The next morning rolled around, and it was time to head over to our first class of the year. However, Tigersap was having a little trouble finding her way around the building as I followed behind her like a lost sheep. But in all honest, we were both a pair of lost sheep. 

"How could you be lost?" I questioned her, my voice slightly agitated. "You're the R.A.!"

"Well sorry," She apologized sarcastically. "I wasn't the one who overslept."

"Well, I"m sorry, I had to practice on how to work my new pro gear if I want to get good and impress AlphaSheek."

As we proceeded down the hall, I suddenly felt a hand tug on my shoulder. "Hey MadDog!" I stopped and turned around to see AlphaSheek literally right behind me! "I saw you kill Annihilist yesterday. Very impressive. How would you like a spot on JV?"

My eyes widened upon hearing that request, I thought they would fall out of my sockets! I couldn't contain my smile as I struggled to reply, "Y-Y-You're serious?!"

"Double serious," She confirmed. "JV could really use the boost."

She opened her arms out, requesting a hug. Not quite sure what else to do, I accepted the gesture in kind. 

"Welcome... TO ME!"

Her voice suddenly changed as I abruptly pushed her away from the hug to reveal that it was no longer Alpha standing before me. It was Ming. His mouth opened as he began to scream, a white glow surrounding him as the sound of his scream grew louder and louder, it was practically deafening! I covered my ears with my hands, trying to block out the noise as I collapsed to my knees. 

"Is anyone else hearing this?!" I shouted.

I frantically looked around the hall to see that everyone else was frozen solid, like a statue. Then suddenly, Ming's body morphed into Reaper as the masked assassin shadow stepped in front of me before aiming one of his dual shotguns right in my face. 

"From the shadows..." he muttered before pulling the trigger.

******

I screamed, my eyes snapped open as I sat up. I was in bed, the sun shining through the blinds of the windows as I breathed in and out, trying to calm myself. It was just a dream. A really, really weird one at that. 

Just as I was about to glance at the alarm clock to figure out the time, Tiger poked her head down from the top bunk of the beds, waving at me. "Morning roomie!"

I screamed, falling out of bed as I collapsed on the floor. I hissed from the pain, rubbing the back of my head as I slowly sat up from the floor. "Morning to you too..."

Tigersap climbed down the side ladder of the bunk beds, smiling at me. "Up for some Pizza Brunch?"

*******

Once we got dressed for the day, Tigersap took me to the school's cafeteria where at one of the vendors, she picked up two cans of Pizza In A Can. I'm not kidding. It's literally pizza in a can! She handed me a can as she cracked open hers, taking a bite out of it. 

As I looked about the room, a couple of students that were the closest to us gave me dirty looks and glares. One girl even spat on the floor near my shoes. I glanced at her smugly before regrouping with  Tiger, making our way across the room.

"What is with everyone today?" I muttered. 

The bell rang as we exited the room, walking up a staircase. "Well," Tigersap began, "You killed the number one player at the school, you got a guy kicked out on your first day... you're a marked woman, MadDog. It's like this pizza, everyone wants a piece of you."

"I should probably keep my head down," I realized, my head hunched low as I tried to ignore a few more stares.

"You're right," Tigersap agreed. "We should throw you a party!"

"What?" I looked over at my roommate, dumbfounded. "I didn't say that!"

"We'll call it, MadDog-Polloza!" She exclaimed.

"Hey guys!" PopcornBox appeared from the opposite end of the hall, coming up beside Tigersap as he held a poster in his hand. "Tiger, I had a quick question about MadDog-Polloza?"

I took a look at the poster, my eyes widening as I sat a glare at the girl. "Did you makes these while I was sleeping?!"

"I have a very aggressive street team," She boasted. "What's up Popcorn?"

"I was wondering what time Rock O'Clock was?" He asked.

"You know, half past rad," Tigersap answered. 

"When is that?" PopcornBox questioned with confusion.

"Quarter to score," Tigersap grinned.

I quickly waved my hands, silencing the pair. "Guys, seriously, every student in this school wants to fight me now. I'm NOT going to throw them a party!" I sighed, rubbing my eyes as I began to step away from them, "Can we please just---"

When I glanced up, I froze in place. Just down the hall, AlphaSheek and KingMing were huddled in a group with some of their friends, chatting. I could have sworn Ming looked over and saw me. Maybe I was just being paranoid, but I didn't really care. All I worried about was not being seen by him, after what he did to my laptop.

I quickly stepped back, leaning against the stairwell railings. "---hang out by this stairwell?" Tigersap and PopcornBox both gave me odd stares as I stuttered nervously. "I mean, look at this view! This could be our new hangout spot, am I right?"

"I can't believe I haven't thought of that," Popcorn commented after looking around, just as Tiger took a glance down the hallway. "I'll add it to my list of potential hangout spots." 

When Tiger spotted Ming however, she looked back over at my with a scoff. "Really? A party is one thing, but you can't even walk past KingMing?" Suddenly she went behind me, pushing me forward. "It's time to spot hiding in the shadows and start shining like the star that you are!"

As she pushed me forward, Ming actually noticed my presence this time. He smirked menacingly, waving at me as I shoved my way past Tiger, heading back the way we came. "Yeah, I'll stick to the shadows!" 

I was so in a rush to avoid KingMing that I didn't look where I was going. I ended up bumping into someone, spilling a mug of coffee on them. I looked up, and met the gaze of Dean Darin de Paul. He did not look happy.

Tiger stepped toward me, whispering in my ear, "We'll see you in class," before she and PopcornBox bolted down the hallway. 

*******

I sat in the Dean's office nervously, sitting across from Darin as he dried his tie with a cloth. "Tell me, what's Overwatch all about, MadDog?"

"Um, well---"

"I'm sure if I looked at MadDog's Big Book of Gaming," he interrupted, pouring himself a new cup of coffee. "It would tell me that it's all about expelling classmates, starting fights, landing the cover of the Wall Street Journal... You know what it's really all about?"

He pointed over at a sign that sat on his desk, the words "It's all about the game." was inscribed on it. 

"Gaming... is all about the game, sir?" I repeated.

"I knew you wouldn't understand," He sighed, typing away on his keyboard. The computer screen came on, displaying my performance stats. A green line could be seen moving up before dropping down into nearly the bottom of a yellow shaded zone, then slowly moving on up. "You're in the danger zone, MadDog. You may have snagged a few points taking out Annihilist, but if you want to last more than a week at this school, I suggest you start keeping a low profile."

I quickly nodded my head in agreement, struggling to form words. I didn't want to risk getting trouble again. "I-I-I hear you, loud and clear, sir. I was just telling my friends that: Low profile, that's my game."

"Really?" He questioned, raising a brow at me. 

He suddenly got up from his chair, walking over to the side. I watched him nervously as he pulled up the blinds of his window. "MadDog-Poloza" signs were plastered everywhere on the glass. 

"Does that include a mini game of pure crap?!" He exclaimed. "Now get out of my office," 

*******

"Welcome to Offense Class 101, my battle tag is MetalHawk, and I'll be your instructor,"

After that nightmare with Darin, I quickly rushed over to my first class upon hearing the bell ring. Everyone was already in their seats and the teacher was in the middle of her introduction when I walked in. She looked to be in her thirties, had light skin with light brown curly hair tied in a pony tail. She wore a black hoodie with Mercy's logo on it, jeans and combat boots. 

MetalHawk was one of the top ranked Mercy players in the United States, and her Battle Mercy skills were second to none.  She is also co-captain of the Gentlemen Gamers Guild. 

"MadDog, I presume?" She asked. 

"Sorry I'm late, ma'am," I apologized. 

"Well you've already broken my first rule," She sighed. 

"Be punctual?" I questioned. 

"No, it's know my rules." MetalHawk clarified. "You would have known that had you been punctual. Have a seat," 

I quickly took my seat, sitting at the two seat desk next to Tigersap and PopcornBox. She leaned over to me as MetalHawk continued her introduction, whispering at me. "Dude, you will not believe who are TA is," 

"Now I'd like to introduce you all to our TA, AlphaSheek, who is the first person you really need to impress here,"

"Thanks Overmom," the red head stood up from her seat, walking to the front of the class. "As JV captain I have to choose an honorary freshman to play in our scrimmage against Varsity tomorrow," she glanced over at the teacher, muttering. "Of course, I think it's a waste of time..."

Metalhawk coughed, signalling her to get on with it. 

AlphaSheek shook her head, speaking up as she returned her gaze to the class. "But, it's tradition."

Popcorn leaned forward against the table, looking over at me. "Hey MadDog, that could be you wasting her time tomorrow,"

"I don't know, Popcorn," I whispered back with uncertainty. 

"The scrim is a perfect opportunity to be rubbing elbows with some of the best Overwatch jockies this school has to offer," MetalHawk added. "Alpha, do you think any of these students have what it takes?"

"Well, there's only one way to find out," AlphaSheek stated. "Let's hit the Practice Range,"

MetalHawk smirked. "I cannot wait,"

AlphaSheek made her way to the teachers desk, loading the range as the giant screen behind her lit up, displaying what she saw so the other students could watch her play. "People tend to underestimate the Practice Range because your targets are non-threatening bots."

Loading in Zenyatta, she controlled the omnic to hover out of the spawn point, nailing the first AI she saw with a headshot. 

"But trust me, when you know the Range, you know yourself,"

She nailed a few more bots before moving on to the next area where the more advanced AI's could be found. By more advanced, I mean that they actually try to shoot at you. She maneuvered passed their fire power, firing back at them with her orbs. 

I heard a scoff behind me as a male voice muttered. "Playing by yourself? I got better things to do in my sleep," 

I looked over at Tiger, whispering, "This is great! I could do this all in my sleep,"

"Yeah, great," She replied, not exactly paying attention as she looked back over at PopcornBox. "So Popcorn, back to our favourite languages, what were yours? Spanish? Italian?"

"C++" He answered after giving it some thought. 

Looking back over at the screen, I watched as Alpha controlled Zenyatta to take cover behind a wall before jumping out, checking her orbs at a group of AI bots. "Be fast, be efficient, and above all else, be resourceful," 

Once the last AI was taken out, AlphaSheek received a round of applause from the class as her time appeared on screen. 

"39 seconds, not bad Alpha," MetalHawk commented. "Just shy of the school record,"

Looking at the score, and running through the map again in my head, I shook my head as I looked over at my friends. "Wait, that can't be right. You can get like 10 seconds faster than that---"

"MadDog!" AlphaSheek called, startling me as I met her gaze. "Got something to share?"

"No, ma'am," I shook my head nervously. "Sorry, uh-- it wasn't important."

"Good," She commented. 

"Oh!" PopcornBox suddenly rose his hand, catching the teacher's attention. MetalHawk acknowledged the boy to speak as he lowered his hand. "MadDog was just saying how it was possible to beat the range even faster, Alpha."

My eyes widened as I whipped my head at Popcorn, shooting him a 'why did you say that?!' type of look. 

"Well la-de-da," MetalHawk spoke with a grin. "I'd love to see that. What about the rest of the class?"

Everyone else seemed to like that idea as well. There were cheers of encouragement, followed by an applause. 

"Try not to wet yourself, noob," she commented.

I looked up at AlphaSheek who got up from her chair at the front desk, patting it as she signaled me to come forward. Gulping nervously, I slowly pulled my pro gear out of my bag and made my way over to the front of the class. I took my seat, getting everything set up as I logged into my account, loading the Practice Range. 

The screen loaded in, and Athena asked me to select a Hero. I hovered my mouse over the various options I had before selecting Hanzo, loading him into the scene. 

I commanded Hanzo to move forward, equipping his scatter arrow ability. I took cover behind a corner, psyching myself up. Once I felt I was ready, I rounded the corner, aimed at a certain angle, and fired. The scatter arrow dispersed as the miniature arrows marked and destroyed all of their targets before I moved on to the next section of the range. 

Upon entering, the next set of AI bots loaded in as Hanzo jumped over a ledge, the scatter arrow finishing its cool-down as I fired it again before punching the one closest to him, whacking its head clean off. The scatter arrow took out the remaining two AI.

One more appeared on top of a catwalk. I was so focused on impressing Alpha that when I fired my last arrow to go for the head shot, my mouse moved ever so slightly and as I looked up at her, the arrow missed the AI's head by mere inches and the screen went red. 

Upon seeing this, the class erupted in laughter. Even AlphaSheek couldn't help but chuckle a little bit. PopcornBox and Tigersap had a look of surprise on their faces as MetalHawk shook her head with disappointment. 

"MadDog, you're just full of disappointment, aren't you?"

*******

Once class was finally over and the three of us sat in the cafeteria, I face planted right into my plate of scrambled eggs. 

"Aw cheer up, MadDog," Tigersap encouraged. "At least no one wants to fight you anymore, right?"

"I figured it out!" Popcorn exclaimed.

"What?" I glanced up, meeting his gaze.

"Rock O'Clock is 3:32!" He stated.

I groaned, shoving my face back into my food once more. "Darin wants me dead, I was late to MetalHawk's class, and now I can forget about playing in tomorrow's scrimmage because Alpha must think I'm the biggest dork in the universe!"

"Uh, MadDog?" Tiger spoke up, nudging my arm. 

I glanced, noticing the familiar red head standing beside our table. I shot my face out from the food, trying to brush off any leftovers that were on me as I nervously smiled at her. "What's up Sheek?"

"Well, I was going to invite you to my party because that was one of the sickest Range runs I've ever seen, but... um..." She explained while cringing slightly, motioning her hand towards me. 

I looked down to see that I still had some egg on me. Fantastic. Tiger smiled as she placed a hand on my shoulder, looking up at Alpha. "We'll clean this up, and we'll definitely be there!"

"I hope this party is better organized than MadDog-polooza," PopcornBox muttered. "We missed it..."

"Sure," Alpha replied with a look of uncertainty. "You guys can totally invite yourselves. My place, tomorrow night,"