I couldn't have predicted how quickly public school took over my life. Traveling to and from school added onto the extra time burden, of course, but the main difference was socializing. In every class the little bits of time I had initially used for taking notes turned to joining in on the mini-conversations that erupted at every table. And it was astounding how many people stopped to talk to me in the hallways, on day two. Apparently physical education lent itself well to talking- and discovering new things.
"Malon!" I exclaimed while during a particularly annoying run. At least we were outside, in a large grassy field next to the school. The late august heat was uncomfortable, but bearable. Dozens of students in various athletic wear - some even in sheika clothing - ran with me in a pattern on the grass I'd discovered was the norm for the school. But the girl jogging next to me had bright red hair and the distinct smile I knew only belonged to one person.
The girl, in black athletic shorts and a simple T-shirt advertising Lon Lon Diner, waved. So it was Malon.
"I didn't know you went to this school!" I said between breaths.
She shrugged. "Sort of. I got all my credits but health, so just come in the afternoons for this class and an elective."
The idea seemed reasonable enough, so I nodded.
"Am I going to be seeing you and Link after school today?" Malon asked.
I frowned. "What- oh! You mean to make up for when we ate at the Diner?"
"Ok!" The coach, a rito with grey and silver feathers announced. "Into teams for Boko Scatter!"
Various cheers and groans spread through the field.
"I assume you've played Boko Scatter?" Malon said as we joined the mass of students lining up next to bright blue cones.
"What?" I asked.
She grabbed my hand. "Alright, you're on my team. I'll explain while we go."
I trailed after Malon to a tall hylian boy wearing sunglasses. He waved.
"Kall, meet Zelda," Malon said pointing between us. "Zelda, Kall."
Not sure if I should give a formal introduction, I just smiled.
"Ok now that you know each other, the rules." Malon said. "See how we're all in teams of three?"
I nodded.
"Coach B is going to lay out colored balls on that line," Malon said, and pointed to a red line spray painted across the field, "Our job is to grab them and bring them within a few steps of our cone. Some of the balls are heavy, some of them explode-"
"They what-" I exclaimed.
Malon laughed. "They don't actually explode. There's just a button that spits out streamers from inside the balls. If you get touched by the streamers you have to sit out. The game lasts for a few minutes, then we see who has the most balls by their cone."
"Ok wait," Kall said to Malon, "This girl has never played Boko scatter? Not even as a little kid."
Malon crossed her arms. "I think a better question would be why don't you realize why she hasn't."
"What do you mean," I asked.
Kall blinked, then understanding spread across his face. "You're Zelda!"
"Uh… yeah. Didn't Malon just tell you?"
"No I mean like, the Zelda. You really are going to school now eh. Not too good for us anymore."
"Kall!" Malon said.
He raised his hands in defense. "Just joking. Just joking."
By now I was thoroughly confused. "What's-"
Then the Coach blew a whistle, and Kall bolted for the red line.
"You stay here and guard our cone," Malon said, "oh, and stealing, throwing, and flying are allowed!" Then she ran to the side for a nearby cone.
The whole situation was so thoroughly confusing I just did what she said. People started running in all directions, carrying, throwing, catching, and stealing the medium sized balls. I was barely paying enough attention to catch the sizable one Kall through at me, and I placed it gently on the ground next to our cone. To my right, a rito dove out of nowhere and grabbed it.
And with that, the game descended into chaos. A couple times I ran after the ball-thieves. Other times Malon returned to our cone and had us switch places. That part was interesting. Another time Kall returned with a ball, only to realize it was one of the rigged ones. He kicked it away and the multicolored streamers sprung out, tagging multiple people. At one point the coach blew the whistle, which apparently meant the people who'd been tagged by the streamers could return to the game. That was good, because we'd lost Malon to a bomb-ball a few minutes before.
The game lasted for well over fifteen minutes, at which point the coach blew the whistle again and we returned to our cones.
"How'd we do?" I asked Malon.
She shrugged. "Decent. Pretty good considering this was your first ever game."
The coach went down the line. We'd ended up with three large balls, and one small ball. Apparently that meant we had five points. The winner ended up being a team of three Gerudo girls who'd gotten twelve points. Somehow the fact that none of them had been hit by a bomb-ball played into it? I wasn't really sure. Regardless, our score was low average, but not terrible.
When the coach sent us back to the school, just before the bell, I wandered back over to Malon and Kall.
"See you tomorrow!" Kall told us, before turning and leaving to change.
After class, Malon shook my hand and smiled. "I'll be at Lon Lon Diner after school. See you there!"
There's chapter seven! don't own Legend of Zelda! Once again, thank you for reading.