Suddenly Gamers (Patreon)

She didn’t know if it would work, and she kind of hoped that it wouldn’t. She was super pissed at both of them, make no mistake, but she knew that the team had no chance of winning without them. So it was kind of a relief that they both showed up for practice on Monday. She would have to take it out on them some other time. The way they had behaved at Sarah’s on Friday couldn’t go unpunished, though perhaps a less extreme punishment than she had tried over the weekend. They didn’t seem to be on top of their game though, falling behind in the exercises and fumbling. By the end of practice everyone was in a pretty bad mood.

Come Tuesday they both looked sickly. Pale and almost shrunken. The knot came back in her stomach. She did this. She was pretty sure this was her doing. When neither of them turned up for school, let alone practice, on Wednesday she was certain.

No one knew for sure what was happening, but one of the guys on the team said he had seen them both online the evening before, playing Overwatch. He had even joined one match, and he swore that they had sounded different than normal. Subdued, like they were sad or something. Their voices were kind of different too, and they kicked him after the game and continued on their own.

The rumor mill was in full frenzy on Thursday. Still no sight of either of them, but someone said that a friend of a sister had seen them together, sleeping over at the same place. It was unclear who was sleeping where. By the end of the day she had heard so many rumors, that they both had cancer, were lovers, had fled the country, discovered they were half brothers. None of it true, probably.

Then came Friday. She could almost not recognize them when she saw them. Pale as if they had never been outdoors and thin as pair of rails. Most of the cheerleading squad had more muscle definition. The entire school made its best effort to pretend that nothing extraordinary had just happened. She didn’t share any classes with them so she didn’t know how the teachers reacted, but she couldn’t see anyone else talk to them for the entire day. They kept to themselves, at times holding hands. During lunch she could see them standing outside, hugging and crying together. There would be no more football for them. She would be amazed if they even showed up for PE.

Having thoroughly wrecked two lives, she was somehow more upset that the school didn’t have a chance for the championship trophy this year. Then she felt bad for not feeling worse about them.

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