Chapter 84

It all happened in the span of seconds. Dan’s body hurtled towards Maddie’s ball, his form crouching low in an all out sprint, his racquet tingling in his hand, his whole body moving on its own. With auto-battle active, adrenaline and magic fueled his muscles, pushing them beyond their limits, driving more force and power from each step than should have been possible.

Then, instantly, just as he neared the ball, he practically slid the last few feet it seemed, his body twisted as it prepared for what needed to be done. With his right foot leading the slide, his racquet came up and out to his side, reaching for the ball. The magical racquet, with its special skill, glowed in Dan’s mind, and he watched his body act on its own.

With time seemingly slowed, his racquet and the ball met, the strings on his racquet actually initially seeming to meet with the top of the ball. However, the moment they connected, Dan saw more of the magical glow flow from the racquet and the strings, onto the tennis ball. His hand moved on its own, the racquet seeming to circle around the ball, stealing all of its momentum as he seemed to catch, and almost cradle it. It was subtle and slight, but one second the ball was moving fast, the next it was gently lifting, barely climbing high enough to clear the net, in an arc that would have made Peter shed a tear of joy.

The moment the ball was released and his follow through was done, Dan deactivated Auto-battle, and promptly tumbled, end over end. He’d still been sliding, even as he’d executed that skill, and with him back in control of his body, he’d been less than ready for that.

It didn’t matter though, because the deed had been done. Maddie had begun moving when she’d seen him sprinting. While the club owner obviously didn’t think Dan could return the shot, she was still responsible, and practiced enough, to attempt to prepare for his return. Yet, even as Dan tumbled, even as she moved quickly towards the net, noting the low arc of the ball, it was too late.

The tennis ball just barely clipped the top of the net, slowing its trajectory even more, and it fell, or more appropriately, seemed to slide down the net. It hit the court, right at the line that denotated Doubles Alley, the furthest boundary for singles play. Once it touched that line, it seemed to kick ever so slightly to Dan’s right, lifted perhaps an inch or two off the ground as it slid further away from the approaching Maddie, and then bounced again. Dan had done it, he’d won the point. It may have cost him one of his special moves, and a few points of stamina, but still, he’d done it. Dan had won the first point in his match against Maddie.

“You alright?” Maddie asked as Dan stood to his feet. There was clapping and cheering around the court, as everyone conversed about the explosive first shot, but Maddie’s eyes were focused solely on Dan. He glanced at his arm, noting he’d scraped it pretty badly, but a quick mental check showed everything was fine. He’d only lost a single health point, meaning it was but a scratch.

“Yeah, lost my balance at the end there.” He said with a chuckle.

“It’s no surprise.” Maddie said, shaking her head. “I’ve played a lot of tennis. I’ve trained a lot of people. But that burst of speed you did, was impressive.”

“Thanks.” Dan responded. He looked at the ball, remembering that tingling in his hand and racquet. He couldn’t help but smile. He’d done that. This magical racquet, was beyond awesome.

“Even so,” Maddie continued, “not only did you just showcase a burst of superhuman speed, but that shot.” She looked at the net, and the ball. “I honestly have no idea how you managed that. By all means, that should have been,”

“Impossible?” Dan asked, trying not to smirk at the statement.

“Exactly. So how’d you do it? That drop shot was more than perfect. And I know it wasn’t a miss hit. Everything you did there, was done purposefully, and perfectly.”

Dan laughed and pointed towards his scraped arm. “I wouldn’t say it was exactly perfect.” He shrugged, “but, I’m not really sure.” He paused, thinking about what to say. “I just, really wanted to get that point, so I did everything I could, to get it.”

She pursed her lips, looking him up and down once again, her eyes seeming thoughtful. If he had to guess, she was replaying the point in her mind, and perhaps, thinking about what Peter had said about Dan. Perhaps, that whole point, from serve, to final drop shot, had been the evidence she needed, to fully believe what Peter had said about Dan. Whatever it was, Dan was still riding high on adrenaline. From the corner of his eye, he could see Peter offering him a big smile, and even more, a look of, perhaps, admiration, or at the very least, acknowledgement, from Sophia.

“Whatever it is,” Maddie said after a moment. She bent down and picked up the ball, tossing it lightly in her hand for a second, “I’m looking forward to seeing what else you do during this match.” She held the ball out towards Dan, and he took it. “You took me by more than just surprise on that point.” Maddie said as he began to walk away from her. “But, I wouldn’t get ahead of yourself. I’ll repay you, in kind, for that type of thing.”

Oh, scary lady. Syn’s voice said with a cackle as Maddie turned her back on Dan, heading back towards her baseline. Awesome job on that buddy. I’m guessing you’re enjoying the racquet?

“This thing is amazing.” Dan whispered quietly as he made his way back towards his own baseline. He’d scored the very first point of the match. Sure, Dan had been hoping to Ace Maddie, but that drop shot, the rush he felt during the whole point, was so much better. At the same time, he knew he’d lost his chance to Ace Maddie for the day, meaning, no chance at a discount for Peter. Then again, he knew Peter could afford the racquets, and he doubted Peter had expected Dan to stand a single chance at getting an Ace on Maddie. Still, he’d figured he needed to try.

Just wait till you use the other skills. Syn said with a laugh. If you’re smart about it, you could actually win a Game off her. Technically, two games in total, if you spammed all the skills, but, I wouldn’t recommend that.

Dan had been considering just that. He had 9 charges per day for the skills on his racquet. Three of those, were only on returns, meaning he could only use them when Maddie was serving. But, if he used his other two skills for this first game, he could shut her out, force her into her serve, and then hopefully, keep her off balance enough to win the second game.

It was tempting, to say the least, but Syn’s warning gave him pause.

“And why is that?” He asked quietly.

Well, first, that wouldn’t be very sporting. The strange voice said. Second, you’d really set yourself up to let everyone down, if you did something crazy like that.

Syn had a good point there. If Dan did abuse his racquets magical powers to win the first two games, he had no doubt Maddie would go all out on him, and he’d likely lose every single point after that. Without any trump cards, and just auto-battle to rely on, he had a very small chance of winning a point against the seasoned former pro.

And third, Syn continued, if you abused your magical racquet to that degree, a lot of people who were placing bets will be screwed out of their winnings.

“Including you?” Dan asked, trying to hold the tinge of anger he felt in check.

Yeah, totally me. Like, I love you man, and I believe in you, but I’m also a realist.

Dan sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to push that line of questioning anymore. He didn’t know what they were betting, and he didn’t really care. Right now, he was just trying to play a good match against Maddie, and impress Sophia. And it was Syn’s second point, that stood out to him, and actually felt the most reasonable. He’d use the magic skills sparingly, as to not create unrealistic expectations. While there would come a day, he was certain, that he could win two back-to-back games against someone of Maddie’s caliber without giving up a point, today, was not that day.

That being said, it didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try.

“Fifteen, Love.” Dan said, as he took up his position against Maddie. He’d scored the first point, and it was time, to continue their match. Without another moment to waste, and with Syn’s comments pushed to the back of his mind, he tossed the ball up. It was time, for more tennis.