Strings Attached (Sequel)

Choices

March 10th

Faye Calinao

A sigh of relief washed over me as I reached the top of the steps. Once looking back at the amount of steps we had to climb, I walked over to a bench before the entrance of the gymnasium. My entire body was telling me I needed to take a moment before continuing on. Cha and JinJin followed behind. I took a seat feeling relieved and took a sip of my cherry slurpee.

"Tired?" Jinjin questioned and I nodded.

"We could have found an elevator," Cha smiled lightly. "You've kept yourself quite busy today. Are you sure you're up for staying until the end of the competition? You know they will make it to finals."

"I'm sure," I smiled up at them. "This may be the only time I see them play besides their last game in a few weeks. I really want to surprise Lei tonight."

"I'm sure he would appreciate you for coming here to support him. He will be glad to see you." I hummed with content.

"We should head in there," I mentioned noticing the huge doors to the auditorium opening. People were going in and out indicating there was a break meaning a recent round of the competition had ended. The next would soon be starting. It took me a moment to stand once again before I led the way. Once we were in the huge auditorium, I could already feel the change in the atmosphere.

There were two large screens displayed on both sides of the stage where I saw a crew were finishing up by taking away a table and chairs. There was now one table left alongside eight chairs. Ah, so we have made it just in time to watch the final round.

Taking a seat towards the center where I could find three seats, I walked into the aisle and took a seat onto the comfortable seat. Once the three of us were situated, we talked amongst each other waiting for the final round. The two finalists were of course our school and another university I wasn't quite familiar with.

The speaker came onto stage and my attention went to the walking teams coming onto the stage. Each member were introduced from each school. Cheering them on I first saw Daoming Si from our school, second was Ximen, third came Meizuo, then off beat I waited for Lei to walk out into the spotlight, but then was welcomed with freshman Quinghe. The freshman had a goofy smile as he waved out to everyone before taking his seat.  I frowned in confusion at what was happening as the final play began.

"What..." I said softly. Both Cha and Jinjin looked towards me confused as I. "Where is Lei?" I asked lightly. "Did something happen earlier?"

"I don't know. We'll ask them when they finish." I nod and folded my arms unsure of what was going on.

///

"I knew they would be able to pull it off," JinJin said to Cha.

"They did," Cha said lightly and glanced towards me. I walked behind them with my arms folded wondering why Lei was not in tonight's competition. We walked out into the large foyer where many of the contestants were.

The confusion for me the entire time was wondering if Lei was alright. I knew how much this competition was for him, especially since this is his last year playing with his friends. Lei never mentioned to me about not participating in the competition, especially this morning. After I spoke to them, I'd get an idea where Lei was or maybe he sat out for the finals. I decided against sending him a text to make sure there wasn't any disqualification if he was here.

"Faye," I refocused and looked towards Cha. He looked towards me and gently pulled me in front of him. "Meizuo is over there by the window." He pointed in the direction and there he was the center of attention being congratulated. I made my way over to him. It took a few minutes to get to him as the crowd was quite dense. I noticed Doaming Si beside him as I became closer. The two boys were smiling and thanking the people around them.