WHO AM I

THE TROUBLE WITH TRIUMPH

The next morning at school, the air still buzzed with excitement from the previous night's art show victory. Everywhere I went, people congratulated us like we had just won the Super Bowl. The art show trophy glistened in the school lobby, with a big shiny plaque reading: "Lila's Team: Creativity in Motion."

"I still can't believe we actually won," Lila whispered to me as we stood by the lockers. She was grinning ear to ear, practically glowing with pride. I didn't blame her—it felt like we'd climbed a mountain.

"Same here. I thought we'd lose after Cathy spilled an entire bucket of paint on the mural two nights before the show," I teased, giving Cathy a side-eye.

"Okay, okay, you'll never let me live that down, huh?" Cathy huffed, crossing her arms in mock annoyance. "At least it wasn't permanent. It only looked like a neon green explosion."

Noah walked up just in time to hear that and smirked. "I'm just glad no one found out about your 'paint incident.' That would've been the real tragedy."

We all laughed, but before we could continue, Lila's phone dinged. She glanced down at it and instantly groaned, her face going pale. "Oh no... Guys, it's worse than I thought. We're famous—for all the wrong reasons."

I leaned over her shoulder, curious. On her Instagram was a viral video from the art show. But it wasn't footage of us standing proudly in front of the mural. Nope. It was a full-on blooper reel of me tripping up the stairs as we went to collect the award.

"Oh great, of course they caught that moment," I muttered, burying my face in my hands. In the video, you could clearly see me try to step onto the stage, miss, and completely wipe out. There was a loud "OOOF" followed by a burst of laughter from the crowd. Classic.

"You're an internet sensation, my friend," Jasper said, snickering as he swiped through the comments.

"Some of these comments are gold," Noah laughed, reading a few aloud. "Look, someone wrote, 'This is the most graceful fall I've ever seen.'"

"Yeah, well, at least I'm good at something," I sighed, trying to laugh it off, though my cheeks were burning red. "At least it wasn't Lila."

Cathy joined in, grinning. "Nah, it's iconic. You're gonna be remembered as the 'guy who faceplanted at his own victory.'"

"Fame comes at a price, huh?" Lila teased, nudging me lightly with her elbow.

We all chuckled, but I was silently cursing whoever uploaded the video. That one fall was going to haunt me for the rest of high school.

Later in the day, as we headed to the cafeteria for lunch, Noah spotted a group of the seniors from the other team sitting at their usual table. They glanced over at us, their expressions unreadable.

"Hey, remember that apology we got last night?" Noah whispered, raising his eyebrows. "Do you think it was genuine, or are they planning something?"

"I mean, they did look kind of sincere," I replied, but my gut was telling me otherwise.

As if on cue, one of the seniors, Kyle, waved us over. "Hey, Lila! Noah! You guys got a second?"

We exchanged looks. "This can't be good," Jasper muttered under his breath.

Lila took a deep breath and walked over to their table, and the rest of us reluctantly followed.

Kyle flashed us a smile that looked more mischievous than friendly. "So... about last night. Great job and all, but we had an idea for a little rematch."

"A rematch?" Lila asked, frowning.

Kyle leaned forward, his grin widening. "Yeah, you know. A friendly competition. Something simple. How about... karaoke?"

I blinked in surprise. "Wait, what?"

"Yeah, you heard me—karaoke. Tonight. Our team versus yours. No art involved, just pure fun. Unless," he added with a sly smile, "you guys are too scared to sing in public."

Jasper burst out laughing. "Dude, you've clearly never heard me sing. I've got pipes."

Cathy slapped Jasper's arm. "What he means is... we're not scared. Bring it on!"

The seniors grinned, clearly satisfied with our agreement. "Great! See you guys at eight. Oh, and don't forget—you'll need a lead singer," Kyle added with a wink, his eyes sliding toward Lila.

Lila's eyes widened in horror. "Wait—me? No, no, no. You don't want me singing. I sound like a dying cat."

"Perfect. See you at eight!" Kyle called as we walked away, leaving Lila standing there with a look of absolute dread.

That night, we found ourselves at the school's outdoor stage, surrounded by students ready for the most ridiculous karaoke battle ever. Lila stood next to me, looking pale as she clutched the microphone.

"You'll be fine," Noah said, trying to reassure her. "Just imagine you're in the shower or something."

"Yeah, except in the shower, there aren't 50 people staring at me, waiting for me to humiliate myself," Lila groaned.

"Or you'll become the next viral star!" I added, earning myself a death glare from Lila.

"Okay, okay, let's do this," she muttered, stepping forward as the opening notes of "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi blasted through the speakers. She looked like she wanted to sink into the ground, but then something amazing happened. The crowd started singing along—loudly.

"Woah, we're halfway there! Woah-oh! Livin' on a prayer!"

Lila's initial horror melted away as she began to laugh, her voice shaky but determined. By the time she hit the chorus, she was fully into it, jumping around with the rest of us.

Kyle's team couldn't stop laughing, but it wasn't out of cruelty—it was pure fun. It didn't matter that half of us couldn't sing or that we were all off-key. For the first time in a long while, we were all just being ridiculous together, without worrying about competition or popularity.