I noticed that the newspaper club was following us around for the rest of the week. It was because, as the newest club members, we all needed to be registered with the school and have it signed by the president of the club. As a group of journalists, it was hard not to go unnoticed that a bunch of minorities and omegas joined this sport. I did not know that they would find out about us so quickly. They wanted statements and asked us why we were joining. Most of them did not want to be a part of it. There was no reason for me to deny them. I could get my agenda out there for the others in the school. "We wanted to show that anyone could succeed if they put their mind to it. It is also due to our captain, Cyrus Marlin, and the other underclassmen in the club. Even though there might have been some concerns about omegas joining, they gave us all a fair shake and we warned our spots." "Do you not think the concerns of Omegas being unsafe around Alphas are warranted?" I was asked by a very pushy journalist. "The Archery club's small, but we can show the others that it's good to compete."
My quotes were taken and incorporated into the article. It came out on Thursday morning and one of the newspaper club members were there. Just as promised, there was a set of equipment for everyone. "I saw your words in the paper today, David." Cyrus said. I looked at him and smiled. "I was just impressed with how bold and brave you were. Not many would have been so open-minded." I said knowingly. His smile was strained. "Very well. Let's get to the field once you get everything on." he said as he sat next to his vice-president. As we were getting dressed, a Dukesh burst in the room with the newspaper clenched in his hands. "The fuck is this!?" he yelled. He then looked around to see all of us. "Excuse me!? This is the Archery club, not an auction house. What do you want!?" the Abiel snapped from his seat. The Dukesh threw the newspaper on the table in front of them. "Freshman year, I got told that a Dukesh on the team would not be a good fit. Now you have omegas, Ganes, Aslelas, and Gikriths walking on? Fuck that! Let me in!" he demanded with fist banging on the table.
Not getting in the way, I signaled to the others to keep out of it. Cryrus said "Stop yelling and calm down. That was Freshman year. What year are you in now? Things can change after time passes." He got up and leaned over the desk as he glowered. The Dukesh just glared back and said "I'm a junior. And before you say anything, I'm an Alpha. I want on. Now." "It doesn't work that way. You have to try out. They all did. I'm not giving any exceptions for an Alpha." The Dukesh looked at us briefly and said "Fine! What every they did, I can do." We just looked at the captain. He sighed as he rubbed his temples. "Tryouts are open to everyone. We'll test you. Follow us to the field." Cyrus said in annoyance. We were all pretty much ready to go. We made our way to the field and the captain gave another demonstration of 2 sets. One of the younger members gave him the arrows and bow with the gloves. The Dukesh was able to barely pass the test. Years not practicing seemed to have dulled the skills that he probably had. I congratulated him and asked him for his name. "Thanks. Isham Ross."
Obviously, there was no gear for Isham. He would have to wait until Monday. The newspaper member was happy that he got a scoop. With the tryout done, it was time to practice. We all did well. Isham seemed to be getting a lot better as the rust wore off. That was what it meant to be an alpha. The next day, the club was being referred to as a "Rainbow Club". There was at least 1 member of every ethnic group in the club. The novelty of it got a lot of visitors to the club that wanted to watch us practice. It did not matter the ethnic group or the gender. The original 5 members were a bit put off by it. "No one came to see when it was just us." the sophomore Blaqis pouted. It was kind of cute to see that, so I let that be. We practiced together for a couple of weeks before the captain looked over us at the end of practice. "It's time for the local competition. They gave us 5 slots for single competition and the other schools are known to send 2 to 3 teams for the tournament. That means we can sign up 3 teams this year." We were all a bit excited. "I've decided that the original 5 will get the individuals."
