High-rankers, assemble! Wellcome to The Wellston Games

Chapter 2

A few hours later, the players of the first game were called for a meeting. Arlo and Remi waited for them in an empty classroom, and Remi wasn't really shocked to see that they were already bickering when they arrived. Cecile and Isen's sudden rivalry was the most unsettling part of the competition so far. Remi didn't even know when this weird dynamic between them started. As far as she knew, Isen actually respected Cecile and was even afraid of her due to her High-Tier status. But right now, he wasn't acting like he was scared of her at all. If anything, they were at each other's throats and her best friend looked like he was enjoying every second of it.

During the meeting, the players were told the rules that the captains set for their game. The topic was up to them, only the number of likes would be considered, and they'd have two days to write their articles. When both players agreed to the rules, the meeting was dismissed, and the girls were free to reunite with their teammates to discuss the negotiation with Arlo.

Remi tried not to think about how awkward she felt as her and Cecile headed towards her room. On their way, not a word was spoken. Not like Remi was expecting something else. She knew that Cecile didn't like her, and she wasn't her favorite person in the world either. While she didn't hate the idea of them improving their relationship, she was aware of the fact that the only reason why Cecile was walking beside her right now was because she wanted to defeat the boys; and that desire was, for some reason, bigger than the disgust she felt towards her.

They decided to have their meeting in Cecile's room. It's not like Cecile was excited about having three people there, but her room was the best option. None of the boys would ever consider the possibility of Cecile inviting the girls over, and that's exactly the reason why they decided to meet there in the first place. Seraphina and Elaine were already outside the door waiting for them when Cecile and Remi arrived.

"I have good news and bad news", Remi announced as soon as they were inside. The four girls made themselves comfortable: Cecile on her bed, Elaine on the chair by the desk, and Remi and Seraphina on the floor. "The good news is that even though Arlo clearly prepared himself for the negotiation, I'm happy with the games we came up with. I think that we have a chance of winning this competition", she said cheerfully.

"And the bad news?", Cecile asked.

"Uh... the bad news is that I couldn't convince Arlo to ban the use of abilities. It's obvious that he knew that they could use Isen's ability to spy on us. He didn't even consider the idea".

Elaine sighed. "Well... it was expected. We just have to be careful, then. We should only talk about the competition when we are completely sure that no one is listening".

"Or", Seraphina intervened, "we could use this to our advantage. If we realize that Isen or John are close, let's use that opportunity to give them false information".

"Good idea, but the problem is that we may not realize at all", Cecile sighed. "I know Isen's ability, its range of coverage is huge. He could be right now on the first floor of this building listening to us without an issue", she stopped talking for a second, her brows furrowed. She then said to the air: "Isen, if you're listening, fuck you".

Remi tapped her chin with her fingers. "There's an even bigger problem: Isen can tell whether the person he's listening to is lying or not".

"Ouch, really?", Elaine asked. "How?"

"With a mark", Cecile quickly responded.

"Uh- yeah... by putting a mark on his target", Remi continued, suddenly grateful for all the times she had seen her best friend in action. "It's that bright mark that he puts on the person's chest".

Cecile was now checking her nails. "On the heart, actually".

"...that's right", she nodded, slowly. "He can tell when a person is lying by the way the heartbeat changes. Still, Seraphina's idea is good", she added. "Let's keep an eye on Isen and John during the week, we could lie to them as long as there's no visible marks on us. And if we see the boys around the school, report their position on our groupchat, so that we'll know where they are located".