GUARDIANS

II. What's Worth

One day had passed since Faith's unexpected encounter with Wynter. She'd tried to put the whole thing behind her, but every time she remembered his sheepish confession and determination, she felt herself pulled back into the moment. Now, with her name already written beside his, there was little she could do but go along with it. She knew that if she and Wynter tried to tell Professor Phoenix—famous for his present called "possible outcomes"—that the partnership was a mistake, it would take months for him to sort out the team arrangements again. The school year couldn't start without the top 20 first-year teams in place.

It was lunch, and Faith sat alone at the far corner of the cafeteria. She poked her food idly, her mind still running through the events of yesterday. She hadn't even been at United Coudia Academy for more than forty-eight hours, and already, she felt tangled in a mess she never asked for—all because of Wynter.

And speak of the devil, Wynter slid into the seat across from her, his tray clattering on the table. Faith shot him a glare. "What do you want?"

Wynter sighed, barely fazed. "If we're going to work together—"

"I'm not 'working' with you. I'm just going with the flow," Faith interrupted, her tone curt.

"But we need to win."

"I'm sorry, which 'we' are you talking about?" She raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"Faith, please—"

"Oh, now you're saying 'please'?" she replied, crossing her arms, a small, sarcastic smile on her face.

Wynter took a deep breath, pushing through her resistance. "We need to make it to the Top 20."

Faith scoffed. "Maybe you need to."

"But I do need to," he said, his tone suddenly serious.

She looked away, her voice dropping to a softer tone. "Why are you so desperate to win anyway?" She fidgeted, struggling to admit what was bothering her. "It's not like I'm the second-strongest person in our batch or anything... not like I'm something special to Professor Luxe. Look, I'm just scared, okay? Scared we might lose because of me."

Wynter's expression softened, his initial confusion giving way to understanding. "Wait... you're not mad?"

Faith laughed bitterly. "Oh, I'm mad! But... also, I guess I'm not." She paused, then continued in a hesitant tone, almost embarrassed. "In a way, I was kind of... happy, too." She glanced away, her face warm with a blush. "No one asked me. I thought maybe I'd ask my roommate, but then I saw her with her partner, already planning for the tournament."

Wynter watched her, surprised. "But last night, you looked... well, you didn't look happy."

Faith shook her head, smiling slightly. "I didn't know how to react! I was happy on the inside, but there were also all those mistakes you made. I'm only going to say this once, Wynter—don't you dare pull anything like that again." She shot him a stern look.

He blinked, a small smile playing on his lips. "That's... a first."

Faith rolled her eyes. "Get used to it. I'm not as difficult as you might think."

Wynter chuckled. "Noted." He glanced around, noticing that most of the other students were sitting far away from them. He leaned in slightly, clearly wanting to ask something.

"What?" Faith asked, popping a piece of bread into her mouth.

He hesitated, then finally spoke. "When I touched your arm the other night... I couldn't nullify your present. We'll need to understand each other's strengths and weaknesses if we're going to make this work. So... what is your present?"