26 Lilies in the Dark (1/2)
There were 5 others playing the ball game. They all seemed to be in the second year. As Xin Fan requested to join, they looked at each other and shrugged. They seemed quite nonchalant about the request.
”Wanna let him join?”
”Sure! why not?”
And so Xin Fan easily integrated himself into the group. Xin Fan got the basic gist of the game. There was one person who is 'it'. He would stand in the middle of the circle. There would be a ball. 'It' would run and tackle the person with the ball. If he succeeds, the places would swap. If he fails, he would sit out for the round. The game is played until there is 2 people are left, 'it' and the last players passing. The last person passing would be the winner.
Xin Fan held the ball in his hand.He bounced it at high speeds. He could see the person in the middle run over to tackle him. He threw the ball at a high velocity at the person next to him. From the sheer force of the throw, the boy was forced back 10 steps.
”What are you doing!”
'Sorry...I threw too hard.”
The boy charging at him changed target and tackled the boy to the ground.He did not even have a chance to throw the ball.
”Aha. You are it.”
The two swapped position. The one who was tackled went to the middle of the circle with the one who was tackling holding the ball. Just as the match started again, Xin Fan lifted his hands and shouted at the top of his lungs.
”COME AT ME!”
The others looked at him with a confused expression. After all, this was a ball game, not a battle royale. The only time when it is even remotely appropriate was if he was it. After a few seconds of confusion, the game resumed. Xin Fan easily adapted and managed to win most of the rounds. He easily overpowered them with his pure athleticism. Ever so often he would do some strange plays. He would pass the ball through the legs. He would slam it down and make it bounce high. He would even pass it by rebounding it off someone. To put it simply, he did things out of the ordinary. Eventually, he decided that he had played enough and walked off by himself. All of what's left was to test his theory.
-
That very night, he crawled out of the window as he did the night before. He was extra vigilant. He was paranoid that he alerted some of the staff the night before. He was almost certain that there would be more people patrolling. However time was not on his side due to a deadline. He only had 12 more days to finish the quest. Knowing full well Chilong was awake, he left a note.
-
Please keep an eye out.
Cover me when I come back
we can fight again
-
Xin Fan, like yesterday, walked through the hallways. Like yesterday, there were teachers patrolling the school grounds. Every so often he would enter a classroom and hide in a blind spot until they pass. Compared to yesterday, there was a lot more teachers passing through the hallway. After all, the staff room was just on the top floor of the building. There seemed to be a staff meeting. Xin Fan internally planned to return before the meting was over. Xin Fan quickly rushed over to the gymnasium and hid in a dark corner waiting for the show to start. He brought warmer clothes today. If Chilong was going to be awake anyway, he might as well bring it.
*Bounce*
*BounceBounce*
*Bounce**Bounce**Bounce**Bounce**Bounce*
As expected, there were bouncing again. The sound softly resonated throughout the gymnasium. Xin Fan was waiting. Waiting for something to occur. There seemed to be more shadows tonight. They moved swiftly passing an invisible ball around. Then, there was a soft voice. The shadows may be part of one's imagination. However the sound was unmistakable.