Being The New Girl

21: I Would've Pegged You for the Happy-Go-Lucky Type

"The first five rounds will be completed in two separate groups of five teams," starts Mrs. Reyes. "After each activity is completed, each team will be given a score based on teamwork, creativity, efficiency, speed, and of course, school spirit."—She pauses expectantly. No one laughs.—"The three teams from each group with the most points will move on to the second stage.

"Now it's time to split up the groups. Red through blue, head on over to the gym with Ms. Allan. She will explain everything else there. Purple through black, you're here with me." I wave a goodbye to Maia as she disappears behind the bleachers with the other teams. "Alright, we're going to start with tradition. Teams, you have until half nine to improvise a presentation on school spirit. It can be through song, dance, theatre, anything. Just remember to be creative. Your ten minutes start now."

The teams—Purple, Gold, Silver, Black, and of course, Pink—separate and begin to talk in rapid fire. It's as if nothing about this situation is weird. Then again, I guess this a normal thing for them.

I tap Luke on the shoulder and pull him a step away from the circle. "I thought we were doing outdoor games and races, not singing and prancing around like happy-go-lucky mascots." I place a hand on my hip and raise an eyebrow. "I signed up for art class for a reason."

He tilts his head to the side and looks at me quizzically. "Really? And here I would've pegged you for the happy-go-lucky type—had I not already known you so well," he adds with a smile when he sees my glare. "And don't worry. That's pretty much the rest of the day. They just have to let us make fools of ourselves first."

"Ah, of course."

"It's probably to take revenge for what adults made them to when they were kids. Adult logic at his very finest," he concludes with a sad shake of the head.

I turn away to hide my grin before rejoining the rest of the group with Luke right by my side, only to find our group of mismatched classmates in a heated discussion.

"For the last time, Leo, there is no way in this world you will get me to do a skit about the evolution of the panther in front of half the school," a girl I recognize as Sara exclaims in exasperation, stomping her foot into the ground.

"Well, it's not like anyone else here knows how—or wants to know how, for that matter—to do interpretive dance," Leo retorts, the anger behind his words making his face turn as red as his hair.

Other students' shouts only add to the mix until we reach the point where other groups are looking our way in confusion. That's when I've had enough.

"Everyone shut up!" I shout, so loudly that Leo jumps back in surprise and ends up falling to the ground in a daze. I wince apologetically and offer him a hand up as the team stares on in silence. "Sorry, Leo."

He takes the hand off and brushes off his pants casually, his face turning even redder if possible as he mumbles out an, "It's okay."

"Anyway,"—I turn back to the rest of the group—"we need to focus here, people. We have,"—I quickly check my phone—"just more than twenty minutes until we have to show up with something. Now, we need to find some way to agree on something, and someone needs to be in charge."

"How about you?" a girl with glasses who I have yet to talk to asks.

"And there's the worst idea I've heard yet." I hear a snicker from behind me. "Trust me, that's a bad idea," I say as I shoot a glare over my shoulder at Luke. "We need someone who knows what they're doing, like..."

"Like me?" asks Gabe out of the blue.

"That's actually a great idea. If you have to keep everyone else on task, then you won't be able to get distracted or distract other people."