applause, she couldn't help but smile, and she raised her hand to greet the others.
Seeing her so happy made Taylor's heart beat faster, and he couldn't take his eyes off her.
The referee said, "Alright, contestants, you may return; we'll continue with…"
Claire and Taylor returned to their respective waiting rooms as the tournament went on.
Taylor retrieved his backpack and the Bible from the locker, placed the Bible inside the backpack, and left the room.
Walking down the corridor, he crossed paths with Claire, who was getting a hot chocolate at the cafeteria near the exit.
He stopped, his gaze lingering on her lips, when a hand from the side offered him a sandwich. Taylor took it, turning to the girl: "Thanks for coming to see me and for the sandwich, Rachel."
Rachel ruffled Taylor's black hair and said, "Don't worry, but I see that's your fourth intentional loss. At this rate, you're going to tank your ranking."
Taylor took a bite of his sandwich and nodded.
Claire sipped her hot chocolate while listening to her two friends talk. A little ways off, she saw Rachel stroking Taylor's head.
She smirked and murmured under her breath, "I've been giving him the cold shoulder all day… and his first thought is to replace me."
She set her empty cup on the table, stood up, and made her way toward them.
Claire reached out and pinched Taylor's waist, leaning slightly beside him, her brows furrowed and lips pressed together.
"Do you mean you lost on purpose?"
Taylor looked to the side. With a smile, he brought the sandwich to Claire's mouth and replied, "No. I lost because of my inferiority in front of the great Queen of the Water Element."
Claire withdrew her hand from his waist and took a bite of the sandwich. As she chewed, she motioned with her eyes toward Rachel, then returned her gaze to Taylor, thinking, 'if he doesn't give me a satisfying explanation, I'll bite his arm.'
Rachel, who had been watching their exchange, chuckled lightly and asked Claire, "Are you one of my brother-in-law's four girlfriends?"
Claire, who was about to take another bite of the sandwich, froze and turned her gaze to Rachel. Shaking her head, she said, "I'm not his girlfriend. My name is Claire Selvane, and I'm just a close friend of Taylor's."
At her response, Taylor, who was watching Claire, felt a tightness in his chest, his eyes slightly widening, and his smile waned.
Rachel noticed the changes in Taylor's expression and said to Claire, "Nice to meet you, I'm Rachel, Taylor's sister-in-law. Anyway, we really should be going, it's already late."
She stepped past Claire and walked toward the exit. Taylor followed her and said without turning to Claire, "See you, Claire."
She watched them leave the building, arms crossed, sighed, and returned to her friends.