After finishing our practice run, we all huddled around a nearby bench as we studied our time. The whole thing took us fifty seconds on the dot.
Remi leaned over the stopwatch with a look of pure awe. "Whoaaaa, isn't this really good?!" she exclaimed.
Mei gave her an approving nod. "For our first time? I think it's great. But–"
"It isn't enough to beat Yu's class," Luna finished.
Those were the same thoughts I had, but I didn't say them out loud. Who would've thought that having someone around to finish your thoughts for you was this convenient?
Remi seemed to be taken aback by Luna's sudden seriousness, since she was staring at her like she was a completely new person.
"Damn, since when did you care about winning so much?"
Luna scoffed. "Uhh, since my nails were on the line?"
"Just when I had so much respect for you…"
Mei interrupted with a soft giggle. "Fufufu, but Luna's right. I think with the group we have now, we have a big chance at winning. The student council president's class is the one to worry most about."
The once-bright mood turned just a bit somber. In any other circumstance, fifty seconds was something to celebrate. It was an objectively good time—just not good enough to win against Yu.
Still, standing around and moping over it wasn't going to do us any good. While the chances seemed slim, there were still ways we could win.
I let out a long, heavy sigh, drawing the group's attention to me. "Even if we practiced, we probably can't beat them at the relay—fairly anyway."
"What do you mean?" Mei asked.
"Long story short, Yu's definitely going to be the anchor, and because of that—"
Before I could finish my explanation, Remi interrupted. "But don't they have Sora and the soccer club's ace? Why would they pick Yu? Not to say that he's bad, but there are other options."
Luna let out a baffled laugh as she waved Remi's reasonable question away. "Bah! Please, if there's anything I know about Yu, it's that he's a show-off and stubborn. He will be the anchor and won't stop until he gets it."
I nodded along. "Exactly. So all we have to do is bait him a little bit."
"I'm sorry," Remi cut in, her fingers pressed against the bridge of her nose as she struggled to keep up. "I genuinely have no clue what you're even trying to say right now."
"What I'm trying to say is, we will use her."
I pointed to Luna. "Last time you two raced each other, it was over who would do each other's homework, right?"
"Yeah, what about it?" she asked.
"Don't you remember how mad he was when he lost?"
"How could I forget? He grumbled about it the whole day. It was so funny!"
I felt the urge to chuckle while recalling the memory, but I held it in.
"That's my point," I said. "He already wants a rematch with you. So all you have to do is—if you see that we're behind and he's about to get the baton—bait him into a bet. Just say something along the lines of 'How about we race at the same time as a rematch?' or something."
Remi shot me a disgusted, scornful stare. "What? You really think he's going to throw a winning game just like that?"
"He actually would," Luna answered for me. "If there's one thing he likes more than showing off, it's playing against his friends equally and winning. At the end of the day—while he likes to win—he doesn't actually care about it. He just wants to have the most fun. And he only has fun when playing against his friends."
Remi's brows furrowed together as she let out a frustrated, protesting groan. "Okay—let's assume that somehow this works. Isn't this a bit shady?"
"Uh, obviously?" I replied flatly.
The corners of her lips curled up ever so slightly as if I had just proved her point. "Anddddd we are still gonna do it? Isn't that, like, against the rules?"
"Well," I explained, treating her like she was a dumb child. "Do you wanna win?"
Her earlier traces of smugness disappeared instantly. "...Yeah…"
"Thought so. Then shut up and deal with it."
At my sudden disrespect, Remi's eye twitched, and she had reached her breaking point.
"Why you!"
Remi clenched her fist and lowered her stance, ready to bounce on me.
Well, I'm surprised she even lasted this long—but time to leave.
Just before she could make the jump and before I could dodge out of the way, Luna grabbed her by the collar and pulled her back.
Remi stumbled back for a few moments before regaining her balance. The moment she did, she shot Luna a betrayed glare.
"W-what was that for?!"
"Uhhh, you just tried to harm my Brother," Luna replied as she casually put her hands behind her head. "What did you think was gonna happen?"
"Excuse me?!" Remi snorted. "How is that fair? When he aggravates me by treating me like I'm stupid, you don't do anything!" She raised her hands, her voice taking on a mocking tone. "But God forbid I do it, amirite?"
Hearing herself get mocked like this, Luna's face contorted into one of pure annoyance. "Well soo—ry for trying to defend my friend! You were going to punch him! What? You want me to just stand around?!"
"He hurt me, too! And you just let it slide!"
"He hurt your damn feelings! We hurt each other's feelings all the time! That's how our friendship goes!"
"Well—he's a different story!" Remi pointed in my direction. "Look at how smug he is!"
Luna stepped in front of me, blocking her path. "I think you're just taking it out on him for no reason!"
"Okay, I see how it is. You just like him more than me!"
"How does that have literally anything to do with it?! I like you all the same! Stop being so insecure!"
"I'm reading between the lines!"
"What lines?! There's nothing to fucking read!"
"Oh—don't yell at me like that... b-bitch!"
While all this was happening, Mei and I were just... standing there. Even if Mei and I wanted to get things in control now, it was kind of too late for that.
I'm all for stepping in in awkward situations for a laugh, but their bickering was so violent by this point that anyone who tried to interfere would face the wrath of these two on their own.
Yeah... I think I'll pass on this. They got it.
So, with nothing else to do, we just waited. Eventually, both of them sprawled on the floor, completely out of breath.
Using this opening, Mei cleared her throat, gathering all our attention and bringing us back to the topic at hand. "While I do think this is somewhat 'shady' as Remi said, if you guys are all in for it, then I am too."
"I... don't.... care anymore..." Remi said between gasps.
I turned to Luna. "Your call."
She didn't even think about it for a second. "Meh, whatever. Of course I'm going to do it. What do we do if we're ahead, though?" Even though she was on the floor too, she was talking like she was perfectly fine.
"Then we don't do anything and play normally," I answered.
Remi looked at me with disgust, her face a shade of blue. "Yuck…"
Luna shot her a glance, and Remi shot her one back. Both their mouths opened at the same time, but before another fight could break out, Mei clasped her hands together.
"Okay, then we can do that," she said. "But—I'd like to win fair and square, so why don't we keep practicing, okay?"
"Sure..." Remi replied.
"I don't care," I shrugged.
"Yes, ma'am~."
After that, we continued practicing the relay until gym class came to an end.