Chapter 34

Jason O’Conner

Age 15

Relation- Classmate

Occupation- Student

Dan skimmed past Jason’s additional information, looking specifically for the player’s Tennis skills before they started their match. He only had a few minutes to get ready as they all stretched, and he figured he might as well take advantage of it.

Forehand (Semi-Western) Poor

Backhand (one hand slice) Very Poor

Backhand (two hand) Poor

Basic Serve Poor

Flat Serve Poor

Top Spin (tennis feature) Very Poor

Power (tennis feature) Very Poor

???

???

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Looking at Jason’s skills, Dan was able to tell a few things quickly. First, Jason had some skills Dan didn’t. That was a given, he knew there were skills Peter hadn’t taught him yet. Hell, when he looked at Peter’s list, the number of unknowns was rather staggering. To a degree that Dan couldn’t believe there were that many skills in the sport.

Additionally, while he couldn’t get a full gauge of where Jason’s skills were, he could tell that they had to be actually somewhat evenly matched, to some degree. Those skills with a Very Poor rating ranged between a 1 to 20 skill wise. Most of Dan’s skills were in that degree. However, the Poor skills concerned him. That was a range of 21-40, and that could be a huge difference. Dan’s best skill was at a 23. So if Jason had skills closer to the 30 range for his three four Poor rated skills, Dan could be in trouble. However, given Jason’s status as the lowest rated Junior Varsity member, Dan was guessing they were closer to the low 20s.

Another thing that gave Dan’s analysis merit, was the fact he was confident he actually had a skill that was higher than Jason’s. That was of course, his top spin skill. Sure, Dan’s was sitting at a 20, so technically was Very Poor, but it was borderline Poor rating. Based off of that, and his own stats, he was confident Jason wasn’t going to be crazy degrees of skill higher than him. And this of course was all if they were facing each other on even terms. Which they weren’t.

“Up or Down?” Jason asked him simply as they stepped onto the court. It was time to get their match started, and all of the other players of the tennis team had gathered around the court to watch. Dan had no doubt they were expecting a bloodbath.

“Down.” Dan said calmly. He gripped his racquet in his hand, and the message flashed across his vision, for a mere instance

Babolat Pure Drive 110: +1 to Power (18), +2 to spin (22)

And with that, his Top Spin trait climbed into the Poor rating, meaning it was definitely better than Jason’s. Dan couldn’t help but grin at that.

“It’s Up.” Jason said with a smirk. “I’ll serve. What side do you want?”

That was how it went with the matches. Whoever won the call, got to choose if they were going to serve first, or pick a side first. Most of the time, from Dan’s understanding, the winner chooses to serve first. After all, it was an easy way to try and pull out ahead in a match, considering the Serve was the only time you could perfect control the start of each point. However, there were times when choosing a side could play out in your favor, depending on the weather conditions. Today…was not one of those days.

“I’ll just take this side.” Dan replied. It didn’t matter either way. The sun wasn’t a problem, and there was no wind.

“Good luck Dan.” Jason turned as he spoke, and Dan almost missed it. But for a split second it actually seemed like Jason wasn’t a dick, and was actually wishing Dan good luck. Maybe…just maybe, not everyone on the team was a complete asshat. But…Dan wasn’t going to put any faith in that.

Still, it paid to be nice, right? “Good luck Jason.” He commented back, as he headed towards the baseline, preparing himself for the start of the match.

Jason took up his position, positioned just to the side of the tic mark that separated the court, diagonally across from Dan. It was a common position in singles, though Peter had informed Dan that in doubles, standing in a wider position, closer to the edges of the court, could be more advantageous, especially depending on the serve type.

“Zero Zero, Love All.” Jason called out, holding the ball close to his racquet as he prepared to serve. Just as he did, Dan made a quick mental thought, and activated his ever-helpful Minor Assist skill. Sure, it was unfair. But hey, this whole situation was messed up. These kids had all been playing for a much longer time than Dan, and they were just doing this to be dicks anyways. He wasn’t going to feel bad about using every skill at his disposal to win.

Dan crouched down in a position just behind the baseline, his eyes laser focused on Jason, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. This was it. This was his first ever actual singles match. And sadly, Peter wasn’t there to see it. Though, was that actually sad, or helpful? Because Dan was not sure he wanted Peter to see him in this match. He wasn’t ready, skill wise, to stand up to Peter’s-

The thoughts stopped in his mind as his minor skill assist kicked in, and showcased the strangest thing. For just as Jason went through his serving motion, tossing the ball up, bringing his racquet back smoothly, and preparing for a server, Dan’s Skill Assist showed him something rather amusing. Dan stood up and chuckled, even as Jason’s racquet connected with the ball.

“Fault.” Dan said simply as the ball launched into the net. The serve definitely had power and speed. But it was wild, and completely unrefined, unlike Peter’s deadly serve. Jason had just tried to ace Dan on that first serve, and instead, had faulted.

That fault also showed him another aspect of Jason. The sophomore was nervous. His hand was shaking slightly, and Dan had a feeling he really wasn’t as comfortable with this situation as Dan had thought he was. Jason wasn’t in on the pecking order game. He was just doing what he was told. He was actually not a bad person.

Of course, as he prepared his second serve, a softer, pancake style serve that was going to land nicely in the middle of the service box, according to Dan’s skill assist, Jason’s personality didn’t matter. Because Dan couldn’t afford to lose this match. Which meant he wasn’t going to hold back. Dan approached the ball as it flew through the air, positioning himself near the line of the service box, his eye watching the tennis ball as it gently arched through the air. The skill assist was just showing him the range it would fall in, after all, not the exact positioning. But it was such a soft serve, Dan could figure that much out.

The ball hit the clay court, bouncing up lazily. It had no spin, no pace. It was a soft, flat, pitiful thing. Nothing compared to what he was used to now. Hell, this ball was just like the very first soft tosses Peter had given Dan when he’d first started. There was no way, with his new and improved forehand swing, top, and power, that he was going to mess this up.

At least…that was what flowed through his mind as he executed his full and proper forehand, with all his power and force…and sent the ball flying into the fence past Jason. Realization, and embarrassment, filled him at that. First, he was used to hitting these balls from the baseline…not the service box, and second, hitting a lazy ball like that, was completely different from hitting the faster balls that Peter had begun serving to him. The ones that actually had spin and pace. Dan, was going to have to consciously think about each and every one of these balls, before he hit it. Meaning, this match wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d started to believe it would be.

“Fifteen-love.” Jason said, his breathing seeming to have slowed, his nerves calming after Dan’s mistake. This, Dan realized, was actually going to be a real tennis match, and not a walk in the park. And with that thought, Dan felt his nerves increasing.