Beast Speaker, Monster Tamer

19: Oh Boy You've Done Goofed Katsuki, Everyone Hates Us Now

Before she knew it, the morning of the sports festival arrived.

Elise stared at the leather seat in front of her in dread. Days and nights spent intensively training still felt like it wasn't enough. Mentor and Lucas insisted on driving her to school today, both having taken the day off to watch her perform. There was already a crowd in front of the campus and Elise exhaled roughly. "Don't worry Shortstack!" Lucas said. "You'll do absolutely great!"

Elise laughed nervously and scratched her neck. "Y-You think so?"

Lucas nodded enthusiastically as the car rolled to a stop. "I know so! Now off you go! Uncle Josh and I will see you later alright?"

"Take care, dear."

"I-I will!" Elise said back. She wormed her way through the crowds. There were so many people present and she barely managed to dodge them all. As Elise cleared the crowd, a woman knocked into her.

"I'm sorry, dear." The woman apologized. "I didn't mean to do that, there are just so many people here."

The hairs on her neck stood on end. Elise had never seen this woman before in her life, but the woman had a familiar, unwelcomed aura around her. "I-It's alright ma'am. I understand how it is."

The woman took notice of her uniform. "Oh? Are you a student here?"

Her instincts were telling her to leave, but Elise pushed them back and replied. "Yes, ma'am. As a matter of fact, I have to go now! G-Goo-Goodbye now!"

She bolted and entered the halls that would lead her to the waiting room. Her anxiety, combined with the weird feeling from the woman earlier made it feel like she was a soda bottle, and someone just shook her like there was no tomorrow. A lot of her classmates were already in the waiting room, mingling among the tables and chairs set up for them. Light chatter filled the space and Elise nervously paced in a corner all by herself.

I think you should relax a bit. Or at least go and mingle with the other students.

Elise bit her lip. I know, I'm just really nervous. I can't help it. I don't know who I should hang out with. Everyone is already with their groups and I feel weird inserting myself into their conversation.

Maybe you could try stretching. That might help you relax and it will loosen you up for the festival ahead.

You're right. The girl took a seat in one of the chairs and began to go through her stretching routine, taught to her by Lucas when she was little.

The door to the waiting room slammed open and Iida entered. "Everyone, are you ready?" He yelled. "We will be entering soon!"

***

Elise could hear Present's Mic muffled voice getting louder as he hyped up the crowd. The bright sunlight fell down upon her as she stepped out into the open with the rest of her class. The crowd roared in excitement as they saw the students entering. Elise shook, partly in excitement and partly in fear. Of course, she was terrified, terrified of messing up and terrified of the thought of revealing her quirk to the world, but she couldn't—no wouldn't turn back now. She tried looking for her uncle and brother, but couldn't find them in the crowd. But the thought of them out there cheering her on was enough to bolster her spirits even further.

Fireworks light up above them as the class walked to the middle of the space and Elise found a shaky smile pulling at her face. "W-Wow..." she muttered. "This—This feels like a dream..."