I'm A Big Bad Tiger

Swords And Shields

I'm hiding in the amphitheater with papa. I want to surprise the boys by beating them in the fencing practise.

"All right, boys. Let's line it up. Carlos, you're with me. Let's go." Jay says. He's the captain.

"Yeah." Carlos stands opposite Jay. Time stands next to him.

Kay starts giving out orders. "Assembler. Salute. Lower the point. Masks down." The team put they're masks down. "En garde." The team start to fence. I watch in awe. "Keep your center!"

"Whoa!" Carlos shouts.

"Eyes on your opponent! Up and over." Jay commands. Someone jumps in and challenges Jay.

"Get him, Jay!" Carlos smiles.

"Practice." Jay takes off his helmet.

"Watch out, Jay." Carlos is so supportive.

"Nice!" Chad smile. The person takes Jay's sword.

"Jay, what happened?" Carlos asks. Jay gets his sword back.

"Finish him." Says Chad. The person takes their helmet off and does a hair flip.

"It's Lonnie!" Jane and some girls clap.

"Not bad." Jay smiles.

"You should put me on the team." Lonnie suggests. She and Jay smile at each other.

Chad steps in. "Hey, w-what?! No, no, no. We'll-we'll be the laughing stock of the league. A-And what's gonna happen next? We'll have girls playing tourney? Come on, guys."

"So?" Jay looks at him.

"So? Uh, so, have you not read the rule book? Section two, paragraph three, eleven dash four. "A team will be comprised of a captain and eight men." Hmm? Why don't you read the rule book?" Chad shows everyone the book.

"Okay, yeah, but you're down a man! I mean, since Ben had to leave to do all that king stuff." Lonnie protests.

"Exactly. We're down a man."

"Jay..." Lonnie turns to Jay.

"I'm sorry. Coach trusts me. I'm not gonna stay captain if I just throw out the rule book." Jay sighs.

"If my mother thought that way, she would have lost the war." Lonnie tells him.

"Okay." Chad scoffs. Lonnie walks away. "Rule book. Rule book."

"One more round before we pack up." Jay sighs. Papa hands me a helmet.

"Thank you for letting me do this." I put on the helmet and I hug him. He purrs and I join in with the practise. I start to take out everyone and then I'm facing Jay and Carlos.

"Jay!" Carlos lets Jay do a side aerial over his back to take me out. Jay pushes me into a corner where Carlos corners me. I take his sword and I push him out. I face Jay and we start to fence. To make it fair, I toss Carlos a sword and I defeat Jay. He takes off his mask.

"Who are you? You're better than Lonnie." Jay tells me.

"All I'm saying is I'm a girl." I say.

"Show yourself." Jay walks towards me.

"What will you do if I don't?" I walk up to him. "It takes more than a pretty face to beat me as you can tell." I smirk.

Carlos spins me around to face him. "If you don't take off your mask, I'll have to rip off that mask and kiss those lips." Carlos takes off my mask and kisses me. I step away. "Shay?"

"Dude!" Jay pushes Carlos. "That's my girl!"

"Jay-Jay, how was he suppose to know?" I kiss his cheek.

"You're right." Jay smiles at me.

"Women always will be." I smirk. "You said I'm better than Lonnie..."

"You are. You took out all of us." Jay smiles. "All right, guys. Practice is over. Let's go." The team walks away.

"Carlos." I step forward.

"Yeah." Carlos looks at me.

"You're a good kisser."

Carlos smirks. "Thanks." He walks back over to me. "Still cool?"

"Still cool." I nod towards Jane.

"Jane! Jane, hey. Hey." Carlos stands on a box.

"Hey, Time, what's up?" Jane smiles at him.

"Uh..." Carlos watches Dude stand on a box. "Not much. You?"

"Way too much. We were gonna go with the blue and gold banners for Cotillion, but now we can't find the right shade of blue." Jane says.

"Oh, yeah, no, that's a-that's a bummer. Um, speaking of Cotillion-"

"I know, right? It's all anybody is talking about. Cotillion twenty four seven. It's like they've never been to one before."

"Uh...I haven't, actually. My dad has never let me go to any celebration since the coronation. Plus, the VK's, you know, the Isle." Time looks at me and Jay. We nod at him.

"The Isle isn't all roses and daffodils." I hold hands with Jay.

"Oh." Jane smiles. "Lucky. I always end up serving punch with my mom anyway. This year, I got stuck on the decorating committee because Audrey went off to a spa vacation with Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather."

"Jane, maybe we should just-" Carlos can do it. He can ask Jane to the cotillion.

"Skip the whole thing? I really, really wish I could. It's so nice to have a friend who's on the same wavelength." Jane smiles at Carlos.

"Oh, you got me." Carlos chuckles. Jane's phone rings.

"I got to go. Great practice, though."

"Yeah."

"See ya." Jane starts talking on her phone. "Hey, mom."

Carlos looks at us. We shake our heads. "It wasn't the right time, all right? Will you come to my dorm to help me with some stuff, Shay?"

"Sure, buddy." I smile at Carlos.

"You're a pal." Carlos smiles back at me.

"Bye, pudding." Me and Jay share a tender kiss before I walk away with Carlos.