The Pile of Pride

By the time I made it back to the stadium, the afternoon events had already started. I thought I had enough time to whip up some peperoncino and still make it in time, but apparently, I was wrong.

Stopping by the school store to buy breath fresheners probably wasn't the smartest move either.

Hurriedly, I rushed toward the entrance. The other participants had already gathered, but at least I wasn't too late. I fell in line with the other competitors, following them as we entered the field.

"Thank you for your patience! The afternoon events will now begin!"

The voice announcing the start of the competition had changed—it was one of the girls on the broadcasting team. She was the voice you heard whenever the school had big events like this.