BATTLE SCARS | mcc9 blue bats | minecraft championship

1. Hero to Zero

"Mumbo! How did your test go?"

Mambo sighed and rubbed his nose, messy black hair plastered to his sweaty forehead. "You know how it is, False. I'm terrible at sports. I'm pretty sure I failed."

"Don't say that!" False clapped Mumbo's back. "You'll be fine!" she said in what she hoped was an encouraging way.

"I'm so gonna get into 3-H next year," Mumbo muttered. "Being good at academics really doesn't mean a single thing in this school..."

False gulped, her heart sinking upon the mention of the infamous 3-H. In a school where sports and combat mattered the most, those who were bad at it would be sent to class 3-H in their third year. All the delinquents and rule-breakers would be sent there too. They would be forced to study in a tiny shack away from everyone in the main campus. False heard there was no air conditioning, and she knew the shack was situated on top of a hill so it would take an extra thirty minutes to walk up there. Not to mention these 3-H students were at the bottom of the school's social hierarchy, and would be bullied and discriminated against by everyone. According to their principal, Principal Stanley "Stan" Twitt, who had rather... questionable morals, 3-H was meant to encourage the students to work hard so they wouldn't suffer in the 3-H "H as in Hermit" class.

False and Mumbo were friends before they got into this school, and False had always known Mumbo as a genius computer student with a passion for filming. She never saw him as "weak" or "bad at sports", because flaws didn't define a person. But now this stupid school with its stupid principal was forcing False's friends to believe they were worthless. False clenched her fist-

"You'll definitely be fine though, Falsie." Mumbo gave her a weak grin. "Maybe you'll even get into 3-A. You're the best PvPer out of all of us."

The duo hurried to the cafeteria where the rest of their friends were waiting for them. A familiar voice shouted out, "Over here!"

"Hey Iskall, hey Stress." False nodded towards her friends, and she set down her lunch tray. "Where's Ren?"

Iskall rolled his eyes. "No idea. Maybe he got into trouble for flirting with girls again. Who knows with him," he said casually.

"Iskall!" Stress glared at him. "How can you sound so nonchalant?" she demanded.

"Well, I mean, Ren always accidentally gets into trouble," Iskall replied with a shrug. "Mumbo, are you sitting with us or are you going with that Brian friend of yours?"

"Oh, uhh, hi." Mumbo's eyes scanned the cafeteria nervously. "Yeah, I'll be having lunch with him... he's a little clingy nowadays. By the way, his name's Grian."

"Oh. Sure," Iskall said in a way that all his friends knew he wasn't going to remember Grian's name. "Good job, Mumbo. Abandoning us for this random blond guy. How did your bromance begin again? On a slide?"

Mumbo's cheeks flushed. "I know it sounds weird but that's actually what happened, mate. Slides are really cool, you know." Mumbo's eyes darted to the left and to the right.

Iskall laughed and waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah whatever. Bye, Mumbo. Have fun with Bryon."

"His name is Grian," Mumbo muttered under his breath, but didn't protest further since he knew Iskall wouldn't listen to him.

"You're still walking home with us, right Mumbo?" False called as Mumbo walked away.

"Yeah! If I'm not dead by the time school ends!"

The three of them ate in silence. Next to their table were their friends Scar and Cub, who were enthusiastically discussing rockets and spaceship designs. False knew Iskall, Stress, Ren, Scar, Cub, and some of their other friends Python and Wels were in the same class in their first year, and hence they formed a close bond. False was glad she and Mumbo were integrated into their tight knit circle. Their group of designers, crafters, art kids, science kids, and prospective architects, engineers, movie directors, music producers all stuck together. If no one was going to appreciate their creativity and drive, they were going to do it themselves.