The Fall of Mangiatorvi

6: Daniel Greyson

Daniel walked into the locker room designated for the elite male competitors. His jaw shifted slowly back and forth with aggravation. He did not like to have his time wasted. The locker room was not large, but it was very well renovated with all the best amenities. The bare, dull metal walls matched the interior, built for functionality and not aesthetics. Daniel stepped into an open stall, allowing the bodysuit to be reabsorbed into the walls as he pressed his back against it. He pulled off his sweaty t-shirt and tossed it aside.

"I thought you were gonna do one last match," Jared called from the showers.

"I did, lasted roughly 10 seconds." Daniel snorted, throwing his towel from his locker over his shoulder and entering the shower. "They threw in some incompetent castaway."

"How do you know they're a transfer?"

"She didn't know where to find her mercy button, probably didn't even know there was one."

Simulation matches were Oasi's favorite pastime. Most children by the age of twelve, Daniel included, could list the top-ranked competitors of their favorite match type. He and his brother laid still in bed for hours, as children, waiting for their mom to fall asleep on the nights of the finals. They would army crawl out and pretend to be secret operatives. It gave them so much satisfaction, but now Daniel realized his mother simply tolerated their antics.

"The machine's generally pretty good at pairing practice partners."

"It's the start of the year. Probably hasn't processed all the new students yet."

"You remember we're leading the new transfer students this year, right?" Jared chuckled as he dried himself off and began to get dressed.

"Remind me again why."

"Because you're a scholarship student- which equates to free labor. And I am a good ally."

Daniel scowled. "The school already absorbs the majority of my endorsement money from the simulation matches. It more than covers my tuition. I don't see why we have to waste our time with leading orientation."

"I don't know, I kind of like it." Jared shrugged.

"What you like are first years."

"Well, the transfers won't be impressed." Jared grinned, admiring himself in the mirror. "We might need to actually put in some work."

"Keep me out of it. I need to stay focused," Daniel said. He dried himself off, tossing the towel in the community bin. "I'm dismantling Mangiatorvi this year."

"Ian?" Jared asked. "We destroyed him last year."

Daniel's brows furrowed at the mention of the bane of his existence. Ian Mangiatorvi represented everything Daniel despised in the world. He was entitled beyond imagination, and made it a point to flaunt his privilege at every opportunity. He occupied the majority of his time with models, race cars, and other stereotypical rich boy bullshit. He had no experience with work of any kind, yet he would no doubt be given a position of great responsibility upon his graduation next year. 

Nothing compared to the satisfaction of beating him in the 2v2 championship last season.

That satisfaction had since faded, but not Ian's animosity. Ian had since set out on the task of driving Daniel insane. Daniel's only solace consisted of focusing on his new goal, beating the crown prince.

"Not Ian, Luca. He's an incoming first year." Daniel pulled his polo over his head, shaking his head like a wet dog. "Did you see the new legislation they just pushed through parliament? The protesters?"

"It's not right, they can't just deport non-gifted immigrants and ship them off like cattle."

"It's disgusting. And at least the immigrants will have somewhere to go home to. They were born in the Mortal Realm. Now there's talk about deportation for all non-gifted citizens. That includes my mom, my brother. My family has been here for generations. Where the hell do they expect us to go?"