Into the Rabbit Hole

Like Alice in her Wonderland of wackos, Wrath too was facing the oddities around her. People were gossiping and taking judging glances at her from time to time. Sometimes she would catch the basketball guys taking sneaky pictures of her. She wasn't used to this type of attention before. They usually had accusing looks and demeaning comments. She was well-known to bring fear to both students and staffs alike.

Her deep piercing gaze and unmoving facial expression were the base of their conclusion. The confusing mixture of aggression in her behavior and her quiet nature painted her as a dangerous predator. Some kids even labelled her the lion of Helheim High. People rumored her to lurk around the school corner and prey on lonely pupils. This rumor had forced most students to stay in a group of at least three people at a time.

It was as if her aura had an effect in the school's way of doing things. Though few were skeptical, they still didn't want to risk it. The burning down of her old house that killed both of her parents became her portal into another dimension. She has always been the quiet and weird kid. She would talk to herself often and had violent outbursts in class when provoked.

Teachers became restless and agitated when they had her in their care. But the incident that happened four years ago opened up a hole that swallowed her reputation even more. Lust and Pride were one of the few who never saw or accused her of the things they heard. And she had been hiding behind her shelter ever since.

The dark and raunchy style she adopted had helped her go under the radar. She was just the school creep who was leeching on the two most popular guys in their high school and nothing more. Wrath began to enjoy her anonymity. She was almost free to do any lunatic idea that came to her mind. She pled for insanity and took advantage of her status as a minor.

But she threw away her cloak of invisibility as soon as she stepped out of Pride's car in her most racy and suggestive clothing she had ever worn. Greed was extremely pleased by the many positive feedback towards her creations. The group had never been this popular before and Wrath was under that spotlight; center staged.

She slowly took of her jacket and folded it before putting it on her lap. Lust took off the extra layer of t-shirt he had on and gave it to her.

"Wear this so you won't catch a cold. It's gonna get chilly soon," he rearranged his suspender.

"T-thanks," she put on his baby blue shirt and tied the hem to make a crop top.

"That looks so cute, actually," Greed complimented.

"Gee, thanks. If only you had thought about it sooner," Wrath gritted her teeth at her.

"I'm sorry. But you look hella hot in that corset. You should try to accessorize more from now on. You know what, I can come over tomorrow and re-do your whole closet–"

Wrath had her hands ready to choke her friend, but Lust's quick reflexes halted her mid-action.

"Not here, please. The game is about to start," Lust pulled the neck of Wrath's shirt.

"You win this time," she squinted threateningly.

As the game started, the group waited passionately for Pride's turn to bat the ball. Gluttony distributed foils of burritos to his friends and was anticipating a good reaction.

"Hmm… You added something new this time," Sloth mumbled.

"Mhm. My family's secret recipe."

"Ew! I had cilantro in mine," Envy spat out a leaf and washed it down with the cranberry vodka in her tumbler.

"SUSH! It's Pride!" Greed announced and took out her camera to memorialize the moment.

"GO PRIDE!" random cheers ensued from the crowd.

It was obvious that he was the favorite player in the field; loved by both players and audiences. He took a stance and readily gripped his bat. He positioned himself and focused on his opponent's hand rather than the ball. The pitcher was Pride's long-running nemesis. They had been in each other's watchlist for years. They used to be best friends in primary school, but they drifted apart after Ramiel moved as a freshman.

Both boys had made it into the baseball team and became the best at their position. Ramiel had always had a dirty but acceptable way of pitching. He had practiced a technique that would fool the batter into thinking he had thrown the ball. But in actuality, he was still holding it in his hand. This would cause the batter to miss their swing and earned a strike.

The referee nor the coaches could say anything about it. His father owned and financed most of the businesses that were concerned with the game. After his trick became well-known amongst players, he began to develop even more devious tricks to fool his opponent and single-handedly topple the scoreboard.

"Ready, Pride?" Ramiel winded his pitch.

"As always," Pride clutched his bat and had his eyes glued to Ramiel's hand.

* Tak! *

"Strike one!"

The crowd went wild with chatters. Ramiel's team snickered and sneered on the opposite side of the field.

'Sh*t, he's still playing with my head,' Pride scolded himself.

"Can he figure out what to do with the next two swings?" Wrath asked her roommate without breaking focus from the field.

"There's a 5% chance he'll hit the ball," he yawned.

"How are you bored?! This is suspenseful! Don't you want your brother to win?"

"Hey, chill out. I'm just kidding. He'll get it for sure."

"Strike two!"

Wrath grabbed Lust's shirt and went up to his face, "what the f*ck is he doing?! We're gonna lose."

"Pride! Don't look at his hands. Focus on his eyes!" a female's voice shouted from the sideline.

* Clang! *

"He hits it folks! The ball is flying into the sky. Oh, it looks like he has hit a home run!" the announcer exclaimed in excitement.

Wrath stood up from her seat and cheered for him to run faster, "No way! Run as fast as you can! C'mon! One more base!"

Lust watched the rare energy surge his friend got and smiled quietly to himself.

"We won! No f*cking way! Did you see how far it went?" Wrath turned and surprised Lust with a hug.

"Oof!"

"Sorry, I got excited."

"Guys! We won!" Pride yelled from the home base.

Six of them rushed down to congratulate their winning team as Famine shuffled and disappeared into the crowded food stalls; incognito.