Jax did not hesitate in his response, "I'll do it." Lucas eyed him. Winter recognized the jealousy, "I was actually thinking that Lucas could help." He shrugged coolly, "Sure." Winter cracked her knuckles, now fully recovered. "Come on then. We don't have much time."
Winter rushed to her station. Leo and M.J. were running out of songs to sing. Lucas eyed them for a moment and then vanished, appearing a second later in front of their flag. The bewildered crowd grew rowdy as everyone rushed forward to take the flag from Lucas. He disappeared again. They turned their anger and frustration on Leo and M.J. who were grinning at each other now. Winter ran to them. M.J. eyed her, "Was your mission a success?" She quirked her head. "More or less." They hugged each other, as though celebrating a win. Others saw it as a mockery which infuriated them even more. People started venting their anger out on each other. In the commotion, a boy lost his balance and stumbled into a strongarm, stepping on his foot. The strongarm, frustrated, shoved him into a girl who was standing nearby. The girl appeared in front of the strongarm in a blur and stuck her fingers in his eyes. His roar sent the rest of the crowd into a frenzy. Winter was overwhelmed with the clanging of metal against metal, the patter of blood spilling to the ground, the piercing cries of the injured. An unexpected explosion made Winter's ears ring. This went on until Winter lost track of the time. And then, everything stopped.
Light flooded back into the world. The disguised voice blared on the intercom, "That concludes this mock war." That was all it took for students to throw down their weapons. They allowed the healers to tend to their wounds. The Instigators went around surveying the aftermath. After a while, the students all filed back into the briefing room where the administrators waited for them. It was all done orderly, a stark contrast to the uproar that occurred just moments before. Cornell stood in the center of the stage with his hands folded behind his back. "Some of you impressed me." He gestured to the entire mass of students, "Some of you were pathetic. Nonetheless, I expect better the next war." Cornell side-eyed Nelly Terran. She approached the center of the stage shyly, "It is my pleasure to announce the winners." The red haired girl who had stabbed Sam, handed Nelly an envelope. "The winners of this semiannual mock war are," Nelly opened it, "Sam Tudor, Jax Ryan, and Lucas King." A murmur went through the crowd. Everyone was shocked by the news of their victory. Della stared, nonchalantly, at Winter. She seemed to take in her every move. Winter figured it was because the headmaster wasn't very pleased with being undermined by her. She would be under heavier surveillance now. Just because there weren't any explicitly stated rules, doesn't mean they didn't exist implicitly. Besting the headmaster was against the rules which ensured it wouldn't be the last time Winter broke them. She attempted to rub some stubborn dirt off of her face, in an attempt to deal with the intensity of Della's gaze. Winter felt someone else glaring at her, Darren. She did not look in his direction. Instead, Winter stood straighter and watched as Sam, Jax, and Lucas approached the stage. They held their heads high as they were granted eagle pins which marked them as the strongest. They looked the part too, a force to be reckoned with. Everyone observed as they were deemed untouchable.
Coach Russo approached the stage. "Go and get changed. The festival starts in an hour." Students scurried out of the room. Winter stayed back to see what would happen to her friends. She sighed as she was rushed out by men in black suits. She didn't put up a fight, because she was suppose to meet Mandy and Layla at the fish stick tent in fifteen minutes. Winter didn't have enough time to wage another war. Instead, she went to her room, tugged off her weathered training suit, and hopped in the shower. Winter washed all the residual post-war grim away. She snapped and a graceful cerulean gown materialized on her bed. Winter pulled it on, tied up half of her hair with a blue ribbon, and went to meet her friends. Mandy and Layla were already there waiting for her in the tent. Mandy squealed when she saw her, "Where did you get that dress?" Winter smiled hugging them both, "Magic." Mandy beamed, squeezing her back, "It's beautiful. You're beautiful." Layla munched on a fish stick, crumbs fell on her forest green gown, "Winter, you could come straight out of hell looking like a princess." Winter laughed, "I'm guessing you didn't enjoy the war much?" Layla scoffed, "Only managed to get ten flags. It didn't even put us on the map." Mandy rubbed her back, "We did the best we could." Winter narrowed her eyes, "What happened to Brenna?" Layla motioned her hand, "She ditched us to go and bother Sam. She said she couldn't hang around the friends of her enemy." Winter smiled sheepishly, "Sorry." "It's her loss that she sees you as an enemy," Mandy turned towards her, "More importantly, you're behind Jax's team winning right?" Winter nodded. Mandy leaned in, "We heard Darren fussing over it earlier. 'The girl with the changing eyes.'" Layla crossed her arms, "Care to fill us in?" She did. Winter recapped everything that happened from the beginning of practice week to the end of the war. Layla tossed her head back, "There's never a dull moment with you is there?" Winter shrugged and Mandy hugged her, "I'm glad you're okay." "Oh. Group hug?" Leo called as he approached them with M.J. They were both wearing suits. Formal wear was customary after the mock wars. Winter ran up to Leo and M.J., hugging them both. When she pulled away, they looked taken aback. She smiled brightly, "I'm in a celebratory mood." They looked at each other and then grinned back at her, "Was it our singing?" She laughed. Jax came up behind them with Lucas in tow, "Celebrating without us?" Mandy giggled, "Of course not." She reached into her bag and handed them each a tiny snowman pin. They looked at her, puzzled. Mandy explained, "You know how they give the winners of the mock war a pin to differentiate them as untouchable? This is our pin. It's a snowman, because that symbolizes winter. Winter, who brought us all together. It distinguishes us as a group. A team with the same objective." Each one of them gladly fastened the pin onto their clothes. Mandy brightened at the sight. Jax snorted, "I like the sound of that." Layla grabbed Mandy's hand and held it. Winter stared at her friends, "I couldn't have asked for a better team."