The Boy With A Scar Across His Nose

It started as curiosity. Seeing a boy with a scar across his nose smiling ear to ear while being told off in front of the whole year on the first day. Why did he make that joke? Why does he have that scar? Why was he smiling? That curiosity turned to interest after seeing him beat a third year in a challenge on the same day. Why did he challenge a third-year? Why was he so calm? Why was he smiling the whole time? That interest kept growing and growing, seeing that boy with a scar across his nose smiling, laughing and having fun at every glance she took. What kind of person was he? Why did he interest me so much? Why can't I stop looking at his smile? She didn't feel attracted to him, but she was interested. He wasn't good-looking, but he wasn't ugly. He was a 5 or 6/10, maybe a 7 when he smiled. His British accent was strange, his behaviour was strange, he was strange. But that intrigued Maria. Eventually, she got to talk to the boy with the scar across his nose on her balcony. These talks became routine; they talked about each other, learned about each other, and laughed with each other. Now, when she spoke to him, she felt her heart beating faster, she caught herself smiling more, she saw everything brighter. She felt happier. The interest turned into infatuation. She realised she had a crush on him. Later, they got paired up for a challenge, and she got to study with the boy with a scar across his nose. She was nervous the whole time; she didn't need to study so hard. She could've spent the entire time at the library talking with him, but she couldn't initiate a conversation, so she stared and wrote notes that she didn't need to write the whole time. Thoughts clouded her memory; she was happy it was just the two of them; sitting with him like this was enough. But life doesn't go as planned, as he left for a few minutes and left her alone, which made her vulnerable. Two older boys tried to talk to her, but she held her own, and in perfect timing, the boy with a scar across his nose came to save her. Everything he did looked so effortless. Every interaction, every altercation, every argument, every problem, he smiled. He always looked calm, even when getting grabbed, shouted at, insulted, and stared at. The only response he would give was that smile. That only increased her affection.
Time moved on; she was in the same group as the boy with the scar across his nose, but they didn't get paired up. He paired up with a shorter girl with pink hair. Why doesn't life go as planned? Watching the girl having fun with the boy with a scar across his nose, completing the mini-games, the girl even hugged him like they'd been friends for years. Seeing the girl get the attention she wanted. It hurt her to see her get hugged, patted on the head, heck, even get a piggyback from the boy with a scar across his nose. But one question stayed in her head. Why was he smiling?
Now we are here. She was in the arms of the boy with a scar across his nose. That infatuation turned into love. It didn't make sense. She'd seen boys who looked better than him; those boys even gave her special treatment without her asking. Those boy could probably treat her better than he could. So why did she fall in love with him? How can she fall in love with someone in just over a month? Do people fall in love this quickly? Is this the right way to fall in love? She didn't know the answers but was sure of one thing. She loved the person she was looking at right now.
The boy with a scar across his nose.

"Get the ball over there", Malakai said to a dazed Maria.
"O-oh, okay", she snapped out of it and went to retrieve the ball.

"Why was he holding Maria like that?" Tanisha said, sounding like an overprotective parent.
Delilah giggled, "He had to; he saved her from being hit".
"He didn't have to hug her like that. He couldn't just pull her with one hand, not hugging her from behind," Tanisha continued.
Delilah kept on giggling, knowing that whatever she said, Tanisha would have a comeback. Delilah thought to herself that what Malakai did was unnecessary; he didn't have to hug her like that to protect her. But Malakai did a lot of unnecessary things; maybe this was one of those things. Nothing to think too deeply about.

Now, all three balls were on Malakai's side. So far, three people have been eliminated from Dillon's team and two from Malakai's. They could increase that gap if they eliminated someone now.
"Nada, keep hold of that ball. Don’t throw it”, Malakai told Nada.
"Aye, aye, captain".
Malakai walked over to Maria, "Throw it at anyone except the girl", he told her.
"Are you sure?" Maria said, doubting her ability.
"Yeah, go for it, but as soon as you throw it, run back", he instructed her.
Maria got closer to the centre and threw her ball. The throw was tame and missed everyone.
"Why is everything she does so elegant?" Malakai thought to himself. Maria ran back and stood beside Him. "We'll get 'em next time," Malakai said, turning away from her not to show his smile and stop himself from laughing.
"OUT!"
Malakai looked straight ahead and saw a guy walking off. Wilson got eliminated. He looked at Nada and saw no ball in her hand.
"Did you do that?" He questioned her.
"Yeah, he wasn't concentrating, so I threw it at him", Nada replied. "Did I mess up?" She asked as she did the opposite of what he told her.
"Na, it's calm. You did good", he complimented. "She's cold. She's eliminated two people. I've only eliminated one", Malakai thought.
"OUT!"
Marcus got eliminated. The game continued at a fast pace; people were getting eliminated left and right. Malakai kept watch and saw a familiar sight appear before him: Dillon with a ball in his hands. Malakai had one as well; he wasn't sure what he was going to do with it, so he just held onto it. Dillon catapulted at Malakai once again. And he missed once again. Dillon's desperation to get Malakai out was hurting their team's chances. Now Malakai, Ray and Adam had a ball in hand. They all looked at each other and advanced forward, throwing their balls simultaneously.
"OUT!"
Jefferey, Mike, and Gabriel all got eliminated. Adam, Malakai, and Ray were on target with their shots; they all eliminated one person.
The crowd that was present roared. Three people got eliminated at the same time. It was now 7v3. Malakai's team had a major advantage. Dillon picked up a ball, and instead of throwing it as soon as he picked it up, he got closer to the centre. He took aim at the same person as usual and let it go.
"OUT!"
Ray got eliminated. Ray let his guard down. Maybe Dillon planned this from the start. Target Malakai constantly, and eventually, it will be expected, leaving others to drop their guard.
"Dammit", Ray said, disappointed in himself.
"It's fine, don't worry about it", Malakai told him as Ray walked off.
Jason had one ball, and Dillon forced Olivia to give him the other ball. They were still at a disadvantage, but if they got someone out now, it would be a 5v3, which looked doable. They both threw their balls.
"OUT!"
Monica got eliminated. They both aimed at her, and she couldn't do much to avoid it. It was now 5v3, but all three balls were on their side. Justin, Adam and Nada picked up a ball. Nada kept hold of her ball and kept it close to her chest, showing she wasn't going to throw it.
On the other hand, Adam and Justin were wasting no time and edged forward. Justin, this whole match, observed everyone else, seeing what worked and what to do. He didn't have many opportunities to impact the game; the one time he did throw a ball, it went horrendously bad. After that attempt, he stood in the background and absorbed what he could. Watching how his teammates eliminated people. He followed Adam and attempted to jump on his wavelength. They both let it fly.

"This doesn't look good. How did they throw away their lead like that", Tanisha said anxiously, watching, squeezing her hands together.
"Let's see how Malakai clutches this," Delilah said, smiling and leaning forward, knowing she was about to be entertained.

"Sensei, what do we do?" Nada said in a panic, looking at Malakai.
"Tranquilo. Tranquilo", Malakai said to calm Maria and Nada down. He said calm in Spanish to make the situation not seem that bad and to show he was calm enough to make jokes. Malakai kept his eyes on Jason as he still had a ball in his hands.
"This guy is dangerous, more dangerous than Dillon", Malakai analysed in his head. It didn't look like he would throw his ball; he kept bouncing it up and down like a basketball.
"Maria, follow me", Malakai said, walking towards the ball that eliminated Justin. Maria followed Malakai, staying close to him. "I don't know if I can protect you if that guy throws it at you. Are you alright with that?" Malakai asked quietly.
"Yeah, that's fine. Don't worry about me. Do what you have to do to win," Maria responded, feeling bad that Malakai felt he had to protect her.
"I'm just letting you know cuz his throws are powerful. It'll hurt if it hits you".
"It's fine. I won't let my guard down", Maria replied.
"Aryt (Alright)," said Malakai, holding a ball in his hand. He started jogging to the centre, looked at Olivia, loaded a shot, and let it go. Olivia lifted her hands to protect herself.
"OUT!"
Despite lifting her hands up, she didn't catch it, so the ball just hit her hands. Malakai kept her in as he thought Olivia might be useful for him, but it looked like Dillon planned to freeze her out of the game. So Malakai eliminated her. It was now a 3v2, with Dillon and Jason holding a ball. Who were they going to aim at? Malakai and Maria were sticking close together, so the only option was,
"Go for the pink girl", Dillon ordered.
Jason didn't reply; he just followed Dillon's orders. They both shot, and Jason's shot missed, but Dillon's shot landed straight for Nada. Nada still had a ball in her hands, so seeing that shot coming towards her, she quickly acted and blocked the ball with the ball she had kept hold of the whole time. She looked at that teacher, "That's fine, you're still in".
They were in a good position now; they had all three balls.
Malakai passed Maria a ball. "Aim at Dillon and throw it low at his legs," He told her.
"Now?" Maria asked.
“Na, na wait abit”, Malakai replied.
Malakai left one ball on the floor and walked towards Nada.
"We should be good now," Dillon confidently said. He continued, "He looks lost. He doesn't know what to do." He watched every move Malakai made.
"We should aim for Maria next", Jason suggested. "It's either she gets eliminated, or Malakai will get eliminated protecting her", Jason said, solidifying his suggestion.
"Yeah, but I don't think Malakai will protect her this time. He wants to win, she won't help him do that", Dillon replied. "What is he doing?" Dillon said, looking at Malakai. Malakai turned his back to him; it looked like he was talking to Nada. "Is he playing?" Dillon questioned.
Out of nowhere, he noticed a ball flying towards his legs; he quickly sidestepped and saw Maria standing there, backing away.
"OUT!"
Dillon got eliminated. Dillon got hit in the face, and it was Malakai who did it.
A minute before this.
"Nada!" Malakai called out, now standing in front of her with his back turned to the opposition. "Pass me the ball," he asked her. Nada secretly passed him the ball. "Where is Dillon right now? What side is he from me?" he questioned.
"He's to your right", she answered.
"Aryt (alright). Listen to me. When Maria throws her ball, tell me, or when she's about to throw it. When she does say 'now'," Malakai told her in a serious tone.
Nada didn't question what his plan was, and she agreed. Nada kept watch of Maria until,
"Now!"
Thanks to Nada's direction, Malakai swivelled around, and his eyes instantly locked on Dillon like a missile. He fired his weapon and hit the target. The shot hit Dillon square in the face; it stung his face and hurt his nose. His eyes watered a bit from the impact. He held his face with his right hand and looked at Malakai through his fingers. It was taking everything to stop himself from rushing to Malakai, returning the favour and punching him in the face. But all Malakai did was play the game; it would look bad on his part if he charged at Malakai. He got outplayed. Dillon accepted defeat and walked off. All his hopes to progress to the next round rested on Jason. Malakai stepped back.
"Any plans?" Nada asked, watching Jason.
"Not right now. Just dodge for your life." That was the only thing he could advise. Jason picked up both balls and unleashed a throw with his right. The throw was directed at Maria, travelling towards her head. Maria ducked down; the shot was a bit high. Jason's next shot flew by, not close to anyone. It was clear he was feeling the pressure; the throw with his right lacked accuracy and only had pace and power. You could see that his left hand wasn't his strong hand, but using his left hand showed he was running out of ideas. All three balls are on the Malakai side.
Malakai called his teammates over and gave them a ball each.
"What's it gonna be this time?" Jason thought to himself. Deep down, he was worried; he didn't know what to expect. He didn't see Dillon getting eliminated like that. The only way he thought Dillon would get eliminated was if his ball got caught, not by getting hit in the face and being caught off guard. In Jason's mind, Malakai was the MVP of the game. Honestly, Jason had hope of winning when Adam got eliminated. Adam's elimination gave Jason hope; it didn't look like Adam could be eliminated. Every throw Adam made eliminated someone; He considered Adam more of a threat than Malakai. But surprisingly, Adam got eliminated; his elimination was a massive boost for them and gave them a lifeline. Even though Jason was outnumbered, he still thought he could pull it off. He saw the three of them approach the centre; Jason bent his knees in preparation to move quickly. The trio simultaneously threw their balls, but they all missed. Jason dodged them without any real issue; he picked up two balls and walked back. He saw the three of them standing in the middle of their side, not far from each other but not too close. It was clear it was every person for themselves now. It looked like Malakai ran out of aces. Jason confidently stepped up with a ball, pulled back his arm, and let it go.
"OUT!"
Malakai was on the floor with a ball in his hands. Jason got eliminated.
The boy with a scar across his nose pulled it off once again.

In the other building.
One man stood on one side of the court, while eight people stood on the other. The boy lifted his hands,
"I surrender".