Read the excerpt from "Wherefore Art Thou Romeo?” I shrugged. Shondra waited. Finally, I pained my head toward the classroom next door. We both knew that my nemesis, Allison Ramon, was in there. Since the third grade, Allison and I had battled for the lead in every school play. Usually we both ended up on stage in one role or another. But tomorrow’s reading was a class assignment, and Allison wasn’t in the class. She was free to wreak havoc from the audience.
What is the connotation of the word "battled”?
competed intensely
fought violently
angrily argued
secretly tricked
