𝑨 𝑫𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑴 𝑰𝑺 𝑨 𝑾𝑰𝑺𝑯 𝒀𝑶𝑼𝑹 𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑹𝑻 𝑴𝑨𝑲𝑬𝑺

𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝟑𝟔

Delphina sighed in relief, slamming her books shut as her mind finally relinquished her from Mal's demands. She fell back onto her bed, shutting her eyes for a moment. She found herself realizing that if she just closed her eyes and laid as still as possible, it acted as some semblance of a nap.

Who was she kidding? No it didn't. It was nowhere close to a nap. But it was the best she would get until Fairy Godmother came back.

Outside, students were eagerly chatting in the halls, all of them in a hurry to get ready for the tourney game. Delphina fought the urge to go outside and scream at all of them to shut up.

Her head was still pounding. All the noise outside was just irritating the ache more. The tourney game would make it ten times worse. There was no plausible reason for Delphina to attend the tourney game. She wasn't even cheering.

But Audrey was. And Ben and Chad would be on the field. This was the last tourney game of the year Ben's last game ever before he was crowned. He had been nervous about it for weeks. Delphina wanted to be there. This game was so important to all of her friends. She may not be a part of it, but she didn't want to miss it.

So, sluggish as she was, Delphina slithered out of bed and tried to make herself presentable without getting too winded. She managed to brush her hair, put on a coat of deodorant and slip on a decent outfit before pulling on her combat boots and leaving her room, mixing in with the sea of students on their way to the tourney field.

She didn't join the rest of the student body in the crowded student section of the bleachers, though. She almost did, until she caught a glimpse of Evie and Mal in the center of the student section next to Lonnie, Mulan's daughter and one of the girls Mal had gifted with new hair.

Mal's head began to turn in Delphina's direction and she chose to duck under the bleachers at the last second. Making sure not to bang her head, Delphina maneuvered under the bleachers until she was standing by the outskirts, leaning on one of the metal posts. She had a decent vantage point of the field. She could see Audrey, a bright smile on her face as she led the squad into the first cheer of the game, and Delphina found herself fondly reciting the chants under her breath.

Only Audrey Beaumont would make her miss something like cheerleading.

The game was high energy from the start and the screams reminded Delphina why she should have stayed in her dorm, but she pushed through and continued watching the game.

Chad and Ben may have talked about it all the time and she may have learned the cheers for the game, but Delphina still had no idea how tourney worked. She didn't even realize the team had won until she heard the student section going wild and she looked at the scoreboard.

The Auradon Knights had crushed the Neverland Academy Lost Boys so badly, it made Delphina feel a little sympathetic for the rival school. The commentator was firing off so many words about Ben, Chad, Carlos and Jay that it all sounded like gibberish until Ben stepped onto the man's podium, seizing the microphone in his hand.

"Excuse me!" Ben called breathlessly into the microphone, gaining everyone's attention. Delphina raised an eyebrow, intrigued and amused. Ben had mentioned maybe making a speech at the end of the game since it was his last, no matter the outcome. But the idea always made him so nervous. Ben wasn't the best public speaker when he didn't need to be. There was something different in his eyes, though. He scanned the crowd for a moment in silence, as if he didn't mean to jump onto the podium. But then his eyes locked onto someone in the audience and he seemed to reassure himself, nodding slightly.

"There's something I'd like to say!" He added, and Delphina watched, smiling softly. By the looks of it, Ben was flying by the seat of his pants. He didn't know what he was going to say, but Delphina had faith that whatever his speech turned into, it would be–