Physics of Dodgeball (part 2: Try to blend in!)

She glanced at him briefly, her lips curving into the faintest hint of a smile. "I believe you advised me to dodge."

"That wasn't dodging," Owen hissed. "That was… science fiction."

Lilith shrugged nonchalantly. "Perhaps. Or perhaps your planet has yet to fully understand its own physics."

"Our planet understands physics just fine," Owen retorted, keeping his voice low as another ball whizzed past them. "We have laws for this stuff. Newton's laws. Einstein's laws. Laws that don't include rubber balls taking sudden detours because someone looked at them funny."

"Laws are merely observations of patterns," Lilith replied, stepping gracefully aside as another ball flew past. "Exceptions exist in every system."

Owen stared at her, torn between awe and exasperation. "You couldn't have done that before enrolling here?"

She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Would it have changed your mind?"

"No," Owen replied instantly. Then, after a pause: "…Maybe."

Nearby, Hikaru was muttering to himself, furiously scribbling notes on his phone. "Definitely adding this to the documentary…"

"Think fast, lovebirds!" shouted Mei, launching a ball straight at them.

Owen ducked instinctively, but Lilith—in one fluid motion that seemed to defy several laws of anatomy—caught the ball with her fingertips. The rubber sphere nestled in her palm like it belonged there, and for a split second, Owen could have sworn it glowed faintly.

"I believe I've caught it," Lilith announced, sounding mildly surprised at her own success. "Does this mean I've achieved victory over this opponent?"

"It means Mei's out," Owen explained, trying to ignore the growing whispers around them. "And one of our teammates who got out earlier can come back in."

Across the court, Mei's jaw dropped. "No way! How did you catch that? I threw it as hard as I could!"

Lilith smiled—a genuine smile that transformed her normally regal face into something almost human. "I have excellent reflexes."

"That's one way of putting it," Owen muttered.

The game continued, but the dynamic had shifted. People were now actively avoiding throwing at Lilith, focusing instead on the easier targets. Owen found himself becoming strangely protective, intercepting balls that came too close to her—not because he thought she couldn't handle them, but because he was terrified of what might happen if she did.

Meanwhile, Lilith seemed to be warming to the game. She moved with increasing confidence, no longer standing still but weaving through the chaos with graceful efficiency. She even threw a ball once—a gentle toss that somehow accelerated mid-air, tagging a surprised opponent before they could react.

"Dude," Hikaru whispered, sidling up to Owen during a brief lull. "Is it just me, or is your girlfriend actually an alien superhero?"

"She's not my girlfriend," Owen replied automatically. "And she's not—"

A ball slammed into Hikaru's shoulder before he could finish, sending him stumbling backwards.

"You're out, Ufotake!" Coach Yamamoto shouted. "Off the court!"

Hikaru trudged to the sidelines, but not before giving Owen a significant look. "We're talking about this later," he mouthed.

The game continued to escalate. With each passing minute, the competition grew fiercer, the throws harder, the dodges more desperate. Their team was down to just four players—Owen, Lilith, and two others who looked like they were questioning their life choices.

"This is getting intense," one of them muttered, glancing nervously at the other team, which still had seven players.

"Just stay behind me," Owen replied, sounding more confident than he felt. He looked at Lilith, who appeared completely unfazed by the mayhem. "And maybe behind her too."

Taro had been biding his time, collecting balls until he had an arsenal at his feet. Now he grinned, hefting one in each hand. "Time to end this," he announced.

In a display of athleticism that would have impressed professional players, he launched a barrage of balls in quick succession, each one aimed with deadly precision. Owen's teammates dropped like flies—one, two—until only he and Lilith remained.

"Just you and your weird girlfriend now, Owen!" Taro called, his voice dripping with smug satisfaction.

"She's not my—" Owen began, then had to dive sideways to avoid a ball that would have rearranged his face. He hit the ground hard, rolling awkwardly before scrambling back to his feet.

"Are you injured?" Lilith asked, her voice genuinely concerned.

"Just my dignity," Owen grunted, dusting himself off. "Listen, we're outnumbered. If we're going to win this, we need a strategy."

Lilith's eyes gleamed with sudden interest. "A tactical approach? I'm familiar with those."

"Great," Owen said, trying not to think too hard about what kind of "tactics" she might be familiar with. "Here's the plan: I'll draw their fire, you try to catch anything that comes your way. If you get a ball, aim for Taro—he's their strongest player."

"The one with excessive confidence and poor targeting algorithms?" Lilith clarified, glancing at Taro.

"...Sure," Owen agreed, deciding not to unpack that description. "On three. One, two—"

Before he could say "three," Lilith stepped in front of him, arms spread wide like some kind of human shield. "I shall protect you," she declared, loud enough for everyone to hear.

A chorus of "awwws" rose from the sidelines. Owen felt his face heat up to approximately the temperature of the sun's surface.

"That's not the plan!" he hissed. "Lilith, get back—"

Too late. Taro and his team launched their offensive, sending a volley of balls straight at them. Owen braced himself for the inevitable—but once again, physics decided to take a coffee break.

The balls seemed to hit an invisible barrier about six inches in front of Lilith, dropping harmlessly to the ground like they'd lost all momentum. Not one. Not two. All of them.

The gym fell silent. Even Coach Yamamoto's whistle froze halfway to his lips.

Lilith bent down gracefully and picked up one of the fallen balls. She examined it curiously, then looked at the opposing team with an expression that could only be described as politely puzzled.

"I believe it's our turn now," she said softly.

Owen stood there, torn between wanting to hide under the bleachers and wanting to see what would happen next. Apparently, his life had turned into some bizarre anime, complete with a super-powered transfer student who casually broke the laws of physics during gym class.

Lilith held the ball loosely in her hand, her stance relaxed. Then, with a movement so fluid it was almost balletic, she threw it. The ball didn't just fly across the court—it practically teleported, moving so fast it was just a red blur. Taro didn't even have time to blink before it hit him squarely in the chest, the impact sending him stumbling backward several steps.

"What the—" he gasped, looking down at the ball now rolling innocently at his feet.

One by one, Lilith picked up the remaining balls and repeated the process. Each throw was perfect, each impact precise but not harmful. Within thirty seconds, the entire opposing team had been eliminated.

The gymnasium erupted into chaos. Half the students were cheering, the other half were staring in disbelief, and Coach Yamamoto was frantically checking his whistle as if it might explain what had just happened.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" Hikaru shouted from the sidelines, pumping his fist in the air. "I knew it! I totally knew it!"

Owen stared at Lilith, who turned to him with a small, satisfied smile. "I believe we've achieved victory," she said calmly.

"That's one way of putting it," Owen replied weakly. "Did you have to be so... obvious about it?"

Lilith blinked innocently. "About what? I was merely playing the game according to its established rules."

"Yeah, the rules of physics don't typically include whatever it was you just did," Owen muttered, running a hand through his hair.

Their team swarmed around them, shouting congratulations and peppering Lilith with questions about where she'd learned to throw like that. She handled the attention with surprising grace, deflecting most inquiries with vague comments about "natural talent" and "practice."

As the bell rang signaling the end of class, Owen grabbed Lilith's arm and pulled her aside. "We need to talk about this," he said firmly.

"About dodgeball?" she asked, her eyes wide with feigned innocence.

"About you bending reality during gym class," Owen clarified, his voice low. "That's not the kind of thing you can just do in public!"

Lilith considered this for a moment. "Would you prefer I had allowed us to lose?"

"I would prefer you act normal!" Owen hissed. "Or at least, normal-adjacent!"

"Define 'normal,'" Lilith challenged, crossing her arms.

Owen opened his mouth, then closed it again. How exactly did one define "normal" to someone who thought vending machines were temples and considered dodgeball a form of siege warfare?

"Just... try to blend in," he said finally. "No more physics-defying stunts, no more force fields, no more supersonic dodgeballs. Clear?"

Lilith nodded solemnly, though her eyes sparkled with mischief. "I shall endeavor to appear more... conventional."

"Good," Owen sighed, releasing her arm. "Now let's get changed before Hikaru decides to interview you for his documentary."

As they walked toward the locker rooms, Lilith tilted her head thoughtfully. "Owen?"

"Yeah?"

"I enjoyed that game," she said simply. "It was... fun."

Despite everything—the chaos, the whispers, the inevitable rumors that would spread through the school like wildfire—Owen couldn't help but smile. "Yeah," he admitted. "It kind of was."

Behind them, Hikaru was already plotting his next move, his phone clutched tightly in his hand. "Alien superhero girlfriend," he muttered, adding it to his growing list of theories. "This is going to be the best documentary ever."