Chapter 47: Washed Seniors
The third day of Spirit Week naturally came with yet another dress code.
Jersey Day.
At the same time, it was also the day their Build Day was set to happen alongside several of the Spirit Week Pep Rally events ranging from two-legged races, baton relay race, board games, teachers Vs student’s dodgeball and tug-of-war... all of which would culminate in each class getting points.
Points that would eventually determine which class would win the Regent’s Cup.
It was also why more than half of the day wouldn’t even be spent in classes, but rather on the tracks, field and the school park.
Dressed in a green jersey, black track pants, and black sneakers, Aiden was currently filing out of his class after the first three periods were done.
At the same time, the bell was ringing for longer than usual. Soon enough, it stopped, and a voice immediately cascaded from the hallways’ PA speakers.
Students, staffs, kindly relocate to the field for the Spirit Week Pep Rally events. Thank you.
Even without being told, several students were already moving over to the location, a palpable sense of excitement in the air as the corridors buzzed with lively chatters and the likes.
That said, as this was happening, some students were stopping by their lockers to either pick or drop something before leaving for the field.
Aiden was one of such students, a proud smile on his features as he headed over to his locker while staring at his Chemistry test script.
Yet again, he’d gotten another A+, and he had to admit, it didn’t feel any less good than the one he’d gotten in his mathematics test.
"Two down. Three more to go." Aiden nodded to himself as he arrived before said locker.
Placing his bag and the script inside, he simply made his way out, same as everybody else.
Soon enough, he spotted the gang alongside the rest of his peers on a section of the crowded field and walked up to them, everyone dressed in respective jerseys of their own.
However, just before he could holler his buddies, his system chose to ping into his field of view.
-
-
[Ding!]
[Exclusive Quests Updated!]
⸢Exclusive Quests
› Beat the allegations.
└ Take your class to victory! – [1 LP]
-
For a brief while, Aiden simply stared.
Then, he suddenly doubled over and covered his mouth while laughing, his shoulders shaking visibly.
The fact that the system wasn’t even trolling or roasting him alone this time, but rather his entire senior year, had him genuinely amused.
Given Aiden had never once participated in any of the events and they’d never won Regent’s Cup across all their respective grades thus far, it was clear as day what it meant with its quest details.
At the same time, since their juniors--sophomores at the time--had trolled them so much when they’d lost last year’s Regent Cup to them, they’d began referring to them as the ’Washed Seniors’, way before they even reached senior year.
Still, Aiden couldn’t help but muse to himself a few seconds after as he walked over to his buddies;
’I wonder if you have access to my memories...’
Though Aiden had never quite given it much thought before, he was starting to wonder if the system had such immense knowledge of the internet culture and the gumption to appropriate them into a scenario like this because it had access to his own previous experiences.
Opting to put it on the backburner for now, especially since he was well-aware that he could utilize the ⸢FAQ⸥ function later to get some answers, he dismissed the panel.
At the very same time, he walked up to the gang and said, a light smile plastered on his lips;
"So, which event are we starting off with?"
"Tug of war." Larry and Benjamin replied in unison, each stretching their limbs as they warmed up.
"And I’d bet we’re up against the juniors again?" Aiden rhetorically asked while slinging his arms over Theo’s and Clyde’s neck, both of whom had signed up for the less physical side of things.
The board games, to be specific.
"Yep." Casper on the other hand cracked his knuckles in response, an excited grin on his features as he remarked;
"Those twerps won’t know what hit ’em this year!"
"I can’t believe you have a personal vendetta against your very own juniors," Daisy’s voice reached over to them, the lady tying up her hair with a rubber band as she walked over with two of her friends, amused smiles on their respective lips.
"You have to understand, babe. We need to retire the ’washed seniors’ allegations before graduation!" Casper turned over to her, his fingers gesturing with air quotes.
"Besides, I refuse to let a bunch of little runts born after me have that sort of ammunition in their back pockets. My ego’s fragile enough as is!" he added, his arms dropping exaggeratedly to his sides.
"That, I believe, we can all agree on." Kevin added as he and a couple guys from the football team converged over, all of them nodding in agreement.
"Ditto~! I need to scrub that stain off my perfect portfolio." Clarissa chimed in, she and her friends equally walking over.
All of them looked quite fired up too, and Aiden simply watched them all in amusement as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Internally though, he was already cooking up a storm to absolutely demolish the juniors.
Yes, Aiden was just as fired up as his colleagues, if not more. He just preferred to be more reserved about it.
Besides, Casper was completely valid. They did need to retire the allegations. And they had to do it in overwhelming fashion to really sell it.
Casually though, the queen bee moved over from her side to his side a minute after, her gaze determined.
"Well, hello there," he greeted, a hint of amusement in his tone as he looked down at the lady who equally replied, her hands on her hips and her jersey tied in a clean knot just above her belly button;
"Hello, handsome. Wanna partner up for the two legged-race?"
"Sure. Why not."
No sooner had Aiden said that, Coach Ramirez, the coordinator of the Pep Rally events called out using his megaphone;
"Alright! That’s enough chatting, trash talking and pretending you stretched!"
A fair few chuckles spread through the field upon hearing the man’s words. At the same time, the Coach kept speaking;
"Seniors and juniors, you know the drill. Send ten of your chosen contestants to the front! You have five minutes!"
Quickly, the classes did as they were told. Having selected their representatives before the three-minute mark though, Aiden called for his team to have a word with them.
Then, right on the five-minute mark, the man’s voice boomed through the megaphone once more;
"Seniors! Juniors! Front and center! Tug-of-war teams, on the rope! Everyone else, get behind your grade and make enough noise that I regret volunteering to supervise this!"
Immediately, the teams began moving towards the marked lanes where the thick rope was already stretched across the center of the field as their respective grades loudly cheering on as they encircled them.
Soon enough, the line-up of the seniors comprising of Kevin, Casper, Benjamin, Aiden and Billy alongside a couple other guys from the football team gradually stepped up to the stage.
"Ooooh! Here come the washed seniors!" one of the juniors loudly jeered, his grin every bit as amused as it was taunting.
"Don’t throw your backs out, grandpas!" another added without a second thought.
"And don’t you worry, you old-timers! We brought a first-aid kit just in case! We’ll fix you nice and good too!" someone else cupped his hands around his mouth and called out in addition.
Instantly, the seniors retaliated with some trash talk of their own.
"Talk while you still can, twerps! And hope you like vegetables ’cause that grass’s gonna be stuffing your mouths soon enough!" Kevin barked back.
"Yeah! You little ankle-biting no-good piece of skylarking rapscallions are about to become lawn ornaments!" Casper immediately followed up, fueling the rivalry with some spunk of his own.
Naturally, the opposition was so stunned by his vocabulary, they had no words to say in response while the seniors themselves cackled in response.
At the same time, the group of ten watched the competition arrive on the other side, one that had Kevin remarking in clear disbelief on behalf of his mates;
"You, little shits! That’s just unfair and you know it!"
Instead of admitting that they were in fact cheating the game by having all ten of their members be from the football team, the ten solidly built students grinned shamelessly as they replied;
"Skill issue."
"Don’t worry. We’ll pull ya nice and easy!"
"Try not to eat the grass on your way to the floor!"
"Save it for after the match! Rope in your hands!" Coach Ramirez’s voice cut in as he blew a sharp whistle directly through the megaphone. Yes, directly.
Clearly the man was a menace in his own right as it didn’t take too long before the laughter quickly subsided, replaced by the competitive spirit of the rally.
Then, as both teams grabbed and held both ends of the thick rope, their feet planting firmly against the soil, Coach Ramirez walked to the center, one hand raised above his head while speaking;
"Remember! No sitting and no wrapping the rope around your arms! And no intentionally trying to hurt the other group, unless your entire team forfeits!"
Waiting until both sides had nodded, a grin then tugged at the corners of the man’s lips as he said;
"Now then, let’s see if the seniors can finally beat the allegations."
Instantly, the entire field erupted, the juniors cheering wildly and the seniors collectively groaning as the Coach called out;
"On my whistle..."
"Three... two... one..."
FWEEEEET!