Th, 5/11
Thursday, May 11th/ After School.
It's been cloudy throughout the entire day, but it's still pretty warm by the time I get to the track course. Coach is having the boys running drills while the girls are either gossiping or swooning over some of the guys from the football team, who were also practicing over on their own field. I decide to try and talk with the girls who aren't staring at the jocks. Unfortunately, there wasn't much I could relate with them and eventually left the conversation.
After about fifty minutes or so, Port calls us out, "Alright, ladies. You're up! Let's start with the warm-up."
I stand up from the bleachers and walk up to the track…
… The next thing I know, I'm looking up at the sky with the entire team standing around me, expressions of concern and curiosity plastered on their faces. My head hurts.
"Ms. Rose, how many fingers do you see?" Coach asks while holding a finger in front of me.
"Only one, Coach," I mumble while gingerly sitting up. My brain feels all jumbled. "What just happened?"
"A football came flying and knocked you out," Sun explains. "It was kinda funny." He chuckles.
Thinking about it, I suppose it might have been funny. Then again, I just got hit in the head by a pig-skinned projectile, so I probably need to straighten out my thoughts a bit more.
"Is she okay?" I hear someone calling a few steps away. I've recovered enough to tell who it is, and soon enough I see Cardin standing just outside of the crowd, a look of actual concern on his face. It looks really odd on him, in my opinion.
"She's fine, Mr. Winchester," Port slowly states - almost cautiously - as if he is carefully picking his words. "Ms. Rose here won't have any lasting damage, so there's no need to worry."
Cardin lets out an overly long sigh as his expression changes to a smug smirk. "Whew, that's a relief. I'm really sorry for this accident," he begins, earning a quiet groan from Coach. "I was just making sure nothing bad happened, as any good captain would do. I'll let you all know, if anything had happened, I would have definitely done everything in my power to fix it in an instant."
I frown at his condescending tone, while also looking at everybody else around me. Some of the guys let out awkward coughs onto their fist while Sun makes an exaggerated eyeroll. The other girls just look up to Cardin in admiration, which he basks in while holding up his air of confidence and entitlement.
I don't know if it is because of the hit to my head or that creepy stunt he pulled last week, but I feel extremely compelled to stand up and tell him...
"You're a jerk." Everybody goes dead quiet in that instant.
I look around and see people with varying expressions of amazement, surprise, fear… and Sun grinning like he just witnessed the greatest thing in the world… I said that out loud, didn't I? Even the football team has stopped their training to watch the unfolding scene. Cardin, for his part, is completely stunned, and even sounds astonished when he speaks again, "Excuse me?"
"WELL! I think that everybody has wasted enough time now!" Coach hastily cuts in, clapping his hands while also giving both Cardin and me a reproachful look. "How about we just continue where we left and forget this incident happened?"
Everybody silently agrees and casually walks away as if nothing had happened. I walk to the starting line in the track course while shooting some glances at the departing football team. Cardin is giving me an unreadable look, but considering his mild frown, I highly doubt he's really going to drop this.
Practice is tense, and I'm actually getting a lot of mean looks from some of the other girls. I ignore them the best I can and focus on the training. Everybody is quick to leave after practice is done, so I rinse off the sweat in the showers and head for the school building. I'm walking down the hallway when the last person I want to see calls out from behind me. "You, wait a second."
I fight back a groan as I turn and look at Cardin dead in the eye. He wastes no time to start talking once he reaches me, "What was that all about?"
I sigh. "Look, I am sorry. I-"
"I didn't ask for an apology!" he reiterates before continuing, "What's the matter? I apologize for the accident, and still get called a jerk? How does that work?"
"Yeah, you did, and yes, it was an accident," I calmly reply through clenched teeth. "But you also used that whole incident to boost your own ego."
He frowns at me. "That is not what happened."
"You went out of your way to draw everybody's attention on you and then held it in place. That is boosting up your ego," I explain with my arms crossed.
"Well, for your information, I was actually... improving the team's morale!" He says after fumbling with his words. "They don't need to see their captain as uninvolved or careless on these matters."
I fight the urge to facepalm. "One: you just came up with that. And two: That is still being egocentric," I point out to him before shaking my head. "Look, I'm sorry for saying that, so let's just drop this, okay?"
"No, it's not okay," Cardin protests while also crossing his arms, "because you'll still think I am this huge jerk, and I won't stand for it." He lets out a sigh, "Look, whatever you think about me, the truth is that the team doesn't need that kind of reputation going on. 'Specially not after their performance in that showcase match. So I can't allow any negative opinion affect them or me.
"So, either you take that back or I'll have to show you that I'm actually a cool guy."
I tense up after hearing that. "You're getting pretty close to becoming a harasser... You know that, right?"
"Then that's just something else I have to change your mind about," he decides with a confident smirk, placing both fists on his hips.
I am Thou, Thou art I...
Thou hast formed a new bond.
It shall become a Path that leads to new Power.
Thou hast opened the road of the Emperor Arcana
Towards a brand new Destination.
Whyyyyyyyyyyyyy?
"Anyways. The guys should be done with the warm-down and wondering where I am." He turns around and heads back out.
I hang my head low and defeatedly sulk away to the school entrance. "Wow, you look terrible!" I hear Yang saying as I reach her. "Everything okay?"
"I really, really don't want to talk about it," I curtly reply.
However, Yang decides to try and cheer me up during our ride back home with some obscene jokes. Honestly, most of them are gross, but she does manage to make me forget about the whole incident, if only a little.
Thursday, May 11th/ Evening.
After having dinner, Yang and I study for a while in the lounge while Dad watches TV at low volume. Even though we're all being quiet, it is a nice moment we share.
I study for as long as my eyes can stay open on their own, so I head directly to my room after I'm done and pass out on the bed as soon as my head hits the pillow.
Ruby Rose has created the Football Captain Social Link of the Emperor Arcana
Social Links:
00. Fool (Hunting Squad): Rank 2.
01. Magician (Jaune Arc): Rank 3.
02. Priestess (Velvet Scarlatina): Rank 3.
04. Emperor (Cardin Winchester): Rank 1 (Initiated!).
11. Strength (Yang Xiao Long): Rank 3.
13. Death (Taiyang Xiao Long): Rank 1.
17. Star (Nora Valkyrie): Rank 1.
19. Sun (Sun Wukong): Rank 4.