Chapter 9 - Turn 9 - M 3500 | A 2600

Okay… Millie thinks - her heart is pounding and her breaths come hot and heavy. Before she progresses, she needs to calm down. This… Had to be something Annie  took into account. This curse was, for lack of a better word, scary - it was a mind game she could use against her. If Millie kept panicking, she’d just make more mistakes. 
 
               She shut her eyes and drew her next card, mentally preparing herself to make a move. All I need is a monster to protect me from Hagoita. But… Nothing I own is strong enough to destroy it. My best monsters… Poor Bergamot got destroyed, and I’m so sorry for tossing Marjoram away like that… Both of them are in the graveyard, and I can’t just bring them back. I know I don’t have anything like that in my deck - but… Dried Winds could take care of Hagoita. All I need to do is summon a monster, and chain Aroma Gardening into Dried Winds. I’ll be safe, and… Maybe I can even deal some damage?
 
               Okay. Millie thinks, having calmed herself down… A little. Her hand still trembled as it held her next card - and anxiety gripped her as she turned it over… 
 
               But her heart sank as she saw the blue-green tone of a spell card. Another copy of Aroma Garden composed the entirety of her hand - leaving her with no defense against another hit. Oh no…
 
               “I- I… C-can’t do anything else, so I’ll end my turn.” she whimpers.
 
“You can’t? Kekeke… Don’t you have any confidence in yourself? Or your cards? Or has that all just bled away…? Come on, prez, why don’t you make things more fun - stand up and shout at me, or call me a dork or a creep or something; you never had any problems doing that before, did you?”
 
               Millie flinches a little - the subtle motion causing not-so-subtle jiggling across her flabby form. “N-no, I… I wouldn’t…”
 
               “But you did, didn’t you…? You were so high and mighty, so special, and surrounded yourself with the elites of the school that you hand-picked… What a silly notion. You made your own ivory tower just so you can look down on everybody else…” She titters. “And everyone looked down on you for it. And, as much as people loved your reputation… Oh, they hated you…”
 
               Millie shakes her head. “N-no, they… They all thought I was a-awesome - and…” 
 
               Annie clicks her tongue. “Your reputation was awesome. But the mean ol’ class president herself… That’s another story.” 
 
               As much as she wanted to - Millie couldn’t deny that she was a bit of a backbiter. A gossip, and… Well, when people put you on such a pedestal, it was hard to not look down, wasn’t it? She tried to justify it that way, but being confronted about it so blatantly made it hard to debate. 
 
               While Millie mulled this over, Annie began her turn.