Rise

“First place is ours! Haha! We’re gonna win this whole damn thing! No one can stop us! We’re the fucking best!” Ouyang exclaimed. “Who cares about who we gotta play? We fucking rule! Isn’t that right!”

“Exactly! We don’t care! We’ll beat them all!” Liu Yue was infected by Ouyang’s enthusiasm. He gave Ouyang a bro hug and shouted, “We’re totally awesome! No one can take first place from us!”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and nodded, “We can really do this!”

Ouyang’s little outburst drew a few eyes, but when Liu Yue jumped on top of him, most eyes in the internet cafe turned to High School 13’s esports team. Some chuckled or just shook their head before going back to what they were doing before. It wasn’t strange to see a team get a little overexcited. There was always one. Others didn’t turn away and instead started whispering amongst each other.

“Who the hell are those guys? They look like idiots…”

“I love their vibe, man. They’re totally feeling it. Can you feel it? Man, they’re feeling it.”

“Smack-talking after playing the first round of games… Do they think they’re already in the main tournament?”

Those who were still paying attention to Ouyang and his crew after their little outburst learned which school this team belonged to. High School 13. There weren’t many esports clubs in Shanghai who didn’t know about High School 13. It was one of those teams that believed the world had it out for them, always claiming they got dealt the worst hand. Just last year, they made some wild accusations about a spy after getting their asses kicked in the first qualification round. As if that was the reason they lost. Only the best 16 teams could make it to the main tournament of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament, and High School 13 definitely wasn’t one of them. High School 13 was only here for the experience.

“You for real? Haha! That’s hilarious! Are they high on something?”