Editing Eldramin (section)

== Chapter 11 ==
''Fannara''

They quietly pulled from our rooms, the occasional fit of giggles being quickly shushed. The hallway felt crowded with nearly all the girls on our floor and our brother floor in the same area. A line for the elevators quickly formed, slowing down the rather impatient guys. Every time an elevator arrived on our floor, a cheer went up, and a mass of students flooded the metal box to its full capacity.

It took nearly five minutes to get everyone to the lobby. How the boys had gotten on our floor without our notice was a mystery. 

We filled outside where a growing mass of students was forming. Cassia and the RA of our brother floor led us down the hill to a large field on the far side of the lake. 

Once we arrived, Cassia pulled out a megaphone, seemingly out of thin air, and started giving us instructions. 

“Everyone, listen up! We have a lot of stuff planned for tonight, and if you want to get it done in time to be awake tomorrow, you need to follow our instructions.” It got remarkably quiet. “Our two floors make our battalion. Now, I know most of you have been in Training with your squad, but tonight you’re going to know your floor.

“Some of you have chosen not to enlist, but you’re still part of our floor, so you have to suffer.” A few chuckles ran through the crowd. “Now, this,” she grabbed the arm of the guy’s RA, “is Joseph Marleyga{name}. He is in charge of the boys, so listen to him. You’re not in middle school, so I expect mature behavior.” Cassia stayed silent for a few uncomfortable beats before she started laughing. “I’m mostly kidding, ''mostly.'' Anyway, Joseph{name} is going to explain our first activity.” 

He took the megaphone from her and immediately burst our eardrums with a loud, “Who’s ready to show these girls who’s the best?!” A deafening roar came from the guys. Ari and I shared a look. “Tonight, we’re going to start off with some capture the flag, boys against girls!” Another round of strange noises came from our brother floor. 

Cassia snatched the megaphone from Joseph{name}, whacking him on the head with it before saying, “You’ve lost your privileges.” She turned to face us again. “Well, I’m assuming you all know the game. The border is that sidewalk.” She pointed to the left, and every head turned with her. I wasn’t sure if I did know the game, but I’d probably figure it out. 

Cassia held up two strips of fabric, one a neon purple and the other a radioactive green. “These are your flags. There are a few rules we have to go over real quick. Number one, no leaving campus, duh, no going into the lake, also duh. No trying to physically harm each other. Ladies, you cannot legally break someone’s knee with a salamander, just a reminder. 

“Lastly, no magic unless there’s an emergency. We have nonusers on our floors, and we love you guys!” A few cheers went up. “But it’s not fair to use magic. That’s all. Oh! Your flag has to be slightly visible, and yes, free walk backs. Now try not to kill each other.” She tossed the purple flag at one of the girls and the green one at a guy. 

This was going to be fun. 

We divided into our teams and prepared for what was guaranteed to be an intense game. The girl who had caught the flag, an Illitani, was yelling at the girls who were talking over her, trying to get everyone to listen. 

She eventually gave up and turned to her friend next to her, pure exasperation on her face. The friend, in turn, cupped her hands aboud her mouth, and, with incredible volume, shouted, "EVERYONE LISTEN TO LANYA!" All the girls stopped talking and turned to face her. I wasn't sure what race this friend was. She didn't have remarkably distinct features than the average Eldran, but she seemed a little...off. 

Lanya started again. "Thanks, now we need to figure out a strategy to win this game." Over the next five minutes, our team devised a plan to beat the guys. The flag was properly hidden, and we were ready to start. 

The boys started making guttural noises and yelling insults, which were, of course, returned in full by the girls. I had no idea how the smaller Venrlyn girls could match the lower pitch and volume of the big Eldran guys. 

Cassia and {le dude’s name} stood at either end of the sidewalk boundary line, leaving the anticipation to hang in the air. 

She slowly raised her arm before abruptly lowering it, followed by a “start!”. 

Everyone ran to their assigned positions. I was to guard the middle of the field with Mel and the other faster girls. Mara was helping guard the flag in the back, and Ari was one of the lucky few who had been chosen to enter enemy territory. If all went to plan, she or one of the other girls would sneak past the guys while the less athletic girls provided a distraction. 

As usual, the plan did not go as planned. 

The guys were using a different tactic. They suddenly flooded onto our side, leaving the bigger guys to guard their territory. It was nearly as chaotic as when they stormed our floor. The worst part? They still had the lettuce.

They chucked vegetables and stuffed animals at us as we tried to tag all of them. I don’t even know how many times I got hit in the head by stray lettuce, but I somehow managed to tag at least three guys before they all retreated. 

Overall, they had come out victorious in the confusion. None of them had spotted the flag, but they had taken note of where it wasn’t.  

During the confusion, the first wave of girls had tried to find the guy’s flag but they had caught almost all the girls. A new plan started forming in my mind, but I wasn’t sure I could get anyone to listen to me. I swallowed down the pride trying to work its way up my throat, and stuck to the plan. 

Nearly half an hour followed, with neither side gaining much ground. My brain had finalized the idea. It was worth a shot, and I was the only one who the team could possibly lose in it. I doubted it would be much of a loss if I did fail. I had hardly done anything the whole round. 

I jogged over to the girl closest to me. “Hey, I have an idea, but I want someone to know what I’m doing.” She raised an eyebrow at me. 

“I’m listening.” I felt a smug smile spread across my face. 

The tree certainly wasn’t comfortable to wait in. A knot in one of the branches stuck out just enough that I couldn’t lean back. But it was the best view I could get. 

I’d been waiting for at least ten minutes. The guys were only sending a few of their teammates across at a time. They had gotten a few of their members back. Occasionally I’d see one of the girls start looking around for me, to be stopped by the girl I’d told my idea to. 

My stomach kept reminding me that what I was about to do was probably a bad idea. Not that I needed another body part reminding me. I was so pent up with nervous energy I thought I would throw up. 

Then my chance came. A large group of guys began nonchalantly striding towards the boundary. I stood up and resumed my climb. I got to the end of my branch and checked the position of the guys. Still far enough away for me to cross. 

I swung from one tree to another, repeating my action until I reached where the sidewalk cut through the row. This had to be timed well. 

Taking a deep breath, I focus on the branch I was going to grab. I had done this a dozen times. Just not with these trees. With a horde of boys below me. Not a big deal. 

The guys got right up to the sidewalk. They were about to cross. 

“FOR THE LETTUCE!” The swarm gave me the distraction I needed to jump across. My hand wrapped around the branch, and then the other. I swung onto a lower branch and let out a small laugh. 

I climbed to the top of the tree overlooking the guy’s side, and scoffed aloud. In their confidence, they had left their flag in a painfully obvious spot. Conveniently for me, that spot was right below the tree line. 

Quickly and hopefully quietly, I got myself to the tree right above the flag. The neon green screamed painfully into the dimness. They seriously didn’t have anyone guarding it. 

I carefully lowered myself to the ground and grabbed the flag, stuffing it in my back pocket and quickly swinging back into the tree. I looked down one last time in satisfaction and froze. Bryce stared up at me in total puzzlement. 

Before I could think it through, I cracked a smile. “Bye!” 

I think I broke the Alithosi record for climbing, I had never in my life climbed that fast. 

Bryce managed to gather his thoughts and started yelling at the guys on his side. “It’s the Alithosi girl! She’s in the trees!” 

I let out a slightly maniacal laugh and fell back into the rhythm of swinging from branch to branch. Below me, the guys were frantically running around with their heads craned back, trying to find me. 

“It’s the Alithosi climber!” “She’s a freaking squirrel!” “What the heck?!” 

With much difficulty, I stopped my laughter. If any of them caught me, this idea would fail. From all around, I started hearing the girls yelling encouragement over the guys. 

“Heck yeah, Fannara!” “Show them who’s the boss!” “''Fly my child''FLY MY CHILD!” The last one was definitely Ari. 

I got to the sidewalk and hesitated. I was in such a rush; I wasn’t sure I could make the jump, but was that safer than making a run for it? I decided a head injury probably wasn’t worth it.  

Gripping a branch that jutted out from the tree, I leaned back, and then propelled myself forward. I held my breath and let go. My momentum carried me across the sidewalk and into our territory. 

A ton of guys immediately tackled me, but it was too late. We had won.

The girls helped yank the mass of sweat and flesh off of me. I stuck my hand into my back pocket and pulled out the green flag, letting out a victorious cheer that ended in a laugh. 

Ari and the other girls who had been caught ran back over to our side and joined in mocking the guys. They stared back with irritation gleaming in their eyes as we jeered at them. 

I just smiled and laughed.