The Night Tournaments

15 - Arielle

I had just entered the crowded cafeteria for lunch when someone tapped me on the shoulder.

"Afternoon, Arielle," Flynn Armani greeted when I turned around and saw him, saluting me. "It seems like both Bree and Claude are busy with things today, so Archer and I were thinking about sitting with people in the chamber music program."

"Oh, got it," I replied, smiling. "I guess that I'll join my other group of friends today, then. Have fun talking about broken strings and dysfunctional piano keys!"

Flynn chuckled as I waved goodbye and joined the cafeteria lineup. When my lunch tray was filled with food, I looked around the cafeteria and spotted most of the Dance Club members occupying a table near the center of the room. To my relief, it didn't seem like Beatrix Elsher was one of them. I also noticed that Thea Robinson wasn't there, either. Bree and Flynn had recently informed The Unbreakable Five that she had reported a stalking case to the Junior Disciplinary Committee and Student Council, although I wasn't aware of the exact details. I had mentioned that I knew her because she was one of the new members of the Dance Club.

"Hi, everyone! Mind if I join you guys today?" I cheerfully inquired as I approached the Dance Club members.

"Sure, Captain! There's always a spot reserved for you," Amelia Scarlett answered, grinning.

". . . So, what was I talking about? Oh, right, Thea Robinson," Sophie Lee was saying in a gossipy tone of voice.

I furrowed my brow as I twirled my fork around the food on my plate. "Thea Robinson? You mean, like, the Thea in our club?"

Bernice Fitzgerald nodded, stealthily glancing around. "Have you heard? Apparently, she recently began dating a 10th grader. She's also the representative referee of the school's wrestling team, and the guy's part of it, so that's most likely how it all started."

"And rumor's going around that Thea's only in a relationship with him because he's, like, MEGA-rich. Like, super, super rich," Sophia added, her dark eyes glistening. "She probably hit on him just for his money."

"Plus, that's not even the most shocking part. Multiple people have reported that they saw the two of them illegally riding a motorcycle a few times after school. The guy hasn't turned sixteen yet, which means that he doesn't even have a license!" Bernice hissed, and suddenly, I found it hard to swallow my food.

Illegal motorcycle riding? Even though it's probably not true, it does sound pretty serious, I thought, biting my lip.

"Guys . . . should we really be talking about our fellow Dance Club member behind her back?" I said quietly, shooting all of the girls a mild look of disbelief and disappointment. "You may not know her that well yet, but everyone's going through different circumstances in their lives. Besides, all of this is just alleged gossip.  We shouldn't jump to any conclusions."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Amelia cautiously nodding in agreement. So far, she hadn't contributed to Sophia and Bernice's conversation, which told me that she didn't think that sharing potentially fake rumors was a good idea, either.

"But everything lines up perfectly," Sophia persisted, leaning in closer. "Why else would she go out of her way to date an older guy? I mean, I don't know what his name is, but I've heard that he's, like, super hot. Like, the bad boy type, you know? He's even the vice-captain of the football team."

"And Thea's always been known to be a classy, follow-all-the-rules kind of girl. It's totally out of character for her to be interested in someone like him," Bernice excitedly pointed out.

"Um . . . is it just me, or does it seem like everyone in the cafeteria is whispering now?" Amelia interrupted, and I blinked, turning around to look around the room. She was right - a lot of the crowds of students were huddled in together, talking about something in hushed tones. Something that . . . seemed awfully close to what our own table group was discussing.