“Scuuuze meee!” A high-pitched voice let out as everyone turned around. I smiled so hard when I saw Asha walking up with her locs hanging down against her shoulders, finally seeing its true length. Her scars that were now normally hidden were vibrant and deeply embedded into her skin. Her eyes were decorated with outlines of fish scales looking translucent against her brown complexion. She glowed and wore a crop top, cut denim shorts that came to her knees, a gold hooped belt that draped around her hips, and forever her combat boots that were laced up. It was always the one dead giveaway about people from up North when they came down south. They didn’t know how to dress for warmer weather while the women around hercould easily blend into Miami nightlife. She looked stunning though as she walked with a trail of women behind her, all dressed just as scantily, skin showing, scales, tattoos, vibrant makeup and colored hair. They smelled like sweet body spray and perfumes. They were stunning and caught the attention of everyone waiting in line. Solomon was shockingly in the back dapping hands with a few people before walking along with the rest of the men following behind him. Asha held her chin up high and walked with a siddity bop in her step, looking down on everyone until her eyes laid on us. Widening with surprise, she quickly rushed over and leaned in with a low whisper.
“You see how these hoes staring? I got em maaaaaaaad…” She sang as I laughed. She whipped her locs back and kept moving forward as the rest of the girls behind her followed, looking everyone up and down like they were scum. They knew better than to stare at us that way. Even Isis who didn’t break eye contact, they avoided her because they knew Asha would break character for her. I suspect that probably had more to do with Solomon than Asha, but when he came up, he gave us a simple nod in acknowledgement. They formed their own line that was just as long and pretty much cut in front of ours as security let them pass. Asha stood on the side making sure everyone was able to get in with no problem while Solomon got them seated from the elders to the young teens, they moved like a seasoned couple. That’s when Asha looked at us and nodded for us to come up. Without hesitation, Isis and I quickly walked up to the line and squeezed our way past the overwhelmed security as the echo and crowd noise of the stadium filled the air.
“Y'all can find your seats okay?!” Asha yelled as we stood in the wrap-around hall that had multiple sets of stairs leading up to the top level. “We have our own section but let me know if you can’t get to your seats!”
“Go!” I waved off. “We got it from here! Just remember where we’re gonna meet up afterwards!”
She nodded as Isis, and I went in the opposite direction. The stadium was surrounded by concession stands filled with food, merch, and bathrooms as we looked for our section. We were shoulder to shoulder trying to move through the lines to the bathroom and food. We found the stairs that led to level 6 as we began to scramble, hearing the stomping and cheering.
“I’ve never seen this many people!” Isis shouted over the noise as she gripped her boobs to keep from bouncing out of her top. “Maybe I should have secured the private booth my parents got!”
“Uhh yeah!” I let out with a laugh. “Instead of us being stuck in the nosebleeds!”
“Well I wasn’t thinking!”
“Excuse me! Coming down!”
We moved to the side to let a group of girls come down while trying to make our way up the zig zag stairs. We passed each level of ruckus and chaos until we stepped out onto our main floor. There was a sign pointing to the bathroom and an opening that showed a peek at just how big the stadium really is.
“Ohhhhhh! This is insane!” Isis screamed as we stepped out into our section. The arena looked alive, stretching and accommodating as seats wrapped around the dome all looking down at the field below. You could see the different screens projecting onto each balcony row that showed the coaches and show runners walking the field. As if on cue, it began showing highlights of Namir’s previous games. Him chucking a football across several fields to running in the forest, chasing after something, and finally his infamous swimming ability. No onehas ever seen a wolf take command of water the way he does. Then it began showing highlights or previous games where I know Jean was somewhere in the crowd being fast at an early age.
“Welcome to The Olympic Games. The Trial of the Four Elements. This event is sponsored by The Southern Five Families. Preserving the proven legacy of future magical excellence above and below. Welcome to the Games.”
The eerie recorded message played throughout the levels of the stadium. Shifters of every different species you could think of sitting down as food was tossed, drinks were spilled, floors became sticky, and trash piled.
“Souxie!?” Isis called out as I watched her point down to our two red seats at the very end of our section. Nobody was directly in front of us as we sat down in the folding chair. Isis slipped her purse off her shoulder to place on her lap before digging into it while I looked down at the round field. There was a large square that was built like a stage in the center with a set of stairs lined up against it. The rest of the field was covered in grass with a single red door at the very end that stood by itself with a gold knob.
“Big snack box!” Someone shouted. “Big snack box right here! No need to walk down to the concession stand!”
Loads of volunteers walked up and down the aisles holding bags of small square packages no bigger than an animal cracker box. They all wore black with the sigil of the Southern Five Families stitched in the corner and carefully held up their bags to sell.
“Big snack box! Everything you need from drinks! Hot and cold items! Candy! We got it all in the big snack box!”
When I looked back, I did a double take as I watched Quan come walking his big and tall self-down the aisle with shades on as he wore a crisp maroon t-shirt, khaki pants, nice brown shoes, and a gold watch, with a small thin chain around his neck that hung against his chest. He even had the nerve to walk like he just walked off the corner from selling dope. He looked off into the distance, knowing most of the women and men were staring at him before he came down towards our row. Smiling, I sucked my cheeks in to keep from laughing because Isis was stuck. You could even see the scales lining his jawline and neck. He probably couldn’t even relate to being First Family anymore. This guy was all fish and feline.
“Are y'all gonna get up or not?” He asked, breaking whatever cloak of delusion we had on our face when we stared at him.
“Why do we need to get up when there’s an empty seat right next to Isis?” I asked.
“Because a man always sits on the end fool,” he countered. “Get up.”
I got up, deciding not to argue and moved one seat down before suddenly grabbing Isis’s arm to switch places. When she glared at me, I simply winked. If Harvey was going to come, there was no room for him on this row and he didn’t dare to show his face near me.
The lights began to flicker as the crowd cheered. It was time for the games to begin. Quan sat down, waving off the volunteers passing around the Big Snack Box. The woman next to me managed to get one where the instructions read to say what she wanted out loud and tap it twice. A full box of chicken tenders,fries, ketchup packet, and a small pack she had to shake to form her drink. When she shook the drink, you could hear the ice forming as she slipped it into the cup holder and grabbed her straw. I didn’t care to eat food that way, but it was quick and easy, ready made in your lap as they advertised it.
“Do you want anything to eat?” Quan suddenly asked while holding two box snacks in his lap. Isis turned to look at me, waiting for an answer as Quan fixed her food first. I don’t know how she didn’t see he was obsessed with her in the way he naturally cared for her. Isis’s round eyes widened when she took the drink he made to slurp through the straw just as innocent and as spoiled as can be. She probably secretly loved it.
“I’ll eat off of yours.” I finally said as she agreed with a nod of her head. Quan lowered his shades as he cut his vertical eyes down towards the field.
“I can tell Namir is irritated,” he noted. I looked down at the screens wrapping around the stadium as the camera followed Namir pacing back and forth. Like the rest of the coaches, he was dressed to impress with slacks, a black polo shirt tucked in with the crest of our school in the corner. A black belt, fresh haircut, and nice shoes, his body seemed to be noticeably beefier than usual. Namir almost looked taller too. I wondered if this had anything to do with him becoming alpha. Did he manage to go through some sort of growth spurt or hormonal change? He would occasionally look up, but his face easily said he was pissed, but focused. “SHOW SOMEBODY ELSE ON THE DAMN SCREEN!” Quan shouted.
The lights began to dim as the simmering sound of the drums rolled throughout the stadium. I saw four figures draped in black cloaks walking onto the field as they stepped up to the square stage in the center. Every camera zoomed in to focus. Fourwomen stood tall, regal, and stoic with black dresses and black hooded cloaks draped around their necks and trailed behind their legs. There was only one that was missing but I knew who they were. Everyone knew, especially if you came from a witching background like I did.
“Welcomeeeee to the Olympic Games. The Trial of the Elements,” she greeted with a raise of her hand as everyone began to clap, stomp their feet, howl, and cheer. “My name is Amelia Lovelace; I am the President of Belmont University and the creator of this year’s games. This is the very first time a woman with witch ancestry has been the lead council of the games, so I am honored. Thank you.”
Everyone cheered while Quan, Isis, and I didn’t budge.
“The Southern Five, myself, the Calhouns’,” motioning towards the light skinned woman standing beside her. She nodded as people cheered. “The Martins who are notoriously–––”
