Gamer

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[Scene: Marin's room]

Marin is writing in his journal. "Dear journal, guess what? I was two spots away from transforming back and revealing my true identity to Kitty Noir.", Marin thought to himself.

"Hey Marin, weren't you meeting Arlo back at school this afternoon to research your term paper?", Tikki reminded. "Oh no, I'm late! Again!", Marin said.

Marin puts his journal in her box, grabs his bag and goes to school.

[Scene: Collège Françoise Dupont]

Suddenly, Marin hears something from the Library. "What's that noise?", Tikki asked from his fanny pack.

"Hide, Tikki!", Marin hissed. The students were playing Ultimate Mecha Strike III.

Amelie and Max playing against each other while the others watch, Arlo recording them. "Come on, Max!", Kim yelled out, rooting for his best friend.

"Use the kitty paw, Amelie!", Cole chimed in, offering some tips to his childhood friend. Marin leaned over to Arlo.

"What's going on?", Marin asked. Arlo waved his hand, shushing him.

"Try-outs for the Paris Ultimate Mecha Strike III Tournament! This school sends the two students with the highest scores!", Rose exclaimed excitedly, scaring Marin slightly. "Actually, the tryouts are for a partner to team up with Max in the Tournament.", Kim said.

Marin couldn't help but wonder why everyone was so obsessed with Max. "Why Max?", Marin asked, his thoughts wandering.

"If anything, these losers should be fighting over playing with Amelie.", Marin continued. But, Cole quickly put him in his place.

"Do you even pay attention to our classmates, Marin?", Cole asked, raising an eyebrow. "Out of everyone here, he's the gaming pro.", Cole continued.

"Because he's unbeatable!", Kim chimed in. "He's a total rocksword! He's got the highest APM over anyone!", Kim continued.

Marin was still a little lost. "APM?", Marin asked again.

"Actions per minute.", Cole corrected him, crossing his arms with a smirk. This makes Marin roll his eyes in annoyance.

"This tournament is his whole life!", Kim said. "He's been grinding all year to level up.", Kim continued.

Cole couldn't resist boasting a little himself. "I'm pretty good at video games myself, but no one can beat Amy-kins!", Cole declared.

Amelie's robot, NEKO3, uses his special attack on Max's robot, MX-01. MX-01 is crushed and NEKO3 wins.

The leaderboard (which had Max first, Amelie second, Cole third, and Kim fourth) had changed so that Amelie was first instead. "Amelie is now in the lead.", Ms. Bustier announced.

"What happened, Max?", Kim asked, disappointed his friend didn't win. "Yeah! Go Amelie!", Cole cheered.

Max, though momentarily crestfallen, quickly regained his composure. Pushing his glasses up with a determined air, he turned to Amelie, a genuine smile gracing his face.

"Hmm. Awesome job!", Max praised. "We're gonna make a killer combo.", Max declared, extending his hand for a celebratory high five, which she returned.

Marin's mind was racing with a brilliant idea. "Hold up, let me get this straight. If someone beats Max's score, they get to team up with Amelie at the tournament?", Marin mused, a sly grin spreading across his face.

Arlo shot him a disapproving look. This guy was seriously considering sabotaging their school's chances just to get close to Amelie.

The thought of someone jeopardizing their school's reputation for personal gain didn't sit well with Arlo. "No one can beat Max. Or rather Max and Amelie. It's a slam dunk. They're our school's dream team!", Kim said.

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