When classes ended, Luke started looking for Veronica. It wasn’t hard to find her. The problem was that she was with her friends/sycophants.
‘Why did she block me on all social media?’ Luke thought angrily. It would have been much easier to send her a message. He had already beaten up Veronica’s friends/sycophants and didn’t want to approach to talk.
Besides, he noticed that Veronica looked at him and still ignored him. She kept talking as if nothing had happened.
‘What’s her problem?’ Luke thought, frowning as he walked away. He had archery club later. There, he’d tell Daphne to arrange a meeting with Veronica.
Daphne was a real friend of Veronica, unlike the sycophants/servants. The girl, who always had a cold expression, was in the same club as Luke. In fact, she was the captain of the club. So, she had some connection with her.
“You want to see Veronica? Why don’t you talk to her?” Daphne asked, pulling out several arrows. All of them had hit the target.
“She ignores me and blocked me everywhere. I can’t communicate with her,” Luke replied. “Your problem, not mine,” Daphne said dryly.
“Oh, come on. You’re her best friend. It’s not that hard,” Luke insisted.
“It’s strange to see you so persistent. Fine. I’ll do it only if you beat me in a little archery competition,” Daphne said with a slight, challenging smile.
‘Don’t joke… Beat the captain of the archery club?’ Luke thought with a grimace.
“I didn’t think the great Luke Poe would be scared,” Daphne said with a disdainful smile. Luke thought about it. His archery skills had improved, but not to the level of Daphne’s. He didn’t spend all his time honing that skill. It was just a complement to use with his telekinesis, although he had never used a bow and arrow in a real battle yet.
“Fine, but we can use our powers. You use your wind element, and I’ll use my telekinesis. What do you say?” Luke suggested with a confident smile. Daphne was an orange aura psychic. The element she controlled was the wind.
At Luke’s suggestion, Daphne frowned. She was 100% confident that she could beat Luke in a normal archery competition. However, she was equally certain that she would lose if they both used their powers.
She wasn’t foolish. She had been on Raven Island. She fought against two hags while Luke faced the four hooded figures who wanted to kill them. Not only did he win, but he also killed one with his telekinesis.
Meanwhile, she and Veronica struggled to fight off two hags. In the end, they needed Brad and Tommy’s help to kill them. Their power levels were very different, with Luke being far superior to her.
“Where did your confidence go? Don’t you trust your powers?” Luke asked, mimicking Daphne’s disdainful expression.
“I must remind you that you’re asking me for a favor,” Daphne said, and Luke remembered he should be more pleasant when asking for a favor.
“An archery competition should be without powers, that’s non-negotiable. This is the archery club. Where do you see the word powers?” Daphne said, refusing.
Luke frowned, but a new idea came to mind.
“Fine, no powers, but it’s not fair for me to face you when you’ve been practicing archery since you were little. Let me choose a representative to compete in my place,” Luke said with a slight smile.
“As you wish. I’ll tell you right now that Xavier won’t beat me,” Daphne said with a hint of arrogance. She was the best student when it came to archery. She had won countless competitions in the discipline. No one at Nevermore was better than her.
‘I hope you keep that arrogance when you lose,’ Luke thought as he went off to find his perfect competitor.
…
“You want me to compete in your place? Get lost,” Wednesday said without a moment of hesitation.
‘Two favors, two rejections,’ Luke thought. He already wanted to hit his head multiple times; he never asked for favors, and asking for two on the same day was a big effort for him.
“I read the book you lent me, and we even discussed Gothic literature because of it. You owe me a favor,” Luke said, going on the offensive. At this, Wednesday looked up from the book she was reading.
“You borrow a book, and I’m the one who owes you a favor? At no point did I force you to read the book or discuss it with me,” Wednesday said, and Luke couldn’t counter her argument. “Tsch, stingy,” Luke said, turning away. He should just compete himself, lose to Daphne, and endure her arrogant face during the next few meetings at the club.
“Wait,” Wednesday said, standing up and walking toward Luke. She stopped a short distance from him and raised her head to look at him.
“What?” Luke asked, lowering his gaze to look at Wednesday. Their heights were quite different. The girl was about 155 cm, while he stood close to 180 cm.
Wednesday remained silent for a few seconds, staring at Luke before responding, “I’ll fulfill your request if you answer one question.”
“Fine. Ask,” Luke said, curious about what Wednesday could want to know from him. It had to be about him. It was rare for her to show curiosity about another person.
“You have to answer truthfully. I’m telling you, I’m an expert at recognizing lies,” Wednesday said.
“That might work with others, but I’m very good at lying,” Luke replied with a slight smile. From their closeness, he could hear Wednesday’s breathing, and they were standing very near each other.
“I believe that… but it’s hard to fool me,” Wednesday said, looking directly into Luke’s eyes. To ensure she wasn’t lied to, she had to focus on the person’s face and eyes.
“Ask.”
“Do you have two auras?” Wednesday asked, tilting her head slightly to the side. The place fell silent. They stared at each other, and the only sound was their soft breathing.
“Yes,” Luke replied.
“What’s the second one?” Wednesday asked with curiosity.
“That’s two questions,” Luke said.
“Do you want the favor or not?” Wednesday asked, and Luke clicked his tongue.
“Blue aura. Why did you think I have two auras?” Luke asked.
‘Blue aura… I thought it was something else,’ Wednesday thought, shaking her head
internally.
“Instinct. Have you tried to read my mind?” Wednesday asked.
“No. You most likely have something that protects your mind since you’re part of the Addams family. I don’t want to get caught reading minds,” Luke responded, and the girl nodded. She did have such protection. She wouldn’t allow anyone to read her thoughts.
“Why do you hide it?” Wednesday continued with her questions.
“You also hide that you possess a violet aura. You must have your reasons, right?” Luke said without giving a full answer. He had already answered the main question; he wouldn’t reveal
his entire life.
“Mm. Let’s go to the archery club. I want to get this over with quickly,” Wednesday said, starting to walk. Luke followed, and neither said a word along the way.
When they arrived at the outdoor archery club, many people looked at Wednesday Addams
with curiosity. They knew her-it was hard not to. They didn’t think Luke could convince this girl, who always had a half-dead expression and kept everyone at a distance, to participate in
a mini-competition.
“Did you tell everyone?” Luke asked, trying hard not to smile.
“Yes. It’s been a while since we’ve had a competition,” Daphne replied, eyeing her opponent. She knew the girl by reputation but had no idea of Wednesday’s archery skills. ‘You’ll regret making this competition so public,’ Luke thought, holding back laughter.
Wednesday had been forced to join a club by Principal Larissa. One of the clubs she tried was the archery club. On her trial day, Luke and Xavier accompanied her. No one else saw her perfect abilities. She could even shoot an apple and still hit the most difficult bullseye. Luke wondered if Daphne had this level of skill.
“The rules are as follows…” Daphne began, giving a quick five-minute explanation.
The competition was simple and consisted of five rounds. They didn’t want it to take too long. Each archer would shoot three arrows per round, totaling fifteen arrows per participant. The winner would be determined by the accumulated score after each round.
Each target was placed 100 meters away, which was farther than the standard 70 meters used in major competitions for normies. The targets had concentric circles with scores ranging from 1 (outermost) to 10 (innermost).
Wednesday took Luke’s bow and positioned herself.
“Do you want to start, or should I?” Daphne asked, looking at Wednesday, who wasn’t even wearing the proper uniform and was using a bow she wasn’t familiar with.
“It doesn’t matter. The result will be the same,” Wednesday replied. Her goal wasn’t to be
rude; she was simply stating the truth. The other club members were outraged by this arrogant comment. This girl wasn’t even a club member and thought she could beat the
captain.
“Just as peculiar as always,” commented Xavier, crossing his arms. He and Luke were the only ones who had seen Wednesday’s skills. He knew Daphne had a tough challenge ahead.
“Fine,” Daphne said, not showing a hint of anger. She positioned herself and shot three arrows in quick succession.
Two arrows hit the 10-point circle, with one arrow having to destroy the other to achieve that. The last one landed in the 9-point zone. A total of 29 points. Everyone applauded and cheered
for their captain.
With precise and fluid movements, Wednesday placed the first arrow on the bow and shot,
hitting the 10-point circle. Unfazed, she repeated the process, breaking the first arrow with
the second, and then again with the third, all embedded perfectly in the exact center of the target. A total of 30 points. Perfect score.
The crowd, which had been murmuring negative comments about Wednesday, fell silent. Many rubbed their eyes to see if what they had witnessed was real.
“What do you think of my representative, Daphne?” Luke asked with a smile, watching
Daphne’s reaction.
Daphne just scoffed and repositioned herself at the shooting line. This time she achieved a perfect score as well. However, Wednesday scored another perfect score, and everyone watched with wide eyes.
In the third, fourth, and fifth rounds, Wednesday consistently scored thirty points. She never
missed a shot. The place was silent. She had won the competition with a perfect score. This was at the level of a professional, no, better than a professional. A flawless archery skill.
Daphne managed scores between 28 and 30 points but couldn’t maintain perfect shots throughout.
The final score was: Wednesday 150 points – Daphne 146 points. “Done. I don’t owe you anything,” Wednesday said, handing the bow back to Luke and leaving the place as she had come. The crowd parted to let her pass, and within seconds, she
disappeared.
“I expect the meeting with Veronica. Tomorrow at 5 p.m. in the secondary gym. I don’t accept
tardiness,” Luke said, patting Daphne on the shoulder before leaving.
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