Chapter Ten:
Love Words Twinkle Cutie~!
Monday After The Science Fair…
Population: 101 students…
They stared at him, wide-eyed and jaws slightly slacked while Richard kept his arms crossed over his chest.
Julian was the first to recover. "He wants us to have a basketball game? Against Hearst?"
Richard nodded, placing his hands onto his desk with a tired expression. "After the volcano incident, Professor Edwin is hard-pressed to say that she won't give a vote in our favor. The only one left is Mr. Javellana; an ex-basketball star."
"Why did he decide this on his own?" Payton frowned, locking her phone after sending a text. "We don't even have a basketball team yet!"
"I'm with Payton on this one, uncle," Richard focused on his niece. "There's just not enough time to form a team and train them by Friday."
Richard shook his head. "There isn't a way out of it. Mr. Javellana is unfortunately good friends with Principal Warren and they've decided it's a co-ed game against the school."
"There's no way to refuse? Or perhaps, suggest another sport in our favor?" Nishan piped up, a hopeful look on his face but Richard once again shook his head.
Having stayed quiet for a while, Autumn looked up from her lap and firmly focused her gaze on their principal. "I'm up for it. I've actually played a little basketball."
"What about you Julian? You're our star athlete," Nishan said to the jock who snorted at the idea.
"Uh, I hate to break this to you, nerd, but I'm not a basketball guy. Football is really more my thing. And those skills don't really translate, unless you want me tackling dudes on the court," Julian pointed out to the rest of them, earning a chuckle from Richard.
Carlotta reached out and grabbed the jock's hand, squeezing it slightly and he looked at her surprised. The female nerd didn't want to lose the school her grandmother had dreamt about.
"Please?" she asked quietly and his brown eyes softened before squeezing her hand back.
Mia cleared her throat, interrupting the two. "I hate to break up this fuzzy moment, but we have another problem. Max is kind of a big basketball star at Hearst High."
Payton's eyes widened at the news. "Oh no…"
"Yeah, he's been playing since he was six! I've had to suffer through his stupid games for years. My dad always makes me go watch," Mia complained, rolling her eyes. "At this point, I've seriously watched enough games that I could coach a team..."
Richard and Carlotta exchanged looks before the principal leaned forward and smiled at Mia. "Oh, really?"
Mia blinked and narrowed her eyes. "This is going to end with you asking me to coach, isn't it?"
"And you'll agree because you are a responsible and helpful young woman," Richard nodded, keeping a steady gaze with the blonde, who just sighed.
"I'll do it if I get to boss people around," the cheerleader bargained with the principal who raised a brow. "Do we have a deal?"
Richard reached out and grasped Mia's outstretched hand, giving it a firm shake; all the while keeping that same smile on his face.
I don't like where that smile is going…Carlotta thought suspiciously, knowing her uncle very well.
oOo
Three Days Later…
Payton, Nishan and Carlotta walked into the gymnasium, each one carry a plain white shoe box in their arms. The sounds of rubber running against polished wood echoed across the almost empty gymnasium, along with the sounds of Mia's shouts and whistle being blown.
"Julian! If you tackle one more person I'll give you another 150 sit-ups to do!" Mia shouted when the jock almost tackled James who held the ball. Julian froze, realizing what he was about to do and rubbed the back of his neck.
Payton's eyes widened. "Wow…Mia's hardcore and serious about this coaching thing, huh?"
Carlotta nodded, impressed with the cheerleader. "There's a lot at stake here with this up-coming game. Everyone's working hard to ensure this place doesn't get shut down."
"Hey, sports fellows!" Nishan called, pausing the training. "We've got something to show you. Trust me. You're going to like this. Here, shoes for everyone."
The two jocks and artist walked over, grabbing the boxes off of them and opening them up. Inside, wrapping in nice grey paper at Payton's insistence, did a pair of scarlet red sneakers resemble Nike shoes, with the shoe laces yellow. On the bottom and in the middle, was a clear, gooey substance.
"Whoa! These shows are awesome," Julian let out a low whistle before frowning and lightly poking at the gooey substance. "What's this mushy stuff in the middle?"
"That's my special bouncy goo. I'll call it B-Goo. Or maybe GooB…" Nishan trailed off in deep thought as Carlotta chuckled, shaking her head at him.
When she noticed the others looking at her expectantly, she gestured for Julian to hand over his left shoe. He did as requested and she pointed to the goo.
"The goo is specifically designed to make you jump higher according to the given weight and put a spring in your step," she informed them, handing it back to her boyfriend as Payton clapped her hands together.
"And they're fashionable. I used color blocking and our school colors to—"
"Yeah, whatever, they're a color," Julian cut the prep off, putting on his shoes and began testing it out. The jock was surprised when he did in fact jump higher than normal. "Look how high I can jump!"
Payton rolled her eyes, an exasperated sigh escaping her lips as the two jocks began testing their new shoes to the fullest. Autumn however wasn't even wearing hers as she stared at her phone, biting her bottom lip.
Carlotta blinked, noticing her expression. "What's wrong, Autumn?"
"I just got a text from Wes. He wants to talk to me," she answered, wiggling her phone slightly as Julian dribbled the ball.
"That guy?" Julian sneered, throwing the ball and landing it in the net. "Again?"
Autumn frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "I know you didn't trust him, but he did help us figure out what Max was up to," she pointed out to him.
Julian snorted. "Yeah, by luring us into Max's trap!" he scoffed at her as James threw him the ball.
"Wes gets very specific results."
"Well, let's just say I don't trust his 'very specific' way of doing things."
Autumn's mouth twisted into a thin line as she narrowed her eyes at Julian. "Look, if he says he needs to talk, then I'm going to meet him."
Julian looked at his girlfriend for help who just shrugged her shoulders in a, 'what-can-you-do?' fashion before turning to the artist. She was watching them, her mouth twisting even further.
We never really spoke on the issue, Carlotta realized. "At least take Nix with you. He can provide us with visual feed and offer you protection just in case."
"I don't need it!" Autumn insisted, storming past Carlotta and out of the gymnasium. Carlotta and Payton watched her go; the prep with a worried look on her face.
"Shouldn't we go after her?" Payton questioned as Carlotta followed after Autumn. "Are you going to talk to her?"
Carlotta glanced back over her shoulder as she held the door open. "I'm not going to chase after Autumn whenever she has a tantrum. I have bigger concerns," she answered and closed the door firmly behind her.
oOo
Despite Autumn's words, Carlotta made sure Nix followed without the artist's knowledge and sat in the computer room with Victor.
"She's honestly mad if she still trusts him," Victor snorted, laying back onto his chair, keeping his gaze firmly on the screen as the video feed came in from Nix. "Why didn't you make sure she had some back up?"
Carlotta rolled her eyes as she leaned on the table, watching. "I'm not going to baby Autumn when she's acting like an immature teenager. I refuse to deal with her if she continues to be mad at me."
The British hacker raised a brow. "Is this about you and your Boy Toy?" he asked and she chuckled at his name for Julian. Victor often liked to use codenames for everyone…well, everyone 'important,' in his opinion.
"Apparently it was a huge thing to not tell her," Carlotta murmured as Wes came into view and their conversation ended, both of them listening in. However, there was a bit of static as Victor quickly typed away at his computer.
"—I want you to cancel the basketball game," Wes told Autumn firmly as the artist looked surprised at him.
"Cancel? But this is our last shot at saving the school!" Autumn objected and Wes rolled his eyes.
"You'll come up with some other way to show the board member that your school deserves a shot. Trust me, you are not winning this game," Wes informed her, leaning against a nearby tree. "I've heard Max and Kara talking. They're going to play dirty. I don't want you to get hurt."
Autumn shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not afraid of them. And besides, it's not like I have the power to cancel the game. You've should've gotten Carlotta instead."
Wes ran a hand through his head, shaking his head. "She wouldn't have come even if I begged her to. That's why you're going to convince her."
"We're…not exactly on the best of terms right now," Autumn admitted hesitantly. Carlotta and Victor exchanged looks before the female nerd leaned forward; wanting to hear what Autumn had to say.
"You're still mad about her and Julian?" Wes guessed and Autumn looked at him, surprised. "I've known about it before he asked her out. You need to get over it and focus on saving your school."
Autumn's face flushed slightly as Carlotta noticed her hands ball into fists. "How can I get over it? She knew I liked him and went out with him anyway!"
Carlotta's eyes widened in surprise as her eyebrows shot straight up. "This is the first I've heard of it. She never told me, Mia dropped the hint," she murmured, signaling for Nix to fly back.
oOo
The Day of The Basketball Game…
Carlotta walked into the locker room, seeing the team getting ready and smiled at them warmly. "It's almost time for the game. Nervous?"
Autumn avoided her gaze. "Kinda…"
Julian grinned at the artist. "Don't stress. We're going to win," he told her confidently and Carlotta saw the slight blush on her cheeks. A burning sensation hit her throat and swelled into her chest as she looked away.
Am I…jealous? She wondered as Mia entered the locker room, looking every bit as confident as Julian was.
"Okay, team. This is it. The big game. It all comes down to this," Mia told the team as Carlotta stood next to her. "What does my dad always say to Max?"
Mia snapped her fingers as she remembered it and took a deep breath before looking serious. "In this house, we're winners. What do we train for? To win. If you want hugs and cuddles, go live with your mother!"
Silence fell in the locker room as everyone stared at the blonde cheerleader in surprise.
Mia noticed their looks. "Too much?"
"Just a little," Carlotta chuckled, patting her on the back as Mia rolled her eyes.
"Oh, fine. I guess just go have fun or whatever, and if it's not too much trouble, think about trying to win. Y'know, to save our school," she waved them off as they ran out of the locker room.
Autumn left quickly, not leaving much time for Carlotta to pull her aside and talk to her. This left a bad taste in the nerd's mouth as she too left the locker room to join the others in the stands to watch.
oOo
Around Half-Time…
The game was close, with Hearst two points ahead of Twin Wings. Carlotta sat in between Payton and Nishan, watching and cheering for their team when it happened.
Autumn had caught the ball and began dribbling it down the court when Kara hooked her foot around Autumn's ankle and shoved her, causing the artist to slam head first into the floor.
"Oh my gosh Autumn!" Payton's eyes widened as the three of them jumped up and ran out of the stands just as James carried Autumn out of the gymnasium. The three of them headed for the locker room as the ref called a stop to the game as they sorted it all out.
"Is Autumn going to be all right?" Payton asked, concerned for her friend as they stormed into the locker room where the rest of the team was waiting.
Mia nodded her head.
"Autumn's going to get checked out by the school nurse. I think she'll be fine," she sighed tiredly. "I hate to say it, but maybe we shouldn't finish the game."
Julian's fist slammed into the locker. "Are you crazy? We can't let them get away with this!"
"Look, I don't want to see anyone else get hurt! You don't understand Max. Maybe it's better if we give it up."
"No! No quitter talk. I'm not going to let them get away with hurting Autumn. We can't let them get away with that," Julian turned to his girlfriend for support. "Carly, tell me you're with me."
Carlotta crossed her arms over her chest. "I understand Mia's concern and she's right. But I refuse to back down to Max and allow him to believe he can walk all over us!"
James, who had returned from the nurse's office, beamed, along with Julian while Mia still looked worried about it.
"Mia, I know you don't want to see anyone else get hurt, but you need to believe in the team you trained," Carlotta placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling warmly. "We're Wildcats! And Wildcats never give up."
Julian reached out and hugged his girlfriend from behind, grinning widely at her words of encouragement. "That's my girl. So, how about it Mia?"
Just as Mia opened her mouth to reply, the door slammed opened and revealed a furious Wes.
"I warned you. I told you to stay out of the game. I told you they were going to play dirty," he slammed the door behind him and stormed into the center.
"No, you told Autumn who told us nothing," Carlotta glared at him, not appreciating his accusing tone. "You're lucky I had Nix watching so we got your message."
Wes raised a brow at her before lowering it. "I've been watching them practice. I know their tells."
"Yeah? So what do we do?" Julian asked, clearly interested in having an advantage over Max and Kara.
"Just listen. Kara's terrified of getting hit in her beautiful face. If you fake like you're going to throw the ball at her, she'll break," Wes explained, watching the team mentally take notes. "As for Max, when he's dribbling, he sticks out his tongue every time he's about to crossover from one hand to the other. Just wait for that to happen, and you should be able to steal it from him, easy."
"Any tips on how to avoid getting pummeled out there?" James asked.
"Easy. Be the fastest one out there," Wes answered in a matter-of-factly, causing the blonde jock to snort, rolling his eyes.
"You guys better get back out there," Carlotta told them as they began heading out. She turned and kissed Julian's cheek, giving him a small smile. "Good luck."
Julian snorted, kissing her forehead. "And what would your uncle say?" he asked, aware of the sports fan that was their principal and Carlotta's uncle.
"Beat them into the ground and show no mercy."
Julian chuckled and released his hold on her, heading out of the locker room. Nishan and Payton had already gone ahead just as Carlotta exited it herself. As she walked down the hallway leading to the gymnasium, footstep could be heard behind her.
Turning around, she noticed a guy with tanned skin, dark brown hair and hazel eyes walking towards her. His hands were in the front pockets of his black jeans, his hair, which was slightly long, was tied back into a low pony tail with a white scarf wrapped around his neck.
He noticed her staring at him and smiled warmly. "Sei tu Charlotte Winters?"
Carlotta recognized it as Italian, but she was more fluent in French so she frowned. "I'm sorry, my Italian is a little off," she apologized and realization dawned on him.
"My bad," he chuckled, stepping closer until he was a few meters away. "Are you Charlotte Winters? Daughter of Ellen Winters?"
Carlotta's gaze shifted from confusion to suspicion. Further down the hall, the cheers from those watching the game could be heard.
"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?" Carlotta questioned and he beamed at her.
"Grazie a Dio, ho finalmente trovato!" he sighed in relief before holding out his right hand. "I am Orlando Medici…your brother."
Her eyes widened as the final buzzer went off, drowned in the enormous cheers erupting at the end of the game.
*Insert dramatic cliffhanger music*
Yes! We finally get to see Carlotta's father's side slowly being revealed.
Meet Orlando Medici and to see what I've got him looking like in my game, check out my tumblr! carlotta-the-winters
He's a cross between a Hearthrob and a Virtuoso!
Songs: Love Words by Hatsune Miku and Twinkle Cutie from Precure All Stars DX3