Pin yawned, stretching her arms above her head.
Her eyes flew open and she sat up quickly.
Something wasn't right.
She glanced at her alarm clock.
It was 8:48 am. Something definitely wasn't right.
Slowly, cautiously, she got out of bed, walking to the door and slipping on her shoes before stepping out into the hallway.
Everyone else was already up, talking to one another about whatever they could think of, probably planning their next move for the battle for Dream Island.
But something wasn't quite right. Pin paused, listening to the sound of voices echoing down the hallway.
No one seemed to be paying attention to her – no one but one person.
And she didn't seem to have noticed that Pin had joined everyone else yet.
Or if she had, then maybe it didn't matter.
A few moments later, she found out.
"Hey," Leafy greeted her happily. "What are you doing up so early?!"
"Um…I don't know."
"So, are you hungry?"
"Um…sure."
It was obvious that Leafy wanted to talk to her, but Pin couldn't bring herself to say anything – the words weren't coming.
"Okay! Come sit at the dining table with us, we're waiting for breakfast."
The two of them followed the sound of Leafy's voice, heading towards the table.
It wasn't long before everyone gathered around to eat, and the chatter died down.
After the first bite, Leafy spoke. "Alright, so we're all together, but I gotta tell ya, today is gonna be great!"
She paused for a second. "What should we do today?"
Everyone exchanged glances.
"Well- After the contest, of course!" Leafy added.
"I'll take you around after, I hope that's okay?"
"Ya, sure."
For a short while, silence reigned as the group ate breakfast. It wasn't long until they finished eating.
"Should we start the day by training our skills?" Leafy suggested excitedly.
She grinned widely. "Let's go!"
As they headed towards the arena, Pin's heart started beating faster. The fear inside of her was bubbling.
This might turn out to be dangerous, she thought to herself.
They entered the outside, looking for a place to train. Pin spotted a bench near the centre, and walked over to it.
"That will do! Let's work hard!" Leafy announced enthusiastically, turning to look around.
They were all standing at attention, waiting for orders.
Suddenly a wave of nausea hit her, and she stumbled.
The floor beneath her feet seemed to disappear.
The last thing Pin saw before blacking out was the worried looks on everyone's faces.
And then there was darkness.
...
When she next woke up, everything was white and blurry and the pain was everywhere.
Pin groaned, feeling faint.
Her entire body ached.
Where was she? Why were they here? And where was…
Her thoughts trailed off when she realized what had happened.
Leafy…
Pin forced herself to get up, ignoring the pain in her head, which didn't fade away.
She stood up shakily, swaying a bit on her legs.
Her vision swam, and she nearly fell over once more.
Once she managed to stop herself, she managed to push herself back up against the wall.
"Pin!"
"Huh?" She looked up and saw Leafy standing in front of her, concern written all over her face.
"Don't do that!" She scolded.
"You could've broken your pin, you idiot!" She chuckled, though worry was visible in her eyes.
Pin stared at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Pin, you fainted yesterday." Leafy explained.
"We were worried that you were sick, or something. You were barely breathing. Do you know how scary that sounds? Not that I didn't enjoy watching you pass out." She teased.
"Oh…well. Sorry…" Pin murmured, lowering her gaze sheepishly.
"Where's everybody else?" She added, changing the topic.
"They went out and got food. They won't be back for an hour." Leafy answered.
"Food? Oh yeah, the contest is today isn't it?" Pin muttered.
"You remembered?"
"Yeah. I mean, who doesn't remember a thing like that?" Pin replied.
"Exactly. Well, you better hurry up. There's no time to waste when fighting for such an awesome prize!"
"Right." Pin replied.
She slowly made her way across the room, taking slow steps, trying to ignore the throbbing in her head.
The competition must have taken place yesterday.
The last she knew, they had been training, and debating who should be selected to win the island.
That would explain why she passed out.
But what were they discussing?
Who'd decided who would win the Battle for Dream Island anyway?
Maybe they could still win.
In a sudden fit of confidence, Pin suddenly marched forwards and grabbed Leafy by the shoulders.
"Hey, wait up." She said, staring intently into her friend's eyes.
"We're going to win this, okay?"
A smile began to spread across Leafy's face. "Of course we are!"
Pin returned Leafy's smile. "Let's go get some food, then." She said confidently.
"Right!"
As they left the apartment, they walked through various hallways in search of their friends. Eventually, they ended up at the same table where they had eaten a few days ago.
"What's on your mind?" Leafy chimed in. "You seem distracted."
"Oh…um… I was just wondering…how can we get everyone to NOT vote us?"
"Who said anything about voting?" Leafy replied nonchalantly.
"We just wanna show everybody that we are willing to fight for the prize!" She continued.
"If that means being friends with someone who wants nothing to do with us, then that's fine. What about you? What did you want?" Leafy asked, turning to Pin.
"I want nothing to do with this stupid island."
"Oh my Yoylecake, Pin!" Leafy groaned in annoyance.
"Stop being so pessimistic! This is exciting! We don't even have to fight anyone!" She exclaimed. "Come on, cheer up a little!"
"It's pointless." Pin mumbled quietly.
"I'm tired of the fact that nobody likes me. I'm tired of being treated badly because of the things I can do, or the places I come from. Everything sucks here, alright?! I need something, any sort of change would help."
Pin bursted out sobbing. "I just…don't want people to hate me. I know it'll only hurt later."
Leafy reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look Pin, I know how you feel, believe me. But please try not to make such a big deal out of this. Please just…be yourself."
"But if I stay silent, who knows who those 'others', as you put it, are gonna pick next? Or who they'll hurt?"
Leafy shook her head, sighing. "Just forget what happened yesterday." She stated firmly.
"Everything's going to be alright. All you gotta do is keep your mouth shut. If anyone tries to say something, then just ignore them. Don't let them get under your skin, or you're not really gonna be able to concentrate on anything."
"Yeah, but-"
Before Pin could finish talking, Leafy cut her off with another question. "Are you ready?" She asked.
"Ready for what?"
"To show your talent. You need practice right? We should give you a shot, and show everybody how good you are!"
"I don't know…"
"I know! Come on, Pin!" Leafy insisted. "It's not everyday you get to see what other people can do."
"...Yeah, okay. Okay, I guess so."
