"Next," Yuel continued discussing the troublemaker. "Let's talk about your biggest, ever-present issue. I'm sure you know what I mean."
"Nope." Nia shook her head. "No idea. I don't have any big issues. None at all."
"It's your sleepiness," Yuel cut to the chase. "You have to do something about it. It can't go on like this. You keep missing critical games when we really need you there."
"Whoa, pressure…" Nia curled up into a ball like a threatened hedgehog.
"You can't keep running from it forever," Yuel insisted. "We have to resolve this issue unless you want to miss out on all the important games."
"No, I don't want that…" Nia mumbled. "I do wanna play."
"Oh?" Yuel was caught off guard by this one. This is rare. I expected her to be snarky and evasive, but she's actually upfront for once.
"In that case," Yuel continued. "You understand that you have a lot of work to do here, right? For starters, you have to get rid of your bad habit of sleeping in the afternoon. That's when official matches take place."
"Yeah, I know." Nia twisted her lips. "Why can't they just hold the matches in the hours when I'm awake? Bullies."
"Unfortunately, the world doesn't revolve around your sleeping schedule. You have to adjust yourself to society's norms."
"Gufu…" Nia closed her eyes, threatening to fall asleep right here and now in protest.
"I've talked with you about this many times," Yuel reminded. "There are many ways to combat this issue. For example, you can sleep more hours at night."
"I tried that a few times, but I felt like that only made me more tired," Nia said. "Also, it's kinda hard to fall asleep like that. I end up just lying in bed and staring at the ceiling for hours."
"Yes, I remember you told me about these failed attempts." Yuel sighed. "Ideally, it's best to train your body so it won't demand naps at all."
"HOLD IT!" Vincent flew off his chair and pointed a finger. "OBJECTION!"
"Huh?" The whole club looked at him with dumb expressions.
"I'm afraid I must disagree with you here, Chessmaster!" Vincent proclaimed boldly. "It's true that we need Nia to function optimally during the critical matches, however it's blasphemy to treat afternoon naps as some great evil!"
"What…?" Yuel had no idea how to even begin responding to this.
"In my extensive research about athletes and body health, I've come across many tomes that attest to the great benefits of afternoon naps. These shall not be dismissed lightly!"
"Hmm. Is that so?" Yuel pondered. "I admit, I've mostly looked into tips on how to combat daytime sleepiness, so I didn't research whether these naps have any benefits. So, what does your research say?"
"Daytime naps can boost virtually everything: memory, performance, mood, anything!"
"So, it's one of those things that claims it 'makes everything better', huh." Yuel shook his head. "I'm always skeptical when it comes to big statements like that. They're almost never backed up by any evidence."
"True, I agree it sounds a little too good to be true." Vincent nodded. "Nonetheless, many people claim the benefits are real. I've even read that athletes benefit from such naps!"
"Athletes? Really?" Yuel frowned. "That sounds backward. They should be trying to avoid naps so they don't too relaxed before an important match."
"They simply have to be smart about their schedule," Vincent explained. "They must find the right time and place for their nap so it won't interfere with the rest of their day. Otherwise, the nap might turn into a double-edged sword."
"Yes, like in Nia's case."
"Indeed, like in Nia's case."
"T-Traitor!" Nia puffed her cheeks. "I thought you came to save me!"
"I only stepped in to correct the misinformation, that's all." Vincent bowed elegantly and returned to his chair. "I rest my case."
"I have no allies. Sob." Nia looked like an abandoned puppy seeking shelter.
"I mean," Kai started. "I'd like to help you out here, but your sleepiness really is a huge problem for us. Do you know how painful it is to play with Luke as the Jungler?"
"Nope."
"Oh, right, you don't." Kai realized. "You never get to play together, do you?"
"Mhm." Nia nodded. I only get to watch these games from the side and laugh, hehe.
"So, lemme tell you all about it," Kai said. "Every damn game, he picks some random ass meme and pulls all sorts of stupid shit. You never know what to expect with this clown. Imagine praying every game for your Jungler to be even remotely functional."
"Scary."
"Yeah, you damn right." Kai nodded. "Having that kind of Jungler in a competitive game is stressful as fuck. That's why we need you to stop sleeping all the time and start playing in all the games."
"Hrm..." Normally, this was the point where Nia would start making excuses to dodge responsibility. But, today...
"I... I also wanna play in more games," Nia mumbled, her cheeks flushed. O-Oh no! It's such a cheesy line! I wanna disappear!
Nonetheless, these were her honest feelings. After everything that went down in the Leo scrim, Nia wanted to play more, to experience more of that high-level challenge.
"......" Everybody was stunned. They just watched Nia and blinked repeatedly.
"W-What do you want?" Nia pouted. "You're acting like I said the weirdest thing in the world. I'll have you know I'm also a player."
"Yes, that you are," Yuel said. "A lazy player who calls any challenge 'scary' and falls asleep as soon as things get too difficult."
"Y-You must be mistaking me for somebody else, yeah..."
"This isn't the time to needle her, Yuel," Kai interjected. "Let's celebrate the fact she finally developed some self-awareness as a competitive player. It's great, Nia!"
"Indeed, it's a joyous moment!" Vincent proclaimed. "The VanishingPhantom is finally hatching from her cocoon and emerging into this world as a powerful butterfly!"
"Having that kind of confidence is amazing," Ben said. "Honestly, after making my debut, I'm now anxious about playing any more official games. So, it's amazing you can say you want to more of that challenge."
"Of course she wanna play more, yo!" Lars said. "Playing against strong dudes is the fun part of any sport!"
"No," Nia responded immediately. "These 'strong dudes' are scary. I rather not fight them."
"Say whaaaaat?" Lars exclaimed. "Then, why did you suddenly say you wanna play more and stuff? Isn't it because we had a hella tough fight against Leo and you want revenge?"
"Oh yes, I sure want revenge." Nia's eyes glinted like a sharpened knife. "But, I don't wanna 'fight' them, I wanna to stab them when they least expect it. So, the plan is to be able to do it properly next time."
So, she's just holding a grudge! Everybody reached that same conclusion unanimously. Nia just wanted to unleash spiteful revenge against the Leopards, the first opponents to thoroughly shut down her playstyle.
"Well, any motivation will do," Yuel said. "I'll take it as long as it makes her take the game more seriously."
"Agreed." Kai nodded. "Besides, revenge is always a good motivator."
Yes, who would know that better than Kai. Yuel kept that one to himself. Thinking of it, Julia is also supposedly seeking revenge on me for leaving Storm. And, there's also Fiona who might be gunning for me out of spite. Seriously, why are all the girls I come across so vengeful...?
They say there's nothing scarier than a woman's wrath, so maybe that's what that idiom really meant? Either way, Nia's shift in attitude was a welcome change. Hopefully, this thirst for revenge will drive her to work harder on her problems...