Will We Stand Still

Chapter 8

"Okay, the plan is to run the obstacle course as fast as you can." Marylinde frowned. It wasn't that hard of an obstacle course, so there had to be more to it. Quadrant wasn't exactly known to make it easy on themselves. For example, the hot wings challenge where Lando swore he had lost all of his taste for a good week. "But the one running the course is blindfolded." And there was the catch Marylinde had been waiting for.

"Do you want me to break my legs?" Marylinde asked Lando looking around the course again, they would have to climb and jump stuff to go around. Not to forget run around things.

"It would mean one serious competitor less."

"Luckily you are more clumsy than I am." Marylinde grinned, looking at Lando challenging. "If I will break my legs, you for sure will, if not break your neck." Lando walked up to her.

"So you want to fight huh?" Marylinde puffed up her chest and raised her chin.

"Bring it. I can take that fat arse of yours." They stared each other in the eyes, neither backing away.

"Okay, come on guys. Just. Nope." Aarav pulled Lando back as Max slipped his hands around Marylinde's waist pulling her away from Lando.

"Nope, let me go." Marylinde laughed as she struggled. "Lando needs to be put in his place."

"You do know he is the founder of Quadrant right?" Niran asked with a grin on his face.

"So? He is still just a tiny young man."

"You have no right of speaking, tiny young woman." Lando narrowed his eyes at his best friend, but the smile tugging on his lips gave away that he was enjoying it all way too much to actually be offended. "And I do not have a fat arse."

"I think we should no longer let Lando invite people." Everyone laughed.

"Let's just get to the challenge. I think we have a good idea of who shall not be in a team." The teams were quickly split up into three. Aarav and Niran, Ria and Marylinde and Max and Lando. Ria and Marylinde were up first.

Max tied a towel around Ria's head and then checked whether she could see anything.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Max, you can be so stupid sometimes. It didn't cross your mind that she could just lie about how many fingers she sees?"

"And I love how you think of that when I am checking your teammate, Mary. Also, thank you for calling me stupid."

"I wouldn't want to cheat, now would I? I have a reputation to uphold." Marylinde smiled innocently, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"And that reputation is?"

"That I always play fair."

"That is such a lie!" Lando screamed. His eyes were wide. He vividly remembered a game of Monopoly where he was convinced Marylinde was losing but when he got back from the bathroom, she was suddenly winning.

"It is not!" The two were walking right back to each other, this time to actually start arguing about whether Marylinde was a fair player, but Max quickly grabbed a hold of Marylinde's wrist and pulled her back. "I don't cheat." She pouted.

"I know." Max smiled and caressed the inside of her wrist with his thumb before letting go. "Are you ready Ria?" He then said, turning to her and faking a punch. Ria didn't flinch and everyone knew she couldn't see a thing. With vocal commands, Marylinde guided Ria around the course as fast as they could.

"I am so happy I was paired up with you," Ria said when she pulled off the blindfold. "I swear the rest would purposely make me run into something." Marylinde embraced Ria and then watched as Max tied the blindfold around his head.