Team Catradora

22-Competition

"Sorry Adora," Lori said, her voice monotone, "your pass has expired."

"It has?" Adora frowned, staring at her card's expiry date. She hadn't even realized it was needing a renewal, between all the drama at home and her schoolwork. A new pass would cost about 45 dollars, but she didn't have enough.

Adora handed Lori her debit card. "Just a single for today, then."

Glimmer pulled out her wallet. "I can pay for your pass."

"I'm okay." Adora tried not to look guilty, though she never had a solid poker-face. Everyone was paying for themselves, so Adora wanted to do the same. "It's incentive to get a job."

"That's fair." Scorpia nodded, looping her arm around her girlfriend's. "But don't get one at the Hoard. They're terrible to their staff." She pointed her thumb towards her chest, grinning. "Why do you think I quit?"

"Yeah, yeah. You're the smart one and us Hoard employees all know it." Catra wrinkled her nose. "Believe me, I'd quit if I found somewhere with better tips."

Adora was done paying, so Scorpia took her place, paying for both her and Perfuma.

Shit, Adora guessed she could have let Glimmer pay after all. But what she said was still relevant: she'd need a job soon, to help pay for all her trips to the mall. And getting money from her sister would only delay the inevitable.

"So are you saving up for something?" Glimmer asked, typing on her phone. "Is that why you need big tips?"

"That and minimum wage isn't enough to live on." Her voice monotoned for a minute. Catra handed some cash to Lori. "I definitely couldn't go out to laser tag and dinner without it."

"Fair enough." Glimmer frowned. "I make my money influencing. Maybe if you started a gaming channel, or something..."

"That sounds like a lot of work." Catra wrinkled her nose. "On top of working full time."

Lori nodded towards the back, and they started putting on their equipment. There were a few kids going to join them about five of them and two parents who assisted with putting on their kids vests. They wore one, too, so Adora guessed they would be easy targets compared to Catra.

The doors opened, and Adora was the last to enter. She figured she may as well challenge herself since there were so many players. A few of them were strangers, she remembered. She recognized Lonnie from school, and obviously she knew who Scorpia was, but she didn't know Perfuma, Kyle, and Rogelio. That was a lot of people who's laser tag strategies she didn't know.

But still, she had to watch out for Catra. Maybe she'd want to fight; maybe she'd want to ignore Adora through the game. Either way, she had to be ready for whatever Catra threw at her, and be willing to go with the flow.

By the time she entered the maze, Catra was gone.

Music drowned out Adora's senses. There was so much running and screaming. It took her way too long to realize where anybody had went. Everywhere she walked, there was sound. With so many people, Adora should have guessed this would happen.

She'd be lucky if she ran into Catra this time, with so many people they both could target instead.

Even with all the noise, something about the atmosphere was calming. This was where she could relax and focus on the mission.

And that was to destroy her friend's laser tag scores.

Okay, Adora. Just think. Don't focus on the Billie Eilish song. Where was the yelling the loudest? Adora looked over the maze, trying to get a glimpse of anybody running.