▩ ▩ CHAPTER 7 ▩ ▩
MEETING MARIA
“Sorry for what?” Antonia asked.
“What happened in the game. I’m new, and you had to change roles. And then we lost. When you left, I thought it was because of me.”
Antonia couldn’t help but laugh. She stood up and dusted herself off.
“No. I was mad at myself,” she said. “You had nothing to do with it.”
“Oh, okay,” Maria said nervously. It was clear Maria was uneasy about being on a new team. For as worried as Antonia was about playing a new role, she wasn’t alone.
“Look, I get it. Playing on a team is different than playing with random people online. But thankfully, we have a great team.”
Antonia hoped she was as good at giving pep talks as Tommy. “Even though we had a bad game, we can learn to help each other out. In fact, I’m going to get in some extra practice this week. So if you want to get together for any matches, let me know.
I could use the company.” Maria smiled. “Yes, please!”
Even if Antonia needed to be alone in the Jungle to level up, it didn’t mean she had to be alone while she played. Antonia gave Maria a wide smile. “Great! Now let’s head back in.”
The next two weeks went by in a blur. Antonia spent all her free time practicing Mobius Bridge. Maria often joined her, and as they played, they would chat. They shared strategies and talked about other hobbies and interests. They both loved animals, bubble tea, and reading mystery novels.
Antonia memorized the layout of the Jungle. She learned how long it took for the minions to spawn, and the order they came in. First were the frogs, then the giant bugs, and finally the big squirrel in the fountain.
Antonia also figured out the best way to chain Thunder Owl’s moves. She’d start with a Power Dash. Then after using her Shocking Spin and a few regular attacks, her Power Dash would be ready again. Depending on how the fight went, she’d dash away quickly or use it to finish knockouts. And of course, she learned how to use Thunder Owl’s special move: Static Feathers.
When Antonia activated Static Feathers, the hero would point her wings at a target and blast it with electrically charged feathers. The static electricity would pull enemies in and deal a lot of damage. It also made them easy targets.
But even though Antonia felt more confident, she couldn’t get that first scrimmage game out of her mind. She remembered how many times she was knocked out, and how she had helped the other team level up.
So as the team gathered in the computer lab for their first official game of the season, Antonia forgot all about her training. Instead, she was just worried.
Tommy gave the team a speech about working together and doing their best. But Antonia couldn’t focus. Suddenly, Maria nudged her.
“Hey, get out of your head. You’ve got this, Antonia,” Maria said.
“Thanks,” Antonia smiled in response as their team loaded into Mobius Bridge.