Jungle Madness

Chapter 1, P10 - Face to face

"I'm sorry."

Is the first thing Yvonne said to Nova after he sat down. She opened her laptop.

"I mean...it's fine," the panda hesitantly replied. "It wasn't supposed to be this way, but he challenged me, right?"

"Yes, but I'm not only apologizing for this instance; I mean overall. This wasn't supposed to be your responsibility and I hate the fact that I can't fix it myself." She clicked her mouse a few times, looking at her small screen. "I will now share with you the settings of this Jungle Madness."

Ryuu and Natalie, quiet at Nova's side, blinked, their eyes widening with something akin to surprise.

"Is this a default challenge?!" The beaver yelled.

Ryuu didn't need a confirmation. Mark was absent and the challenge had officially been declared.

"Default...what now?" The panda repeated, confused.

"A JM is referred to as Default when neither contestants set rules. Anything goes since nothing is holding you back. At that point, only winning matters," Ryuu explained, pointing out his previous challenge with Dianne as an example.

"This type of JM is dangerous and I am upset you're allowing Mark to do this!" Natalie exclaimed, uncaring of their hierarchy.

"I am perfectly aware of Mark's instability. Of course, I would never let him have complete control over us. If things get out of hand I'll personally intervene." The lioness moved the small laptop to the side. "Mark wants to have this challenge in his mother's garden."

Images of what happened yesterday flashed through his mind. "But...that's outside school grounds," Nova murmured, somewhat surprised.

"You can't imagine the amount of work I have to do in such a short time frame to make this happen," Yvonne sighed, attempting to look calm. "I thought I'd wait for a bigger, more positive event to show our sport to the world, not something so depressing..."

"No one knows though. Worst case scenario being some fragments of the recorded challenge are leaked, but without proper context it's gonna be confusing," Ryuu debated, and then pointed to the huge pile of documents she kept perfectly ordered and clean on the shelf behind her. "Those are the Contracts of Silence, correct? Don't you have copies for the neighbors to sign as well?"

"It's not that easy, Ryuu. I wasn't prepared for this, which is weird I usually am but not this time." Her phone suddenly started to vibrate, startling the lion. "Nova, listen to me. I'll make this quick. You must think of a challenge and write it down on paper. Usually it is vocally explained in front of everyone but considering this a very unique situation, I have calls to make so write the extended version down just in case. I'll be asking you things just to be sure."

That being said, the lioness quickly answered before the ringing stopped.

Nova, ignoring Yvonne's conversation over the phone, picked up the white sheet of paper and stared at it. He wasn't sure what to do; creativity wasn't really his thing.

"If the challenge is tonight that means you'll have to figure this out very fast," Ryuu commented. "Probably by the end of the main lessons."

"Don't say that. You're pressuring him too much," Natalie sighed, thinking this new development triggered his anxiety and overall stress.

Nova said nothing. He held the blank paper high in front of him, hoping to get some inspiration...to no avail; only stupid thoughts plagued his mind. Still fixated on the blank space, the panda stood up and headed out, paying no mind to the husky awaiting his friend's presence.