Chaos

Breakfast the following day was one of the loudest, most chaotic experiences Athena ever had. It was Saturday morning and the first game of the season, so everyone was going nuts. By the time Athena made it to the Great Hall of a quick breakfast, it was only an hour till the game, so the energy and excitement were off the charts. It was one of the biggest games of the season because it was Silverstorm against Dragonheart, set since the school was created. Everyone had the posters they made sprawled out on the big tables in the Great Hall, rushing to put their final touches on everything. There were always some stupid boys from Silverstorm taking bets for the game every year trying to make some cash for the summer.

Jessika was clad in the Dragonheart colors from head to toe, wearing garish cherry red lipstick and nail polish, a black sweater with a red long sleeve shirt underneath, and a black skirt with red leggings. Her fake eyelashes were unbelievably big; they shimmered with sparkles of red as she blinked, drawing the attention of a few Dragonheart boys that had stopped by to give Beckett, Tucker, and Jason last-minute encouragement. Athena had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at how stupid the outfit looked.

Jason, the team's newest member, looked a little green as his nerves were getting to him. This happened every time before they played Silverstorm; they were the only team he was scared of because they played dirty. Beckett is the Captain of the team and the quarterback, so he and Jason had been spending hours at the field over the past few weeks trying to practice enough to get rid of Jason's nerves. Tucker would accompany them, staying out of their way. Isaac would spend the time doing homework in one of the grandstands. It didn't seem to have made much of a difference to Jason's confidence, though.

"You're going to be fine, Moose," Athena heard Becket reassure him quietly as she took a seat with her friends. They were sitting right beside her, a foot of room between her and Jason, with Beckett on the other side of him. Athena took a sip of the orange juice that appeared in front of her, not looking at them as she continued listening.

"What if I'm awful, though?" said Jason anxiously. Athena felt knee bobbing up and down on the bench they were sitting on. "What if I can't hold the line and then everyone hates more, or what if they hex me and we lose the game? Everyone will hate me."

"Nobody is going to hate you; we all know they play dirty," Beckett said patiently. "And if anyone hassles you, I'll hex them." He cracked a grin at Jason, who smiled nervously. "Anyways, we are not going to lose to a bunch of snacks. We're a better team, we have better players, and we work together better than they do." Jason seemed to consider what Beckett had said before nodding in agreement.

"Okay."

"Excellent," said Beckett cheerfully. "And hey, maybe you'll finally get her to notice you."

Athena frowned. Jason had never shown interest in anyone before, boy or girl. She braved a glance over to see Jason's usually caramel skin turn the color of late summer plums, his previous green complexion gone. She followed their line of sight, curious to see who 'her' was. Athena stifled a sound of shock and choked on her current mouthful of orange juice as she realized that both boys were looking at Jessika, who was chatting excitedly with Carson, her lips a cherry blur as she spoke.

Oh, no. No, no, no, NO. Athena thought to herself as she tried to act normal. He can't; she likes Beckett…

"Thena?" Jezebel poked her arm to get her attention. "We're going down to ze stadium now." Athena nodded dumbly, still lost in thought. She got up and followed her friends out of the Great Hall as if controlled by a remote, almost tripping over a can of stat stuck glue that a bunch of first years was using in an attempt to glue fake whiskers to their face for whatever stupid reason.

The football field was a blur of red and black, occasionally spotted with emerald green and royal blue of Silverstorm. They passed several blonde girls who had charmed their heads like a 'Silverstorm.' Silverstorm is the name of the ancient snake for whom the house was named after; he was owned by the founder of Silverstorm house Grayson Silverstorm, for whom the snake was named after, wore a coat that was the brightest green and deepest blue you have ever seen. One almost naked boy was wearing nothing but his boxers and Silverstorm war paint. Athena wondered how he got past security wearing, or instead not wearing that. There was a Redwood girl in the commentator's box who, rather annoyingly, was sporting green and blue ribbons tied around her ponytail of mousy brown hair.

The girls were forced to sit up in the highest seats, and as soon as they were settled, the whistle blew. The players from Silverstorm are on defense. Athena couldn't stop herself from cheering when Tucker sacked a Silverstorm kid, causing him to crumble to the ground, unconscious. Tucker victoriously pumped his fist in the air at the sea of red and black, all screaming his name in hero-worship.

If the game was aggressive at the beginning, it had turned into a battlefield by halftime. Silverstorm was down two players thanks to Tucker and Beckett, the dynamic duo. They performed a dorky high-five, grinning like idiots as the two injured were carried away on stretchers to the on-campus infirmary. By the end of the game, many players on both sides had been hurt pretty badly. Dragonheart won the game by a landslide, and the team was carried back to the common room on the shoulders of the delighted crowd. The usually cozy room was now covered in crepe paper, shimmering charmed banners that changed their wording every thirty seconds, and red and black confetti falling from the ceiling in a never-ending flurry. The party lasted for hours, with anyone above the fourth year getting at least a little drunk. The 'Trouble Makers' stayed surprisingly sober, except Beckett, and finally called it a night when the last person went to bed. Carson stopped them before they got to the staircase that led up to the boys' dorms. Tucker looked her over in that leering way of his that was just a little sleazy, with enough smolder in his eyes that he could pull it off.

Carson tried to tug down her top a bit subtly, suddenly very thankful that she had worn a push-up bra as the boy's eyes glazed over. They stole covert glances at her chest every few seconds while mumbling confirmation that, yes, they would play truth or dare with her and the other girls. Boys, Carson thought, rolling her eyes while leading Issac and Beckett to the girl's dormitory, followed by the other two boys. And they say we're the ones controlled by our hormones.