Mr. Matura patiently waits until his students were in their respective seats, faces the orange teen and discloses to her, "You have a special job for this event. For now, I need you to pass out the headbands and the small earpieces to everyone."
'I wonder what Mr. Matura has in mind?' A curious Blossom ruminates as she accepts the small box from her teacher.
"Now the war meeting commences," He solemnly utters to no one in particular when he redirects his focus on to his students.
"The two groups that I have labeled as D's you are the decoys and the P's are the pursuits." Mr. Matura says as he points to each side of the room.
Their teacher raises a finger at the group when he adds, "Before any of you question me about my methods, let me at least explain my reasoning behind it."
"With every plan there has to be some form of distraction and decoys that is your job. People will assume that by your quiet and meek mannerisms that you wouldn't dare to harm even a fly."
"That's when you act like the Venus flytrap, capture them, and eliminate them!"
"Is it me or does Mr. Matura tend to get a bit carried away in his war meeting?" Buttercup whispers to her sister once she accepts the orange headband and earpiece from her.
Blossom briefly pauses to the side of her raven haired sister as she digs inside of the box for more headbands and earpieces.
"I think he's channeling his inner spirit as a Japanese shogun." Blossom rationalizes before she continues to hand out the objects.
"Well whatever it is, it seems as if he's pretty confident about his plan of execution." Buttercup conveys her beliefs about their homeroom teacher's strategy.
"For those who were assigned with a P, you are known as the pursuit group. Your task is simple: hit 'em hard and hit 'em fast. You will be the ones using the decoys to your advantage in order to eliminate the opposition." Mr. Matura discloses the job for those with a "P".
"Once you collected the other teams' headband try not to linger too long in one spot. Not only does the rider have a job, but the horse has an important role too. The horse will have to constantly move around to avoid danger." He advises that particular group.
"Now, Ms. Blossom, what are your thoughts?" Her teacher curiously requests to the orange haired girl while she distributes the rest of the headbands and earpieces out to her peers.
"It's a rather simple plan." She honestly admits before she adds, "It can be effective if the corral and corner technique is your claim to fame but don't you think that the weaker teams would use the exact same method?"
"Ah...now that you mention it, you're right!" He decrees after he slams his fist against his open palm when he poses, "So what do you suggest then?"
"We can assume that the weaker teams will band together in a group effort to take down the strongest groups and utilize their resources to tackle weaker opponents. If that's the case then we should attack in a similar fashion." The teen predicts after she briefly halts in the middle of her task.
"Do you need the whiteboard?" Mr. Matura inquires to her before he claims, "We have the entire morning to plan this entire thing out."
Blossom speedily finishes up with the last of the items, advances toward the whiteboard, and deposits the box on to the surface of the desk.
She then retrieves the black eraser, erases the board, returns the eraser, scoops up the marker, and proceeds to draw out her plans.
"Look at her go…" A random student was expressing their awe as the young woman was utilizing her special talents in order to compose a winning strategy for their homeroom.
She mentally visualizes each and every last probable outcomes as she aligns the group in a random order. Blossom then steps back from the board and nods her head once she selects the best tactic.
"Listen up everyone…this is very important to hear in order for us to secure victory." She proclaims as she slaps the palm of her hands against the board.
The teenage girl temporarily halts in the middle of her speech until she acquires her classmate's focus, "Good…this is what we're going do."
4444
"Ms. Shaw…I mean Serena, I'm glad that you could make it today." Principal Zeal cordially welcomes Serena with a firm handshake.
"I wouldn't have missed the last day of such an exciting week." She excitingly replied before she was shown to a seat.
'Is that really Professor Utonium and…General Malone?' The orange haired woman wonders once she spots the two familiar faces amongst the crowd.
"Alright everyone, may I have your attention please," Principal Zeal speaks up from in front of the crowd. "Today is the last day of our annual Sports Festival, which leads up to our traditional Chariot Race."
'Did he just say Chariot Races? I wonder if it's similar to the Olympics in Ancient Greece with real horses and chariots.' Serena inwardly ponders as she daydreams of students in actual chariots.
"As you all may or may not know there are two basic rules to determine whether or not if the person is out."
"The first is if their feet or any other body part touches the ground then they are deem as out. The second is if their respective headbands is removed from their head and visibly seen in the other person's hand." He breaks down the flow of the event.
"Only one knot is permitted so that their headbands have enough length in order for the opponent to easily secure the item."
"Also each team was distributed a tiny earpiece that will allow them to communicate with each other."
"If a homeroom attempts to hack another class's frequency then their homeroom is immediately disqualified from the event. Likewise, if someone acquires another homeroom's communication link then they are disqualified also." Principal Zeal wraps up the spiel about the Chariot Race.
'Finally an event I can use with technology…' She happily thinks to herself while she eagerly claps her hands together.
"So we will need Field Referees as well as Radio Monitors to make sure interference is greatly reduced." He mentions the two volunteer positions available for the event.
"Professor Utonium?" The young woman shockingly greets the Professor once she was able to get a closer view of him, who in turn responses with, "Serena?"
"So what are you signing up for?" She curiously poses to him while she shifts in her seat.
"Oh no…I'm helping out with the Infirmary today." He fretfulky claims as he raises his hands with his palms toward her.
"It seems as if Principal Zeal likes for the parents and guardians to be actively involved with Pokey Oaks High." The solider genuinely comments as their sights observe the purple haired principal maneuvers throughout the crowd.
"You can say that again." He mutters to himself before he asks, "Are you planning to be a Radio Monitor?"
"Yes. It'll give me a chance to show off my knowledge of technology." The orange haired woman asserts with a happy grin present on her face.
Professor Utonium peers over his shoulder and spots the school's nurse, who signals for him. He then voices, "It appears as if I'm needed to prep some of the beds just in case."
"Okay then, see you later Professor." She says while she waves the Professor off right before Alma finally draws near her.
"I'm quite surprised that you know the Professor. He rarely emerges from his lab unless willingly." He astonishingly affirms once he stands off to her left.
"He's similar to a hermit except he doesn't change his shell once it becomes too small." Serena was rationalizing while watching the Professor Utonium's retreating back.
"An excellent comparison if I do say so myself." Alma agrees with the idea since he has a similar thought about him.
"Thanks. Anyway, I need to sign my name before all of the slots are filled." She claims as she heads to the section with the Radio Referees.
4444
"So do you all understand the plan?" Blossom enquiringly needles to her classmates once she removes the tip of the yardstick from against the board.
Her pink eyes closely scan the facial expressions of her audience as unreadable mask materialize on their faces while they remain totally mute.
"Well then?" The teen asks before she remarks, "If I don't have any feedback from you all then I won't know if you guys understand or not."
"We're fine Blossom!" Buttercup eventually shouts at her sister with a smirk on her face since she was the first to break the silence in the classroom.
"Its just that your plan is…" Boomer mutters when Bubbles happily exclaims "Brilliant" with a dramatic show of her hands.
"You've assumed majority of the possible maneuvers and created a strong counterstance for each attack. Impressive." Brick was complimenting her after fully processing each and every tactics that will is being utilize in the strategy.
An earnest smile stretches across her face as she humbly accepts her classmates' genuine cheers and compliments for her plans.
"Excuse me, Mr. Matura," Midori suddenly speaks up once she raises her hand in the air and waits until he acknowledges her, "Yes, what is it Midori?"
"What time are we supposed to have our Chariot Race today?" She curiously posed since the class only knew they had the morning time to develop their plan for the event.
"At the teachers' meeting yesterday, grade level representatives spun for what time and location of our Chariot race. The Sophomores managed to obtain the afternoon time slot and the soccer field as our area of play." He disclosed what occurred at the faculty and staff meeting the other day.
"Oh I see,"
"I'm more then confident that Blossom's plan will not fail us." Mr. Matura conveys his assurance in Blossom's ability to develop an efficient plot that will guarantee their victory later on.
"Thank you, Mr. Matura," She politely thanks her homeroom teacher for his compliment about her plan.
"It finally looks like Blossom got a dose of energy injected in her." Butch abruptly jaws while he leans his chair back on its hind legs.
Brick simply nods his head in agreement before he relates to his brother, "I'm happy to see her so active instead of being a dead vegetable all the time."
Mr. Matura clears his throat and announces, "Your attention please…"
"Oh great...here comes his moment of truth speech," Buttercup quips as she places the side of her face against the palm of her right hand with a roll of her eyes.
"We started this Sports Festival with words of hate displayed right here on this very board. It was your decision on whether or not we allowed it to remain."
"You've accepted their challenge when you decided to leave it there and used it as words of encouragement."
"Throughout this week, we have blazed a path of determination and resilience that has left the other teams behind in our wake. I know that the first place trophy is ours so let's battle hard and smart!" He passionately spiels to his class as he pats the board during his speech.
"Attention all sophomores…please make your way to the soccer field immediately." The secretary's voice booms over the intercom before she repeats the broadcast again.
Mr. Matura's class knew that it was the signal for them to leave for competition. The girls instantly wrapped the orange headbands around their forehead, tied the ends behind their heads and let the two long orange strands drapped over their shoulders.
An idea surfaces to the forefront of his mind when he suggests to his class, "I want you guys to line up in a random order so no one will be able to guess who's your horse and rider."
"How about the guys go first?" Blossom offers another tactic to deceive the other classes, "They're the first ones to line up since they are the horse. The riders simply stand at their marks until they are called to mount them."
"Well you heard the woman! Hop to it!" Mr. Matura orders his students since they slightly hesitate to move after Blossom's advice.
4444
Serena and the other radio monitors automatically tune their radios to their next respective frequencies, which were written on the last blank side of their index card.
"So the Sophomores are the last group for today?" She curiously posed to her neighbor that was position on her right hand side.
The man was silently nodding his head as confirmation since he was in the middle of drinking a bottle of water.
"Serena," A familiar masculine voice addresses her by her name when he mentions, "I didn't know you were assisting with the Sports Festival."
"I do have to take care of my legal responsibilities first. Plus, it allows me to meet new people who live in this community." Serena explains the reason why she actively volunteers at the school.
General Malone clears his throat and thanks her, "I just wanted to extend you a much deserved thank you for being able to bring Bell in for her monthly check-ups."
"It's no problem at all, sir." She states with a small wave of her hand in front of her face when she hears her superior officer says, "Good then…see you later, Special Officer Shaw."
Before she could even mentally process General Malone's disposition toward his daughter, the sight of teenagers emerge from the school's building instantly captures her focus.
They all seem to convene around the field referees in order to complete their inspections.
'I see Bell…there's Brick, Boomer, and Butch. Ah hah! There's my favorite group of girls!' Serena eventually spots the familiar faces that stand out to her in the crowd of students.
"Good afternoon second years, and welcome to the last event of the week for Sports Festival."
"As you all know Sports Fest, is a break from those important tests you took some days ago. Also, today we have one of the oldest tradition that dates back to the very first annual Sports Festival and that is the...Chariot race."
"There are a couple of rules for this event to keep in mind while you play: 1) this is purely fun, practically safe, and a friendly game 2) keep it clean 3) teams are eliminated by removal of their riders' headbands or if they touch the ground with their feet 4) hacking or acquiring another team's frequency results in automatic disqualification."
"Now…riders take your marks and mount your horse." Principal Zeal orders the students after he receives the go ahead signal from the field referees.
4444
Author's Note:
04.04.17 Major editing revisions