Chapter Four: Fears II
Mechanica stepped into class, her backpack suddenly weighing down on her shoulders. She paused, blinking. The hotel room was now her school? That was odd enough, but she definitely wasn't wearing her uniform when she was at the hotel... What happened to the Carrie Fernandez outfit?
"Outta the way, dork." Her stuck-up classmate, Greta, thumped past her as she came in from behind. Several of Greta's similarly snooty friends repeated the same thump.
"Miss Vergara-Ortiz, would you please seat yourself? Or do you intend to stand there all day?" Her maths teacher, Mrs. Chane, droned. Usually she was somewhat nicer than this...
Mechanica quickly walked over to her chair and sat down, setting her backpack below the table. Was this a dream...? Or had she time travelled or something?
"Today, students, is presentation day." Mrs. Chase spoke, standing from her desk to address the class. "I hope you all prepared adequately."
Wait, presentations? In maths class... ? What on earth where they supposed to present?
"Felicity." Her eyes met Mechanica's, her neck straightening a bit. "How about we start with you?"
The class turned to face her. "U-Uh... I'm sorry, I-I..." She bit her lip, a little uneasy being singled out like this. "I-I don't know if I... Have... My presentation..." She wasn't used to not having the homework finished, so replying in this way gave her a bit of a sickly feeling.
"Oh?" Mrs. Chase raised an eyebrow. "But you emailed me the presentation last night?"
"O-Oh?" Mechanica's eyes lit up. "I-I did? Oh, alright then...!" She got to her feet and quietly walked in front of the class. She may have had a presentation prepared, but she still didn't know what it was about or what the spoken segments would have to include. But hey, she knew all the material taught up until this point, so surely she could wing it based on what the slides said, right?
Mrs. Chase returned to her desk and opened the presentation on her computer screen. She flipped the projector on remotely and turned back to Mechanica. "Just say 'next slide' when you'd like me to go on. You can begin when you're ready."
She gave a nod to her teacher, then turned back to the class. She never much liked presenting to them - the spotlight being on her like this was a bit stressful, especially since a lot of the students seemed to have something against her. She could see Greta to the left of the classroom, a small smirk on her face like she was ready to start laughing at her. To the back were the cheerleaders, who thankfully didn't seem to pay much attention regardless, and in front of that were some of the boys and... Well, someone she had something of a crush on.
She shook her head, trying to remain calm. The thought briefly came back to her that she had just been in a creepy hotel with all her ARMS fighting buddies, but for some reason that didn't feel real anymore. Had she daydreamed that...?
She could see some of the students looking at her weirdly now. "O-Oh!" She said finally. "R-Right, sorry, yes... H-Haha..." She cleared her throat. "I-I'm Felicity, obviously, a-and this is my presentation... On..." She turned her head over her shoulder to read the introduction slide and her heart sunk deep in her chest.
My Drawings! by Felicity Vergara-Ortiz
The slide was blank aside from the title. She read it over multiple times. Drawings? But this was maths class! She didn't even take art, she knew she was no good at it.
"Next slide...?" Mrs. Chase raised an eyebrow to her.
Drawings of what...? She wondered. Maths things? "U-Uh, y-yes, okay, next slide..." Perhaps this next one would give her some clarity.
The class began to laugh in small spatters as a poorly drawn doodle of a cat appeared on the wall behind her. She recognised it as one she had drawn a few months ago, when she had rented a library book on drawing realistic sketches in the hopes of actually improving a bit. The cat's nose was overly long, its ears were sized poorly, and the body looked totally unshapely - it was a very bad drawing, so much so that she had given up on improving her drawing skills again that night after that one single picture.
She turned back to the class, who were all smiling at her, with some of them still chuckling. "I-I..." Her jaw wiggled up and down a bit as she wasn't sure what to even say.
"Present it, Felicity." Mrs. Chase sighed, drumming her fingertips on her desk.
Kid Cobra wobbled slightly as he had to stop himself abruptly from walking any further - ahead of him was a large drop. One that'd send him rolling for a while.
He looked around, his eyes squinting slightly from the number of lights pointed his way. He was... He was at a snakepark! In fact, he was atop one of the drops for the snakepark arena below. He could see for miles up here, and all that space was filled with...
He quickly struck a stylish pose, standing on his ARM with his legs splayed in the air. Cheers erupted from the immense crowd of fans all around him. What a turnout! He could never imagine a crowd this big!
Over on the building behind them was a large screen playing a looped clip of some sweet snakeboarding action. It seemed to be filler, just playing until things got properly started...
Above the screen bore a large banner, and Kid Cobra's eyes suddenly widened. "OHHH DIP!" He screeched - he was at the Snakeboarding World Championship!
His eyes drew to the platform he stood on. He wasn't just at the Snakeboarding World Championship, he was about to compete in it!
"LADIES AND GENETLEDUDESSSSS!" Came a sick voice from the speakers by the screen. The crowd erupted again. "I AM PUH-LEASED TO WELCOME YOU BACK, YES BACK! , TO THE SNAKEBOARDING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP F-F-F- FINALEEEEEEE! "
His grin grew larger. He wasn't just competing in the championship, he had made is to the finale?!
"ONE-ONE-ONCE AGAIN LET ME IH-IH-IH-INTRODUCE Y'ALL TO THE SNAKE WITH NO BREAKS, THE LIVIN' LEGEND HIMSELF, K-K-K-KIDDDD COBRAAAAA!"
He struck another pose as the fans screamed for him. He was here, about to compete in the championship finale, and the crowd loved him. Was this heaven?!
"AND NOW FOR HIS F-F-F-FEARLESS COMPETITORRRRR!"
Kid Cobra's smile faded as he looked up at the screen above him. His arch rival, the bane of his very existence, was now the one thing keeping him from victory... The Mongoose.
The Mongoose wasn't actually a mongoose, mind you. He was a snake just as he was, true and true. But there was something so awful about him. He brimmed with an unbridled confidence and glory, as if he had already been crowned world champion years ago. The fans adored him - more fans than Kid Cobra had ever had. No matter how high his stream counts got, The Mongoose already had him beat. He was invincible.
The Mongoose struck a pose much cooler than that Kid Cobra had performed, and the crowd cheered noticeably louder.
Fine. Kid Cobra glared. He wasn't about to let The Mongoose take this from him - he was here for victory! He had come this far, and he could make it to the top, Mongoose or not. He knew he could do it, provided he had his trusty-
His heart sunk. The snakeboard beside him was a Rattle Boa X9-50 , a 2016 board by Hotshot Hiss. It was touted as having the best spin-friction-debuff on the planet, but it was total garbage, yo. He dropped twenty-three-hundo on that trash and could barely stay aboard it. Total rip, man.
This wasn't his board. His board was a Venom Skin 60J Ultrawave 4 , issues in 2014 by Shed Station Slith. That board had done wonders for him - it had brought him from nine views up to nine-hundo sixty! Sometimes he wondered if he was riding the board, or if the board was another part of him. He named it Scorpz, man. He loved that board.
"THE M-M-M-MATCH WILL BEGIN SOOOOOOON!" The announcer bellowed again.
This was no good. This was no good at all! He couldn't win with his board. He needed his board, he needed-
A sharp pain shot through his heart as he saw his opponent from across the arena. The Mongoose... Had his board. And not just any Venom Skin 60J Ultrawave 4... He had Scorpz.
Kid Cobra gulped and the countdown began.
Mechanica did her best not to cry as her eyes began to water. The class was laughing at her again. She had attempted to tell them that she had tried to improve her skills and the cat was an admittedly bad start, b-but everyone has to take steps to i-improve, right?!
She wiped her nose with the back of her hand, her eyes looking to the blank wall. "N-Next slide..."
The projector's light cut off for a split second and then returned. More laughter from the class.
She turned slowly over her shoulder again. This one was a drawing of herself, but older and more... Cool. It was meant to be less 'realistic' than the cat, but it was still pretty bad - wobbly lines, mis-sized facial features, a complete misunderstanding of how to draw high heels... And some of its issues weren't even related to skill - it was embarrassing on its own that she had given herself such a big chest.
The laughter spread in waves around the class, and even the cheerleaders seemed to be laughing at her. Her crush in particular seemed to be cringing.
"N-Next s-slide..." Mechanica stammered, her face drenched with peril.
"You have to present it, Felicity." Mrs. Chase replied sternly. "You know I don't like when students leave everything up to the slide." She didn't actually know this, admittedly, as they had never had presentations in maths class before.
Mechanica's lips wobbled. "I-It's a... A ch-character I drew to-"
" No, Felicity. " Mrs. Chase interrupted, sternly again. "I want you to tell the truth. "
What kind of a situation was this? An act of torture? "I-It's..." She gulped. "I-It's what I thought I-I could m-maybe looks like... I-In a few... Y-Years, ma-maybe..."
Greta snorted loudly, her hand struck out in front of her, pointing to the drawing. " Look! " She wailed. " She even has ARMS! " The classroom erupted in laughter again. Even Mrs. Chase seemed to get a few giggles in.
" N-Next sl-slide... " Mechanica stammered quickly, a tear rolling down her face.
"Ooooooo!~" A few students wailed at the sight of the next drawing.
She didn't want to turn around. She really didn't want to turn around. She gave a quick look to Mrs. Chase, hoping desperately that her clear look of embarrassment and sorrow might convince her to stop here, but Mrs. Chase just continued to drum her fingers impatiently.
Mechanica turned around, only to be met with a familiar drawing of Ribbon Girl. It was a drawing that Mechanica honestly spent a good long while on - she had coloured it, even! - but she knew it wasn't anywhere good enough to ever show to Ribbon Girl. It was embarrassingly bad, just as all the others had been.
"Th-This..." She tried, tears really beginning to pour down her face now. "Th-This is m-my..."
"It's your girlfriendddddd!" Came from beside Greta, causing that whole friend group - and many other classmates - to begin laughing again.
Mechanica had never spoken about her ARMS fighting career to her classmates, preferring to keep her life as Felicity separate from it. As far as anyone here was concerned, Mechanica and Felicity were entirely different people - and somehow no one had yet noticed the similarity between the two.
She had, however, briefly mentioned here-and-there that she had met the various ARMS fighters before, including Ribbon Girl, who was obviously her favorite - that much could be assumed easily enough from her Ribbon GIrl pencil case, among other things. No one believed her, but her insistence that she had met them all seemed to spur into a joke for many of them. She had never insinuated that she and Ribbon Girl were dating, of course. She would never have said something like that. But it seemed to be a thing she often was accused of having said.
" Felicity. " Mrs. Chase pushed, impatiently.
She looked to the floor, shaking, as little tear droplets splattered down below her. "Th-This is Ri-Ribbon Girl... M-My favourite ARMS f-fighter..." She bit her lip, pushing back the urge to start sobbing wildly. " N-Next slide... " She wanted that drawing off the screen immediately.
"You haven't told us why you drew it, yet." Mrs. Chase insisted.
"I-I drew it b-because I th-thought she m-might l-like it..." She sniffled. " Next slide, p-please... "
"Well let's not be so quick to rush." Mrs. Chase shrugged. "Does anyone in the class have a comment on Felicity's work?"
"It's awful! " One of the boys shouted, resulting in a burst of laughter around the room. Mechanica continued to stare at the floor, wanting to be anywhere but where she was right now.
"Why's her nose so big?" One of the girls called out. "You shouldn't have made her so ugly!"
" Y'know what? " Came a more mature, yet strikingly beautiful, voice from the corner of the room. The students all fell silent suddenly, as if caught off guard. " I think it's sweet. "
Mechanica looked up slowly. Everyone had turned to look at the student who had raised her voice, and finally Mechanica saw her - it was Twintelle, sitting over in the corner with the other cheerleaders. Though, despite having worn a cheerleading outfit to the party, she was dressed in the same Lakeside North High uniform as everyone else, if a little more adult-proportioned.
"I don't think it's great, sure, but it's a fan drawing." She shrugged, her legs crossed over her school desk. "I think it's sweet when a fan takes the time to draw someone they admire. And I think the subjective quality of that drawing doesn't matter nearly as much as the adoration behind it."
The room remained silent as they continued to stare at her, unsure of how to react. Mechanica herself was frozen in shock, tears halfway down her face, but no longer pouring from her eyes.
Twintelle slowly and gracefully got to her feet. "I know what it's like to receive fan art, including fan art that others may poke fun at. And I'd be plenty touched to receive something like what Mechanica has drawn." She quietly made her way to the tear-struck girl at the front of the class. "I think we're done here. Agreed?"
Mechanica brought her jaw up from where it had been hanging, sniffled quietly, and nodded.
Twintelle opened the classroom door, waited for Mechanica to pass through it, and then followed behind her.
Kid Cobra sat on the edge of the area and sighed deeply. The whole stadium, which had been packed not too long ago, was now entirely empty. The Mongoose had easily thrashed him, and all his adoring fans had turned on him in that moment like it was nothing.
He withdrew his phone and checked his subscriber count... Four. Only four people still stood by him now. And they were probably just twitch bots, too.
He let out another long sigh, tears slowly dropping from his mask. He really blew it, huh? A taste of greatness and then... Shot right down. No fans... No Scorpz... No pride.
Spring Man quietly walked up beside him and sat down too. "...You okay, buddy?" He looked up at the screen above them, which was now off. "I was in the crowd. Looked rough ..."
"Yeah, dawg..." Kid Cobra nodded. "Was real rough." He wiped his eyes with some of the toilet paper he was still wrapped in.
Spring Man bit his lip, quietly thankful he didn't have his fake vampire teeth in still, and looked around the abandoned stadium. "W-Well..." He wasn't really sure what to say. "A-At least you've still got ARMS fighting, yeah?"
"Heh." Kid Cobra laughed slightly. "Yeah, guess so..."
"And, y'know, it's not all lost." He motioned an ARM around the snakepark. "All this, I mean. You rose from the bottom once, you can do it again. Yeah?"
Kid Cobra nodded. "That's smart stuff, dude. You're a real bro."
Spring Man smiled, patting him on the back. "Also, I mean... I'm pretty sure this is all just a nightmare or something?" He shrugged. "I mean, I was just at the Halloween party, and a big evil spirit thing appeared so..."
"Oh, yeah dawg, that happened to me too. We came lookin' for ya." Kid Cobra mumbled. "S'probably all a dream, yeah. But man, I almost had it..." He sighed again.
"You'll get 'em for real." Spring Man nodded.
"Yeah." He looked wistfully into the distance for a moment, before slowly getting to his feet. "So y'know the way out of this place or?"
"I'm feelin' kinda drawn to that gate, there." Spring Man pointed, after getting up himself.
Kid Cobra offered him a column fist-bump, which he returned similarly, and the two headed off through the gate.