MKHS: Wednesday (Tension's At It's Peak)

By Bishop Oldfield

"And finally in sports news, the girl's Red and Black Volleyball teams will have a duel against each other tonight. Good luck to both teams tonight. Ending the afternoon announcements, this is Mr. Kahn, and I wish you all a great rest of the day."

And with that, the last school bell of the day rang, announcing the end of the school day. While the majority of the school packed their things and left, the sports teams had to stay for their various practices. However, the girls volleyball team were the only ones with a game tonight.

"Now, listen up girls." Coach Sheeva said, calling to all the girls. "Since we're having a duel-off, we'll train a bit lightly today. However, tonight, I want you girls to fight like you were fighting any other team. Now, let's work on ball drills." For the next half hour, the girls trained.

"Kitana! Li Mei! Over here." Sheeva called to the two-team captains. "We will be taking the red team into the other gym so you two teams can practice separately. Since you are the team's captains, you will be responsible for your teams' workouts for the rest of the day. Understood?"

"Yes, Coach." Kitana and Li Mei said in unison.

"Good. Red team! Follow Li Mei into the small gym. You will be practicing in there for the rest of the day."

Soon after the red team and Coach Sheeva had left, Kitana rallied together her team.

"Okay, ladies! Today, we'll be having an aggressive training. Let's start running laps. Move, move!" Kitana commanded. While running, she replayed the last few days over in her head.

"Liu Kang, going out with that spoiled Li Mei! Who does she think she is, stealing him away from me. Liu will most likely be here tonight, for Li Mei, no doubt. Tonight, I'll show off in front of Liu, show him that I'm the one that he should be with!"

For the next hour, Kitana did not let up on her and her team. While she was making them do extreme conditioning, Kitana was scheming her tricks and strategy for tonight. By the time training had ended, and the girls were in their locker room, all of them were exhausted, collapsing onto the bench the second they got in.

Soon, Coach Sheeva came in. When she saw the state of Kitana's team, she was both elated and nervous.

"Wow, now that's how you do a workout! I'm guessing you pushed them pretty hard."

"Of course," Kitana said, "that's how I always work, aggressively."

"Well, hopefully they'll be ready for tonight's game. Make sure they're ready in a half hour."

"No problem, coach."

As Sheeva left the room, Kitana could feel her excitement rise inside her. She was prepared to win Liu's heart.

Liu Kang sat in the front row, so he could see his favorite girl in action. Kung Lao and Smoke were sitting to both sides of him, ready for a show.

"Man," Kung Lao exclaimed, "tonight's gonna be a show!"

"I know, dude." Smoke said, equally excited. "How you feeling Liu? Haven't said much since we got here."

"I'm fine." Liu Kang said. "I'm just ready to see my girl play. She's going to do great."

After a few minutes, the seats around the trio were packed with students, parents, and faculty alike. After another few minutes, the girls came out on either side of the gym in a straight line. While Coach Sheeva walked to the front of the crowd, the girls assumed their playing positions.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Now, these two groups have worked very hard this season, and their 4-1 and 5-0 records show. Now, let's get to the action!"

After the brief introduction, the game started off quickly. Li Mei's red team started off with the ball. When they launched the ball to Kitana's side, she pounced on the ball, quickly slamming it back to the other team. The ball hit the ground, giving the black team a point. This continued for a few minutes,, until the score was 3-1 for the black team. This turn, the red team had the ball first, and Kitana sent it soaring over to the other team's side. However, Kira jumped and pushed the ball to Li Mei, who served it back to the other team's side. Kitana, sensing an opportunity, spiked the ball the second it passed over to her team's side. She landed it, and the ball went cruising….. Straight into Li Mei's face.

The force knocked her down and out, and they had to call a time out to help her recover. While Li Mei sat on the bench for the remainder of the game and Frost took over as captain, she was furious at Kitana.

"She slammed it into me on purpose! She must be trying to get Liu Kang to fall for her by sabotaging me. She wants to play that game. Well, two can play that game *****!"

After the game had ended, Li Mei's team lost a 12-8 game. In the locker room, Kitana walked up to Li Mei with a smile.

"Sorry for hitting you with the volleyball." Kitana said, with a heavy layer of insincerity.

"I lost control of it."

"Oh, that's no problem." Li Mei said coolly, attempting to make Kitana think her trick didn't affect her. "I know you did it by accident. Well, I bet Liu Kang's ready to walk me home. See you tomorrow." Li Mei said to a surprised and aggravated Kitana. As she left, she felt accomplished that she had embarrassed Kitana. As she walked with Liu Kang to her dorm room, she was already thinking of revenge against Kitana.

This is war, and Li Mei intended on winning.