Burning Sky

Chapter 14

The school was already crowded with students when Sora arrived. She quickly made her way through the packed halls, heading towards the newspaper room. Last night after she got home, Mo had called to go over his plan to flush out the dragon. That was the spark that made her attempt at a 'normal' day burn down to ashes. Once Monday finally arrived, she was anxious to help set the plan in motion.

She walked inside the newspaper room and saw Katie, Mo and Drake already waiting for her. They were clustered around the computer on Mo's desk, Mo furiously typing away. "So, what's the big plan?" she asked ignoring the knot in her throat that formed when she caught sight of Drake.

"We will start a petition to re-establish both football teams," Mo said.

"Because you are such a big fan?" Sora joked, but after he gave her a scolding glare, she dropped her attempts at humor and focused on the plan. She knew all of her old teammates would be clamoring to sign the petition. Drake would be there when they came to sign, so he could easily touch them without raising suspicion. Hopefully, he would find the dragon. The plan was a good one. Seeing the enthusiasm on Mo's face, she couldn't help feeling excited.

All four of them finished the petition, and then printed a few additional pages for the rest of the students to sign. "We can start this on our lunch break," Mo said, glancing at his watch. "We have to go now or we will be late."

All through her classes, Sora was too excited and anxious to sit still and focus. She daydreamed, turned and squirmed in her chair, and clicked her pen making so much noise that she succeeded in earning herself a couple hours of detention after school. She didn't mind, though, she actually looked forward to having two whole hours to herself.

The lunch bell finally rang. Sora jumped out of her chair and bolted out of the classroom, Drake fast on her heels. On their way to the newspaper room, they met up with Katie who struggled to keep up with their hurried pace.

"Let's do this," said Mo with an expectant smile on his face once they were all together.

They set up a desk outside the newspaper room, placing the petition on top of it. They had even made some posters that were now pinned to the bulletin board behind them. The cafeteria was right across the hall, so they were sure to attract plenty of attention.

Soon students were lining up to sign their names in hopes of getting the school's two favorite teams back. Sora was actually glad to see the support for her old team, even though she knew the petition was a fake.

Whenever someone from their list of people to check would show up, Sora would send Drake over to them. It was surprising to see how many excuses he would find to touch them. He shook hands, patted arms, handed out pens, brushed his fingers with theirs when handling out or receiving back the petition. He was getting better at it by the minute.

But nothing happened. The lunch break was almost over and Sora had erased half the names on her list with no results.

"Don't worry we can continue this for as long as it takes, sooner or later they will all show up," said Mo when the bell rang, but even he didn't seem so sure anymore. They quickly gathered everything up and headed to their classes, a feeling of defeat setting over them.

***

For the next couple of days, they kept on setting up their phony petition booth, gathering signatures, and repeatedly they came up empty handed. By the end of Thursday's lunch break, they had already gathered over two hundred signatures, and almost all the names on Sora's list were marked out.

Sora went over the paper in her hands, while the rest collected everything in preparation for their next class. "How many more are there?" asked Drake, obviously tired and a little bit agitated that Mo's plan so far had been a dead end.

She took her time before giving him an answer. She already knew who was still left on the list, but deep down Sora hoped she was wrong. "Three." Mo blurted out before she could answer.

Katie jerked her eyes up to meet Sora's, shocked as realization rapidly sunk in. "That can't be," she said almost in a whisper.

"What is it?" asked Drake clearly agitated.

"I just hoped that it wouldn't come down to this," Sora remarked in resignation as she handed him the list. He glanced over it the three remaining names written in orange ink.

"Ben Ryder, Jordan Oldman and Mia Caine," he read, and then stared at Sora. "Do you know them?"

She gave him a lifeless nod. "I wish I didn't."

***

At the end of the day, the group met up again in the newsroom, now crawling with people doing research and writing articles. They clustered about Mo's desk in a tight circle, whispering to each other as they plotted their next move.

"I still can't believe it's one of them," exclaimed Katie.

Sora shook her head in disbelief. "Trust me, no one can."

"So why haven't they showed up to sign the petition yet?" wondered Drake.

"Because they are stuck up assholes who think they are so much better than anyone else. They have no intention of following the herd and doing what everyone else does, even if it means cutting off their noses despite their faces, and not doing what would help bring back the thing they most want to do," Sora said in one breath, and then dropped her head between her shoulders in defeat. Katie appeared shocked at the words spewing out of Sora's mouth. "Sorry, but it's the truth," she said to her friend and then kept on explaining. "They are school royalty, or at least that's what they want everyone to think. They will never mingle with us mere mortals." Sora concluded with a dramatic eye roll.

"Mere mortals? I am no mere mortal and neither are you," said Drake as serious as ever. "Where can we find them?" He was so sure of himself, that Sora felt a little admiration for him sneaking its way inside of her.

Without realizing it, she gave him a timid smile which he returned wholeheartedly. There was a moment of silence as something unspoken passed between them. For a brief instant, Sora recalled the pleasant feeling of getting to know the guy next door, but before she got swept away in the moment, the loud sound of someone clearing their throat ripped through the silence, pulling her back to the present. She was suddenly fully aware of both Mo and Katie staring at them, with equal parts of curiosity, confusion and frustration in their faces.

"So..." she said dragging out the word so she could gather her thoughts. "Well, they usually hang out by the bleachers at lunch break," she said peeking at Katie for confirmation. When her friend nodded, she turned back to Drake. "We can probably find them there tomorrow."

"How are you going to touch them?" asked Katie with a bit of fear in her voice. Another confrontation with the devilish trio wasn't something Katie was looking forward to, and frankly, neither was Sora. Her mind quickly flashed through several scenarios of how the meeting with the terrible three could go badly.

"I'll find a way," Drake said, his voice exuding confidence that the rest didn't feel.

Mo rapidly gathered up all the signed papers, purposely averting his eyes as he said, "I won't be able to join you," earning a few questioning looks. "I will be handing these petitions over to Professor Parker."

Sora jerked up in surprise. "For real?"

"I know it started out for a totally different reason, but since we gathered so many signatures it would be a waste to just throw them all away," he said with a smack smile plastered on his face. "Besides I miss watching your games."

Sora felt her cheeks flare red. He came to my games? she wondered while keeping her wide eyes locked on him.

"Anyways, we have to get back to work," he said and turned to Katie all business.

They started eagerly discussing their next article, while Sora slipped out with Drake beside her. Just outside the door, Sora paused to watch Mo pecking away fervently on his laptop. As if sensing her eyes on him, Mo glanced up and flashed a crooked smile.

Feeling her cheeks warming once again, Sora quickly averted her eyes and gave the room a casual scan. She jumped with surprise when she saw Alicia watching her from behind her own desk. The petite blond girl gave her a small smile and waved at her. Sora managed to wave back despite the chill that crept down her spine.