Chapter 11

Dan got to school with almost two hours to go before it started. Because of his dad’s job, he had been used to getting up early, and he’d not broken the routine, even though at this new location, and new school, he could in theory have slept in. As such, with nothing to do, and no one actually milling about the school, he did the one thing he could think of. Dan headed to the locker rooms. Might as well grind out some experience before school started. At the very least, mindlessly losing himself to something was what he needed right now. And he still had plenty of stamina. Even at a fast jog, he’d only burned about 20 of his Stamin points getting to school.

It only took him a few minutes to change, and he grabbed his racquet and made his way out of the locker rooms, to the supply shed. Peter had showed Dan the supply room, as well as how to get into it, and what he could use, the day before. Freshman were expected to clean up, according to Peter, meaning they needed to know where everything was. It was a form of endearment, supposedly. In other words, it was a simple way to haze the freshman.

He grabbed one of the carts of balls, and began pulling it out of the shed. So focused was he on dragging it backwards out of the shed, and the thoughts rushing through his head, he didn’t realize he wasn’t alone. Without warning, he backed up into someone, and before he knew it, he was suddenly falling.

“What the-“ was all he got out, before he hit the ground, hard. At the same time, he heard a surprised gasp, more of a half scream than anything. As Dan worked to lift himself off of the figure he’d fallen on, he realized two things. One, the person he’d fallen on was a lot softer than he’d expected. Second, the other figure standing above him was one of the girls he’d seen with Sophia… Fear rushed through him as he turned around as he stood, his eyes focusing on who exactly it was he’d just knocked over.

“Shit.” Dan muttered under his breath. It was indeed Sophia. He’d just fallen over the girl he had a crush with. “I’m so sorry.” He started. He held out a hand to her, blood rushing through him. Rage, embarrassment…there was a plethora of emotions flowing through him. Seriously, this day had started out so good. Was he being punished somehow? Had he done something wrong?

-1 Self Esteem (55) -1 Happiness (58)

“It’s okay,” Sophia said, taking his offered hand as she spoke. As he pulled her up to her feet, he couldn’t help but notice the callouses in her hands. A clear sign she’d worked them hard. An evident sign of just how much she must have played the sport.

“I wasn’t looking. Sorry, I’ve…it’s been a rough morning.” He just started rambling on. “I rushed out of the house this morning. Needed to get my mind off things. Figured I could just come here and practice, and-“ He looked from Sophia to her friend. For the life of him, he couldn’t remember her name. “I guess I just wasn’t paying attention.”

“Apparently.” Her friend said dryly. For the life of him, he couldn’t remember her name. Something he fixed with a quick glance. “You need to be more careful.”

Ashley Vancamp

“Sorry Ashley.” Dan responded. “Really. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

Sophia let out a small laugh, dusting herself off as she did. Luckily for him, when he’d fallen backwards, they’d fallen towards the grass, and not the sidewalk. Meaning while her white skirt was now covered in dirt and green stains, she’d avoided any serious injury.

“It’s fine. It’s our fault for not saying anything to you as we approached. Honestly, we were surprised anyone was here this early.” She paused, looking over Dan. “And I’m even more surprised to see it was you.”

“Oh, well,” Dan looked at the cart of balls he’d been pulling out of the shed, “I figured I need to get a lot of practice in, yeah?”

“You’re not wrong,” Sophia said as she looked him over. Her face was a mask of confusion. “But you really shouldn’t over do it. It’s been what, three days since you got hit by a car?” She shook her head. “Practicing is one thing, being reckless is another. If you’re not careful, you’ll seriously hurt yourself.” She walked past him as she spoke, heading towards another of the carts. “Besides, didn’t you just start playing tennis? Unsupervised practice at your stage is just going to result in problems and bad habits.”

Dan stared at her, his mind partially processing what she was saying, while the other part of him was busy admiring her. He’d never felt this way about anyone before, but for some reason, Sophia really put him both on edge, and completely off balance, at the same time. She was an enigma, and his heart couldn’t keep up. Damn hormones.

“I, uh,” his mind raced. Obviously, explaining he now had magical abilities wouldn’t make sense. So that defense was out with regards to why he could safely practice. And as for her other point…he’d not really thought about that. Couldn’t he just keep practicing the skills Peter had shown him? He still had the movements in his mind. Doing them over and over would just get him experience for his skills, which would then level up, and he’d be better at them. It was perfectly simple…for a video game. Which, he remembered a second later, they weren’t in. Only he had these skills. For a normal person, Sophia’s statements and concerns would be perfectly viable.

“You didn’t think about that huh?” Ashley cut in. “Of course not. Then again, it’s not really your fault.” Ashely laughed darkly, “I doubt Peter is giving you much time to think.”

“Speak of the devil and he shall appear.” Another voice said just as she spoke. There, coming around the corner, was Peter himself. Unlike the three of them, he was just in his school clothes, though he was still carrying his bag with his racquet in it. “And by devil, I obviously mean my devilishly handsome self.” He flashed a smile at the three of them. Ashley partially smiled back, while Sophia smiled and waved. Dan, just stood there awkwardly.

“So, what’s the commotion going on here?” He looked at the two girls. “I know you two lost yesterday, so I’m guessing you’re here for some early practice.” Peter’s gaze shifted to Dan, his eyes sparkling, “As for you. Really buddy, you’ve got some crazy danger streak don’t ya? Running out in traffic was reckless, but showing up early for another practice session, after what I put you through yesterday? Either you’re a lot tougher than I’ve given you credit for, or you’re seriously dumb.” He laughed and shrugged. “Either way, I’m keen to find out which.”

Peter shifted his gaze from Dan back to the two girls. “Since there’s four of us crazy tennis people here, how about we have some fun?” Peter pulled out his racquet. “Dan and me versus the two of you. Double match.”

“I don’t really think-“ Dan started. This was not how he’d planned his morning to go. Besides…he could barely hit the ball back, no way could he play in a match. To use Peter’s own analogy, Dan was barely crawling, while the Senior was a freaking Olympic sprinter. As for Sophia and Ashley, he wasn’t quite sure how good they were…but obviously a lot better than he was.

“No need to think right now buddy.” Peter put a hand on Dan’s shoulder, “besides, this will be a good bit of practice for ya. Just try and hit anything you think you can, and I’ll do the rest.” Peter leaned down a little closer to him, and whispered in his ear. “Besides, if we start to lose, I’ll just have you stand back and watch me play. You can learn a lot from watching people play this sport, and trust me, I’ve no problem handling the two of them at the same time.” He pulled back, laughing, and rose his voice again, “it’s not the first time I’ve taken on two girls at once.”

Ashley stuck her tongue out at Peter, while Sophia simply shook her head.

“You’re such a pig Peter.” Ashely commented. “But I’m always happy to have a chance to knock you down a peg.” The girl turned to look at Dan, her eyes shining with ill intent. “Besides, with the newbie on your team, we might actually get a win on you.”

“You can certainly try.” Peter laughed and grabbed Dan’s arm, pulling him away from the two girls. “Go ahead and take 10 minutes to warm up and discuss your tactics. Dan and I will be waiting for you on court 1.” And without another word, Peter dragged Dan towards one of the clay courts on the boy’s side, which indeed, had a 1 hanging near it on the fence. He wasn’t sure how he got here…but it seemed Dan was about to play in his very first ever tennis match. At the very least…he figured it would help keep his mind off his problems at home. Though, the thought of embarrassing himself more in front of Sophia was eating away at him. Seriously, this was not his morning.

-1 Happiness (57) -1 Ambition (53) -1 Self Esteem (54)