Tyler bent down to examine his ball. It had dug itself halfway into the dirt of the park ground due to the speed at which it had been spinning. If Aaron's foot hadn't been on top of it, the ball would have likely shot across the ground at high speeds. Tyler was amazed. He knew his brother was good, but he obviously didn't know how good. He didn't think there was any way he could have stopped the ball by himself.
He kicked it a few times, until it eventually dislodged from its position. A hole was left in the ground, the edges of it polished smooth. It didn't look like it had been dug out. But it certainly didn't look like it should be there.
Tyler just ignored. He picked his ball up and looked around to see if anyone was watching. When he was sure no one was really paying attention to him he made his way over to Yu.
She was still doing her Tai Chi, completely oblivious to what was going on around her. She was probably about five feet tall and was wearing a tight fitting t-shirt and small shorts. The shorts seemed to accentuate her legs. Tyler shook his head, he wasn't here to admire her, he was here to try and convince her to join his team.
He stood just off to the side and coughed to get her attention.
Still she continued the slow, precise movements that seemed to be what this Tai Chi was about. It looked like she was doing a martial art but very, very slowly. Sometimes she seemed to hold her legs in the air for ages.
Tyler waved his hand before her face.
No reaction. He looked at her closely. Her eyes were shut. Not tightly, more like she was just ignoring her surroundings. Tyler considered this for a few moments. Had her eyes been shut when she had been kicking the ball with Aaron? He couldn't remember, she had been too far away from him, and the ball had had most of his attention. This was amazing. She was amazing.
Never before in his short life had Tyler imagined this kind of stuff was possible. His coaches had all told him about how to kick a ball, how to get the most out of his power and accuracy. But everything he had seen today, on the laptop, what Yu and Aaron had done, it was all unconventional. They didn't just line the ball up, take a few steps back, then kick it.
They used the side of their feet. They span before they kicked. They used little flicks to position the ball. It all seemed to happen so fast. Their feet moved in a flash. They used their whole body to get maximum power behind it. The laptop had even proved that they could kick it with enough force to make it move beyond the ability of the eye to follow it.
If even just those three teams could do stuff like that, then his team stood no chance. There had to be some way to get Aaron onto their team. Studying couldn't be the only reason he wasn't playing. Maybe there was something else behind it. Tyler realised how little he knew about his brother now.
“Yu?”
She ignored him still.
“Excuse me? Your name is Yu right?”
“Yes it is,” she still didn't stop what she was doing. She didn't seem to have much of an accent, maybe she had been born over her. It wasn't unheard of.
“Would you mind talking to me for a minute?”
“Yes I would. I'm obviously in the middle of something,” her voice was taking on an agitated tone.
“Should I come back and talk to you later?”
“What makes you think I will want to talk to you later?”
He bounced the ball between his hands. It was a little hard to talk with someone who wasn't paying attention to you. Or had even looked at you once.
“Well, my brother seemed to think you might want to talk to me. I have request for you.”
“Go ahead, you have my completely divided attention.”
“Undivided you mean right?”
“No, I'm more focused on my movements than you.”
“Right. Well, here it is. I've been playing midnight soccer. It’s been quite interesting. But currently we are down a player and could use another.”
“And?”
“Well, I guess I am asking you to become our fifth player.”
“And why are you down a player?”
“His leg was broken during the last game.”
Yu seemed to jerk a bit as she heard this, almost losing her balance.
“Seriously?”
“Yes, completely.”
“And you want me to take his place?”
“Yes.”
“Bugger off,” she said in her most dismissive tone.
Tyler turned to go but didn't walk away, instead he just stood there with his back to her and continued talking.
“My brother reckons you have what it takes to compete in this game. And there's a big prize at the end if we manage to win.”
“No prize could be worth having your leg broken.”
“Dave asked us to continue. To try and win this. I was going to find another of my soccer buddies to join us. But my brother says they stand no chance. He brought me out here today to see you specifically.”
“HA! He really thought I would join your team eh?”
“I expect that he did.”
“So you were testing me when you were kicking the ball at me? That last shot of yours was quite dangerous. If I hadn't been paying attention I could have been seriously injured.”
“Paying attention?” Tyler barked a short laugh, “but your eyes are shut.”
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“I learnt quite some time ago how to sense what was going on around me. And the power being emitted by the ball when you kicked it was like a shining beacon.”
Tyler lowered his eyebrows in confusion. Things were getting weirder and weirder.
“You can sense the 'power' of a kick?”
“Yeah, I guess that's the best was to put it. I can feel the energy in the ball. Like an orange glow. And with that I can figure out where it is. But that last one did surprise me a bit.”
“And compared to your own shots? You can sense them too right?”
“Yeah, I can sense my own power.”
“So, compared to your own power, how were the shots?”
“Well, if I was to use some comparison you might understand. My shots were like a forty watt light globe. While yours were like the sun.”
Tyler almost swore. He had seen for himself the power that she possessed.
“I think you were holding back though. It was full of energy, but didn't release all its power. Were you testing me?”
“Look, I have to square with you. I didn't kick the ball.”
“No?”
“My brother was the one who fired that shot at you. Both of them actually.”
“Oh... you have a brother? And he's the one with that power? Do you possess that kind of power too?”
“No I don't. I'm decent at regular soccer. But what I just saw you and my brother do was beyond my abilities.”
“Ah. So that's why he brought you to me. You and your soccer buddies completely outclassed?”
“We managed to make the final ten. But he showed me some shots of the three teams predicted to vie for the top spot. They blew me away. I can’t do anything like that. And I doubt my mates could.”
“Well then you'd need more than just me to win this thing then wouldn't you?”
“Yes we would.”
Yu fell silent, and Tyler turned around to see her still doing her Tai Chi, but with a small smile on her face now. He waited a moment to see what she was going to say, but she said nothing at all.
“So... will you play?” he asked her eventually, unable to wait any longer.
“No.”
“No? That's it?” He dropped his ball onto the ground and threw his arms wide. Yu just stretched her body out so that she was balanced on one foot, her leg straight behind her, and her body parallel to the ground.
“Yep, that's it.”
“Come on, there's got to be something I could do to get you to join.”
She dropped her leg to the ground and opened her eyes. Standing up straight she put a finger to the corner of her mouth and smiled.
“Well, first, why don't you drop down to your hands and knees and beg me to play?”
There was nothing for it. Tyler needed Yu's help. Aaron had pretty much told him that she was his only hope. He dropped to his knees, leaned forward a little bit, clasped his hands before him, and started begging.
“Please, please, please, would you join my team?”
She started tapping the corner of her mouth with her finger.
“Pretty please with sugar on top.”
Yu raised her foot and put it on his forehead. She pushed him backwards and he sprawled onto the ground.
“No.”
Yu turned and took a few steps away, but Tyler got onto his fours and scrambled around in front of her. She shook her head a little and looked around to see that people had started staring at the two of them.
“Look, there's gotta be something I could do to get you to play.”
Yu lowered herself to a crouching position and brought her face close to his, still smiling broadly. She reached out and held his chin in her hand.
“Look, there's nothing you could do for me specifically. But I'd love to have a date with this brother of yours. He emanates power. A power I can’t sense in you. Is he playing on your team?”
“No he's not. And I am sure I can get you a date.”
“Oh, he's not? Why not?”
“Because he's busy studying, but I do think there's more to it than that. So, you play and I'll get you a date with him.”
“You get me a date, then I'll play.”
“You could bail on me. You play the next game, it’s on Wednesday night, midnight. You play it, we win, and I'll have you a date with my bro before the end of the weekend.”
She seemed to smile even broader at that. She let go of his chin and rubbed his head.
“Okay, fair enough. See you on Wednesday night then.”
“Um, yeah.”
Yu stood back up and walked around him. She seemed to bounce as she walked away, as if filled with an inner energy that put a spring in her step. It couldn't be the prospect of a date with his brother could it. He lowered his head to the grass.
“Well, at least I'll have her for one game,” he said to the ground, “if we win that, then she'll be gone. There's no way I can convince my brother to date her.”
He collapsed on the ground and rolled over, then spread his arms wide. Things were starting to become more and more difficult. But he just had to focus on the next game. One game at a time. Aaron said he had four people who might be suitable. Well Yu was one, so that left three if he couldn't convince Yu to stay with them.