Operation: Buddy-Buddy? 💘

| Sardines |

It was a nice sunny day out taking up the skies above Eden Academy. The class of Cecile Hall gather around as they sit on an empty dirt patch in the Academy's back garden next to the forest.

"Whew, that track and field race was so exhausting... wasn't it, Ewen?"

"Right, I can't possibly keep up with how fast Bossman was, though." Ewen responds to his close friend, Emile.

The two friends turn to look at the person they admire the most, Damian, the second son of the Desmond family.

The Scion looks at the both of them then looks at the trees with an unbothered expression.  "It wasn't even that tiring and the race wasn't even that much of a big deal." He shrugs.

"As expected of you, Damian! So coolheaded."

In reality he was furious. Anya had beaten him to first place in the track race a couple of minutes ago which busted his ego. To be beaten by a commoner such as Anya Forger pissed him off the most.

You... little shrimp! I'll beat you in that race next time. I swear on my life, my soul! Desmond grits his teeth and clenches his fist.

-

How pathetic, Sy-on boy. Sorry, not sorry! Heh. I'm glad that Mama and I would head to the park to do short jogs which improved my running.

Anya, with her iconic smirk, turns to look at Damian.

His eyes lit up with fiery anger and embarrassment. His cheeks, forming a hint of red. "Why... you!" He looks at her with a pissed face.

Ewen gives Damian a pat on the back. "Come on, Boss. The game was probably rigged! There's no way you actually lost to that commoner."

"Hey, she won fair and square!" Becky, Anya's best friend, walks up to them. "Sure, her legs are pretty much as limp as a chicken's, but they can run fast too, y'know!"

Anya turns to her and gives her friend a don't do me like that, look.

The loud bickering of the children made almost the whole class look at them.

"Alright, children!" The PE teacher blows her whistle. "Before we end our day, let's play a couple of rounds of a very fun game!"

The children stand up after drinking their bottled water. Most of them were pumped up after taking a rest from the track and field race.

"Today, we'll be playing this game called Sardines."

The children blabber about how they either disliked the name, didn't want to play or how they were excited to get on with it.

"Sardines? What an odd name for a game. Never heard of it!" Becky says. "Do you know how it works, Anya?"

The pink haired girl shrugs. "Nah. But if we're going to be showering in a can of sardines, I don' wannit."

"The mechanics of the game are simple. Imagine hide and seek, except there's one hider!"

The students looked surprised.

"Whaaat?! That doesn't make any sense!"
"I don't like it, teacher. Let's play something else!"

"Now, now. The hider will hide in a spot where they think no one can find them. Then, the seekers will break loose! If a seeker finds the hider, they will have to join the hider in the hiding spot to try to hide with them. They will have to squeeze in the hiding spot together, like a can of sardines!" The teacher smiles.

"Well.. it doesn't seem like that bad." Damian says.

He then felt something poke the back of his head. "Ah-hey!" He turns around and sees Anya with a smug look on her face.