Chapter 34
Role Model
CHARLOTTE
After we all showered and met downstairs, we decided it was time to actually be a little productive and go over the strategies and game plans for the tournament. Tomorrow we would have our interviews, which would be interesting, given my anxiety disorder.
TJ pulled out his laptop and brought up the various strategies I had created, testing Nep and Plut on what they were called, when to use them, and what each one did. Both of the guys seemed to have finally memorized the names. No more comments about the various females they’d been with when we used them originally. I was really proud of them. They must have been studying hard—but then, I shouldn’t have been surprised. They joked around a lot, but they were just as dedicated to winning as TJ and I were.
We spent about an hour or so going over the strategies before TJ decided we’d had enough and said we could take a break.
“You’re being a lot nicer today than last week,” Plut commented.
“Well, I might have been in a bit of a bad mood last week,” TJ admitted.
“Why?” I asked.
“Um,” he hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Oh, because you broke up with Mars?” Nep asked, never one to sugarcoat words.
“Thanks for being so blunt, but yeah, kinda,” he admitted sheepishly.
“Really? You were upset ’cause we weren’t together? That’s so sweet. I was upset not being with you too,” I told him.
“Hey, do you guys wanna play a video game, since boss-man said we can relax?” Plut quickly asked.
“So, we are going to relax from our gaming by playing video games?” I asked.
“Yup. We’ll just play a different game,” Plut replied.
“I’m in,” I quickly said, and the others all agreed.
Plut then started up a four-player fighting game. It was pretty easy compared to what we normally play, and a lot of fun.
“Nep, get it together; you keep messing up,” TJ complained.
“Sorry, I’m not used to playing without some EXTRA motivation, if you catch my drift,” Nep said with a wink.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Here, say ‘Oh, Nep, harder,’” he told me.
“Um, okay. ‘Oh, Nep, harder,’” I said in a confused tone.
“Not like that. I need you to say it with a little more emotion. Say it like this, ‘Oh, Nep, harder,’” he said, moaning in a female tone.
“Okay. ‘Oh, Nep, harder,’” I said, using the same tone.
All three guys just stopped everything they were doing and turned to look at me.
“Um, I’ll be right back,” Nep said, running out of the room.
“That was the hottest thing I have ever heard,” TJ said, staring at me.
“Wow, um, wow,” Plut just stuttered.
“Why did Nep run away?” I asked.
“Don’t worry about it, sweetie. He’ll be back in a few minutes,” TJ calmly told me.
Sure enough, Nep came back in a few minutes, and we kept playing. I never could get any of the guys to explain why he left, although I had a feeling they all knew. How weird. They don’t normally keep things from me.
Oh, well.
We spent the next few hours hanging out and playing before we all went to bed.
· · ·
“Wake up, baby,” TJ said, walking into my room first thing in the morning.
“It’s too early. Go away,” I grumbled.
“Okay, you had your chance, my turn. WAKE UP,” I heard Nep yell before something heavy once again landed on top of me.
“Dude, get off my girlfriend!” TJ asked, “Save me,” I tried to say, but could barely breathe.
I then felt the weight lift off me. I rolled over and saw that TJ had yanked Nep away.
“Are you all right, baby?” he asked, pulling me in for a hug.
“Better now,” I told him, snuggling up against him.
“Good, but it’s time to get dressed and eat breakfast. We have to go to the interview soon,” he told me.
“Oh, okay,” I replied, going quickly to get showered and dressed.
“Wow, you look amazing,” TJ told me as I walked into the kitchen. I was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a light blue, flowing blouse since we weren’t required to wear our uniforms for the interviews.
“Thank you. Tracy actually picked it out, but I think she thought it was for a date. You look awesome too, by the way,” I told him.
“That’s funny, Tracy picked mine out too.” He was wearing khaki shorts and a dark green dress shirt.
“Does Tracy want to pick out my outfit? I have no clue what to wear,”
Plut said, still in just his pajama shorts.
“Sorry, man, she won’t be here until Friday morning.”
“Tracy is coming for the tournament? I can’t wait to see her!” I exclaimed.
“Yeah, she and my parents fly in Friday morning to watch. Boy, will they be surprised to meet you,” he replied.
“Did you tell them who I was, or that we were back together?”
“Nope, I want it to be a shock,” he chuckled.
“That’ll be a pretty big shock,” Plut commented.
“By the way, where’s Nep?” I asked.
“I think Jup knocked him unconscious for touching you,” Plut said.
“You did what?!” I was completely shocked.
“I didn’t really, but I did smack him around a bit. He’s in the shower
right now,” he told me.
“Oh, so when do we leave?” I asked.
“All right, we’ve got about ten minutes before we need to head out. The interviews are taking place at the downtown convention center,” Plut
announced.
Roughly forty-five minutes later, we were pulling into the convention center’s parking lot and trailing behind Plut into the building.
I was a bit anxious about being in a crowd, so I clung to TJ’s hand and stayed close to his side. As soon as we stepped through the front entrance, our manager was there to greet us and guide us to the camera crew and interview team.
“You must be The Romans?” he asked, eyeing us.
“Indeed. I’m Jupiter,” TJ responded.
“I’m Neptune.”
“And I’m Pluto.”
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you all. Where’s Mars? Shouldn’t he be with you?” our manager inquired, causing Nep and Plut to burst into laughter.
“This is Mars,” TJ said, gently pulling me forward.
“What? Are you kidding? Isn’t she your girlfriend?” our manager asked, clearly taken aback.
“She is my girlfriend, but she’s also Mars,” TJ clarified.
“But Mars’s real name is Charlie.”
“Short for Charlotte,” TJ confirmed.
“Oh, I apologize for the assumption. Mars, it’s wonderful to finally meet you in person. All our previous communication has been through your mother,” he said to me.
“Uh, I, uh, hi,” I stammered, inching back toward TJ. I had no idea how
I was going to survive this interview.
“Mars is a bit shy,” Plut chimed in.
“Yes, her mother did mention that. It’ll make the interview interesting, but we’ll manage. Let’s head to the room. Everyone’s waiting,” he directed.
We entered a room filled with four chairs, cameras, and a few people ready to ask questions. I could feel the room closing in on me. Panic was setting in until TJ gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. He leaned in and whispered that everything would be okay.
Surprisingly, his words did help to calm my nerves.
Name tags indicated our seats, and since TJ was the leader and I was the strategist, I was seated right next to him, with Nep and Plut on my other side.
“Firstly, thank you for agreeing to this interview. I understand that you’re currently ranked fifth, but this is your first tournament. Why haven’t you attended any others?”
“One of the main reasons is that Mars’s parents are both very busy, so she hasn’t been able to attend any in the past. This year’s competition is in Pluto’s hometown, so her parents allowed her to come since we could all stay at his place,” TJ explained.
“That makes sense. I wasn’t aware that any of the top-ranked teams had a female member. I’m sure our female audience will be thrilled.”
“We weren’t either,” Nep chuckled.
“Pardon?” the interviewer asked.
“We hadn’t met in person until a day or two ago, so we didn’t know Mars was a girl until then.”
“Really?” he asked, glancing at TJ and my intertwined hands.
“How did you all meet?”
“Mars and I met online when we were both ten, playing Watchtower.
We became good friends and moved from game to game together. Pluto and Neptune joined us along the way,” TJ shared.
“I don’t mean to pry, but you two seem closer than just friends.”
“Mars moved to my high school earlier this year and became best friends with my twin sister. We eventually started dating, but neither of us realized who the other was until yesterday. It was quite a shock,” TJ confessed.
“That’s quite a story. Back to the tournament. I understand that Mars is your strategist. Do you have some plans on how to combat the top-ranked teams?”
“Mars is incredibly smart and great at strategizing for pretty much any game. We feel prepared for the tournament, but we’re aware we’re up against some formidable teams, so we’ll just have to see how it goes.” TJ was so diplomatic. We both knew we had a serious shot at winning, but it wasn’t good to sound arrogant.
“Your team is definitely the one to watch this tournament. Everyone knows you’re highly ranked, but no one knows why, since you haven’t competed professionally before. I’m sure I’m not the only one interested in seeing how the team performs.”
“We hope we can live up to the expectations,” TJ replied.
“I understand that the merchandise being sold by your team is designed by one of the members?” the interviewer asked.
“Sort of. Mars designed the images on our old and new merchandise, but our sponsors are the ones who lay out the images on various clothing and other items. They also put together the color schemes,” TJ explained.
“That’s impressive. So, Mars, you’re not only the strategist, you’re also a talented artist slash designer—and a female. I believe you could be quite
the role model for young females.”
“Um, thanks,” I mumbled.
I could tell the interviewer was a bit puzzled by my lack of responses to any of the questions directed at me, so when TJ looked over, asking for permission to explain, I just smiled and nodded at him.
“Mars suffers from clinical social anxiety disorder. The fact that she’s even here in the room is pretty amazing. I think that’s also probably part of the reason her parents didn’t want her competing in the past,” TJ explained.
“Oh! How does your team communicate then?” he asked, a little confused by our team dynamic.
“She can talk online without any issues, and now we have known each other for so long that she has no problem talking to us in person, either. The issues arise when you throw in other new people, in person. Honestly, she’d probably be talking just fine if the interview were over the computer. That’s just what she’s comfortable with,” TJ said.
“How did you two start dating then, given her inability to speak with people?”
“My sister is relentless and forced Mars to be her friend. I just took advantage of that and was able to build a friendship through those bonds.”
“Wow, Mars really is an inspiration. Can we mention the anxiety disorder when we air the interviews? I believe there are others out there with similar conditions who would appreciate it.”
I pulled TJ toward me and quickly whispered in his ear.
“She said you can mention it, but not make our entire team about that.
She doesn’t want to be some sob story about overcoming disabilities. She wants the team to shine for being a good team.”
The interview continued with more questions about the game and our tactics. Each person had a bit of a personal interview section, but they allowed TJ to answer for me, so I didn’t have to talk. It was really considerate of them.
Once the interview was over, we thanked the interviewer and climbed into Plut’s car, ready to head back to his house for the evening.
