Locking In With My Life System

No sooner had the doors to the opposite minibus opened, the students of Midtown High stepped out, their crimson blazers immediately standing out in the morning bloom.

Their instructors also happened to alight the vehicle, both individuals stretching their joints and offering Mr. Lazlow and Mrs. Delacroix a curt nod of courtesy the duo respectfully reciprocated.

Yet, for as kid-gloved as the interaction between the teachers were, the students themselves were having none of it.

Literally, both teams had walked up to the other, silver-lined blues contrasting against bronze-lined crimsons.

At the forefront of Midtown’s group was none other than Flash Johnson, his dirty-blonde hair and electric-blue irises giving off a naturally superior air that accentuated his striking features.

It also didn’t help that he was just as he looked. Highfalutin with just the right amount of swagger.

But when you happened to be the most popular kid in your school, alongside a high IQ that simply couldn’t be ignored, the pride came with the territory.

It also didn’t help that he happened to be the Captain of their school’s football team, further adding to his already impressive portfolio.

”Well, well, well...” he remarked uppishly, his 6’1 height looking particularly domineering against Damian’s 5’11 as he stared down at the President whom was equally standing at the forefront of their team.

”I hope you won’t be chickening out of this year’s loser’s trophy like your predecessors did last year’s.” he cocked a brow, his condescension on full-display.

Early last year, Damian had been a substitute on the decathlon team.

He had also happened to watch as the very same youth before him tried to make a bet with his seniors at the time.

A bet they had declined to engage with as they’d lost so many times to Midtown High, three successive loser’s trophy in their cabinet was enough for them to swallow their pride and ego.

It also didn’t help that Flash had turned what should’ve been a friendly, light-hearted, fun-poking bet between schools into an avenue to beat down the competition before the event even began.

Mind games to lower team morale, essentially.

To that effect, it made even more sense why his seniors had rejected the idea.

Afterall, their team, for as good as it was then, wasn’t exactly crème-of-the-crop, with their scholastic division especially being their Achilles heel.

Now though, Damian couldn’t help but glance over to the tinted window of their minibus for a brief moment, directly where Aiden was napping like a contented feline.

Immediately after, his gaze flicked over to Theo whom was still seated in the bus, his frame barely visible from the corner of his eye as he was currently flipping through flashcards.

Then he chuckled lightly, his amusement catching Flash off-guard

With a thin smile that slowly widened into a light grin just after, the youth then spoke;

”How about I do you one better, hmm? Add a bit more spice to things.”

”If we win, you have to repeat our famous cheer on my command during the award ceremony. If we lose, we’ll do the same for you.” he tucked his hands into his pocket.

Then Damian added smugly, his head tilted slightly;

”Though if I’m being honest, given how much we’ve cooked your football team several times over, I can’t exactly say I remember your cheers all too well. Might need a refresher at this rate.”

Megan, alongside the rest of Silverlake High’s team were already trying to suppress their snickers as they watched Flash and the students of Midtown High recoil visibly from the trash talk.

Clearly, not a single one of them had been expecting Silverlake High to bare their fangs.

They were so used to being the dominant party, it was a bit off-putting to see their rival school being so confident. Enough that they were fine with adding another layer to an already humiliating bet.

As this was happening though, a masculine voice suddenly joined the interaction, his tone boisterous;

”Holy barbecue on a Sunday morning! That’s a sick burn if I ever heard one!”

Naturally, both teams looked over as Henry Blake who happened to be part of Westchester Prep’s Honor’s Division walked over with their own team members, his brown hair a neat side part and rectangular-rimmed glasses framing his bottle-green irises.

He was clearly also an extrovert, a trait that aided him extensively in his role as the President of their school’s theatre club as he added;

”Count us in! Should be fun!”

”For us, definitely. For you guys, not so much.” Flash pompously cocked his head in response.

”Never say never, Flash! Our team’s stacked this year I tell you! We’re gonna pull the rugs from underneath your feet and send you packing like its spring cleaning!” Henry boisterously laughed.

At the same time, he was clearly sidelining Silverlake High as they’d actually never won the decathlon in a really, really long time, hence why he didn’t feel threatened by them.

Walking alongside him was Evelyn Stone, a striking lady with platinum-blonde hair styled in a neat, classic bob cut with soft layers that accentuated her full lips, button nose and ice-blue irises.

She happened to be in Westchester Prep’s Student Council as a class representative, and she had a notably aloof air to her. She also happened to be in the scholastic bracket--same as Aiden’s.

”I guess we’ll just have more mouths to cheer for us when we inevitably win, now won’t we?” Flash on the other hand sneered in response, equally looking down on Henry and Westchester Prep’s team.

Though they’d managed to win a couple times in the past, they hadn’t managed to do so in recent years and were usually duking it out with Silverlake High for second place, often times coming on top.

That said, upon laying eyes on Evelyn, his gaze seemed to flip into something less abrasive and more appreciative as she locked eyes with him for a brief moment.

Because even in their signature brown blazers, her lithe, shapely figure managed to somehow stand out, her thigh-high pop socks resting just above her knee, right where the hemline of her skirt was.

Watching her look away a moment after, Flash inwardly remarked, seeing her as no more than another competitor he had to crush today;

’Such a shame...’

Any other day though, he’d have definitely tried his hand at asking for her number. And perhaps he would after the competition was over.

But for now, secretly ogling her would have to do.

As for the lady herself, she simply remained aloof as ever, her expression placid.

Yet, internally;

’Attend the decathlon, they said! It’d be fun, they said! I just want to go home!’

It also happened to be at that exact moment the doors to the convention center opened, students of various schools already swarming towards its entrance.

’Oh, for Christ’s sake!’ Evelyn inwardly complained.

She really didn’t want to be here... yet her resting face gave off the impression that she couldn’t care less.

That said,

”Theo, it’s time to move. Aiden, wake up.” Mr. Lazlow called out to the only two still seated in the bus.

No sooner had the students of the rival schools heard that though, their eyes seemed to narrow, their gazes sharpening as they looked towards the door of the minibus.

Clearly, they were well-aware of those names.

Even if it wasn’t front-cover story, it wasn’t every day you heard that your rival school managed to have teens in their senior year who made a game that made over $2M+ in the past month and a half.

And considering they’d been expecting them to alight amidst their interaction but to no avail, their curiosity had only climbed.

More than that,

’Wake up?’ Flash, Henry and Evelyn alongside a couple other students inwardly repeated in confusion, a couple others tilting their heads much the same.

He was sleeping? Today? On the morning of the decathlon?

The hell sort of galls was that?!

Theo stepped out first a moment after, and there was a palpable sense of determination rolling off him in waves.

One that stripped away his diffident nature for the meantime and replaced it with an air so serious, it was hard to believe he was the same person from an hour ago.

Simply put, Theo had completely locked in.

Even then, his peers simply watched as he joined them without reading too much into it, Megan striking up a conversation with him about something she’d read.

Yet, to every other student watching that was not from Silverlake High, their expressions seemed to reflect a mix of surprised wariness.

Surprised that he was quite the looker. Wary that he looked like someone whom had come with one sole purpose to absolutely demolish the competition.

Even Flash felt himself feeling slightly oppressed, finding Theo’s demeanor rather impossible to ignore.

Without needing to be told, they all instinctively knew he wasn’t just participating in the event as a substitute, but rather as part of the three main teams--presumably the Honors Division.

Yet, as they were all coming to grasps with that, a quiet yawn caught their attentions.

This time, Aiden stepped down from the bus, clearly still in need of more sleep as baggy, dark circles remained under his eyes, his eyes lazily blinking like a lizard’s.

Though he happened to be arguably better-looking than the curly-haired youth, his initial impression couldn’t have contrasted any more sharply against Theo’s.

Yet, none of his teammates alongside their instructors seemed the least bit bothered by it.

This time, Flash couldn’t help but shake his head, seemingly relegating Aiden to being a substitute in his mind.

Henry was the same too, as was Evelyn and several other students around who watched as the coal-haired youth kept looking around with bleary eyes.

That was the only explanation for the sort of nonchalance they were witnessing, both from the youth himself and the lack of any proper reaction from his teammates.

Which was why, when they’d finally gotten around to settling behind their respective desks in the hall and the competition was about to begin, they still didn’t pay him any mind as he sleepily stretched his limbs.

Afterall, though substitutes were allowed to participate in their own brackets, their points were never tallied with the main team divisions.

Unfortunately for all of them, they couldn’t have been more underprepared for the sort of havoc Aiden was going to wreak at the decathlon today.