Falling Into Your Smile

Worst-Case Scenario

In the morning, I rushed outside, very late. Yue scoffed at my impeccable timing, checking his watch. The bus left the base, as I watched out the window. The trees seemed to rush by, and the sunlight fell on my face, making me smile. The bus was pretty empty, as I sat alone, Cheng in the seat in front of me, and Yao behind me. Yue sat across from me, K sitting behind him. Chubby was in the last seat, as Ming and Rui occupied the first two sets of seats. Oh, I forgot to explain. One seat, most of us use for our bags. The other is for sitting. 

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"Come on! Get moving, Yu-ri!" A boy said, as the two made their way through the crowd, climbing the small set of stairs leading up to the OPL Arena. Yu Ri ran behind him, sighing. She rather wouldn't come here with him, but it was ZGDX. She could make an exception. 

The crowd filtered in through the security checks, the guards x-raying their bags. The camera panned out across the team gaming set-ups, blue for CK and red for ZGDX. The bus pulled up, as media-reporters and fans surrounded it, holding mics and cameras. They were stopped by the internal gate, as Team ZGDX stepped out. 

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"Hello! To our beloved contestants, and to our audience who are currently watching this live, good evening. Welcome to the live stage," The emcee, Xiao Sen, said, as Tong Yao's parents watched the show. "It's on!" Her dad said, as her mom's voice overlapped the TV. "It looks pretty big." She said, slightly surprised and impressed.

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Meanwhile, a woman watched the match from Gangnam. She was around forty, and one of those people who looked young forever. She was one of Chen's only loved ones.

"You can do it, Chen." She whispered, sitting in the top-floor of a multi-storey modern bungalow, staring intently at the the TV. I believe in you, she thought. Her phone rang, as she looked at it, confused.

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The stage was lit up, and the emcee continued. "Let's record this ordinary, yet unforgettable moment together. Hello everyone, I'm your host, Xiao Sen!" He said, as the crowd cheered from the stands, holding up posters. The two teams arrived at the stage, CK from the right, ZGDX from the left. Lee Chen took a deep breath. She could do this, it wasn't her first time. She stood betweem n Yao and Cheng. Tong Yao felt nervous, as she stood beside Chen, in the middle. Chen had told her, they were up against CK, against Jian Yang.

"First, let's welcome, Team CK!" Xiao Sen shouted, with unlimited enthusiasm. They walked up the stage, waving and smiling. Yang stood at the end, grinning to all his supporters. "Lucky, one of OPL's best Topsolos. He is an expert at using Tank shikigami, a nightmare to all Tops."

"Lucky is an expert at Tank shikigami. AD, Butterfly.. He fights all the time. He's one of the top ADs in the country. Their Mid is Little Flower, his signature shikigami sis Tamamo-No-Mae as well.." Chen mumbled, remembering her data analysis. Cheng heard it, a little surprised. She had done extra credit homework, Yao thought. "Missy, why are you mumbling to yourself?" Chubby asked her, interrupting the rant. "What do you know? If you know the enemy and yourself, you don't fear the results of a hundred battles." Chen said, as everyone else who heard her mumbling fidgeted, except Yao and Cheng. The others hadn't done anything like that.

"Are you doing research on Jian Yang, Tong Yao?" Chubby asked, and K stopped the answering. "She doesn't want to embarrass herself, but Chen was the one who actually did the reasearch." K whispered to Chubby,  effectively shutting him up. Chen suddenly felt weak, and she went pale. Not now, she thought. Her stomach started to hurt, and she wasn't feeling so well anymore. 

"Missy, what's wrong with you?" Chubby asked, and Chen put her hand on her stomach, in a reflexive gesture. Yao noticed something was wrong, but couldn't pin-point it. "Honestly, my stomach hurts." She said, as everyone else got the wrong idea. "Don't tell me you're going to.." Chubby trailed off, making a puking gesture at the end. Chen felt uncomfortable, but she couldn't just leave.