DAYS WE DANCED

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Days went and gone. Same formula for another week. Juniors started planning their graduation trip. Or at least everyone was talking about it. Soon they will start talking about prom.

Ophelias tournament was in two days and her nerves were through the roof. Her parents still got mad at her for never being home but also got mad when she wasn't at practice. The two adults confused Ophelia more than she would like to admit.

She was a daily guest at Mr Liang's house. Every day he made a different type of tea. Each tasted magical.

She had a free period again. This time she had to take the pile of books from classrooms. Most teachers forget to take library books back where they belong after using them in class.

Ophelia was now going from classroom to classroom collecting books. She had two strollers that looked like shopping carts.

After some time it got harder to push the strollers. She couldn't ask anybody for help; nobody was in the hallway.

"Wow, you must be Hulk's daughter." A male voice spoke behind her. 

She recognized it immediately.

"You have a free period?" She asked. He nodded in response after coming close enough so she could see.
"Mind helping?" He took one of the strollers.
"So, every time there are more and more books?" Demien asked.
"Well, it depends. I don't always collect books."
"Aha. Just every free period you have. Anyway, how often do you have a free period?"
"Um, today and Thursday usually. I don't have the fourth period. But I ain't at school this Thursday." She answered him smiling slightly.
"Why not? I was aiming to help you once again." He sounded rather disappointed.
"I have a tournament. So you won't be seeing me. Are you sad?" Ophelia asked the last part teasingly. But Demien actually looked sad.
"Where is your tournament?" He asked.
"The senior high school at Spirit Lake."
"I'll be there. Wait. I should give you my number so you could text me the time." Demien said.

Ophelia stopped in her tracks. He wasn't joking. She couldn't understand at all. He annoyed her every chance he had and now he acted like this.

In the end, she gave him his number and he helped her to the library. They parted ways and he was, once again, the only thought in Ophelia's head.

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The day of the tournament was stressful, to say the least. Ophelias nerves were all over the place. She couldn't really eat anything.

The ride was uncomfortable. Ophelia didn't know why. She still had to get weighed and wait for probably a few hours. But her nerves were still on a thin line.

Her parents couldn't come because of work. Actually, her father had work and her mother probably didn't want to come. She finally had the house to herself.

Ophelias siblings were at school, just like her friends. They promised to come for a bigger tournament though.

Only Ophelia and Coach Gael. Wow, what a supportive system.

The weighting went smoothly and Ophelia now had to wait half the day. She had two matche
She was sitting on the bleachers when a familiar presence sat next to her.

"You really came?" She asked surprised.
"I said I would, didn't I? I'm a man of my word- Well, most of the time I am." Demien said with the biggest smile ever.
"I don't know what to say. I mean, thank you for coming."
"Well, I wanted to be here. Axel said I probably shouldn't but I don't follow his rules."
"Yet you listened to him on our trip."

Demien's face dropped faster than you could spend money on Christmas Eve. He stayed quiet.

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There wasn't any more talk after that. Ophelia felt guilty.

The first match was in a few minutes. She could be seen jumping around while Coach Gael gave her last-minute tips. She was super nervous.

The match before her ended with the girl getting taken away by medics. That made Ophelia's stomach churn even more.

Coach Gael put the last pieces of equipment on Ophelia. She walked in the middle of the field. Her opponent looked alright; not too tall and just her size.

The match began and Ophelia tried to keep her energy. 

The first round started. Ophelia was much faster and stronger. She hit her opponent many times in the head, and hard. That earned her many points. Ophelia was in the lead and by a lot. She started to lose a lot of energy. Her breaths became uneven and not even water could save her burning throat.

The second round was tough. Ophelias vision was blurry without her glasses. She couldn't see well and the mix of her heavy breath worsened everything. Her opponent had so much energy.

The sound of the round ending shook Ophelia. She looked at her Coach who was smiling ear to ear. Demien was also smiling on the bleachers. Ophelia won by 21 - 3. 

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The wait for the second match was exhausting. Demien got off the bleachers and was now standing right next to the field.

Ophelia's match began soon. Her opponent was a head taller and looked like she was 15 pounds heavier.

The first round was a rollercoaster. Ophelia kicked a lot in the head, gaining a lot of points. But the girl had a lot of energy and a very hard kick.
Her ears started ringing, she felt dizzy, life was falling ---

"Go 'Phelia, goooo!!" Demien shouted so loud it brought Ophelia back to life.

She got her energy back.

In the last 3 seconds of the first round, Ophelia scored 5 points. She didn't dare to look at the score. She had to keep her head up and win. The second round was terrible. Ophelia wanted to cry from the pain. 

Everything hurt, her head the most. What if she had a concussion? What if her hand was broken? It hurts so bad she couldn't ---

"Let's go 'Phelia!! Kick her ass!" Demien shouted.
"Come on! Yes, amazing!" Coach yelled as well.

Soon it became a yelling match, but it gave Ophelia so much energy.