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The next morning, the students met up at the creek. Jamie had her bag on her shoulder as she laughed at what Miguel was talking to her about. None of them knew exactly why Sensei Barnes asked them to meet up here, but their questions were soon to be answered as Sensei Barnes stands up on a wooden table.
"Good morning." He says scanning the group, "At least for now. Gather 'round. Is everybody here?"
Daniel nods, "Yeah, this is everyone."
"Good. Last night, I reviewed my notes. Made sure the remaining six got a fair shake. I've decided it's too close to call. So... you're all gonna get another opportunity to prove yourselves." He says, "Four flags wait deep in the forest. Whoever brings them back... wins."
"Wait. That's it?" Hawk says
"What if two of us find a flag at the same time?" Demetri asks
"You fight for it." Barnes nods
"Are there refs out there?" Daniel asks
"No, they're on their own."
"But how-"
"It can't get any more objective." Johnny interjects, "Even Barnes isn't judging this one."
"Winning is everything, plain and simple. Take ten minutes, stretch. Use the restroom. Call your mothers. When you get back, it's go time."
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Ten minutes seemed to fly by as the remaining six lined up in front of the others. The teens cheering them on and giving encouraging words as they readied up. Sensei Barnes lifts his hand and drops it, "Go!"
Jamie cheered as the six took off into the woods in search of the flags. Seconds later, they were long gone and out of sight. Jamie lets out a deep breath as she turns to Miguel, "Now we wait."
"Yeah." He says as he follows her to sit at a table. Jamie sat on the table itself while Miguel sat beside her on the bench. His body level with her legs as everyone else dispersed.
"So, is your mom mad at you?" He says looking up at her
"I don't know." She sighs, "She hasn't said much, but I guess everything's okay."
"Yeah." Miguel nods, "Oh, you never told me how it went with you and Tory."
"About that, I'm gonna need you to start keeping track of your phone." Jamie says
"Yeah, I barely noticed it was gone." Miguel chuckles, "But how did it go?"
"We're friends now." Jamie smiles as she looks towards Tory. The blonde was laughing along with a few other students, "Oh, and she had a crush on me."
Miguel's eyes widen, "What?"
"Yeah." She says looking down at him with a smile, "What?"
"I didn't know that."
"I don't think anyone did." Jamie chuckles, "Obviously, she doesn't anymore, but that was part of the reason why she was so upset. That and the fact that I was dating you. She felt betrayed since I was her friend."
"I mean, yeah, I guess that makes sense." Miguel mumbles, "But you guys are okay now?"
"Yeah." She mumbles
"That's good." He says as she looks off. His eyes trail down as she fidgets with the butterfly necklace he gave to her. A small smile covers his features.
"Has anyone seen my laxatives?" Mitch calls out. The two teens frown before the two get up and make their way over toward the others.
The teens look over as Sam runs up with a flag in her hand. Daniel smiles, "Sam!"
The girl smiles as her steps slow by the teens. Miguel smiles, "Good job."
"Thanks." Sam says
"Good job." Jamie smiles lightly
"Thank you." Sam smiles
"Holy shit. Hey, Kenny won." Robby smiles. The other teens look over as Kenny jogs up. Jamie notices his hand hovering over his stomach causing her to frown. As the students clapped for him, he jogged past them toward the port-a-potty.
"Kenny?" Jamie calls out
"Oh!" He groans as his hand goes behind him. He tries opening up the door and his eyes widen when he discovers it's locked, "No, no, no. Hey!"
"Oh no."
"Hey, open up. Open up, please. Please, I gotta..." He yells banging on the door, "I gotta go. Please. Please open up!"
Jamie gasps as a squelching noise is heard. Anthony begins cackling as the other students turn away from Kenny. Second-hand embarrassment courses through Jamie as Kenny turns to them. His head snaps over as the door finally opens.
"What's that smell?" Bert says stepping out
Kenny pushes him out of the way and enters the port-a-potty, "Move!"
The door slams shut behind him as Devon runs up with a flag. Sam points, "Hey, guys. It's Devon. She won."
Devon smiles as she looks around, "Where's Kenny?"
Jamie's eyes widen as the girl looks away.
About five minutes had passed before the group notices Demetri walking up. He looked upset which confused Jamie seeing as there should've been two flags left. Unless Kenny had one.
His steps slow before he pulls his hand out and raises the red flag up high. The teens immediately cheer for him as he stands there.
"So that means Hawk has the last one." Jamie says. Just as the girls mouth shuts, Hawk emerges from the trees. Dirt on his face and a yellow flag in his hand. The teens cheer again as the boy stands beside Demetri and Sensei Barnes. The two teens glaring at each other as Barnes turns to the others.
"I give you Miyagi-Do's Team Sekai Taikai." He says, "Miguel."
"Yeah, Miguel!" A teen cheers
"Jamie."
The girl smiles as she walks over. Miguel holding his arm out and pulling her into a side hug as she stands beside him.
"Sam."
"Yeah!"
"Robby." Sensei Barnes as Johnny pats the teens shoulder, "Tory."
"Yeah!" Jamie cheers as Tory and Robby high five
"And now, Devon." He says as the girl steps up, "Hawk, and Demetri."
"Yeah!"
Sensei Barnes bows to Daniel before shaking Johnny's hand, "Good luck."
Jamie turns to Miguel with a huge smile before the two hug. The other teens dispersing as they grab their bags to leave. The two pull away and head towards their bags as Priscilla walks up slowly from the woods. Devon pats her on the shoulder in comfort before walking off.
"Dude, I can't believe we're going to Barcelona." Robby smiles
"Right?" Miguel says grabbing his bag
"We definitely have a good shot at winning." Jamie says, "I mean, look at who we have competing."
"What happened to humility category?" Tory jokes
"Screw humility." Jamie scoffs as Tory chuckles. The two girls walking off with their boyfriends following close behind them.
