Narration Room: July 2011

Handful of Sand Chapter 5 Page 4

"Hey, young lady! How about joining the Music Society," a boy with black spiky hair asked Sandy as she passed.

"No, thanks," Sandy replied. She turned away.

"Aw, jeez, what does it take to recruit people?" the boy asked the brown-haired student who stood at the notice board next to his.

"Maybe you have to pay them," the other boy answered.

The word 'pay' instantly had Sandy's attention. She immediately spun back. "How much?"

"What?" the spiky-haired boy asked, confused.

"How much will you pay me to join your club?" Sandy clarified her question.

"Um." The boy pulled out his wallet and slipped out a small note.

It was money. Sandy wanted it. She wanted to accept the deal. But she felt uncertain, like something was not right. She rubbed her left forefinger with her right thumb.

"That's too little," she told him finally. That was it: she just was not greedy enough.

He added a few more notes. There was than enough for Sandy to afford a good snack. And she really needed something good after surviving on Momma Lois's spaghetti sauce.

"Okay," Sandy agreed. Money~!

"Oh, er, here's the application form." The boy pulled a sheet of paper from a large envelope that he carried. He reached in his pockets for a pen.

The brown-haired boy from the next club stepped up. "Hey, I'll pay you the same to join my club too," he offered, "But you'd have to make mine your official club."

She would get twice the amount of money! "Okay," Sandy agreed immediately.

"Hey, you can't do that!" the spiky-haired boy protested.

"All's fair in business," the other boy replied steadfastly, "And it was my idea in the first place."

"Then it's pointless for her to join my club!" the first boy argued.

"She can't have two official clubs," the brown-haired boy pointed out, "And she already agreed that mine will be her official club."

The spiky-haired boy sighed. He turned to Sandy. "Sorry, I'm canceling my offer."

"What?" Sandy blurted, "You can't do that! What about the money? I'm joining the club like you asked, aren't I?"

"Sorry," the boy apologized again, "but it's pointless for me to accept you in my club if you accept his offer. I'm withdrawing my offer."

"Then this?" Sandy held up her half-filled form.

"Toss it, I need my pen back though."

Sandy returned the pen and crumpled the form in her hand, crushing it with all her disappointment.

"My offer's still valid," the brown-haired boy said as he held out another form and his own pen.

Sandy sighed and accepted the form and pen. She filled the form as directed. Then she had to make a couple of corrections that the boy pointed out. When her form was approved, she accepted her money. She glanced sourly at the boy who had retracted his offer, then walked back to class.

Yeah, she received a little money, but it was half as much as she would have had if that boy had not taken back his offer. How could he do that?

Sandy pouted.

When she reached her class, a little discomfort in the lower part of her body reminded her that she had not visited the washroom. She glanced at her watch just before the bell rang, signaling the end of break.

***

Handful of Sand Chapter 5 Page 3

As she ate, Sandy thought of an interesting idea. She could make something to sell. She could make something delicious to eat - some of those tasty cookies, maybe sweet cakes. She could sell those to her classmates. And they would buy every day. She would have a steady income. Sooner or later, she would have a mountain of money and would have found her wealth, just like that card in her back pocket had said.

That was, if she could bake. Or cook. She could boil an egg. Could she make money selling boiled eggs everyday?

After she had finished lunch, Sandy felt thirsty for a drink. Having to suffer another serving of spaghetti, she really needed a can of soda. Fortunately for her, she had been saving up and had by then just enough to buy herself one.

So there she was, standing in front of the vending machine with her lunch box under an arm and her wallet in her hand. She poured the coins out of her wallet and found herself to be short of one. She was sure she had brought enough - she had checked that very morning.

"Hey, are you going to take forever?" a girl behind her asked.

"Umm, just a moment," Sandy said to the girl as she turned. She poked around her pockets. Maybe the coin fell out.

Sandy glanced at the other girl. The girl carried a cute pink handbag and held a purse in a hand. She was short, with shoulder-length black hair decorated with a red hair-band. Her blouse and skirt were brightly colored. Her socks were flawlessly smooth and of the purest white. If Sandy had the money, that was the kind of fashion she would wear.

The girl stared at her with impatient blue eyes. "Jeez," she uttered as she dug into her purse. "Here, this should be enough." The girl added a couple of coins to the pile on Sandy's hand.

"Umm, thanks," Sandy said. She turned and bought herself a can of soda from the vending machine. As she stepped away, Sandy would have smiled at her benefactor as a second thanks but the short girl already had her full attention on the vending machine.

Sandy walked towards the cafeteria entrance. As she pushed her remaining coin into her wallet's purse, she found her missing coin wedged in the corner. So that was where it went.

She stopped walking long enough to pull the can's tab open and take a long drink of the cool, sweet, gassy liquid. It tasted good. It felt good. It was perfect for such a hot day. She wished she could afford one everyday.

She wished she could also afford good clothes, like the one that little girl wore. Well, Sandy's clothes would have to be bigger to suit her size, that was for certain.

That familiar-looking redhead over there also had a fashionable outfit. Yeah, that girl with the shoulder-length red hair standing in the school corridor talking to the plump brown-haired girl in front of a club's notice board. She was tall, though not as tall as Selina.

And that outfit of hers, that caught Sandy's eye - that sky blue sleeveless blouse. That matching blue skirt with ruffles. And her pretty black shoes with little heels. She certainly was glamorous and charismatic and Sandy wished she could be her.

Then the redhead noticed Sandy staring at her. She put on a friendly smile. "Hey, there. I'm Connie."

Sandy smiled back. "I'm Sandy."

"Well, pleased to meet you." She waved towards the girl beside her. "This is my friend Sabine."

"Hi," the plump girl greeted meekly.

"Hi," Sandy said in return. She glanced up to the notice board and saw the name of the club. "The Sewing Club. Is that your club? That must be where you got such a great outfit."

"Thanks," Connie accepted the compliment, "but I'm not with the Sewing Club. The club doesn't make clothes like mine." She waved a hand over the photos on the notice board.

Sandy examined the photos. "Oh!" she uttered when she realized her mistake.

The fashion of the dresses the girls in the photos wore were definitely way more outrageous compared to Connie's outfit. Many of the outfits were brightly-colored and ostentatious. Attractive, but not something that Sandy would like to wear to school everyday.

"You're in the class next door, right?" Connie asked.

So that was why the redhead was familiar. Sandy must have seen her in the corridor outside her class. "I'm in 9-B. Which class are you in? A or C?"

(Silly Sandy. If Connie was in A, you would have seen her in the combined gym class with the girls of 9-A.)

"I'm in 9-C," Connie replied. She pulled a handphone from her red handbag and glanced at it. "Ah, I've got to go. It's nice meeting you, Sandy."

"Nice meeting you too," Sandy said back. She watched as Connie and her friend walked in the direction of class. After she had finished her soda, she discarded the can in a nearby bin. Then she checked her watch. There was some time before lunch break was over. Just enough time for a quick trip to the washroom.

Handful of Sand Chapter 5 Page 2

Lunch that day for Sandy was leftover spaghetti that Momma Lois had packed for her in a blue lunch box. Her guardian's cooking was not that bad. In fact, Sandy had enjoyed spaghetti at times. However, when she had had the same spaghetti sauce for the past two days, she would get sick of it. The sauce had become boring and tasteless. The smell of it had become repulsive.

Hopefully, Momma Lois would go shopping that day and stock up on ingredients so she could cook something else!

"Hey, Randy," Sandy called the boy beside her, "I've got spaghetti today. Want to trade?"

"No, thanks. Had spaghetti last night," the boy replied as he removed his lunch box from his bag.

"Darla, trade spaghetti?" Sandy tried asking the dark-skinned girl as the latter passed her desk with her orange lunch box.

"Sorry, had that last night," Darla replied without stopping.

Sandy sighed and walked over to Ariel's desk.

The blond had finished dusting her books and had put them away. Ariel checked her purse. "Let's go," she said to Sandy when she was ready to leave class.

Fernham High that day was different. The clubs and societies of the school had placed notice boards in the corridors, each describing their activities. Many also had a desk next to it with membership application forms and handouts. Also present would be a club member or three to answer questions or plead with passing freshmen to join their club.

Sandy barely paid any attention to the displays. Ariel glanced at a few that had caught her attention with bright colors or large text.

"That was quite a scare earlier, huh?" Sandy commented.

"Yeah," Ariel replied, "It was so scary. That thing landed in front of me with a loud noise. And the way it looked at me. And it had fangs and claws. Oh, and it smelled too." She twisted her nose, then massaged her side. "My back's still a bit painful from where I hit Roger's desk."

"I saw a lot of dust there," Sandy mentioned.

"There was dust everywhere. It was on my pens and pencils, and my textbook." Ariel adjusted her spectacles. "I might have to get a new book if it's got raccoon smell on it." She stopped to examine another club's notice board.

Sandy noted that Ariel only had her purse in her hands. "You didn't pack a lunch today?" she asked when Ariel was done reading.

"Ah no."

Sandy leaned closer to whisper, "Are you concerned about the Air Blimp appearing again?"

Ariel huffed and trusted her hands at the floor, palms down. "How... ooh! I just wanted to buy something from the cafeteria today, okay?"

Sandy held up her lunch box. "In that case, would you like to buy my spaghetti? It has Momma Lois's famous spaghetti sauce, rich with tomatoes and herbs."

"No, thanks," Ariel declined, "I had spaghetti yesterday."

Everyone had spaghetti the day before. It must have been National Spaghetti Day or something.

Sandy groaned and resigned herself to suffering through that all-too-familiar sauce for lunch. How she wished that she had meat, or even fish. The spaghetti would not be too bad if there were meatballs but the Home had run out of ingredients to make them. Momma Lois had better be done with shopping and cook something else for dinner.

The cafeteria that day was different too. In addition to the usual stalls selling food, the Baking Club and the Culinary Society each had their own stands, each with a long line of customers.

"Let's go see what they're selling," Ariel said as she pulled Sandy towards the stands.

The Culinary Society sold curry. Spicy orange-yellow stuff with chunks of meat and vegetables and potatoes in them, served with a generous helping of rice. Sandy's mouth just watered as she stared at the food, wishing that she had the money to afford a plate. That would be much more preferable to the contents of her lunch box.

Right beside her, Ariel had her eyes on the cookies the Baking Club were selling. Small and medium-sized cookies, sprinkled with chocolate chips, raisins or nuts, or frosted with sugar. Handfuls of them had been neatly wrapped in sheets of colored plastic, each held close with a foil of gold. Ariel readily abandoned Sandy and joined the queue for the cookies.

When Sandy was done drooling, she turned to look for her friend. She found Ariel waving at her from her position at the back of the queue, with a grin that taunted the brown-haired girl's lack of finances to buy the food that she liked. It was payback for calling her that hated nickname earlier.

(Not that Sandy was sharp enough to realize that it was a taunt, much less the unvoiced message it carried.)

Sandy waved back and went to look for a place to eat her lunch. She was not going to wait for Ariel to buy cookies. After cookies, her blond friend would likely look for something more substantial to fill her stomach with.

Handful of Sand Chapter 5 Page 1

It was a hot day.

Sandy was pulling at the collar of her blouse. The rough hem of her garment had been scratching annoyingly against her neck. She could feel herself wet with sweat.

(She smelled a little too, though she was not aware of it. Riding a bike to and from school had her accustomed to her scent so she would not notice her own odor.)

Out in front, the teacher was explaining how to solve a maths problem as she wrote the steps out on the whiteboard. She explained each step clearly and thoroughly. Her students should be able to grasp the lesson easily. Well, those of her students who were still functional in the noon heat.

"Mrs Kingston," Randy the boy who sat beside Sandy called, "Can we have the air-con on? It's hot."

The teacher stopped and fanned herself once with the notes in her hand. She glanced at the sunny day outside. "I suppose so. Close the windows," she ordered the students sitting near the windows. She stepped to the corner of the room and opened the box with the ventilation controls. After a brief manipulation of the controls, the welcome sound of a light breeze could be heard coming from the ventilation vents above.

Suddenly, there were scratching noises from within the ceiling. Then there were some pounding. The teacher and the students stared upwards as the sound seemed to travel within the ceiling. It sounded like the ventilation duct was rattling. Something was in there.

Then there was a crash in the middle of the class. Sandy turned just in time to see Ariel jump out of her seat with a high-pitch shriek. The blond girl fell into the desk behind her.

On Ariel's desk, on a blanket of dust, was the vent grating that had fallen from the ceiling. On that grating was a large black and white furry creature with a striped tail, sniffing in the frightened girl's direction. It shot a sharp threatening chitter at classmate Roger when he tried to approach.

Selina hurried to the front of the class, past the startled teacher. She grabbed the metal trash bucket and emptied it. Then she went back to Ariel's desk, approaching from behind the creature. She clapped the bucket over the animal's head and body as it was still facing Roger. In a breath, she tucked the striped tail under the bucket, then turned both the bucket and the air-con grating around. With a hand holding the air-con grating secure, she marched towards the front of the class. "Open the door," she ordered Randy.

The door was open by the time Selina reached the door. Then she was out with the bucket of little terror.

"Well, that was exciting," Mrs Kingston commented. She look at the boy standing by the door. "Mr Dorson, could you go get maintenance down here to fix the vent."

"Yes, Mrs Kingston." Randy left the room.

The teacher glanced at the clock mounted above the whiteboard at the front of the classroom. She dumped her notes on the teacher's table and walked towards the scene of the crash. "I guess that's it for today's lesson. It's nearly lunch anyway. Girls, clean up the dirt," she ordered a few of the other girls as she stepped in front of Ariel. "You're not hurt are you, Ms Peterson?" she asked as she examined the blond girl's head. "The grating didn't hit you?"

"No, Mrs Kingston," Ariel replied. She had dust on her blond hair and blouse.

"Very well. Go get yourself cleaned up." As Ariel left the classroom, the teacher stepped back to check the nearby students, assess the damage and supervise the cleanup.

That incident was much more interesting for Sandy than the teacher's lesson. And she experienced it in the cool ambiance of air-con. Briefly, she wondered if her other school days were going to be as exciting. Maybe a pot of gold would drop from the ceiling next time.

Ariel returned to class just before the bell rang for lunch break. The maintenance people had already arrived to fix the damage to the ceiling. Selina was also back with the bucket and grating but without the critter.

Oh, and just because the teacher canceled the lesson early did not mean that there would be no homework. She remembered to hand out everyone's assignments just before she left the class.

There always had to be a cloud for every silver lining.

Cat God vs Sun King (game)

I have been meaning to write about Cat God vs Sun King by nerdook for a while but I was busy playing games, er, doing research.

Update 10 August 2011:
Cat God vs Sun King took the Grand Prize in Kongregate's summer mobile game contest! Congrats, nerdook! Full results here.

As the Cat God in this game, the player's task is to stop the building of the temple by the Sun King. And being a God, the player has access to godly powers. Like the ability to rain fire from the sky.

Rain Fire!

Each power costs mana (indicated at the bottom of the screen) and has a cooldown (indicated beside the power icons at the top of the screen). This leads to lots of eyeball-exercise looking up and down the screen. Other than that, most players should be familiar with the mana and cooldown game mechanic.

The game ends once all the mortals are bullied away. However, this has to be done before the temple is completed, or the game will end in failure.

Briefing.

There are twelve stages in the game. In each stage, the player has a new type of mortal to deal with and a new power to bully those mortals with.

Making powers more exciting.

Each power can be leveled up by using them in order to increase their effectiveness. The third level of each power makes them better versions. It is interesting to level up powers just to try out their 'ultimate version'.

A screenshot of the menu interface always (well, usually) shows what the game offers.

Other than the game's twelve levels, there are achievements to complete. Most of the achievements involve bullying mortals in specific ways. Yes, 'bullying'. Because 'bullying' is a much nicer word to use than 'killing'.

Each achievement completed awards the player with a golden scarab. These scarabs are used to purchase items that each give a bonus or a new power to the player. Not to be confused with the golden scarab seen after completing a stage. That latter scarab is just for decoration.

Once the game is completed, a survival mode unlocks. In survival, there will be an endless number of mortals to bully until the temple is built. Ah, power-spamming fun!

"Argh, blade heading for us, blade heading for us!"

Cat God vs Sun King is a neat little game where the player gets to spam lots of powers to bully little mortals. It is short, so the player does not have to be concerned about getting too addicted and playing too much.

It seems that there is a mobile version of this game too, but I have not tried it.

"They're all dead and I'm all alone."

Friday, July 29, 2011

Handful of Sand Chapter 4 Page 3

Sandy had a session with her guidance counselor, Mrs Johnson, on morning break that day. She had made the appointment earlier in the week.

(Yes, it was an unusual display of initiative for Sandy. But it involved money!)

"Hello, Ms Gould," Mrs Johnson welcomed her into the office and moved to sit on her padded chair behind her desk. She was a bespectacled middle-aged woman. Her short brown hair had traces of gray and she wore a blouse and a skirt. "Please take a seat."

Sandy accepted the invitation and settled herself onto the wooden chair opposite the counselor.

Mrs Johnson retrieved a file from the top of a pile of paperwork on her desk. "Now, as I understand, you wish to get a work permit."

"Yes, Mrs Johnson," Sandy confirmed.

The counselor opened the file and glanced through it. "Have you found a job yet?"

"Not yet," Sandy replied, "I thought I should discuss it with you first."

"That's a good idea," Mrs Johnson commented as she flipped a page. "You should know that the work permit is employment-specific. So I can only get you one once you've found an employer. And should you change jobs, you'll need a new work permit."

"I understand, Mrs Johnson."

"Good, now..." There was an ominous pause. Mrs Johnson read a few pages quickly, going back and forth through the file. "Uh, Ms Gould, I'm afraid I can't approve a work permit for you."

Sandy sat straight. "What? Why?"

Mrs Johnson closed the file and placed it on the desk before her. She looked at the student. "I'm afraid your academic results were far below satisfactory. Your middle school grades weren't very good. I think that you should concentrate on your studies rather than seek employment."

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Sandy pleaded. That was an unexpected snag in her grand plan to gather riches for herself.

"Do you have any reason you need the job?" Mrs Johnson asked.

"Well... I want to buy good food, nice clothes..." When she had said it out loud, her reasons did not seem very convincing. "We don't get much at the orphanage and my allowance is so little."

Mrs Johnson thought her reasons were not convincing too. "I'm sorry, but I can't approve any work permit for you. Social Services provides you your needs so you don't have any pressing need for money." When she saw Sandy look down dejectedly, she added, "If you do well for your semester exams, I will reconsider letting you have a work permit."

Sandy's hope died a little when she realized that the semester exams were months away. Four-and-a-half months, if she bothered to read up the exact date and count the weeks. "How much better?"

"A B-average should be good enough," Mrs Johnson decided.

And that killed the rest of her hope. In fact, those words dragged Sandy's hope out the back and put a bullet through it. Getting a B-average was a tall order for someone who had been getting Cs and Ds for her exams.

"I see..." Sandy uttered.

"Now is there anything else I can help you with?" the counselor asked pleasantly.

"No, Mrs Johnson."

"Well then, thanks for coming." Mrs Johnson got up and escorted Sandy to the door. "Study hard, Ms Gould," the woman encouraged with a smile, "You'll get a good job one day if you do so."

"Yes, Mrs Johnson," Sandy mumbled.

Outside, Mrs Johnson looked at another other student who was seated in the waiting area. "Mr Jacobs, you may come in now." Her tone for that young man was much frostier.

Sandy dragged herself back to her classroom. Ariel, Esper and Selina were having a discussion at the back of the class in words she could not understand. It could be because they were too far for her to eavesdrop on with the other classmates talking, or it could be because they were not speaking in English. Whatever it was, Sandy was not concerned.

Instead, she slumped gloomily onto her seat near the front door. She planted her face on the textbook in the middle of her desk.

No job equaled no money. Disappointment...

"Hey, Sandy, what's wrong?" Ariel asked as she bent down beside her.

"Mrs Johnson said I can't get a work permit." Sandy pulled herself up. It appeared that her three classmates from the back of the class had moved next to her.

"A work permit?" Esper asked. "Why'd you need one?"

"A fourteen- or fifteen-year-old needs a work permit to get a part-time job," Ariel explained as she straighted up. She turned to Sandy. "Why didn't Mrs Johnson let you have one?"

"She thinks I should study instead," Sandy replied.

"She's right," Selina advised. "You should spend your time studying."

"Good grades isn't going get me money," Sandy stated.

"Maybe not now but it will in the future," Selina said, "You'll be able to get a good job with good education."

Sandy sighed. Her plan to earn money failed before it even started. Maybe her wealth was somewhere else. But where could it be?

Then the bell rang, signaling the end of break.

***

Handful of Sand Chapter 4 Page 2

There was one more game after that. Esper was in one of the teams. She was sent out early when a ball grazed her shoulder. Other players from both teams were eliminated quickly until there were two players left on one side against a lone girl on the opposite.

One of the girls from the larger team threw her ball at the lone player, who neatly caught it, sending the thrower out of the court and allowing one of the lone player's teammates to rejoin the match.

Then the girl who was no longer alone threw her ball at her single opponent, who easily caught it. That eliminated the lone hero and allowed a team member to return. Immediately after that, a ball thrown from the again-larger team was caught by the opposing solitary player.

The exchanges went on for a fair bit with balls being thrown from one larger team being caught by a lone member on the other side. Both team sizes alternated between two and one.

It looked like the girls were playing a game of 'Catchball'.

The match finally, finally ended when a lone player fumbled her catch and was out. The teacher blew her whistle, accompanied by the collective sigh of the watching classes. She then declared the class over and sent all the girls to the gym locker room.

Selina was one of the girls bold enough to take a shower after gym. While they were together in the communal shower, Sandy observed the taller girl's athletic body and her perfectly-shaped breasts. Her long brown hair, covered by a shower cap at that moment, would complement her beauty, making that tall girl one of the prettiest girls in school.

Sandy felt a pang of jealousy when she realized that.

However, Sandy noticed that Selina had small eyes. Without any makeup, they made her face appear plain. It was small comfort to Sandy that the tall girl had a flaw to her beauty.

After she was done, Selina stepped out of the shower area, wrapped in a towel. She took off her shower cap as she approached her locker.

Sandy was done at the same time and followed behind the taller girl. When she saw Selina's hair freed of the shower cap, Sandy thought it was strange that the tall girl had kept her hair tied. Selina's brown hair had been held together by the same pair of black bands and hair clip since morning.

Sandy stopped thinking about it once she reached her own locker, which was right beside her classmate Darla, a dark-skinned girl with black hair. Darla was in a towel and she was busy talking with Ariel, not at all in a hurry to prepare for class. Sandy took no notice of the conversation.

As she dressed, Sandy recalled her conversation with Momma Lois earlier in the week. She had asked her guardian about getting a part-time job. Momma Lois had been in support of it. The guardian had thought that it would be a good opportunity for her ward to learn responsibility.

Momma Lois had stressed the word 'responsibility'. And immediately after that had sent Sandy to do her homework. Well, what was important was the money anyway.

Sandy reached into the locker for her bra.

Once she had gotten a job, Sandy would be able to earn money. Then she could afford all the good things she dreamed about. Some nice clothes would be good. The blouse that Sandy had just put on was way too plain.

"Er, Sandy?" Ariel tapped her shoulder. Beside the blond stood a half-dressed Darla who had an arm covering her chest. Darla's other hand was on her side with her elbow turned outward to match the indignation on her expression.

Sandy turned to her close friend. "Uh, yeah?"

"Dreaming again?"

Sandy smiled sheepishly. "Was it that obvious?"

Ariel nodded. "I think you're wearing Darla's bra."

Sandy examined the bra that she had under her blouse. Then she looked into her locker to see that her own bra was still hanging deep inside. "Oops, sorry!" She started undoing her blouse buttons.

It was fortunate that the mistake was discovered before they left the gym locker room.

***

Handful of Sand Chapter 4 Page 1

They had dodgeball that day during the combined gym class with the class next door.

It was a game that Sandy had enjoyed in the past. That was because she was good at dodging balls. The concept of the game was simple - she simply had to move out of the way of incoming balls.

Sandy also understood the rules of dodgeball. Girls in each team threw balls at girls of the other team from their own half of the court. Anyone who was hit was out. If a thrown ball was caught, the thrower was eliminated and the catcher had her last eliminated team member reinstated into the game. Game went on until one team had all its players eliminated.

By some good fortune that day, Sandy was in the same team as Ariel. They had played a lot of dodgeball together in middle school, both on the same and on opposing teams. They had developed a tactic for use whenever they were on the same side. Sandy would be in front, attracting their opponents' attentions while Ariel picked them off from the back.

At that moment, Selina was alone on the opposing side. Sandy and Ariel had Sarah from class 9-A on their side so it was a three-on-one. It was not entirely Selina's fault she was backed into that corner since her other four members had been physically slow and/or a little on the heavy side of the scale.

Selina had been fairly prominent during gym. She ran faster than any other girl and had no trouble with the high jump and vaults. Her strength and stamina seemed limitless. Sandy wanted to beat her just once, just to take the mighty Selina down a notch.

The tall girl did not wear her glasses for gym. Without her glasses, Sandy thought Selina would have problems spotting an approaching ball.

(Prepare to be amazed, Sandy!)

As they had done in middle school, Sandy stood in front of Ariel, hiding her from their opponent's view. Then Sandy dodged aside to avoid Selina's thrown ball, at the same time allowing Ariel a clear shot. Ariel threw her ball at Selina, which was followed by one from Sarah a heartbeat later.

While stepping aside to avoid Ariel's ball, Selina neatly plucked Sarah's out of the air with one hand, eliminating the girl from 9-A. At the same time, she reached out and grabbed Ariel's ball as it passed her side.

Sandy stared in disbelief. Two of her teammates gone just like that! And the tables were turned with three on Selina's team versus her, who was last on her team.

Before any of her teammates could reenter the court, Selina spun a ball at Sandy's head, which the short-haired target easily ducked left to avoid. Then Sandy had to lean heavily to her right to avoid a second ball aimed at her waist.

At that same time, Selina bent to pick up a third ball. Without pausing to get up, the taller girl sent that ball straight at Sandy, straight for her right knee.

Sandy saw the third ball. She knew that she needed to move away. But she could not move her right leg! She was still committed to her dodge, with her weight on that leg, pinning it to the spot. The brown-haired girl could only watch helplessly as the orange ball kissed her knee, knocking her out of the game.

The teacher blew her whistle and awarded the win to Selina's team. She congratulated the tall girl. The other girls clapped. Selina's shorter and heavier teammates surrounded their champion and cheered for her. They were all excited at having won a dodgeball match, probably the first time any of them had ever been on the winning team.

The celebration was all loud and high-pitched. The teacher had earplugs prepared for such an occasion.

Sandy slumped down onto the gym floor next to Ariel, tired from her exertions.

"You did your best," Ariel tried to console her.

"Yeah," Sandy agreed. She took a deep breath. "I never knew that she was so good." There was no need to mention who 'she' referred to.

"With skills like that, no team can beat her!" Ariel added. "If it were any other team, we'd win."

"I guess we would."

Selina's skill was extraordinary. Surely there were not many people who could catch a ball single-handedly twice in succession and toss back three balls in that short space of time. It was not a common ability for a high-school freshman, was it?