Entertain Us

"Destiny".

Time froze. Isabella froze. Was she hearing things? She had to have been. Alexander told her he would pick her. Maybe she imagined it. There's no way Alexander would lie to her. Alexander wouldn't lie for no reason.

"Destiny, please come to the stage", Mr Donald announced.

She didn't imagine it. Alexander really said Destiny's name.

"Destiny…".

Destiny's name echoed in Isabella's head. Why was her name called out? Why was she picked? Her face was frozen in place, with her mouth a little open. The girls around turned to her, shocked.

"I thought you said he was going to choose you?" Eve asked.

Isabella didn't respond.

"Why did he pick Destiny?" Anya asked.

Isabella didn't respond.

"Did he lie to you?" Ashley asked.

Isabella didn't respond.

Destiny heard the questions behind her. She smirked before she stood up from her seat. She stretched her arms and glanced behind her.

"Don't worry, girls. I'll bring home the win for the class", Destiny said. "Oh, and I know all of you talk behind my back in that little group chat you have. I don't mind, but if you want to add me to it. You know my number", she said, winking and blowing a kiss to them before making her way to the stage.

The girls all gave her dirty looks as she walked away. She made enemies with all of them. Which is a questionable move to make, but only she knew what she had planned.

"Isabella, Alexander might've changed his decision at the last minute", Bri said from the row behind. "It took him a while to pick. Maybe he was analysing the situation and deciding who would better match up to the people already on stage. We all know Destiny is kinda wild. Maybe he thought she was better suited". Bri tried to explain what she thought Alexander was thinking. She saw Isabella out of it and wanted to ease her mind a bit.

"Y-yeah", Isabella replied, still lost in thought. To be honest, Isabella didn't process a word Bri told her. In her mind, all she could think about was that her chance was taken from her. Her chance to prove herself was snatched away by her. By Destiny.

"They've got it all wrong", Frank thought, seeing their discussion.

Frank was listening to their conversations and heard Bri's explanation.

"He wasn't analysing anything. Alexander hesitated", he thought.

Frank looked up on stage and saw Alexander and Destiny standing together, side by side. Alexander had his usual unbothered expression, but Frank could tell Alexander wasn't unbothered. Frank has known Alexander for a long time, so he can read Alexander's body language very well. A lot of people can't, even some of Alexander's family can't, because his expressions and body language are all very similar. Alexander nearly never shows signs or expressions of weakness, but when he does, only a select few can tell.

"They thought he was analysing. They were wrong. Alexander wouldn't analyse on the spot like that. He's too arrogant to do that. He's confident in his own ability. He wouldn't need to analyse who to pick to help him. He would complete the challenge on his own if he could. Plus, he doesn't care enough about people to analyse their strengths and weaknesses. It's not clear to anyone but me. He clearly hesitated and changed his mind at the last second. I'm sure he regrets picking Destiny. His eyes are looking down. He definitely regrets it. He never looks down at the floor. He should've stuck with Isabella. I don't know what Destiny did. Maybe she mouthed something to him. Only Alexander knows. That was the first time I'd seen him hesitate in a long time, and it was over choosing someone. Pfft, the people at this academy are something else".

"Can you pick a female classmate to join you?" Mr Donald asked Ryan.
Ryan looked towards the girls in his class. They were all seated near each other, so getting a view of them was easy enough. His eyes landed on who he was going to choose. He already knew who he was going to pick before Mr Donald asked him, and most of the girls had an idea of who he was going to choose.

"Akari".

If you were in 1-B, it was obvious who would be chosen. Akari was a significant figure in the class. Class 1-A picked Alexander and Isabella as their class leaders. If class 1-B had to pick leaders, it would be Ryan and Akari.

Akari stood up from her chair and shyly smiled at everyone she faced. Everyone smiled back, showing they were happy with her being chosen. She made it to the aisle and walked down it to the stage. She kept her head down because she wouldn't know where to look if she looked up. All the eyes on her made her nervous. Akari made it to the stage and stood beside Ryan. That was the duo for class 1-B. Two strong duos were on the stage. It was looking scary for the other classes, and it was going to get a whole lot scarier.

"Can you pick a female classmate to join you?" Mr Donald asked Malakai.
Malakai grinned. Teeth showing. The majority of students in the hall were expecting to hear one name. It would be a shock if he didn't choose her. Whispers of the name were floating around. Everyone knew it was coming. Even the girl who he was going to pick knew it was coming. She didn't want to be chosen, but it was inevitable. Who else was he going to choose?

"Delilah Ana Borges".

"Why did that idiot say my full name?"

Delilah took a deep breath and exhaled before she stood up.

"Good luck", Tanisha told her as she shuffled past her to get to the aisle.

"Thanks", Delilah replied unenthusiatically. It was clear she wasn't too excited about being chosen.

Maria watched as Delilah made her way to the aisle. She wished that was her. Why wasn't that her? What does Delilah have that she doesn't? She felt like she'd done a lot in the previous challenges. She found the key in the second challenge and the third challenge. Both times she helped her team massively. She helped herself and other people get a lot of points. So, why wasn't she picked? Maria wasn't looking at Delilah with envy. She was happy for her, of course. She just questioned what the factor was that separated the two of them. Was it a matter of attributes and ability or chemistry with Malakai? Whatever it was, Maria realised she had to do better. Even though she felt like she was doing her best, it still wasn't enough to get chosen. Next time, she wanted to be the one up on stage.

Delilah walked down the aisle, staring at Malakai the whole time. She stared at him with a straight face, which made her look like she was pissed at him. She got up on stage and stood next to Malakai.

"Why did you say my full name?" she whispered, lightly elbowing the side of his stomach.

"I'm letting everyone here know who you are", Malakai replied, smiling.

"I'd rather not have everyone know me", Delilah said, glancing around the crowd.

"I meeaannn, it's too late for that now. After this, everyone will know who you are".

Delilah shook her head, looked down and smirked. There was nothing she could do now. She stood up on the stage for everyone to see.

"I'm confident we'll win this", Lucas said with his arms folded.

"Out of the three duos on stage, they are the coldest", Benjamin said, sitting comfortably.

"I think everyone is thinking the same thing", David replied, looking at the faces of people from different classes. "They all look worried".

The boys took a look around and David wasn't lying. Worried looks were on the faces of all the classes, even 1-A. Even though Delilah didn't want to be known, she was known by most people. But as Malakai said, after this challenge, she would be known by everyone. All 150 first-year students.

"Can you pick a female classmate?" Mr Donald asked Dillon.
"He has to pick you", Kayla said to Sabrina.

"I don't think he will", Sabrina replied, relaxed in her seat with her legs crossed and looking at Dillon.

"Why?" Kayla asked, concerned. Out of all the things to hear, she didn't want to hear that.

"I got into a little argument with him a few days ago. I don't think he likes me very much", Sabrina replied, lightly smiling.

"Don't be silly. Who else is he going to pick?"

"Kayla".

She heard her name called out. But who called it? She looked at everyone around her, and everyone around her was looking at her. She was confused.

"He chose you", Sabrina told her.

"Huh?"

"Can Kayla come up on stage, please?" Mr Donald said.

"Huh?!" Kayla looked at Dillon on stage, and he was looking at her straight-faced. Kayla was a mixed-race girl with light brown curly hair that reached her shoulders and a lip piercing on her bottom lip. A vertical labret piercing.

She furiously stood up.

"Why did you pick me!" Kayla fiercely told Dillon. "Pick Sabrina! She's the only girl that can go against those girls!" she said, pointing at the girls on stage.

"He has picked you. Can you please come up on stage?" Mr Donald repeated.

"No, I don't want to be chosen", Kayla sassily replied, standing her ground. "I want Sabrina to go up on stage".

"Yeah, she's right. We want Sabrina to be chosen".

"Sabrina should go up on stage".

"We all choose Sabrina".

Some of the other girls were also starting to voice their opinions. Seeing Kayla stand up for herself gave them confidence. They wanted Sabrina to represent them, and they were going to force that to happen if they needed to.

"Dillon, choose Sabrina, your class wants her", Malakai said to Dillon.

Dillon ignored him. The students in the crowd started whispering to each other. It was awkward. Some were talking about Dillon, and others were talking about Kayla. This mini-protest caused some of the boys in 1-D to sink into their seats. They didn't like the attention this was bringing.

Mr Donald tutted. It was getting out of control.

"Kayla, you have been chosen. Unfortunately, you or your classmates do not have a say", Mr Donald said.

"But-"

"If you continue to refuse to come up here, I will have to disqualify your class from this challenge".

Heads turned. Eyes opened. Mouths gaped.

Disqualification? Mr Donald was serious, and he didn't look like he was joking. Disqualification was a harsh punishment. Could he really do that? There was only one way to find out, but did they want to find out?

Kayla froze in place. She knew she had to go, but she didn't want to. The whole class was going to rely on her. How did it come to this? Why was she chosen?

"Kayla, go", Sabrina said, smiling at her. "You'll be fine. We'll all be supporting you". She reassured her by taking her hand and squeezing it.

Kayla saw Sabrina's smile and surrendered. She weakly smiled back and started walking. Not because she wanted to but because she had to.

"Dillon, man. Why didn't you pick Sabrina?" Malakai annoyingly asked. "She's in the top ten. She's good. You should've listened to your class. All of them want her on stage".

"Shut the fuck up", Dillon shut him down and gave him a death stare.

"Hehehe", Malakai giggled. He turned to Delilah. "Is she good? I was just chatting shit. I don't know her", he asked her.

"Yeah, she's good. Really good", Delilah replied, looking towards Sabrina. "She's too good for 1-D".

Kayla stood next to Dillon, leaving the last class to choose.

"Can you pick a female classmate?" Mr Donald asked Justin.

"Nada".

It looked like Justin had made up his mind a long time ago. Nada wasn't the most popular girl in her class, but her popularity has been on the rise. Initially, she was seen as 'the weird girl' because of her pink hair, so the class overlooked her. However, her rank for someone in 1-E is high. Right now, she's in the top twenty with around 3200 points. Nada has had a lot of help to get there, but it's still impressive. Her name would've been on the leaderboard if she had done better in the first and third challenges. Because of that, she's been recognised in her class much more, and they also know about her friendship with Malakai. She's gained a lot of respect from her classmates.

When Mr Donald told them they had to pick a female classmate, the first name that popped into Justin's head was Nada. He was unsure about choosing her at first, but remembering Malakai say Nada should've represented the class instead of him removed his doubt.

None of the girls in 1-E complained. They were more than happy with Nada going up. All of them wished her good luck before she left. Nada proudly left her seat and walked to the stage confidently.

The higher classes didn't know of Nada. Many of them had obviously seen her because she was the only one with pink hair in the year group. However, they have yet to see what she can do.

Nada stood next to Justin, completing the duos. Five duos stood on stage, each representing a class. Some classes were happier than others, but even though some classes were less confident, the challenge wasn't entirely reliant on the people on stage. They, too, would have a role to play, which they will see tomorrow when the challenge happens.

"These students will represent you tomorrow for your challenge", Mr Donald said. "Can I get a round of applause for these students, please?".

Applauds. Everyone applauded, even if they didn't want to. While they clapped,

"Why did you pick me?" Delilah whispered.

"What do you mean? Malakai replied, looking at her like she was asking a stupid question. "Who else was I going to pick?"

"Maria. She's got a higher rank than me", Delilah said, discretely so people in the crowd couldn't tell what she was saying.

"Maria?" Malakai replied, covering his mouth. "You think Maria could go up against Destiny. No chance, Destiny would eat her alive".

"You think I can go up against her?" Delilah asked, now also shielding her mouth.

"Yeah", Malakai shrugged with confidence. "I feel like Maria would be scared of her".

"I'm scared of her", Delilah said, exaggerating. She wasn't scared. A better word would be intimidated.

"Stop lying, you ain't scared", Malakai saw through her lie. "I mean, you don't look scared", he said, joking about her scary expression.

Delilah stared at him straight-faced, already tired of the facial expression jokes.

The crowd had stopped applauding moments ago, and now Mr Donald was talking to the crowd about the previous weeks and how he was proud of everyone. The majority of the crowd wasn't listening to him. Some of them were looking at the duos on stage. Specifically, the two whispering to each other.

"Why did you pick me?"

"Bro, stop asking that", Malakai said.

"No, because you should've picked someone else. I don't want the whole class relying on me. If I do bad, they're gonna hate me. Everyone's gonna hate me", Delilah replied.

"You ain't gonna do bad. We're gonna win", Malakai reassured her. Those words meant nothing, as he didn't know what the challenge was. He just said it to calm her down.

"But what happens if I mess up and bring the class down?" Delilah asked.

Malakai thought for a moment. "Being hated by everyone isn't too bad", he joked.

"Malakai!" Delilah lightly punched his arm.

"I wonder if he'll be alright", Frank thought, looking at Alexander. "If it's a challenge where they have to work together, I'm worried for them". Frank watched Malakai and Delilah quietly talking to each other on stage. "Those two together look strong. I hope the challenge tomorrow doesn't involve that much teamwork".
Everyone else was getting a similar idea, seeing Malakai and Delilah smiling and joking around with each other on stage. The rumour about them dating was still going around, and seeing this made it stronger. The strength of their chemistry was visible. The other duos on stage looked like classmates, while those two looked like great friends. Which was scary for everyone else if the challenge involved teamwork.

Maria saw those two on stage, and her question from earlier was answered. It was definitely a matter of chemistry. She had to get closer to Malakai to be the one to stand next to him. However, she didn't want only to stand next to him. She wanted to help him and have him rely on her sometimes. Maria had to better herself. She had to try harder.

"This challenge is going to be interesting", Ryan thought, side-eyeing Malakai and Delilah. "Not only am I going up against those two. I'm going up against these two", he switched to side-eying Alexander and Destiny. "I've heard things about Destiny, but I haven't had the chance to talk to her. I guess I'm going up against her before I get to know her".
"This time, you're losing your number one spot", Destiny thought, looking at Malakai. Unlike Ryan, who was secretly looking at everyone, Destiny was blatantly looking at others. "Delilah, hmpf. You're not as scary as you look. I'll show everyone".
Mr Donald's speech was coming to an end. Many of the students had turned off their brains for it. They couldn't be bothered to hear it.

"Tomorrow will be the last challenge of this semester. You will all get an email about the timings and what will happen. That is all I've got to say. I'll see you all tomorrow", Mr Donald said.

"But, before you all leave, could I get one last round of applause for these students on stage".

Tomorrow, the last challenge of the first semester begins.