The roster has finally been posted onto the school announcements on the app. Majority of participants from the tryouts will look in sorrow at the results. Only so few will have the chance to join the lineup, even to get on the practice squad. Fortunately for Teddy, he got the news early. He’s got more important stuff on his mind like algebra homework that’s due next period. That’s the only thing that could get him worried even on an important day on his road to becoming King of The Court!

The final bell rings in class. School is finally over for the day as students pack up their items due to head to their after-school activities, whether it be shopping at the downtown mall, heading to the dorm to get some Zs, or in Teddy’s case heading down to the coach’s office. Not like you can ignore it when you have to face a gigantic man like Mr. Juggernaut. It better be important is all Teddy was concerned about.

Heading to the Athlete Hall of the school, he opens the door to Mr. Juggernaut’s office. He greets Teddy with a smile and shake.

“Nice for you to meet with me, Mr. Walker. With the rest of the roster available to the rest of the students. I want to get into detail on that. You’re starting on the bench.”

“Eh? I think I heard you wrong.”

“You’re starting on the bench.”

Very straight-forward with his speech. However, it might be fair to think that with Teddy's experience in amateur/semi-pro level dodgeball is very minimal. Also, it’s to be considered that his injuries sustained in the tryouts clearly can point to a potential injury prone player. There’s more risk than reward with this kid. It’s a gamble in the greatest sense.

“We just want to develop you to be the greatest you can be. You have some amazing skills and I think you could be a potential award winner. I think being on the bench could help you in your goals.”

“What about Taigen and Amelia?”

“On the starting five in the lineup.”

“Agreed. Proceed.”

“I can tell you’re a little hurt on the news.”

“Yeah not gonna lie. But I respect it and I respect your coaching ability, trust me coach, I can handle a little growth.”

The Juggernaut heard of how this Kid interacts but never on this range. The level of ego is astonishing yet it never feels too overbearing.

“Kid, lemme tell you something.” Teddy’s eyes widened a little. “I gotta say athletes need more of your attitude to the game. Many don’t have the fire that you have that I considered important to any sport. Keep that and a starting five spot will be in your future.”

“Much appreciated, coach. Thank you for your time.”

“Enjoy the rest of the afternoon. We need our players prepared for our inter-state rivalry with Carter High from Houston in two weeks.”

Teddy headed out the building with his head held high, he made it through the hard part. All he needs to do is continue his momentum. Maybe maintain a bit of his swagger onto the game.

“I guess, I gotta figure out my own way of getting my role on the team.”

He heads back to his dorm with two shadows inside his kitchen. The aroma of the room enfluges Teddy’s nostrils, the smell of spices and sizzling sound of meat on a pan gives off a home feeling very familiar to him. However, two people gained access to his house very easily, the doorknob looked as if there was no resistance. Very peculiar. He peered into the kitchen a little closer to find Marcus and Veronica using the kitchen applications to their advantage. Teddy stared blank-faced.

“What are you doing in my kitchen? You guys can cook? HOW ARE YOU ACCESSING MY ROOM SO EASILY?”

“You never properly lock it.” Marcus states.

“We figured on making the practice squad, we made a Team 13 dinne-'' Veronica says before being interrupted.

“I bet you use this time to get closer, Mo and V. You guys are lucky I know y’all.” Teddy flops onto the living room couch. “I’ll talk to housing about that later, what are you guys making?”

“You mean what Marcus is making. I’m really just helping get the stuff he needs.” Veronica says.

Suddenly, a timer rings. With ease, Marcus opens the oven and grabs the baking dish inside and places it smooth on the kitchen counter.

“Lasagna, my friend.” Teddy’s eye lightens up.

“Okay, I’ll forgive this break-in, this once. Just let me know next time, okay?”

Team 13 celebrates this victory and for many more that may come along the way.

August 21, Wednesday, 2:50 P.M.

Two weeks have now passed since the Trio Tryouts. Things have been pretty quiet and the Raymond fiasco died down as quick as it came. It’s only two days till the first season game against Carter High. It’s an annual game that these schools have played since the creation of their programs. The locals called it the Lone Star Classic, one of the biggest games in the USA dodgeball world. It’s a spectacle every year. Quite different from a tryout game with small crowds. More eyes to watch, more scouts from colleges and minor league teams looking to eye the next cornerstone of their program and/or franchise. Pundits looking to see who is the “king amongst these peasants” you could say.

The final bell rings and students are dismissed for the day. As Teddy packs up and heads out the door, he receives a slight tap akin to a mosquito. It’s Taigen.

“What’s up, Sliver?”

….

There is silence. Every time Teddy tries to talk to Taigen, it really feels like he’s talking to a shadow. Guess he lives to his name in other ways.

“......I want you to accompany me. Amelia will be with us as well. It’s regarding the upcoming match against Carter High……we would like your opinion on the game plan.”

Here I thought he just wanted to chat, shouldn’t have psyched myself up too much, Teddy thought.

“My opinion? You sure?” Teddy asked.

“I wouldn’t have come towards you otherwise…..we are more than capable of beating them but in the school’s history, there have been more close calls than anything in the past few years.”

“They have built a strong program for sure. It’s not gonna be an easy first victory. Alright, I’m in. Not doing anything else today anyway. Anybody else coming?”

Taigen pauses. “.....Just another starting five member, Jonathan Burns, do you have any classes with the guy?”

“Nope.”

“.....Lucky, you don’t have to deal with his antics. Don’t tell Amelia I said this, but I really dislike the guy. Something about me ticks me off.”

Teddy never heard a hint of animosity in Taigen’s voice until now, clearly this guy is enough to tick off a guy like him. But, something doesn’t sit right with not telling Amelia his feelings on Jonathan, “Why wouldn’t you want Amelia to know? It’s good to keep that in ya know?”

“.....That’s not it. Jonathan is Amelia’s boyfriend, they started dating a week ago. It just sort of happened.”

Teddy had a very much visible grin at the sight of Taigen. He’s never seen this side before and was surprised there was more to him than his reserved nature would show. But he has to lay it straight to him.

“Give it more time, man. He can’t be that bad, besides it’s who she wants, right? Save all judgment till later.” Teddy said with seriousness in his tone.

“....who are you to give me advice? You’re the last person I would ask.” Taigen said with a chuckle. The thought of a crazed individual like Teddy Walker is a sight to behold. “All right, we gotta hurry up. We are meeting at a cafe in the West End Historic District.”

“Then let’s head there.”

The two catch a Uber on the way, still dressed in their maroon school uniforms. When they arrive at the district, Teddy asks a question.

“Who is Amelia to you?”

Taigen pauses for a bit. “She’s just a friend. We just knew each other when we faced each other in the Junior World Championships a few years back. We just clicked.

“Cool. I won’t pry any further if you aren’t comfortable with that.”

With that talk, they reached the entrance to the cafe. There, they saw Jonathan and Amelia waving to where the location was. Teddy and Taigen quickly took their seats, while on the opposite side Jonathan and Amelia sat side-by-side. A quick glance at Taigen could tell you that he was tense.

“Glad you were able to come, Teddy! As your team captain, I think it’s important to get input from my fellow teammates and I think your strategic mind can help against our rivals on Friday!” Jonathan reaches his hand out. His muscled hand and arm are propped up with a lot of hair. His testosterone is through the roof already, Teddy thought.

“Pleasure is mine, Jon.” Teddy extends his hand as well for a handshake.

“Now, lemme talk a bit about Carter High. They are Houston's premier high school for dodgeball and they have dominated the city for the past 15 years.”

“So I’ve heard. Are you a native to Texas?”

Jonathan pumps his fist to his chest “I sure am.”

“Who is considered the top player on that team?”

Jonathan then opens up the tablet in his hand as if he was prepared for that very question. The screen props up a player on a famous dodgeball recruit site that shows all dodgeball players from High School to the Pros. The player shown has a mullet akin to David Bowie with white skin.

“His name is Thomas Mallory. In his last year of high school before college or if he decides to head to the minor leagues. 6’5, 210 pounds, a Texas All-American, he’s the real deal, and he’s looking to finally take this team for the first time in his career.”

“Not with that haircut, he’s not.” Teddy retorts playfully.

“I don’t know, he’s got a legit chance.” Amelia says.

“Maybe shmaybe. As long as we play better, we win.”

He’s clearly unfazed. As long as we played like they had in practice, nothing would stop them. Jonathan broke the silence.

“I’m aware of your eccentric antics which I think could be to our advantage. I’ve been here since my freshman year and I’m in Junior year and I can say our style of game is getting stale, predictable. We need your input.”

“Coach Juggernaut has the final say besides I’m on the latter half of the bench. Not much I do with few chances to play.”

“....he’s right.” Taigen says after keeping quiet for a while.

“However, if you can convince Coach to give me the top spot on the bench with the most minutes, maybe I can consider it.” Jonathan appears shaken.

“Even as team captain, I don’t have that kind of authority!”

“Welp, the deal’s off I guess.” Teddy gets up for his seat. “Don’t worry, you’ll get your plan. It would be terrible to lose the first game of the season, wouldn’t you say? Peace.”

“Wait!” Amelia yells, startling other customers in the cafe.

“Hm?”

“We’ll get you the spot.” Jonathan tries to argue but is stopped by Amelia. “It’s a promise.”

“Glad someone has their brain in check. If you’re gonna use me in the plan, it’s best to have me in the game more to use those plans. I hope you know whatever plan I came up with is never going to be used under Mr. Juggernaut’s control or you’ll be sent to the bench faster than you think. Get me the minutes by Friday and I’ll explain more of the plan. I need time.” Teddy leaves the cafe. Taigen follows after. Amelia feels upset that she handled mentally like that.

Jonathan looks in confusion on the set of actions that just occur. Teddy took a hold of that entire conversation without any one raising a bat at it. Like a flight-or-fight response kicked in and everyone else chose flight to the discussion. To Jonathan, Teddy is a fear factor and his attitude towards things is like a force of nature.

“Thomas Mallory, huh? Can’t wait to face you.” Teddy thinks aloud. Taigen rushes over to Teddy. His face is bright red as his face scrunches up into anger. Clearly this set him off more than anything.

“What the heck is wrong with you?” Taigen said, bluntly.

“Nothing, I got the plan started like y’all wanted me to. If you have an issue, say it with your chest. Show a little more enthusiasm, my friend.” Teddy taunted.

“I disapprove of your methods…..”

“I can’t hear you, pal~”

“I disapprove of your methods!” Suddenly, Teddy grips Taigen’s shoulder. The pressure increases into where Taigen feels it’s greatly hurting.

“I appreciate you raising your voice for once. However, I cannot help but feel I’m being misjudged. All I’m doing is letting myself be known and that I should get the respect I deserve.”

“The same way you got the respect from Raymond.”

“Agree to Disagree.” Teddy starts loosing the grip on Taigen’s shoulder.

…

“James Monroe once said that a king without power is an absurdity. I’m inclined to agree and I will continue to prove myself worthy of that title, ya feel?” Teddy walks away while he looks at the Reunion Tower in the distance.

Taigen looks as Teddy is walking away. He sees a man with the duality of ambition yet kindness as well. A noble spirit.

A noble spirit that will shock the state on the upcoming Friday.