Chapter 15

“Game, Set, and Match.” Peter said triumphantly. The senior was beaming, standing there with his usual smile on his face, the smile of someone who knew just what they were. Someone who knew just how good they were.

Dan, on the other hand, was struggling to smile. Sure, they’d won. Peter had predicted as much. However, Dan had been practically useless that entire match. The girls were on a whole different level than him, and Peter…well Peter was a monster. Every single ball he hit back was a winner. The girls were powerless before him. And so they started just aiming for Dan, trying all they could to win points off of him.

Peter had expected that, and every time they started to really try and abuse this tactic, Peter would simply tell Dan to step back and watch. At that point in time, Peter would control the entire court, not just the singles portion, but both doubles alley’s as well. He was a superhuman. And to add insult to injury…he didn’t even look like he’d been trying. The senior wasn’t even sweating. Dan, on other hand, could see his Stamina had dropped below 50. And looking at Sophia and Ashley, the two of them looked exhausted. They’d tried their hardest, and Peter had simply steamrolled them.

“You’re a monster.” Ashley said between breaths. Her hair was damp with sweat, falling across her face, partially covering her eyes. “We couldn’t even win one match.” She shook her head angrily. “How?”

Peter chuckled and walked over to Dan, patting him on the back as he looked at the girls. “I told you we would win.” He looked down at Dan, his grin still on his face. “And wasn’t Danny boy great? Wouldn’t have been able to win so easily if he’d been unable to return those serves.”

That was all Peter had needed Dan for. The rules kept Peter from being able to return serves when they were directed to Dan’s side. Meaning unless Dan returned the serves, they would have been forever stuck in a back and forth. Of course, given the athleticism Peter had displayed, Dan had no doubt the senior would have still come out victorious purely on being able to outlast the two girls. Towards the end Dan had noticed their serves were slowing down, and they had begun to miss a lot more of their first serves.

In tennis, a server got two chances to send the ball over the net and into the proper service box. Failing both, Peter had told him, would result in the opposing team gaining a point. Therefore, the first serves were usually stronger, higher risk serves, while the second serves were softy, safer serves. And as the match went on, both serves for the girls’ side had begun to slow down. Meaning the first serves, which Dan had been struggling to even connect his tennis racquet to, had begun to miss more. And the second serves, came at him almost to his eye like the tosses Peter had been giving him yesterday. Meaning he was able to hit those, with his proper forehand technique, and get them over the net. And that, was all that was needed.

“Honestly,” Sophia stood up, brushing her hair out of her face. She was tired, but seemed the less tired of the two. From what Dan had observed, she was better than Ashley, though he wasn’t certain by how much. “I’m impressed he did so well, considering he just started playing yesterday.” She smiled playfully at Dan. “Especially considering he was hit by a truck earlier this week.”

“I told you Sophia, Danny here is going to be your doubles partner. He’s obviously working hard so can impress you, isn’t that right buddy?” Peter slapped Dan on the back with a laugh, while every bit of Dan’s remaining energy fled.

He is ruthless. Syn’s voice said, humor evident. I really like this Peter guy. Make sure you keep him around, yeah?

Dan ignored Syn, and tried hard to look Sophia in the eyes. It was hard, given everything that had happened. He didn’t feel like he was ready. He didn’t feel confident at all in his tennis skills. In fact, his Self Esteem had already taken a few point hits during the match, and he was dangerously close to losing his level 50 boost.

“I-“ Dan started, but before he could even continue, Peter cut in, seeming to notice his hesitation.

“-But that’s for a later time. Since you two lost, you know the drill. Sweep the courts and clean up, I’m going to cover some more lessons with Dan here on our way back to school, before class starts.” And with that, Peter was pulling Dan from the awkward situation the senior had put him in, practically dragging him away from the courts as the two girls moved towards the fences, where large brush like objects were hanging. Dan had seen the boys the day before dragging those across the courts, sweeping the clay and making it even again, hiding the marks made by the balls and their feet during their practices. In a sense, it was like they were wiping away proof of all the hard work being done on those courts.

Once they got out of earshot of the courts, Dan’s emotions once again broke through. He hated how pitiful he’d been on the court. How hard he’d made Peter work. How worthless he felt. All of that, compiled with his father’s new, seeped through him again. And in his exhausted state, he couldn’t hold it in.

“I’m sorry.” He said bitterly. “I completely sucked out there.” He looked at the racquet in his hand. His palm was sore from clutching the racquet so tightly. “I let you down.”

“Eh,” Peter looked around, seeming to make sure no one was around, and then stopped walking, looking down at Dan. His eyes took on a serious look. “You’re right, you did suck out there.”

Dan’s lip started to tremble. He could feel his eyes watering. Seriously, was he about to cry, here and now, in front of Peter? Just…the frustration, the powerlessness, everything…it was just so much.

“But-“ Peter placed a hand gently on Dan’s shoulder. “You still did great out there.”

“Wha-“

“Seriously. For just picking up the racquet yesterday, you did great. You returned a lot more balls than I expected you to, and that really did help me out. Seriously, I only had to play at like, 50 percent of my actual skill level. I was thinking I was going to have to do at least 75 percent.”

His eyes, for a split second, took on a gentler look. “Really Dan, I think you’re going to do great things in this sport. And I could tell you surprised Sophia and Ashley. Keep it up, and by the end of the month, I think we will be ready to at least get you on the C squad for the team. From there, we just need to get you up to Junior Varsity, to be eligible to play mixed doubles with the girls. And after that, well, now that I’ve seen how quickly you learn, I’m thinking we can get you to Varsity by the end of the year. I want you coming to competitions with me. I believe you’re a player I can actually trust to help the team when I’m gone.”

A new emotion welled through Dan as he looked up at Peter. The senior was grinning, and his eyes were filled with sincerity. In that moment, Dan saw a different side of the overly confident and cocky Peter. In that moment, he saw the caring, compassionate side of the Senior. And it completely caught him off guard. A new wave of emotion filled through him, not sorrow or sadness, but something else. Something that still overwhelmed him, and his eyes continued to water. These weren’t tears of sadness, nor were they tears of joy. They were something in the middle. Tears of emotion? Tears of appreciation? He wasn’t sure, he’d never felt this before.

“But really Danny, if anyone sees you crying around me, it’s going to give me a bad rep.” Peter wiped one of his tears wit his thumb, offering Dan a reassuring smile. “Just this once, I’ll let it slide. Go compose yourself, and try not to let whatever’s bothering you get to you. After school, I’ll make sure I drill you hard enough your mind won’t be able to bug you as you head back home. After all, we’ve got a lot more for you to learn before you’re ready.”

Dan simply nodded, unable to say anything else, and headed in the direction Peter was motioning. The boy’s locker room, which still appeared empty this morning. Apparently, most of the kids at the school were not the early morning practice type. And for that, Dan was grateful, because he could only imagine what type of hell he would get, if they saw him crying during his first week of school.

“And one more thing.” Peter called out to him. Dan turned back as he reached the door to the locker room. “Don’t tell anyone about this conversation. I’ve got a reputation to keep.” With that, Peter shot him a wink, and headed away from Dan and the locker room. The senior slung his racquet over his shoulder, and walked with the swagger and confidence Dan had seen him carry himself with. Dan, in that moment, realized something. He had a new goal. Not just to be able to play tennis with Sophia, but to be able to live up to Peter’s expectations. Even more so, to become someone who could stand beside Peter, someone strong and confident.

+2 Ambition (58), +1 Self Esteem (51) +2 Happiness (59)