“Listen to me.” Katelyn leaned forward, staring at her intensely. “You have a gift. You just need to get back in the habit. It’s only been three days. Even if you don’t get on the team, you’ll still be there. You’ve got three more Versus Games in your career. It won’t end this year.”

  “I have to get on the team this year, Kate. How am I going to prove everyone wrong if I don’t?”

  “There’s a lot of great fighters that didn’t get on the team on their first try. You know that.”

  “I don’t know if I can do this. I don’t… belong here.” Calista looked out the window. Who was she kidding? Her whole life, she pretended to be something she wasn’t. How was this any different?

  “It’s always going to be up to you, Cali. Your life isn’t about other people’s opinions anymore; it’s about yours. If they can’t see the person you really are, then they don’t matter. You’re going there to learn how to be a fighter, not become popular.”

  A pause stretched between the two sisters. Calista recalled the high Rep Levels she saw on everyone’s tags. Whether they admitted it or not, popularity did play into fighters’ lives. If they got more of a reaction from Versus fans, they would have a better career. These SCs were all popular, with students dreaming to be in their Guilds… all except Harrison.

  Katelyn seemed to have the same thought. “Look, Fistborn is just like NYWS, except that they look at fighting skills and not fashion or looks,” she said. “You still have to develop your fighting, so do that. Focus on studying and do what you usually do— be confident.”

  “But I can’t fake confidence that well-”

  “Girl, you’ve basically been an actress the past few years. What do you think people like Mom do? They pretend! Every minute of every day. Just fake it.”

  “It’s different here. They don’t…”

  “Trust me, it’s not,” Katelyn insisted. “You feel more confident when people look at you, right?”

  “Yeah, and when they like me… or they don’t like me, but want to be me.”

  Katelyn shuddered. “Spoken like Mom.”

  Calista shrugged. “It’ll be a while until I speak like me. I don’t know… how to be… me.” The sudden realization hit her like a high-speed Air-Bus. She’d spent so long worrying about being the ‘her’ that her mother wanted that she’d forgotten what it was like to just be her. Why was she even doing this? What did her younger self see in fighting? She’d forgotten so much.

  “Well, for now, use that. Every fighter has a unique signature, so you make yours. When they see how confident you are about it, they’ll want it and think it’s… ‘uber-unique’, as you would say. Basic psychology.”

  +10 Rel-P

  Maybe she was right. Calista needed attention— good attention. She was already conditioned to take that as a sort of fuel for her self-image. If everyone else admired her or envied her, she could use that as motivation.

  “It’s getting late. You should get to sleep,” Katelyn said. “You start at six in the morning, right?”

  Calista blew out her cheeks. “Don’t remind me. I don’t have bags under my eyes, do I?”

  Katelyn chuckled. “No, you don’t. Try to stay healthy, okay? That’s a fighter’s best bonus.”

  Calista nodded, hiding her lingering worry. “Okay. Love you, Kate.”

  “Love you, too.” Her hologram disappeared.

  +5 Rel-P

  ===

  Task Acquired: Observe students’ behaviors— Potential RP

  The Recreation Station was the place where students could settle down and relax. Aside from the Mess Hall, it held an arcade, a pool, and spas, the latter of which was right up Calista’s alley. Sadly, they were criminally underused, feeling eerily empty when Calista went to relax in a Sensory Deprivation tank.

  She decided against using her Break period for relaxation and instead chose the pool, where more students seemed to hang out. It was the perfect opportunity for her to study woman fighters and understand how they acted so she could fit in better.

  She entered wearing her red swimsuit, which was snug against her skinny waist and showed off her perfectly-proportioned arms and legs. Her ‘CM’ necklace glinted around her neck. Her long black hair was all secure under her airtight cap. There was a small group of about ten students at the pool, the girls in red and the boys in blue swimming trunks. Some swam while others sat around the edges, talking.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Calista went to the side of the pool and started stretching. She’d swam a lot in her younger years, mostly for freeze shot sessions, but it had been a little while. It was probably the only physical activity she did besides dancing. It was particularly popular during the craze about Voraxian sirens, who were mysterious and beautiful sea creatures, but the craze stopped when Voraxians criticized the aquatic body mods and showed offense.

  A couple of Martian boys were sitting a few feet away, their gray toes dipped in the water. One was a third-year and the other a first, but they shared a surname; probably brothers. They spoke a Martian language, so Calista discreetly used her AIDA band to translate their conversation.

  “Don’t get nervous if Coach Gus goes on a long speech,” the older one was saying. “He gets real technical and doesn’t really realize he’s going on too long. No one understands him. Professor Nila tends to let him go at first to psych first-years out, but afterwards, she shuts him up.”

  That was good advice. In her first Disciplines class, Coach Gustavo ‘Computer’ Martínez— a Mercearthian— had gone on a long tirade about the subject, leaving Calista feeling as dumb as an Aelket. At least she knew now that no one understood any of his garble.

  Observance: Common subject- Academics

  She tuned into a conversation a group of girls was having by the diving boards. A Voraxian girl swiftly jumped off the highest board, a hologram indicating her speed as she dove into the water, then measuring the splash impact.

  Observance: Impressive stunts

  “We’ve got the higher ground here,” a freckled, redheaded Earthian girl was saying. “We’re the ones with the biggest hirinium supply and we decide whether to keep it flowing in the country or sell it. The Brits think they’re scaring us by saying, ‘we won’t buy from you’, but they’re really just missing out.”

  “So a fight between us and them wouldn’t change much, right?” a Mearthian girl with grayish skin and pixie-cut black hair said.

  “Not really. If we lose, they get a share and we get the digits. If we win, we keep circulating it and we still get digits.”

  Observance: Common subject- Geopolitics in the Games

  Calista was lost with their conversation, but she kept an eye on their mannerisms and movements. They were relaxed, casual, and even strong in their gestures. There was less ‘flowiness’ and ‘gracefulness’ to them. All of them had strong figures with toned arms and legs, some keeping their hair cut short, probably to avoid it obstructing them in combat. Calista wouldn’t go that far, though; she loved her hair.

  It wouldn’t hurt to have it in a constant updo, though. It did tend to get in the way during Practicum.

  She took a breath and approaced the diving boards, which had three levels to it, connected by an elevating platform. Most of the girls were choosing the highest one, diving and splashing impactfully.

  If that made an impression…

  Task Acquired: Use the high dive— 10 RP

  Calista passed the group of girls, going up to the highest board. She wasn’t afraid of heights, so it wouldn’t be a big deal. She just had to dive in like…

  It was high.

  She gulped, her stomach turning as the pool below seemed to get farther and farther. Her legs froze into ice and she couldn’t move at all.

  “Hey, are you diving or what?” Turning, Calista saw an Earthian girl looking at her with knitted brows. Her blond hair was cut into a pixie cut, negating the need for a cap. “It’s my turn.”

  “Oh, r-right. Um…” Calista tried to moisten her dry throat. She sucked in all the air she could, pointed her hands up, and gracefully dove forward.

  She felt her stomach slam into her mouth as gravity pulled her down into the water. There was a split second of thrill and excitement— she did it! It was quickly replaced with pain.

  Her muscles contracted fiercely and spasms wracked her body. She clamped her jaw shut, trying to keep her air in her lungs, but the spasms had her oxygen bubbling out of her lips. Her UI popped up with warnings:

  -20 HP

  Harsh Impact Detected

  *Get to Surface*

  She wanted to swim up, but her arms weren’t moving. They were twisted in painful contractions. She curled into a ball, feeling her lungs screaming for air. Her gold necklace floated in front of her face.

  “Calista, move!” Lindsay warned her, nestled in her swimsuit’s Pet belt.

  -5 HP

  -5 HP

  -5 HP

  Was she dying? Was she drowning? Why wasn’t her body obeying her?!

  “Calista, can you move? Can you hear me?!”

  WARNING: ALMOST 50 (Real) HP— RESURFACE NOW

  She should’ve gone for the shorter plank. Why did she have to try and show off?

  -5 HP

  -5 HP

  Drowning Countermeasure Activated

  She was suddenly thrown up to the surface. Cold air hit her from all directions. She finally forced herself to inhale and felt water running down her throat, causing her to cough.

  Her body slammed painfully onto the tile, contracting further. She coughed until she finally felt her airways clear. She could barely hear anything.

  Hot hands touched her shoulders, causing her to flinch. She squinted at the bright light invading her vision. “Whoa, easy!”

  The pain lessened drastically and she was finally able to see and hear. Her UI showed her Health bar at 80 points, with *MEDICAL ATTENTION RECOMMENDED* flashing below.

  Looking up, she saw a group of faces staring at her from above. “You alright?” a boy asked. “Your Pet shot you out of the water.”

  “You were down there for a while,” a girl said.

  Calista shakily stood, forcing her gaze to her feet. There were too many people staring at her. Too many eyes, too many faces, too many… judges.

  “You should go to the Infirmary,” someone else said.

  “N-no, I’m fine. I’m fine.” She pushed through the crowd and quickly went to change out of her swimsuit.

  “That’s not a good idea. You need to get checked. The healing bot can only do so much.”

  “I said I’m fine!” She ran out before anyone could say anything else.

  Task Failed— -2 RP