[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/200712/f7bf6851d2ced322d5677a5d37b1f4c3.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/gHM6KeH.jpg[/img] [sub][color=slategray]A collab with [@Bee] and [@HaleyTheRandom] Featuring: [color=ffcc00]Erica Monet[/color], [color=73c2fb]Charles Mallet[/color] and [color=93e9be]Billie Jean Gray[/color][/color][/sub][/center] [hr][hr] Billie’s anger and shock over the scavenger hunt had now turned into more of a slow burn in the back of her mind - a small spark that if fueled, would burn the whole school down. With a competitive streak a mile long, she was determined to win this. Unfortunately, with her given team, her chance looked fairly slim. Standing there with her hand in her pockets, Billie sighed as Charles and Erica made their way over. [color=93e9be]”This fucking blows,”[/color] she said, rolling her eyes. [color=93e9be]”Those of us who can - let's use our brains and get this shit over with.”[/color] [color=ffcc00]“Way ahead of you,”[/color] Erica said, looking up from their first clue and flipping the card around to show the jumbled letters. [color=ffcc00]“It says lecture hall, by the way,”[/color] Erica said, her voice cold and terse. She was pretty confident she’d rather self-immolate than spend the next ten challenges with Billie Fucking Gray, but she didn’t see anyway out of it that didn’t end in detention or prison. For a team that had just formed, there seemed to be a lot of tension within already. Charlie was a little confused as to why his teammates seemed like they wanted to murder each other, but he figured it was better that he leave that stone unturned before he made things with his team worse. For now, they had bigger things at hand and better things to take care of. Teammate relations were not the first thing on his agenda. Charlie walked over to Erica, who was holding the card, [color=73c2fb]”Nice work, Erica.”[/color] Charlie smiled, [color=73c2fb]”Hopefully it isn’t too hard to find… there’s a lot of chairs and desks in there.”[/color] Billie wrinkled her nose in disgust. [color=93e9be]”It’s not like they buried the clues under the floor or something, Charles.”[/color] Now knowing her destination, Billie began on the path that led towards the lecture hall. Standing around talking about the clue wasn’t going to do any good. Action was what they needed. It was Erica’s turn to roll her eyes. [color=ffcc00]“Glad to see you had your usual bowl of Cheerio’s.”[/color] She started off after Billie, catching up to the shorter girl in a few strides, leaving a much needed space between them for Charles. [color=ffcc00][i]Please, make this go by quick.[/i][/color] Charlie was starting to wonder who exactly pissed in Billie’s Cheerios, because there was no way someone just woke up with that much vinegar and vitriol in their veins. However, there was no use in trying to figure out what Billie’s problem was. He shrugged as both girls ran off, sighing and starting the walk to catch up to the girls. The boy didn’t seem to notice that there was a deliberate space left between Billie and Erica, much less a space for him to shove into. By the time Charlie had caught up, he had pulled up to Erica’s right, figuring that Billie wasn’t entirely in the mood to interact. [color=73c2fb]”We’ll be fine. Don’t even worry about it.”[/color] Erica glanced over at Charlie, a knowing smile creeping across her face. They were royally screwed, but it was cute of him to try. [color=ffcc00]“Thanks. Maybe you’ll be right,”[/color] she said. The lecture hall loomed above them, and Erica breathed a sigh of relief as the doors opened and a rush of cool air hit her face. The large building was empty, save for the desks and chairs, and a staff member standing at the ready. She was an older woman, short, with brittle, gray hair, held up in a tight bun. [b]“Good morning. Your first challenge is to find ten puzzle pieces, hidden around this room. When you find all ten, you’ll get your next clue.”[/b] The woman’s voice was patronizing, like she was speaking to toddlers. [color=ffcc00][b]“Better get to work then. If we split up this will go a lot quicker,”[/b][/color] Erica said. Ten puzzle pieces? Charlie scratched his head as he tried to figure out how they would go about trying to find ten puzzle pieces in a hall as large as this. Who in their right mind decided to hide ten puzzle pieces in a place like this? [color=73c2fb]”Couldn’t have said it better myself.”[/color] Charlie concurred, before he set off toward one end of the lecture hall. There were definitely a few under these desks, but the problem was figuring out where these pieces were exactly. Charlie started at the very top of the hall, before looking underneath the first desk. Already, there was a puzzle piece taped underneath it. [color=73c2fb]”Found one!”[/color] He exclaimed, pulling the piece out and holding it up. [color=ffcc00][b]“Nice! One down, nine to go.”[/b][/color] While Billie and Charles went off on their own, Erica headed over to the corner of the room that held the professor’s desk. Opening one of the drawers revealed another piece, resting alone in the empty space. Erica picked it up, calling out her find. [color=ffcc00][b]“I got another one! This is gonna be a piece of cake.”[/b][/color] Eventually, Charlie managed to find a few more. To the best of his estimation, he probably grabbed another four pieces just from underneath the desks. Erica had already gotten one, so they had at least six already. Hopefully, Erica and Billie would find the last four sometime soon. The sooner they were done, the better. [color=73c2fb]”Hey! How are we doing, guys?”[/color] Charlie asked, leaning over a chair to see what the girls were up to. [color=ffcc00]“I got two more,”[/color] Erica called out. She heard Billie call out her pieces too, and got up to regroup with her team. She placed her pieces on an empty desk, taking Charles’ four and another three from Billie. The puzzle was easy, childs play honestly, but she figured finding the pieces had been hard enough. She looked up at the woman who’d given the challenge, waving her hand at the puzzle. [color=ffcc00]“You wanna come make sure we can do puzzles right?”[/color] Crawling around on her hands and knees looking for puzzle pieces had not improved her mood. [b]“Very good! Here’s your next clue,”[/b] the woman said, just as patronizing as before. She handed the clue card to Erica, who held it out to the others so they could all take a look. [color=ffcc00]“Anyone have any ideas?”[/color] Billie was ready for this whole scavenger hunt ordeal to be done and over with. Their next clue in hand, the team made their way to another handful of challenges, Erica and Billie making passive aggressive remarks at every chance they got. It had been a long day, and there was no question as to why there was a pounding in Billies head. Once they had figured out their last clue (the card read ‘Courtyard’) the three of them arrived at their final destination. [color=93e9be]”Give us the details, Hensley,”[/color] Billie said, glaring daggers at the Gym teacher. Once the older man explained that they were here for an egg toss challenge, Billie rolled her eyes for the millionth time today. How much more stupid could these ‘challenges’ get? Turning to face Erica and Charles, she sighed. [color=93e9be]”Guess we better get to doing this dumb shit, huh?”[/color] [color=73c2fb]”We’re almost done.”[/color] Charlie sighed. The further they got through the challenges the more Charlie was starting to realize just how ridiculous all of these challenges were. An egg toss? Really? Charlie didn’t even know if scavenger hunts typically included egg tosses. [color=73c2fb]”Who wants to go first?”[/color] Charlie asked, looking at the eggs they were supposed to toss. [color=73c2fb]”If neither of you want to go, I can go first.”[/color] Erica, drained by the day’s events, sighed as she tied her hair up. [color=ffcc00][b]“Charlie, you toss it to Billie, and if she catches it, then Billie, you toss to me.”[/b][/color] The tension between Erica and Billie had been slowly growing all morning. That not so subtle dig hardly helped, but damn if it didn’t set off something deep in the pettiest parts of her brain. [color=73c2fb]”Fine by me.”[/color] The boy said, before picking up the egg. The tension between Erica and Billie still seemed to be thicker than maple syrup, and it was still something he should stay out of. Holding the egg in his hand, he glanced at the two girls. [color=73c2fb]”You guys ready?”[/color] [color=93e9be]”As I’ll ever be,”[/color] Billie answered. As the egg went sailing towards her, Billie caught it nearly effortlessly. She was used to having to catch things from time to time due to Nick. When getting dressed, he would toss articles of clothing all around the room. Billie [i]hated[/i] that shit. Of course an egg was smaller than a shirt but it still helped with her coordination. Tossing the egg Erica’s way, Billie may or may not have used a little extra intended force. If the egg fell, whatever. The egg came at Erica faster than she’d expected. It bounced off of her hand and smashed on her sneakers. [color=ffcc00]“Fuck! Nice throw Billie,”[/color] she called out, sarcasm laced through her words. Rolling her eyes, she kicked her foot out, trying to flick some of the smashed egg off her shoe. It had already begun to seep into her shoe, and the kick made her feel only slightly less disgusted. [color=ffcc00]“What are you waiting for, Charles? Grab another fucking egg!”[/color] Watching the egg smash onto Erica’s shoes had disheartened Charlie. Billie really didn’t need to use [i]that much[/i] force. It was totally unnecessary. But, Charlie figured instead of talking about it, he would much rather grab another egg. No time to argue about what was going on. Reaching down, Charlie picked up an egg and tossed it over to Billie, hoping that this time it wouldn’t break. [color=73c2fb]”Careful now, guys!”[/color] Almost missing the egg, Billie managed to catch it a second time. Choosing to ignore both Charles’s and Erica's remarks, she tried her best to toss it right this time. The egg splattering onto Erica’s shoes had been awarded enough, and the sooner they got done tossing this egg - the sooner Billie could get away from her. This time, Erica’s fingers closed gently around the egg, and when they uncurled, it sat comfortably in her hand, unbroken. She grinned and looked up at Billie, and tossed the egg back, as softly as she could without throwing it short. Two more times around, and they were done. Catching the egg once again, Charlie quickly chucked it back toward Erica. He hoped that they could keep this up to the very end. They were on a roll, and Charlie was hoping they could keep this momentum up. He wanted to say something, but he figured he should stay silent in order to help maintain concentration. Better they say stuff after the fact than break the egg because of a comment Charlie wanted to make. With everyone avoiding an argument this time around, the kids managed to complete their task. [i]Thank gods,[/i] Billie thought. [i]Now we can end this shit.[/i] The egg made a final rotation, incident free, and finally, Erica strolled over to the staff member leading the challenge, and dropped the egg into his outstretched hand. [color=ffcc00]“Thanks for the extra load of laundry,”[/color] she said, turning her back and strutting confidently back towards the metaphorical finish line, egg be damned. Once the egg had finished its rotation, a long sigh came out of Charlie. Finally, it was over. Charlie only watched as Erica brought the egg to the staff member, before he followed her to the finish line once and for all. He was so ready to be done with this. With the challenge being over, Billie didn’t bother to even stick around to see who had won. She didn’t care at this point. Making a bee-line towards the dorms she sighed of relief. It was done. It was over. She didn’t have to look at Erica anymore. She didn’t have to put up with dumbass Charles and his stupid fake ass positivity. [i]”Fuck San Agustin,”[/i] she grumbled.