AN EPIPHANY ；mashle

ten ；a wager

you only had a tired, sullen look on your face then. finn attempted to give you an encouraging smile, but you paid no attention to it.

'i just wanna rest... i didn't get enough sleep.'

if you ever get enough sleep in the first place...

you sighed, letting tom have his way with his mindlessness. no point in trying to convince someone who was the human embodiment of passion and perseverance.

"omigosh, it's tom!! he was last year's duelo's mvp!" a girl let out a high-pitched squeal, causing you to rub your ears from the slight ringing.

"obnoxious jocks are usually the worst, but somehow he makes it work!!" another praised.

'no, he. does. not.'

"but who's the fungus head he's talking to? and what's with that girl treating him like some germ?" one of the girls brought their attention to you and mash.

"they're so depressing... bet they collect pill bugs together at home." the other girl gossiped.

'i don't even know what pill bugs are..'

you pinched the bridge of your nose. all you wanted to do was to return to your dorm and take a good 4 hour nap, not deal with hot-blooded seniors and love-blinded girls.

"so what is a duelo? and 'fire' spelle 'rife'." mash questioned, pointing out tom's blunder in his supposedly inspiring statement.

"we compete using our brooms! it's the number one sport in the magic realm!" the senior exclaimed, firing up at the thought of the sport.

"a first-year playing duelo? that's amazing!" finn hyped mash up, but you knew it would only give the mushroom-head unnecessary trouble.

should you step in? or let him suffer with you?

the latter would be more interesting.

"but i can't ride a broom." the dark haired boy tried to reason, but it only went in through one ear and out the other.

"don't be modest! you blew everyone away in class!" likewise, tom started to harshly pat mash's shoulder.

"why are you shouting? also, i said─"

"the game's tomorrow! we're counting on you!!"

"but i can't─"

"shoot for the stars! even if you miss, you'll land amongst your dreams!!!"

"this guy's denser than i am... (y/n)─" the boy turned to you, only to be met with you faking to be asleep.

'you traitor. you were meant to help me.' mash had a stricken look on his face.

'you're going down with me.' you peeked open an eye, giving mash a sly smirk as he let out a small, offended gasp.

'but for good cause. after all, if you win, you'll get a silver coin.' you reached into your cloak, trying to telepathically communicate with him.

you pulled out one of five silver coins, showing it to him. mash's head perked up, somewhat understanding your intent, but it didn't mean he wanted to participate in the duelo any more.

if he earned a silver coin, it meant he would be a step closer to achieving his goal. for his pops, he tried to motivate himself.

(...)

and so, there was mash, in the middle of the sunny field, being hyped up by his seniors.