Summer was on her way to class when she saw a large crowd surrounding the notice boards near the school gate. She made her way there, and saw what the commotion was about.

The Annual HoverRacing Competition had arrived!

HoverRacing was a favourite sport in Armandia. People would buy HoverBoards, which was the equipment needed to HoverRace, and would stand on the board at the starting line. It was a little like skateboarding, only that HoverBoards could literally hover above the ground.

The special thing about HoverRacing was that the objective of the race was to reach the finishing line. It was pretty much similar to car-racing as well.

People could even knock others off their boards, which was why the sport was also considered dangerous. There would be an obstacle course on the race track, and racers had to pass the course in order to reach the finishing line.

The fastest racer would be crowned champion for a year, until the next race. Currently, the champion was Saturus Vilaan from Segovia Private School, the school where Winter and Glade were transferred from. Saturus had won the race for five years running, the longest hold on the champion title in Armandia's history.

Summer suddenly spotted Winter's tall, slim figure at the front of the crowd, his marine blue hair strikingly out-of-place. Girls were surrounding him, jostling him around. Beatriix was right beside him, with Latoya on his other side.

"Ooh! Look Winter! The annual HoverRace is here! Would you like to join it?" Beatriix purred, and grabbed his arm. Winter glanced at her, shock temporarily flashing across his face. Then he turned back to face the board, half-smiling.

"Perhaps," he said, turning around. The crowd parted and made way for him to walk, like he was some kind of holy god or something.

Winter spotted Summer and waved to her, gently shrugging Beatriix's hand, which was still holding on to his arm, off him. Beatriix gaped in astonishment.

"Hey Summer." Winter greeted, smiling. Summer peered past him and saw all the girls in the whole 3s cohort glaring at her. The males were far away from them, far away from the evil, murderous aura the girls were giving out.

"Uhm, Winter, you should probably look behind you..." Summer stammered, taking a small step back. Winter glanced behind him and smiled at the girls, waving. The girls' mood immediately changed to all flowers and love.

When Winter turned back, they changed back to 'evil, killer girls'. Summer smiled awkwardly and hurriedly headed for class. Winter looked back at the girls again, found them all smiling sweetly and blowing kisses at him, and wondered what was bothering Summer.

~~~

"So who would like to register for the HoverRace?" Mdm Justifer questioned, looking around the class. No one raised their hand. She frowned and glanced at Winter expectantly.

Winter was in the midst of debating with Summer about whether he should join the race. Why other people didn't raise their hands was because the girls were busy trying to glare daggers at Summer from behind Winter's back, while the other boys were just simply trying not to get caught up in the heated glaring.

Summer flinched when she saw Beatriix do the 'I've got my eye on you' move, her magenta pink eyes narrowed murderously. Winter blinked and turned around, and all the girls just waved at him sweetly, sighing dreamily.

Winter smiled and turned back to continue his debate with Summer, and the girls resumed their glaring positions.

Summer gulped and just nodded her head each time Winter asked her a question. "But I've never tried HoverRacing before. Should I still try it out?" Winter was saying. Summer shrugged.

"Why not? You could learn." she said, trying to ignore the piercing glares from the girls.

Winter smiled and turned away from Summer, looking straight at Mdm Justifer. "I'd like to register." he said aloud. The girls all stared at him with annoying, goofy looks on their faces as one by one, more boys raised their hands. Glade decided to join in too.

Summer sighed, relieved that now all the attention was away from her. Seriously, what was wrong with the girls in her class? They were like possessive, fake, make-up freaks who only cared about capturing Winter's heart. There was no reason to go all 'gaga' over him. He was normal, like eveyone else.

The class applauded for the few who decided to join in- seven boys including Winter and Glade. Girls weren't recommended to join in the race, so none of the girls raised their hands.

Mdm Justifer smiled with satisfaction and jotted down the boys' names in a notepad. "Do all of you know how to HoverRace?" She asked. Winter and Glade were the only ones who shook their heads.

Mdm Justifer let out a sigh and told them to learn by next week, as that was when the competition was held. Winter and Glade nodded, and when they thought no one was looking, smiled mysteriously at each other. But Summer caught the smile, and found it strange.

Maybe they have something up their sleeves...

~~~

A week passed, and soon the day of the big race arrived. The competitors, mostly boys, assembled at the starting line with their boards. Summer was seated at the spectators' stand, right at the front, trying to get a glimpse of Winter and Glade. Right behind her were the cheerleaders of the Academy, Beatriix leading them.

"Move away freak. We can't cheer on Winter if you're blocking our way!" Beatriix snapped. Summer ignored her and squinted at the crowd of racers. She finally spotted Winter and Glade arriving at the field, two shiny HoverBoards in their hands. Winter's was cerulean blue, while Glade's was diamond silver.

They had been assigned the last two slots at the end, but they didn't seem to mind. Summer spotted Saturus Vilaan making his way towards the brothers, a smirk on his face.

"Why if it isn't the Wolfenstrikes," she heard him sneer. Winter and Glade continued to polish their boards, taking no notice of him. Saturus scowled. "I'm talking to you here, nerd!" He barked, grabbing Winter's board and yanking it away. Winter looked up calmly at Saturus.

"What do you want?" He asked smoothly. Saturus looked enraged.

"Since you're joining the competition, I'm gonna make sure you pay for humiliating me all those times I tried to be better than you!" He roared and stalked away, throwing Winter's board to the ground.

Looks like Winter and Saturus have a very complicated history together... Summer thought. Winter slowly picked up his fallen board, blew off the dust, then went to check the HoverMechanism, which enabled all HoverBoards to hover. The main power source of the HoverMechanism was a Sky Crystal, only found high up in the mountains, in the Sky Caves.

The race was about to begin. The racers got on their boards, including Winter and Glade. Did they even learn how to race? Summer wondered anxiously, seeing Winter ready the HoverMechanism.

The commenter was up at the watchtower, looking over the entire race track. The obstacle course looked massively daunting, with it's giant loops and chomping gates which could crush one's board if he wasn't quick enough. Then there were the ramps which allowed one to perform stunts and raise your score. The other obstacles looked far too confusing.

"Ladies, gentlemen and students, today is a brilliant day. On the field we have five-year champion Saturus Vilaan from Segovia Private School in the first slot!" The commenter's voice boomed through the megaphone.

Cheers rose from the crowd, all except from the Academy students, who jeered. Segovia and the Academy had been rivals in HoverRacing for almost centuries since the creation of the sport, and every time Segovia would win.

Perhaps the tides would change this time.

"... And finally we have... Oh what's this? The Wolfenstrike brothers, formerly of Segovia Private! They have been transferred to the Academy!" The commenter gasped. Jeers echoed through the stadium. Once again, only the Academy students cheered loudly.

Winter and Glade smiled at each other, hidden words passing through them, as they waved at the crowds. Summer caught Winter winking at her- his sign for wishing him good luck. Summer gave him a thumbs up in response, smiling.

The commenter finally set the timer before the start of the race, which was ten seconds. "On your marks..." Seven seconds.

"Get set..." Four seconds...

"GO!!" The timer buzzed loudly and the racers were off, heading towards the obstacle course. Winter and Glade stood side by side, their bodies tense and bent low as they tried to control their board. The brothers picked up speed and they quickly overtook several other racers.

"Saturus is in the lead, far ahead of the rest of the pack! But look at that! The Wolfenstrike brothers are speeding ahead!" The commenter shouted as he watched the distance between Saturus and the brothers decrease rapidly.

But eventually Saturus reached the obstacle course, while Winter and Glade still had to overtake at least another ten more people, all from Segovia.

Summer stared at the screen desperately as she watched Saturus zoom his way through the obstacle course as if he knew it like the back of his hand. Winter suddenly released one of his boosters and he shot through the mob of Segovians all trying to block him. Glade followed suit.

The brothers blasted through the boys, causing some of them to fall off their boards and land on the ground hard. "Ooh! Now that has got to hurt!" The commenter shuddered when one boy fell off his board and landed on his head with a half-shriek.

Winter and Glade finally entered the obstacle course and were met with dozens of chomping gates. They had to slow down a bit and manoeuvre through the gates, speeding up when they saw a gap.

The other boys who reached the obstacle course screamed when the gates suddenly snapped shut around their boards and they were sent flying into a cage, or for some into a dark empty pit which looked like oblivion.

Saturus was far ahead in the loops now, while Winter and Glade still had to slowly move through a barb trap. A boy who stupidly decided to push past the brothers with full force found himself being trapped in the barbs, which were sticky. His board was then broken apart by another trap.

And that particular trap activated. Winter and Glade only narrowly missed getting hit by needle sharp barbs coming out from the ground as they quickly shot upwards, careful not to hit any barbs as that may spring other traps.

Summer bit her lip nervously as Winter and Glade finally left the barb trap and encountered the next obstacle- massive swinging hammers. Surprisingly, they moved through it quickly, and finally reached the loops, where Saturus was struggling to continue upwards without falling off.

That was when Glade accidentally activated a spring trap. His board touched a hidden tile in the loops and the spring activated, bouncing him back- way back. "Glade!" Winter cried, reaching out for his brother.

"Keep going Winter...! Forget about meeeee!!" Glade screamed as he was sent flying into another oblivion-like pit.

Summer saw Winter grind his teeth in frustration. She looked at the survival board. Winter was the only racer left from the Academy. There were five more survivers, including Saturus himself. And all were from Segovia.

Summer glanced back at the screen, praying that Winter would be alright.

Winter released his second booster and he shot up the first loop. Then he fell. Screams of horror erupted around Summer, and she found herself screaming as well.

But then suddenly, Winter turned upright, and when he landed, he landed on his board- right behind Saturus. His booster shot him forward, and Winter only managed to keep himself balanced, his arms wheeling. He blasted past Saturus, shocking the boy, and headed for the next loop, an even bigger one this time.

He did the same trick again, but this time narrowly avoiding a fall. Saturus instinctively released his third booster- his last one. The two were now neck-to-neck as they raced for the last loop. Saturus apparently decided to copy Winter's move and landed on his board neatly. However, Winter's booster spluttered and ran out just as he was about to land on it.

Winter cried out in shock as he found himself balancing precariously on the edge of his board, trying to steady himself. Summer covered her mouth and gasped, fearing the worst. But finally Winter managed to straighten himself out. There were sighs of reliefs.

The cheerleaders began to cheer Winter on. "W-I-N! T-E-R! W-I-N!! T-E-R!! Go, Winter go! You can do it!!" The girls fangirl-screamed.

Saturus was nearing the ramp, the final obstacle course before he could reach the finishing line. There was a huge gap between the first ramp and other ramp, and he had to jump across it while performing a stunt that could 'wow' the judges.

HoverRacing was, after all, similar to skateboarding. The racer not only had to make sure that he was the fastest, but also the most talented and creative. Based on the time one took to finish the course, the judges will add the score they gave him for the stunt he performed and the total result will decide whether he won the race.

Winter released his last booster and shot forwards, now once again beside Saturus. Then Saturus banged into Winter, nearly causing him to fall off. "Hey! Stop that!" Winter snapped, moving away from Saturus.

"I'm not going to let you spoil my victory!" Saturus spat, speeding up. Winter growled in frustration and went to catch up with the boy.

Both of them launched off the ramps at the same time. Saturus flipped his board and did a 360° turn, smirking at Winter. But at that moment, his booster ran out.

Winter grabbed the edge of his board and flipped it as well, before jumping off his board and doing a double front flips. He landed on his board in a handstand just as it landed on the other ramp. Saturus in the meantime, was trying to reach the other ramp. His board hit the edge of the ramp, and Saturus smirked.

But then he fell.

Saturus's screams echoed through the stadium as he entered an even darker oblivion-like pit. Winter flipped himself back upright again, a smile on his face as he crossed the finishing line.

The Academy students roared, cheering in celebration. Everyone else clapped dumbly, not knowing what had just happened. Only Segovia students remained quiet.

Winter got off his board and was immediately tackled by a mob of fangirls. Summer went down the spectators' stand and went to where Winter was getting 'assaulted' by the cheerleaders, especially Beatriix.

"I knew you could do it!" Beatriix cried as she tried to kiss Winter on the cheeks. Winter dodged her swipes towards his face, laughing amusedly. Then he spotted Summer and gestured for her.

"Hey, so uh... How did I do?" He asked nervously, a hint of a blush on his face. Summer smiled and touched his arm.

"You were brilliant! Teach me sometime, will you?" She joked, smiling.

Winter smiled back.

As Winter was given his medal and Championship Trophy, Summer noticed a bedraggled group of boys coming out from the storage closet. Amongst them, she spotted Glade's familiar greyish hair.

Glade came running towards her, a worried look on his face. "Where's Winter? Is he alright?" He asked, smelling of trash. Summer held her nose in disgust.

"He's fine. More importantly, he won!" She exclaimed. Glade blinked. Then he whooped. He ran towards the podium where Winter was just coming down and threw his arms around his brother.

"You won! I can't believe it!" Glade cried, ruffling Winter's hair playfully. Summer laughed when Winter smacked Glade's hand away from his hair and remarked about his brother's odour.

Then she heard a sobbing sound and saw Saturus, covered in garbage, softly crying, looking forlorn. Other boys were trying to console him, but he kept on crying.

Summer smirked. Serves you right, Saturus. Serves you right...