Keeping them in suspense was fun. I did have a fun story about a centauress I could tell them. It happened years ago in a different game, so it would not be believed me even if I told them. It was better to just play around as though I was a faker. It certainly seemed as though Michus and Cesus thought that way. What they believed was up to them. Instead of telling them that, I talked about the math class. Aenos launched into a gossipy story about something that happened behind me. The centaurs did not need chairs, so the sat on the floor in the back of the room. There was a freight elevator that took them from floor to floor in the school building. That was how they and all the other large creatures were able to participate fully in school life. There was going to be a week before the season started for everyone. That meant that there was going to less and less time to meet up. Cross County took a lot of time and dedication to be good at it. They were preparing to run up to 2 full miles for the longer races. It would take them both of the 2 hour blocks. It was the same with all of the sports teams.
Everyone had the week to decide whether they wanted to commit to the team they got on. If not, the slot could be used by another person that tried out. It was perfect to get rid of those that were doing it to prove themselves or got on multiple teams or clubs. That was fine. I could hang with my new friends and see what happened until then. Michus looked at me and said "I was surprised you were able to get on the team. No humans have gotten on a team in years." I nodded. "I knew I could do it. I just had to go out and do it." The centaur chuckled and said "C'mon, that's it! You just had a feeling!? There has to be more to the story." I shrugged. "Maybe I'll tell you that later." I said before looking over to Aenos. "What race are you most excited for?" I asked. He wanted to go for the full 2 mile race. Agamos was settling for the half mile race. I could tell he was putting himself down again. "Even I can do that much." he muttered. "I haven't seen you run, but you got on the team when others got cut. That has to count for something. You can do it if you try." I encouraged. A blush rose to his face.
The others were content with the mile race. They were all second stringers aside from Agamos. That meant it was very unlikely that they would be called on to represent the team at meets. The same could be said for me. When that realization hit, I was a bit disappointed. I could try to sabotage my teammates ranked above me, but that would not prove anything except how many enemies I could make. Lunch was over and Aenos looked at me as we were getting up. I looked back at him. He asked "After school lets out, are you going to take your prize or are you going to come with us to the park again?" I decided I really wanted the reward I was owed. Who knew how long I was going to stay in the game world? When I told him, he looked a bit disappointed. "Okay. I guess we'll see you tomorrow at lunch." I offered to exchange numbers with them. Usually once you were friendly with them, an NPC would offer to give you their contact information. You could initiate, but the response depended on your relationship. Aenos readily agreed. Agamos looked around and nervously gave up his.
He really looked on the fence about the decision. Michus said "Sorry. I don't think we're close enough to be talking over the phone or texting each other." He let me down easy. Cesus just scoffed and said "I don't need a human in my contacts. No thank you!" That was a bit harsh of a response. A small ping let me know that my relationship went up with Agamos. We were friends now as well. Two out of four was not bad. I went to my classes and finished the day. I then went looking for Metrec and Tokac. It was not hard to find all three of them. They were all waiting outside the school and angry. I walked up to them and said "So, where are we doing this? Do you guys have a place in mind or something?" Murgred looked at his two friends. "Do you want me to go with you? It's no problem for me." he said. "No. I don't need help to handle a fucking human." Metrec snapped in annoyance. Their relationship was strong, but Tokac sealed the deal. "Murgred, we got into this mess. We will handle it ourselves. Go home or something. Okay!?" Murgred looked down as he walked away. He was conflicted.
