Chapter 13

“Looking good Danny. I swear it’s like you’re a prodigy. My natural talent must be contagious.” Five minutes was not a lot of time to practice serving. Especially when he had to run after the balls every couple of serves. Still, by the end of it, he’d gained experience that put him a quarter of the way to level 2 in his Basic Serve trait. However, going into the match, that trait was actually at level 6, thanks to Peter’s inspiration.

Dan had also found, the moment his skill unlocked, and the inspiration bonus was applied, that his serve got impressively better. Sure, it didn’t have the speed or power that Peter’s did, but Dan had managed to get almost every single one of those soft little serves over the net, and into the adjacent service box. It wasn’t going to win him any points alone, but he was proud.

Also, he was starting to realize just how good that small inspiration boost was. It had taken him hours to get his Forehand (Semi-Western) trait to level 5 yesterday. And that had been with hundreds of tennis balls. Now, with just some kind words, he had hundreds of tennis balls worth of experience and muscle memory into his Basic Serve. Even better, it also meant he’d just gained hundreds, if not over a thousand, repetitions worth of gain into his Forehand (Semi-Western) and Top Spin (tennis feature) skills. Dan still wasn’t sure how the levels for his traits would play into actual use, nor what the level tiers were, but having a 10 in his forehand skill a day after learning it was definitely no small feat. And honestly, he was excited to see how it would play out.

“Now that we’re all here and warmed up, how about we get this game started?” Peter’s eyes were still full of his excitement, and Sophia and Ashley both seemed to be energized as well. That feeling, that drive, was contagious, and Dan couldn’t help but feel excited as well. That…and anxious. There was a not of doubt and nervousness makings its way around his stomach, like and angry serpent. He wasn’t sure if he was slightly shaking from that or excitement.

“You’re going to regret this Peter.” Ashley said with a smirk. “We aren’t going to go easy on your side just because you’ve got the new kid.”

Dan…tried not to take offense at that. He knew he would be a huge weakness to Peter, but the added ‘new kid’ comment was just rude.

“Really, this does seem a bit unfair to Dan.” Sophia spoke up. At the sound her saying his name, Dan’s feelings amplified even more. “But it will be a good lesson for him I guess.” Sophia’s eyes seemed to harden. “Because we are going to show you not to underestimate the girls team Peter.”

Peter held up his hands apologetically. “Woah now. I never said I underestimated the two of you.” He flashed that trademark smile, “I’m just completely aware of how awesome I am. Plus,” he pointed towards Dan, “Danny here is a natural talent. And who knows,” Peter started chuckling, “maybe in a few months, he’ll be your new mixed doubles partner. After all, I know you’ve been trying to find someone to match your playstyle.”

And with that, Dan’s mind broke. Peter had just spilled Dan’s secret. Sure, Dan was playing tennis just to get close to Sophia. But Peter didn’t need to just out and say it like that.

“Maybe if you didn’t insist on just playing singles, I’d actually have a good partner already, and we’d be able to win more matches.” Sophia said bitterly. “Because of you, all the boys on the tennis team suck at teamwork. They all just want to be singles stars. They just want to ‘best Peter’. None of them actually play as a team.”

That was news to Dan. He had watched the boys playing doubles just the other day. The coach seemed to have them working not only in pairs, but 1 on 1 as well. And they’d seemed to be doing well. Or at least, to Dan's untrained eye they appeared to do well.

“Can’t blame me for encouraging them to be better.” Peter shrugged his shoulders, “but I promise I’ll do my best to atone for that sin, and get Danny here all ready for you.” He slapped Dan on the back as he laughed. Dan, tried his best to offer Sophia a smile…to do anything. But his emotions and hormones had the best of him…and he really just wanted to go hide in the storage shed.

“I’ll hold you to that.” Sophia offered Peter a smile, and then set her racquet head onto the court. “Up or down?”

“Down’s always fun.” Peter said with a wink towards Ashley. In response, Ashley made a fake gagging motion. Sophia ignored the two, and spun the racquet. It toppled onto the clay court with a slight bouncing motion, and once it had come to a stop, Sophia picked it up, showing them the bottom of the racquet. The emblem showed a M.

“It’s down. Do you want to serve, or pick a side?”

“Ladies first, your choice.” Peter offered a slight bow.

“We will serve.” Sophia said simply. “We might as well start this match off with some momentum.”

“Sounds good to me. We’re gonna take this side then. Shoo shoo.” Peter laughed and made a shooing motion with his hand, and the girls turned and walked towards the other side of the court. As they did, they brought themselves close to each other, seeming to be discussing something. Ever few steps, Ashely would glance backwards, her eyes seeking out Peter.

Peter and Dan, on the other hand, stood there in silence, just watching the duo depart. As they got closer to the baseline on their side of the court, Peter put an arm around Dan’s shoulder, drawing him in close.

“Alright buddy, here’s how the match is going to work.”