Hey everyone just a little content warning here. There is a very brief description of a panic attack in this chapter. If this is a problem for you and you don't feel comfortable reading it, just reach out to me and I can always give you a summary.
Wednesday morning rolled around and Adora was in the kitchen eating breakfast before school when Angella walked in, phone in hand.
"Good morning girls," Angella said to both of them.
They both responded with a tired good morning and Angella smiled. "So we just got a call. Adora, your social worker is doing a visit today."
Adora groaned through her mouthful of cereal before swallowing. "When?"
"He should be here tonight and I've invited him to have dinner with us while he's visiting."
Adora nodded. "Yeah that's...okay. Not like we can opt out, I guess."
"I can always reschedule if it's not a good time for you. He'll understand I'm sure."
"No that's fine. Better to get it over with."
Glimmer eyed her foster sister carefully.
"Alright. Then Glimmer, you know the drill. Make sure the house is clean and that you have actual clothes on."
"Define actual clothes," Glimmer requested.
"Not pajamas. Something clean."
"Okay," Glimmer said disappointedly.
"And I might get off work early and get back here to start dinner and tidy some things up." Angella walked over to Adora and rubbed her shoulder supportively. "We'll knock it out real quick and he'll be gone in a few hours."
Adora nodded in response.
"Alright I'm heading out. You girls have a good day at school!"
"We won't!" Glimmer yelled to her as she walked towards the front door.
The girls said goodbye to her as she left and then it was just them in the kitchen.
"Hey," Glimmer said to Adora, who was sitting across from her. "Why do you hate the social worker visiting so much?"
Adora winced. "Well I...I don't really wanna talk about it."
"Oh. That makes sense," Glimmer said quickly. "I didn't mean to, like, make you uncomfortable. Sorry."
"No it's fine," Adora said waving one hand dismissively and rubbing her eyes with the other. "I just don't like it. But I'm glad you guys are here with me."
"Well I am too," Glimmer said. "I just wish I didn't have to wear actual clothes."
Adora laughed and just about spat out her cereal in the process.
"Oh!" Glimmer said, slamming her arms down on the countertop. "I meant to ask you about Mermista!"
"What about?"
"Every single thing," Glimmer said, scooting forward. "What does she like? What does she not like? What exactly is it about my hair that she finds appealing?"
Adora smiled and exhaled. "Look, I don't think you should look into it too much. She seems all cool on the surface, but inside...well...I mean she actually is pretty cool all around. But she's also really sweet and down to earth."
"Sweet and down to earth," Glimmer repeated. "Should I...write this down?"
"No. Wow. Glimmer, just be yourself and she'll love it. You'll have a great night."
"Okay...I guess being myself is something I'm pretty good at. Cuz it's me."
"Exactly," Adora said with a chuckle. "I even asked her about it the other day and she said she was super excited."
"She did?" Glimmer asked incredulously.
"She really did," Adora assured. "She's just a normal girl and she's really looking forward to spending some time with you."
"A normal girl?" Glimmer asked, doubt on her face. "Well I don't know about that, but thanks for the info. I'm just gonna not stress about it."
"Good."
"Not one bit."
"Perfect."
The girls finished up their cereal and then Glimmer cleared her throat. "But what does she like about my hair though?"
Adora had some extra time before classes now that she didn't have to meet with Madame Razz anymore. So with her newfound freedom she decided to try and pay Frosta a visit.
If anything, Adora just wanted to make sure that the girl wasn't at risk of being attacked for what seemed like the fiftieth time in the last few weeks.
Frosta wasn't at her locker, but as Adora carried on towards the cafeteria, she saw Frosta sitting at a table. And across from her was a familiar looking girl. It took Adora a moment, but then she realized that it was Holly, the girl who Frosta had been fighting with before Adora had tried to make a negotiation between the two.
Adora hoped that they were just having a friendly chat, but she prepared to break up another fight as she walked over to the table and sat down.
"Hey," she said, looking from one to the other.
"Good morning, Adora," Frosta said happily.
Holly just nodded in Adora's direction.
Adora looked at the table and saw that there were school papers spread out. "Are you two helping each other with homework?"
"Yup," Frosta said. "Believe it or not this whole agreement is working out pretty well. Not that I'm happy you signed me up for it against my will, but still."
"Yeah it kinda sucks cuz I have to actually do the homework now," Holly said. "But my grades are going up again and I'm starting to understand the stuff we're covering. So, like, thanks I guess."
Adora was surprised and more than a little proud of her work. "Well I was just trying to help. And it looks like you two are getting along!"
"Yeah…" Frosta said begrudgingly. "She's, uh, she's not as awful as I originally thought she was."
Holly shot her a look and Frosta rolled her eyes. "Okay it turns out she's...pretty cool."
Holly seemed to like this description better. "And hanging out with Frosta hasn't been as bad as I thought either. And she's basically a genius."
"I hate the word genius, you know I hate that," Frosta said quickly. "You skip a few grades and next thing you know people are calling you the next Einstein."
"Oh yeah sorry," Holly said. "I'll just call you smart then?"
"Well…" Frosta thought for a moment. "That isn't special enough. Maybe, like, gifted? That's a good middle ground."
Adora snorted. "Well I'm glad you two are doing alright. I just wanted to check in."
"Is that a thing you do now?" Frosta asked. "Check in on me?"
Adora shrugged. "Hey man, the last few times I've seen you, I've been a stand-in barricade."
"I was simply taking advantage of your clearly superior body! I'm still working on the whole growth spurt thing," Frosta said, holding up her own bicep for inspection.
Holly laughed at Frosta's small arm and Frosta shot her a vengeful glare.
"Well if you ever wanna join weights, I could teach you some things. If I can get Catra to lift then I should have no problem with you."
Frosta thought about this. "I might be able to fit that in next semester. Hmm. How is Catara anyway?"
"Catra," Adora corrected politely.
"That's what I said."
"Suure," Adora agreed unconvincingly. "She's doing good."
"Have you guys...like... y'know...kissed and stuff yet?"
"Oh my god," Adora said, laughing and putting a hand in front of her face.
"Is Catara your girlfriend?" Holly asked.
"Catra. And no. I mean she will be...but we're not just yet." Adora wondered why she was letting two underclassmen grill her about her love life.
"Well you should get on that!" Frosta insisted, poking at Adora's arm. "It's been like twenty years!"
"It has not been that long. We just had a roundabout way of getting there. And then there was a big thing with our friends and it's just been busy. But we're going to the dance on Friday."
"Oh yeah," Frosta said, looking down at her notes on the table and poking at them. "That sounds fun."
Adora studied her. "Are you going?"
"Meh. Probably not. I mean all my friends are still in middle school and they can't go so…"
"Well that shouldn't stop you," Adora encouraged her friend. "It's your first high school dance! And I'll be there."
Frosta made a face. "No you and your girlfriend will be too busy kissing the whole time to notice me."
Adora shook her head and sighed.
"Well I'll be there with some of my friends," Holly piped up. "You should come and hang out with us."
Frosta looked hopeful for a split second before it faded. "I don't know any of your friends."
"Well...yeah, but you know me."
"I do. I mean I did drop kick you so I'd say we know each other pretty well."
"Yeah my leg just stopped hurting last weekend," Holly said ruefully. "But you seem pretty cool now that we aren't trying to kill each other. So no pressure, but if you do wanna go I'll hang out with you all night."
The hopeful glint flashed across Frosta's face again and she tried to hide her excitement from the others at the table. "I mean sure. Yeah sounds...cool."
"Well that's great!" Adora said, glad that things were going so well between the two girls. "I'll see you both there!"
"Yeah see you there," Frosta said. "If you're not too busy making ou…"
"Aand I'm leaving," Adora said quickly, getting up from the table and walking away.
Catra was going through her gym locker before weights. She found a sock hiding in the back and pulled it out. She examined it and then slowly brought it up to her nose for a sniff check. She recoiled immediately and threw it back into her locker.
She was reorganizing her things when she felt hands wrap around the back of her head and cover her eyes. She recognized the comforting smell of Adora before she even heard her speak.
"Oh I wonder who this could be?" Catra mused.
She heard Adora laugh behind her. "Well you're allowed to know it's me, I just don't want you to see what I got you yet! Keep your eyes closed!" Adora slid her hands off of Catra's eyes.
"A gift? What did I do to deserve this?" Catra asked, covering her eyes and resisting the urge to peek.
"A lot of things," Adora said. "Hold out your hands."
Catra opened her palms and felt Adora place something small but surprisingly dense in her hands.
"Now open."
Catra opened her eyes and saw what looked to be a little ceramic fish in her hands. It was glazed a shiny orange and white to look like a koi fish.
"It's not much," Adora said quickly. "We were just doing ceramic test pieces in my art class the other day and I was thinking of you and I made a little fish buddy."
Catra held it up and looked at the bulbous black eyes on the clay fish. Then she looked up at Adora. "I love it."
"I'm glad you like it. I just think it's cute how much you like fish."
"They get me," Catra said, not even able to take herself seriously as she said it. She cracked a smile and swiveled around on the bench to face Adora. "Thank you for the little buddy. I'll put him in my fish tank for decoration."
"That's a great idea," Adora said as Catra tenderly wrapped the fish in a workout shirt of hers and placed it in her locker for safekeeping. "You all stretched up yet? I'm gonna go real hard today."
"Real hard, huh? You doing alright?"
"Yeah why?"
"You just go harder when you're stressed. We both know it. When Glimmer wasn't talking to you, you just about passed out everyday. It was scary."
"Well, it's not a huge deal or anything," Adora started.
"There it is," Catra said with satisfaction. "Sit."
Adora sat down on the bench and Catra put a hand on her knee.
"Well it's not a big thing but my social worker is coming over tonight and I just...hate when that happens."
"Oh yeah," Catra said, recalling Adora complaining about it before. "Why do you hate it so much?"
"Well it's like…" Adora gesticulated strangely with her hands as she tried to think of words to describe it. "...I don't know. You wouldn't get it."
"You're probably right," Catra admitted. "But I know that whatever it is you'll be able to handle it."
"Yeah I will," Adora agreed. "It isn't, like, the end of the world or anything. Just makes me uncomfortable. Been trying to shake the feeling all day."
"Well I'm sorry," Catra said sympathetically. "Anything I can do to help?"
"Just keep my mind off it."
"Easy enough. You heard about Bow and Scorpia going to the dance right?"
"Oh yeah! That's super cool! I mean after their whole adventure on Monday it seems like they've been getting along pretty well."
"Yeah it's incredibly weird. I mean, good. But, like, weird too."
"I love how this has been going. With our friend groups? I mean sure there's still some weirder parts but our friends are actually getting along for the most part!"
"True. I'm a little surprised at how it's gone honestly," Catra said thoughtfully. "But I guess I'm glad too. Makes it easier for us to hang out now that everyone knows."
"And that's what I wanted," Adora insisted.
Catra smiled at Adora. "Well I'll let you change."
"Yeah. See you in there," Adora replied as she stretched out her arms and walked over to her own locker.
When Catra went out into the weights room she saw that it wasn't set up how it normally was. There was now a small table and two fold out chairs on either end of it sitting in the middle of the room.
Catra spotted Scorpia leaning up against a bench press and headed over to her, hands wedged into the pockets of her baggy gym shorts. "Howdy stranger," Catra said as she sat down on the seat of the bench.
"Oh hey, Catra," Scorpia greeted her.
"What's with the table?" Catra asked, gesturing at the setup in the middle.
"I'm pretty sure I know, but Ms. Huntara hasn't announced it yet."
"Oh fun," Catra said, not enthused. "I'd much rather just not do anything today."
Scorpia chuckled. "You say that, like, every day."
"Well yeah, but especially today."
Adora walked in and took a seat beside Catra on the bench. "Hey, Scorpia."
"Hey," Scorpia said, rubbing at her arm and avoiding eye contact with the pair.
Catra could tell that Scorpia acted differently when Adora was around. It had been like this every time they had been together. She wasn't mean or anything, but she wasn't herself either.
Catra knew the girl was just upset about them being together. Or jealous. Or just uncomfortable. Catra wasn't sure exactly, but she did know that she missed how it used to be between her and Scorpia.
Nowadays, Scorpia spent more time with Glimmer than anybody else. And she probably even talked to Bow more than she did to Catra.
Catra had been trying to just give her space as she had asked, but so far it just seemed like Scorpia was getting farther and farther away.
"Hey you little carnivore," Catra heard as she was yanked out of her thoughts by Adora, who was gently tugging at her hand to keep her from biting her nails.
Catra hadn't realized that she had even been biting them. She also hadn't realized Ms. Huntara entering the room and walking to the middle where she now stood.
"Alrighty everyone," she said, addressing the class in her usual gruff voice. "You've all been working real hard. I figure today we'll have a little break of sorts. If any of you have taken weights before then you know it's time for…" She hoisted up a whiteboard that had been resting beside the table and flipped it over, displaying a big bracket drawn on the surface. "The 6th Annual Arm Wrestling Tournament!"
The class clapped and Scorpia whooped.
Ms. Huntara gestured to Scorpia. "For those of you who aren't aware, we have our previous year's champion right here. Scorpia!"
Ms. Huntara clapped loudly and the rest of the class followed suit. Scorpia bashfully accepted the praise.
The teacher then grinned widely and surveyed the classroom, hands on her hips. "While arm wrestling is in no way indicative of your progress in this class...it's fun! So I'm gonna randomly put all of your names down on this bracket and we'll see who becomes the champion!"
The students began to excitedly prepare as some began stretching their arms.
Scorpia began to do her own warmups. Catra looked over to her.
"I didn't know you were the arm wrestling champion."
"Well you weren't in weights last year," Scorpia explained. "It is one of the highest honors of my life."
Catra couldn't tell if she was joking or if she was dead serious.
"Yeah I would not wanna go up against you," Adora said impressively.
"Well we'll see how the tournament goes I guess," Scorpia responded.
Catra looked at Scorpia's arms and then at Adora's and then at her own. "Well...can I just forfeit now?"
"Hey now," Adora said supportively. "There's some people in this class you could totally beat!"
"Yeah maybe one. Two max," Catra stated as she looked around the room.
"Well if we were doing a race or something you'd probably have everyone in this room beat," Scorpia pointed out and Adora nodded in agreement.
Catra shrugged. "Maybe. But this is weights class not...running class."
"Well regardless, you better start stretching," Adora warned. "You don't wanna pull something when you're in the middle of losing."
Catra gasped at the jab and Adora snickered evilly.
Scorpia turned away from the pair and wondered if it would be better for her to move somewhere else further away from them.
But before she could decide, Ms. Huntara had written up the names and called for the first match. The three girls watched a few matches before it was their turn.
Adora had her first match against a guy who she had never talked to before. He was definitely toned and he carried himself confidently up to the table, a cocky grin on his face as he took his seat.
Adora got up slowly, nervous that everyone was looking at her.
Catra squeezed her hand. "Good luck. Crush his stupid arm."
Adora smiled at her and walked up to the table. She took her seat and put her arm on the table.
The boy across from her sneered at her and put his arm up as well.
They locked hands in the middle and braced themselves as they waited for the command to begin.
Ms. Huntara let the suspense hang for a moment before yelling 'Go!'.
Adora and the other kid immediately pushed against each other. The boy, who had seemed nothing but confident just seconds before, suddenly seemed worried as he met the force of Adora's arm. He frowned as he tried to push harder against Adora and found himself unable to budge her from the center.
Adora would normally have enjoyed the now troubled look on the boy's face, but she was too busy focusing on the match to care. She waited for him to finish struggling before she began her own assault. She shoved back against his arm and watched in satisfaction as his arm began to fold.
"Whoo! Go Adora! Destroy him!" Catra yelled, jumping up from her seat excitedly.
"No yelling!" Ms. Huntara yelled and Catra sat back down. But she continued to watch intently.
Adora kept pushing. She could feel him struggling against her and her arm burned with that familiar feeling, but it wasn't enough to stop her from pushing on. She watched as she lowered his hand back further and further until eventually…smack!
Ms. Huntara blew a whistle she had looped around her neck. "And the win goes to Adora!"
Adora smiled in relief as she sat back in her chair. The boy across from her slipped his arm back and shot Adora a hateful glare that she ignored entirely.
Adora got up from the table and walked back over to her spot where Catra was practically vibrating.
"I've changed my mind," she said quickly, her eyes wide. "This is awesome. I love arm wrestling. You were destroying his whole mind with your muscles! Ah!"
Adora giggled and sat down next to Catra, wrapping her now tired arm around Catra. Catra stared at the arm and got a little flustered before she regained her composure.
"Yeah good win, Adora," Scorpia added as she stretched her own right arm behind her back.
"Thanks guys. You're next aren't you Scorpia?"
"Yup," she said just a few moments before her name was called and she walked up to the table. Her opponent was another boy who was definitely strong, but compared to Scorpia he looked like he didn't stand a chance.
The defeat was already plain on his face as he put his arm on the table and they readied for the command.
"Go!"
Smack!
Scorpia slammed her opponent's hand into the table in less than a second and the room erupted into cheers despite Ms. Huntara trying to calm everyone down.
The boy who had lost looked disappointed and Scorpia felt bad. "Hey I'm sorry. You're really strong! I just go to the gym a lot."
The boy smiled and thanked her for being such a good sport before leaving the table. Scorpia walked back over to join Catra and Adora, who were watching her with wide eyes.
"Wow," Adora said bluntly. "That was awesome."
"Yeah that wasn't even a competition!" Catra congratulated her friend.
"It felt good," Scorpia said. "But we'll see. I have tough competition this year."
They watched another round and then it was time for Catra to go.
Catra watched as her opponent walked to the table. A girl who was definitely a senior and was much bigger than Catra.
"Well…I quit," Catra huffed.
"Hey. You can do this," Adora said encouragingly.
Catra shot her a prying look and Adora broke.
"Okay fine, maybe you can't. But you can put up a good fight! You've made serious improvement since we started training together!"
"Yeah, Cat. Give it your best," Scorpia agreed.
"My best is very little," Catra mumbled under her breath as she stood up and sat down at the table. She looked at her opponent and nodded to her.
The girl nodded back and the two prepped their arms in the middle.
Ms. Huntara raised her hands and then dropped them. "Go!"
Catra pushed with all of her might, expecting an immediate loss, but after a few seconds passed she realized that her hand hadn't hit the table yet. Sure her arm was losing ground steadily and was shaking as she exerted herself, but she hadn't lost yet.
"Woah," Catra said through gritted teeth.
"Go Catra!" Adora yelled from her spot, throwing her fists up into the air. Scorpia clapped a few times in accompaniment. Ms. Huntara shot them both a look and Adora clammed up. She had never spoken out in a class like that before, but she had been so proud of Catra that she couldn't help it.
Catra was straining against the force of the older girl's arm and could tell that she was a goner. The harder she pushed, the more her arm felt like it was gonna fall off. But she did manage to slow the girl considerably.
When Catra's hand finally was pushed into the table, she exhaled and the whistle was blown. She shook her tired arm out.
"Good game," the senior girl said, and upon inspection, she actually looked a little impressed.
"And to you," Catra said, more out of breath. She left the table and Adora was already behind her.
"Oh my gosh you did so great!" She said, slapping at Catra's arm. "Do you think you could have held her off like that before we started working out together?"
Catra thought about the question and answered sincerely. "Y'know, I would've been decimated before. I guess your workouts are good for something after all."
"I have waited so long to hear those words," Adora said proudly, biting at her clenched fist.
"Well that's the only time you'll hear it," Catra said with a tired smile as she plopped back down into her seat.
Catra expected to hear a congratulations from Scorpia, but as she turned to look around, she saw that Scorpia wasn't there.
"Where'd Scorpia go?"
"Oh I'm not sure," Adora said. "I think the bathroom. She left right after your match."
Catra put it out of her mind and watched a few more matches, glad that she was out of the running.
Scorpia came back just a few moments before her next match. Her opponent was another senior. He looked to have about as much muscle mass as Adora and Scorpia definitely struggled a bit at the beginning of the match.
Ultimately, however, it was still no contest as Scorpia refused to back down and beat her second opponent. She was beginning to feel her arm growing tired but she still had a lot of energy left in her.
Adora went immediately after and won her match as well. It was getting progressively harder as her arm wore down more and more, but she hadn't had too hard of a time.
Adora eyed the bracket and realized she was getting farther than anticipated.
Catra showered her with praise as she returned to their spot and Adora felt proud of herself. This was a good way to get her mind off of the social worker.
The bracket narrowed more and more as Scorpia won her next match with relative ease. Adora struggled a little with her next match, but won as well.
Then they were in the semifinals. And it was down to Scorpia, Adora, and two other kids who had been doing really well, one of whom was the girl that had eliminated Catra. Scorpia and Adora were on opposite ends of the bracket and realized that they would be fighting for the championship if they won this one.
When it came to be Adora's turn she braced herself as Catra massaged her shoulders like a manager massaging the shoulders of an MMA fighter. "You're gonna go in there and wreck house, you hear me? You're going up against the girl who beat me and she's like impossibly strong. But you're even more impossibly strong. So you'll win."
Adora rolled her eyes endearingly. "Okay we'll see."
"Yeah hopefully you win so we can face off in the final match," Scorpia said. "Good luck."
"Yeah that would be cool," Adora replied. "Good luck with yours."
Adora was called up to the table and she sat across from the senior girl. They wished each other good luck before the match and the second the whistle blew, Adora thought that she would lose.
Where the opponents she had faced before had a hard time moving her, this girl was able to shift Adora downwards much easier. For the first few seconds Adora felt her arm fall back and she thought she was done for.
Adora didn't let up though, and after the initial surprise she pushed back with a slowly mounting strength. The other girl gritted her teeth and grunted as she resisted and their hands made it back to the middle.
Adora closed her eyes for a moment and pushed even harder, feeling her arm ache under the pressure. But as she slowly opened her eyes, she saw that she was quickly forcing her opponent down.
"Yes!" Catra shouted. "Adora!"
Ms. Huntara glared at Catra. "Strike two!"
Adora heard Catra cheering her on and smiled tightly as she had a last surge of power and slammed the girl's hand into the table.
"Alright! And your first finalist is Adora!" The class clapped as Adora wandered back to her seat. A few of her classmates congratulated her on her way back and she wasn't sure how to react to all the attention.
As Catra fawned over Adora, Scorpia had her next match. The other boy was as big as Scorpia and he was one of the kids who focused more on building his arms than anything else.
Scorpia prepared herself as the match began and was instantly surprised as she began to push and found an equal resistance. The match lasted longer than her previous ones and Scorpia was sweating by the end, but when the final whistle was blown, the former champion had won out and made her way to the finals.
Scorpia leaned back in her chair, her right arm dangling at her side. She rolled her neck around as Huntara called up Adora and announced the finalists.
"Let's wait a little bit so her arm can rest up," Adora insisted. "I've been over there resting for a lot longer."
Ms. Huntara began to agree, but Scorpia spoke up. "No, I'm ready now. Let's do this." She hefted her elbow up onto the table and placed it down, hand extended.
Huntara shrugged. "If you say so."
Adora put her arm up on the table as well, clasping hands with Scorpia. The girl's hands were much bigger than hers. In fact, all of Scorpia was bigger than Adora.
Adora was much more nervous than she had been for the other matches. She didn't want to win but she also didn't want to lose. She took her hand back and wiped the sweat off onto her pant leg before grabbing Scorpia's hand again.
Catra shoved through the crowd that had gathered closely and made her way right up to beside the table. She gave both Adora and Scorpia a smile and a nod and then crouched beside them, watching intensely.
Adora peered across at Scorpia. She looked determined. They made eye contact and both nodded at each other.
"And now we'll see who this year's Arm Wrestling Champion is!" Ms. Huntara declared. "Get ready. Get set…...Go!"
Both girls immediately put their all into the match. And both girls were surprised to find that they were balancing each other out. Adora was surprised that she wasn't eliminated yet and Scorpia was surprised at the resistance coming from Adora. Scorpia had seen that she was strong, but to feel it was a different matter. She suddenly wished she had accepted that break.
Adora watched their hands with surprise as she managed to keep Scorpia at bay. Both girls groaned as they pushed against each other, the veins in their arms bulging and sweat accumulating on their brows.
"I love arm wrestling," Catra whispered to herself as she watched the muscular arms continue their heated battle.
Adora was just beginning to think she had a real chance at a win when she felt a new assault from Scorpia. The girl was pushing even harder somehow. Adora let out a gasp as she felt the powerlessness that came with being slowly defeated. She watched her arm drop lower and lower. She grinded her teeth together and tried to will herself to push harder, but her arm just felt like jelly.
Catra shifted, causing Adora to glance at her. Catra was watching their hands, and the closer Adora got to defeat, the more distress showed on Catra's face.
After seeing this, Adora decided to give it one last go. She began to breathe in short bursts as she forced her arm beyond what she thought was currently possible. She heard the cheer from the crowd before she even registered that she was pushing Scorpia back.
Ms. Huntara tried to stop all the cheering but eventually gave up and let the class cheer on the contestants.
And now it was Scorpia's turn to be worried as she watched Adora, who had been so close to defeat, push her arm back from her side all the way back up to the middle.
Then, just as they had been in the beginning, the two were locked in at the middle. A standstill. They were both pushing, but were just equalling each other out.
Scorpia glanced at Adora and saw that she was really going hard. The girl's face was red and she was breathing heavy.
Then Scorpia heard Catra from beside her. She was muttering something excitedly under her breath. Scorpia couldn't make it out, but at that moment she was sure that Catra was cheering on Adora.
Scorpia clenched her fist a little tighter as she thought about her best friend cheering on Adora, who she had only just met this year. Scorpia thought about how if Adora somehow won, how happy Catra would be. How much she would celebrate. But if Scorpia won she would probably just console Adora. And Scorpia would be ignored.
This anger bubbled up in Scorpia and she felt new strength building as she grunted and pushed with all of her might against Adora.
A loud slam sounded and there was a moment of silence before the class exploded into cheers.
Adora stared blankly at her hand as it rested on the table, dumbfounded by the sheer strength Scorpia had. She had put up a good fight, but in the end she hadn't even been able to get Scorpia past the middle.
Scorpia put a hand to her forehead and breathed deeply, glad that it was over.
Ms. Huntara raised one of Scorpia's arms. "And your reigning champion is... Scorpia!"
Everyone clapped and cheered again and Scorpia looked surprised as she saw Catra smiling and clapping as well.
"That was so awesome you guys," Catra said to both of them. "I mean there was so much raw power! I thought you were gonna explode!"
"I did too," Adora said, recovering slowly. She looked up at Scorpia. "That was a good game, champ." She extended a shaky right arm across the table.
Scorpia was surprised at the support she had gotten from Catra and Adora. She had almost expected them to be mad at her and now they were congratulating her with the rest of the class.
Scorpia stuck out her own right arm and they shook.
The social worker pulled up to Adora's foster home several minutes early and parked on the curb. He grabbed his folder that was sitting in the passenger seat and leafed through Adora's information again. He had talked to Adora several times before and had personally visited the home and met with Angella and her daughter a few times prior to this, but he wanted to make sure he was prepared.
He stepped out of his car and walked up to the house. It was very large and well kept and was in a nice part of town. Not that there were really any bad parts of town in Etheria.
He stepped up onto the front porch and rang the doorbell. From inside he heard the faint sound of footsteps and then the door opened.
He saw a girl who he recognized as Adora's new foster sister, Glimmer. She was dressed nicely but it was clear that she had just recently gotten out of the shower and her pink hair was damp and sagging.
"Uh. Welcome to our home," Glimmer said semi-convincingly and ushered him inside.
He smiled and stepped inside. "Hello, Glimmer. How are you?"
"I'm well adapted and I love my foster sister," she answered immediately.
The social worker chuckled. "You know, we haven't started the interview yet. We can talk about all that after dinner."
"Oh I thought it was, like, a right off the bat thing," Glimmer responded, brushing her hair out of her face. "Adora really is great though."
"Well that's good to hear," he replied, looking around the house but not going any further inside. The place was very neat and organized and there was a wonderful smell coming from the kitchen.
Angella hurried out of the kitchen just then and greeted him. "Nice to see you again, Warren. Sorry, I meant to get the door but Adora and I were finishing up dinner when you got here."
"Oh that's entirely alright," he replied politely. "The place looks wonderful and thanks again for inviting me to dinner."
"Well of course," Angella responded.
"And your daughter has already been a great host," Warren said.
Glimmer beamed up at her mother and she chuckled. "Well I'm pleasantly surprised. We're almost done setting the table if you want to take a seat in the living room."
"Sounds great. Thanks again," Warren said as he walked over and took a seat on the couch.
"And you go dry your hair," Angella told Glimmer.
"I was gonna but the doorbell rang!" Glimmer whined before scrambling up the steps to her bathroom.
Angella walked back into the kitchen where Adora was setting plates onto the table.
"Warren is here," Angella told her.
Adora nodded and scratched at the back of her arm. "Yeah. I, uh, heard the doorbell."
Angella walked around to Adora and took the pile of plates from her hands. "You sit. You haven't taken a break since you got home."
Adora regretfully obliged and took a seat at the table. Her foot began tapping on the floor rhythmically.
"Are you alright, dear?" Angella asked. "I know these things have a habit of stressing you out."
"Yeah I'm...a little anxious I guess," Adora answered. "But it's just dinner and some short talks and then it'll be over."
"Exactly," Angella said comfortingly. "And when he's gone we'll do something nice! We can make some cookies and play a game or something. How's that sound?"
"Pretty dang good," Adora admitted as she picked up her fork and wiggled it around.
Angella smiled. "Alright then, it's a plan." She finished setting up the table and clapped her hands together. "All done. Thanks for your help."
"Oh yeah," Adora said. "Do you think I did good enough to cook dinner for Catra on Friday?"
"Oh definitely. You just follow that recipe we found and you'll do great."
Adora nodded to herself. "Awesome. I'll call for you if I burn anything down."
"Please do," Angella laughed.
Glimmer came down the steps just then and walked into the kitchen, her hair freshly blow-dried, causing it to poof outwards like a big fluffy cloud.
"Wow it looks nice in here!" Glimmer exclaimed and then looked over her shoulder towards where the living room was. "I mean...it always looks nice! Cuz we always have a nice dinner as a family!"
"I think you're overselling it just a bit," Adora said with a small smile.
"No such thing," Glimmer replied and she walked around the table to sit next to Adora. As she walked by she poked Adora playfully in the side and Adora recoiled.
"Hey, you," Adora said, leveling her fork at the mischievously smiling girl. "If my social worker wasn't here right now you'd be in trouble."
"Girls, you can beat each other up when he's gone," Angella said softly. "I'm gonna go get him."
Angella left and returned with Warren and he took a seat at the table. "Hey there, Adora. It's been a while since we've talked in person! How have you been?"
"I've been good," Adora answered.
"That's good to hear," Warren replied. He knew that Adora had never been particularly talkative and he didn't want to make her uncomfortable so he complimented the food and talked to Angella some more.
Dinner went well for the most part. Angella and Adora had done really well on the meal and despite a guest being there, it wasn't too awkward. Adora didn't say anything unless she was spoken to. Glimmer cracked a few jokes to keep the conversation light.
A few times while they were eating, Glimmer kicked at Adora's leg under the table to get her attention. When Adora looked at her, Glimmer would just smile and nod.
Adora knew that Glimmer was trying to keep her mind off everything and she was grateful for it. Adora couldn't imagine how bad this all would have been if her and Glimmer were still on bad terms with each other.
The dinner went quickly but it was getting a little late so Angella suggested that her and Warren talk while the girls cleaned up after dinner.
Warren agreed and him and Angella went and talked for a while in the other room.
Glimmer and Adora cleaned up the kitchen and it wasn't too long before Warren and Angella came back out and Warren wanted to talk to one of the girls.
Glimmer volunteered to go first and went and talked to Warren. Adora knew that he was asking them questions about how they were liking living with her. It was something she was used to, but it was still weird to know that she was being discussed and judged by some of the people she was closest with.
Angella and Adora relaxed on the couch for a while before Warren came back again with Glimmer.
Glimmer shot Adora a thumbs up as she joined them in the living room.
Then Warren finally asked to talk to Adora. She agreed and said they could talk up in her room. She had answered these questions before and knew what to expect.
He followed her upstairs and she let him into her room and shut the door behind them.
"This is nice," Warren said as he looked around the room. "It looks like you've settled in! You a Shakira fan?" He gestured to the poster on her wall.
"Not really. But I like the poster," Adora answered.
Warren smiled. "Well I'm glad you've made it your own space."
Adora sat on the bed and he pulled up a chair from her desk and sat down. He crossed one leg over the other and propped his hands up in front of him. "So, Adora. I want to know how things have been going for you. How's school?"
"Good," Adora answered simply.
He opened up his folder and looked at a piece of paper. "It looks like your grades are excellent! Which is great! Usually kids have trouble with school when they're adjusting to a new environment, but you've always been a smart kid."
"Thanks," Adora replied, looking around the room.
"Have you been making any new friends?"
"Uh...yeah actually. A few, yeah."
"That's very good! Then it sounds like school is going rather well. There is...one thing. We didn't get to talk about it over the phone last time as we hadn't received the full report from your school yet, but it does seem that you got in a bit of a fight on school property?"
"Ah. I forgot about that. Yeah there was a small thing."
"If I may, what encouraged you to get in this fight?"
"It was just a bully," Adora answered. She didn't like thinking back to the event. "It was really nothing and my counselor just cleared me."
"Well that's good to hear. Did you have people to talk to about it? Angella maybe?"
"Yeah we talked about it. She helped a lot actually."
"Good, good." He quickly jotted something down in his folder and then continued with his questions.
Adora was used to them. He asked whether she ever felt threatened by any member of her new family. If they had ever abused her in any way. Whether she was happy. How often she was fed. How she was disciplined.
Adora rattled off her answers almost mechanically. She told the truth about everything but didn't expand much. She did, however, make sure to clarify often that she really did love her current home and foster family.
At the end of the interview, Warren set down his folder and seemed satisfied. "Well then it sounds like things are working out rather well for you, Adora. And I'm glad to hear it."
"It's going really well. I like it a lot better than the home and I haven't even been here that long."
"Well it seems like it's a good option for you," Warren said as he leaned forward in his chair. "And it seems that another...possible option is available to you now."
Adora looked up in surprise, her attention piqued now for the first time since the interview had started. "What?"
"Well…I just talked to Angella about this and she agreed to letting me notify you. And she wants to talk to you about it as well, of course. And the decision is u…"
"What is it?" Adora interrupted, standing up from the bed. "Another foster family? Cuz I'm not interested."
"Well...not exactly. See...your aunt and uncle on your father's side reached out to us the other day."
"Wh…" Adora closed her eyes for a moment. Her brain felt fuzzy. She fell back down onto the bed.
"They were...well they were wanting to talk with you. And they wanted to ask if you would be interested in possibly staying with them." Warren watched Adora closely, hoping this wasn't too much for the girl.
Adora ran a hand through her hair and clutched at her scalp.
"My aunt and uncle…" The thought echoed around her head.
"I thought…" Adora had to stop herself and take a deep breath. "I thought they didn't want me?"
Warren sighed. "Well at the time they...they weren't...ready to take care of a child. But things change. And, of course, they aren't qualified for fostering or adoption yet and they would have to go through the proper channels and g…"
"No. I don't want that," Adora said, louder than she had intended.
"Well it is entirely up to you, Adora," Warren assured her. "I'll leave it to you to make contact with them and discuss wh…"
"I'm not doing that," Adora said firmly. She was breathing heavy now and she could feel sweat under her arms. "Tell them I'm not interested."
"I... I certainly can," Warren said. "Are you alright, Adora? I realize this is a lot to take in."
Adora gripped at her chest and nodded. "Yeah I'm fine. Can you give me some space?"
"Of course," he said as he stood up and put his chair back. "I'll give you some time to process things. Would you like me to send Angella up or…?"
"No," Adora said firmly. "I just want to be alone."
"Of course," Warren said. He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again, looking at Adora with great concern. He then turned and closed the door slowly.
The second the door closed, Adora shot up out of bed and began to pace. Her mind was going a hundred miles an hour and she needed to burn off some energy.
She walked around her room quickly before she felt another pang of pain in her chest, right where her heart was, followed by a wave of nausea. She knew then what was happening.
She rushed back to her bed and quickly formed a cross-legged position. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on her breathing, as she had been practicing.
But it wasn't as easy this time. She could only hear her heartbeat going crazy in her ears and the sound of her head pounding. It felt like she was drenched in sweat at this point and it was causing her shirt to stick to her claustrophobically.
And in the forefront of her mind, all she could think about was her aunt and her uncle.
"They haven't been in my life for years and now they decide to reach out."
Adora clutched at her chest again and winced at the mounting pressure she felt. It wasn't working. The breathing wasn't working.
She heard a knock at the door. "Adora, are you alright in there?" It was Angella.
"I'm fine!" Adora yelled, hoping it was convincing enough to get Angella to leave her alone. "I'll be out later!"
Adora suddenly gasped and took in air sharply as breathing became more difficult. Tears formed in her eyes and she gritted her teeth together roughly. She bit into her bottom lip on accident and immediately tasted blood.
She squeezed her eyes shut and hot tears streamed down her cheeks. She squeezed her knees up against her and tried to breathe normally as her brain continued to panic uncontrollably.
Adora couldn't breathe. She clawed at her throat and gulped down spit as she tried not to throw up. She backed up and threw herself up against the wall behind her. She twisted and shoved her balled up fist against the wall. She felt the pain in her knuckles and it felt good. Grounding. She pulled her fist back and slammed it into the wall again. And then again.
On the third punch, Adora felt the wall give and her fist extended into a space beyond the wall. Adora gasped and pulled her hand back. She rubbed the tears from her eyes and looked at the wall with blurred vision.
There was a huge, fist-sized hole in the wall. Adora looked down at her hand and saw that it was coated in a powdery substance. There was blood on her knuckles. The shock of this snapped Adora out of her panic attack and she stared dumbfoundedly at the hole in the wall.
"Why did I do this…" Adora whispered. She wiped at her fist and smeared the blood over her hand. Adora traced the hole in the wall with her finger. She felt suddenly very tired as she stared at her wall.
She had experienced panic attacks before, but it had been a while since she had one this bad. Usually she could stop them before they got out of control. But not this time.
Adora took a deep breath and looked around her. Her blankets were scattered across the floor of her room. She listened and didn't hear anyone at the door. She hoped nobody had heard the wall.
She turned back to the hole, wondering how she was going to tell Angella about it. How was she supposed to tell her that she freaked out and punched a hole in her own wall. Angella would think she was crazy. She'd have to go back to counseling probably. Or anger management.
Adora thought of all this and instantly decided that she couldn't tell Angella. At least not yet.
Adora hobbled over to her desk and grabbed the painting she had done of a stormy ocean coastline. She hastily slapped some mounting tape on the back of the canvas and crawled back onto her bed. She put the painting up over the hole and stepped back from the bed.
It looked awkward and out of place where she had placed it, but it at least obscured the hole entirely. Adora took a deep breath and stumbled into bed. She laid there for a while and made sure that she was feeling alright again. She could still feel a resting anxiety seizing her chest, but the worst of it was definitely over.
After a while, she looked at her phone and saw that Glimmer had texted her a few times.
'Hey the guy is gone. You wanna watch a movie?'
'I made popcorn. I drowned it in butter like you like.'
'You okay?'
Adora stared at her phone screen for a while before typing, 'I'm okay. Just tired. I'm gonna go to bed.'
Adora then tabbed over to Catra's name and thought about talking to her. Her thumb hovered over the call button for a few seconds before she shut off her phone screen and laid back in her bed again.
She looked at her painting as she tried to process everything that had happened. She laid like that for a while before turning off her lamp.
Adora tossed and turned and it took hours before she was finally able to enter a restless sleep.
Well that's a little heavy for a chapter ending, but hopefully nobodies spirits are too low. It'll get better I promise :)
I hope everyone reading is healthy and safe. And also that they're coping alright after having finished the show! I mean, c'mon! Season 5 was so good! Catradora canon! I didn't think that would happen at all and it totally did! I was just a constant stream of tears for like the whole season. And it was super good. And this story is a great way for me to continue the characters in my own little way.
And also someone asked this in comments so I'd like to officially point out that I actually did come up with the idea for Catra to cut her hair short before Season 5 came out. I didn't see any spoilers. It must have been a crazy coincidence but it was really cool to see it happen in the show too :)
So anyway, thank you all for reading and commenting and I hope you're all happy. Thanks and bye for now!