My 1st Prom

Date: 30/6, Thurs (part 2)

 Each of our names are printed on name tags stuck to the back of our t-shirts. 'Snatch the name tags of the other team members.' Ms. Windy says. A whistle later, I find myself the target once again. Brace yourself. Batmans are apprehended before they can reach within a meter of me. Superman duos run back-to-back, defending themselves and chasing after Batmans. Attacking and defending. Apple's a one woman army, unparalleled to Supermans. Not having a partner to guard my back, I bait the opposing team, staying close to my team members. Whenever a Batman gets close, Superman's are quick to fend them off. Trials and errors later, one of them eventually rips mine off by sneak attack. They aren't allergic to my M germs now, apparently. I join XYZ at the sidelines in a happy daze. 'Great job. Do you practise Dodgeball?' I ask. 'Yes, Gyan helped a lot.' She refills her bottle. 'Gyan this, Gyan that.' I tease, 'Are you two close?' I tease. XYZ drains her drink. 'Kinda,' she replies between sips, 'we've shared a room.' A very, very short split second glance from Nick is the only sign of recognition. I try waving. He's busy cheering for both sides before my hand is even up. I'm a bit disappointed, honestly. 'Is it just me?' XYZ ponders, putting her bottle down, 'Or does Nick have a thing for you?' 'No he doesn't.' I deny, 'He didn't wave back.' Is he giving me personal space? 'Aaah...' is her only reply. I wonder what she meant. XYZ whispers into my ear, 'Are you smitten-?' A sharp whistle blow. 'This round goes to the Batmans.' Ms. Windy yells. I've never been more glad for an interruption my whole life. The winners whoop and hi-five, drowning out any other noise.

'Water Bomb next!' Ms. Windy puts a balloon filled with water into a sphere shaped container. 'Listen carefully. I'm not going to repeat myself,' she taps the ball. 'Both teams stand in a circle. Batman, Superman, Batman, Superman.' She assigns. 'The rules are easy: Pass the bomb around. This electrical toy will burst the balloon with a needle at random times. A lucky person will get wet at the end of each round. If a Superman player is wet, team Batman wins a point. Everyone ready?'

Suddenly, everyone is in a hurry to pass the bomb on to the next person, no one seems to bother taking M germs precautions. I never let my eyes off the bomb, readying myself to receive it from the right and shove it to the left. The bomb travels a few circles before exploding in the hands of a Batman player. For the second round, we continue to receive and give carefully, holding our breaths until it explodes again. Another soaking wet Batman. Both Supermans on either side of the guy are splattered from the blast. This is actually more enjoyable than I expected. We keep this up for the next round, sending the bomb to anyone besides ourselves. 'Aaaaah!' A Batman screams as he's drenched from the water explosion. I stifle a giggle. Apple's doing surprisingly well in this game of luck, acting like the bomb contains poop. XYZ's handling it equally well, with seconds to spare, she passes it on right before it goes off. A whistle blows again. XYZ wipes her face with her wet t-shirt. 'The Supermans win this round.' Ms. Windy reads Nick's record. We respond with weak, half-hearted whoops, understanding it's only a matter of time before Batmans claim their victory.

Water droplets enter my eyes in the final activity, the Water Balloon Fight. Batmans dive for the balloons and hurl them without panting. Their balloons hit targets while ours splash walls. They twist and turn to avoid the ones we throw, pulverizing us in return with years of training. We're drenched seconds into the game, from being hit and from running into each other. It was actual chaos. Basketball stars have the upper hand, they know exactly when to throw. Volleyball players and people on the basketball team also have an edge. Team Batman wins the not-so-rough competition with their three point shots and by throwing themselves to the ground at the last second, to no one's surprise. 'Well done, all of you.' Ms. Windy distributes prizes among the winners, 'Do you guys think that was a great bonding activity?' 'Yeah!' We reply wholeheartedly. A rare break from Eva is the best I can ask for. 'Look at the camera,' Ms. Windy holds her phone up, 'say "S1G2 family".' 'S1G2 FAMILYYYYY!' We shout in unison. I can't believe it. Here I am, smack dab in the middle of a bunch of people, standing shoulder to shoulder while dripping water together. Miracles do exist. Nick photobombs in the background, eyes crossed and striking a hilarious pose. 'I have to go now. Have a great day, you guys!' Ms. Windy's high heels clip-clopping against the tiles fade away. All of us hoists our bags up, preparing to go our separate ways -to change into dry clothes- when Eva skips up the stairs energetically. My heart nearly stops beating.

'Aren't you supposed to be absent?' Apple asks. I find my legs petrified. Eva crosses her legs, 'Started the family reunion without me? Let's play one more fun game to top it off.' I force myself to be so, so dull on the inside. She pulls out a pack of hand sanitizers, shooting me a superior glance. Not this again. 'S1G2 people, hurry up and cleanse yourselves,' she plants them firmly on the ground, 'unless you adore M germs.' I can't tell if I want to throw up or scream. 'Get a grip,' XYZ mutters faintly, 'no tears.' Nick is nowhere to be seen. Apple offers me a packet of tissue after stomping on my foot, 'You're not having a meltdown, are you?' My voice clogs with emotion, 'No thanks.' I swat her hand away, water droplets flying off. 'Good grief,' I turn to Eva, 'did you purchase them in bulk?' Nobody reaches for them at first, they stand motionless for a scary amount of time while I silently beg - Please don't please don't please don't. One of Eva's friends does, leading to another, and another. My spirits sink lower than I thought it possibly could. XYZ tenses. How did Gyan survive? They line up to do so, until only Apple and XYZ are left.

I fail to keep my mouth shut for one reckless moment, 'Mysophobia is the virus, not M germs.' 'Pfft. Myso-whatever, if we're a family, you're the black sheep!' Eva uncrosses her legs, eyes glittering in malignancy, 'Now we know who the proper scum are.' S1G2 people disperse -looking everywhere but me- is a painful slap to the face. Dripping hand sanitizer into my eyes would've hurt less. I don't deserve to be treated like this. My shoulders start shaking by themselves. I might have possibly wailed "why me". 'Stop it,' Apple fights back, 'we're never-' 'WE'RE NEVER A FAMILY!' My voice practically wobbles as I interrupt her sentence, 'IT'S JUST ONE HUGE JOKE!' I blast my words out there, not caring if dismay is on my face. 'You're really such an embarrassment,' Eva calmly collects her hand sanitizers, 'is humiliation contagious?' Apple bristles angrily as XYZ retorts, 'Scum? We're n-' 'Tell Celestia,' Eva spits my name like a curse, not bothering to acknowledge my existence, 'to do the universe a favour and jump off a damn building!' 'What did you just say,' I breathe, fury overtaking my senses. XYZ is as frozen as Apple. 'Eva,' a brown haired social magnet taps her on the shoulder, 'Eva, listen to yourself!' She doesn't so much as bat an eye as Nick attempts to diffuse the situation by saying, 'Using a parachute naturally.'

Sensing an argument about to start, Nick grabs her wrist, 'Wanna hang out with me at Starbucks? My treat.' 'Of course,' Eva's lips curve up in her bright angelic smile. They start walking away in sync, leaving us -and heaps of puddles- behind. Great. Why is this happening to me?

'Gaaaaah! It's so unfair!' I rant in an almost uncontrollable manner, 'Eva treats me like this and SHE gets asked out?' XYZ nods sympathetically as Apple facepalms. 'So that's it, then! That woman wins!' I rant even more before my brain cells catch up, 'And I'll NEVER KNOW why Nick frowned at meeeee!' 'What?' Apple gawks, 'Him? Nick Swanspin?' 'The hotshot?' XYZ squeaks in surprise, 'When?' Oops, too much info. Nick stops in his tracks and turns around, throwing me a disarmingly cute grin. Crap, he's still in hearing distance. 'I would have invited you too, cutie, if you didn't ignore me for nearly a year,' he explains. Right, that. 'Nevermind,' my face turns pink, matching the dress I want, 'forget I said anything.' 

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Part 3 of 30/6 entry coming soon! (✿◠‿◠)    

M germs is pretty much the 'cooties'. Btw, please let me know if you guys spot any spelling mistakes, plot holes or anything that doesn't make sense. I did a lot of proofreading yet it's not enough.