The entire stadium thundered with applause, cheers, and triumphant shouts. I could feel my dragon bike vibrating beneath me, reacting to the chamber of noise. My adrenaline surged as I glanced at the stands, which were a sea of red and blue, with a few other colored cloaks dotted here and there. My grandpa and Farrah were both in the audience, and their presence was all that truly mattered to me.
"We are going to start on the referee's whistle in three...” Mickey Alvarez said, “Two... One!"
The referee blew the whistle, and all the mages on their dragon bikes sprang into action. My team immediately executed a well-rehearsed play, with two of my teammates forming a protective barrier in front of me as we entered the Aquasos zone. A group of defenders charged towards us, hurling their water bolts with determined precision. I focused my energy, launching fire bolts that collided with their attacks, neutralizing them.
"Wow! What incredible aim by Rollie Magpie! Cancelling out those water bolts is no easy feat, folks!" Mickey’s voice boomed across the stadium.
This created an ideal opening for my teammates to counterattack, and while one of them missed an open shot, the other nailed it perfectly.
As we penetrated deeper into the Aquasos zone, my teammates formed a shield around me. The moment the Aquaso goalie unleashed a water bolt at our leading player, both of them skillfully split apart and flew out of the zone. Seizing the opportunity, I swooped in, hooking around to the right side as my teammate vacated the area, and I cut back in to snatch the trophy from its pedestal.
Let’s go!
The Aquaso goalie fired off another water bolt, but I deftly looped in the air and accelerated away. Constantly glancing behind me, I saw yet another water bolt hurtling towards me, while an opposing Aquaso player lay in wait for me at the exit. In the nick of time, I plummeted downwards, the water bolt whizzing past my mohawk. As soon as I escaped, I unleashed a charged fire bolt with my left hand, knocking out the Aquaso who had been anticipating my exit.
Rocketing back to our zone, I felt as though I was flying faster than I had ever flown on a dragon bike. My surroundings blurred together, and I realized that in all my years of dirt biking and off-road riding, I had never experienced such incredible speed. In what felt like the blink of an eye, I returned to our zone and deposited the trophy in my possession.
A whistle blew.
"Wow! What a tremendous display of skill and ability from the second-year student, Rollie Magpie!" Mickey’s announcement rang out. "Looks like that's going to be a speeding penalty. Don't see too many of those at this level of play."
The crowd collectively gasped, but I was utterly perplexed. I scanned my surroundings for answers, but it seemed that no one knew what to do except hover in place, awaiting further instructions.
The referee soared to the center of the field, his authoritative voice cutting through the air. "The Fyron thief," he paused, as if searching for the right word, "exceeded the acceptable speed limit. This will result in a five-minute penalty for both the player and the position. They will be benched, but the trophy will remain with the Fyrons."
Half of the crowd erupted in cheers, while the other half responded with a chorus of boos.
The floating illuminated numbers above the field changed from 3-3 to 4-2. The referee approached me as I hovered in the air, motionless.
"You need to go back to your bench," he instructed.
"Okay."
Under the watchful gaze of the referee, I flew back to my team. Coach Florence's expression was a mix of a smirk and a shake of her head as soon as I touched down.
"Did I do something wrong? I mean, obviously I did, but I had no idea you could go too fast," I said to Coach Florence as she walked over.
"Yeah, you can go too fast, and to be honest, I've never seen it happen before. In all my years of coaching and even when I played here at Attleton, I never witnessed anyone receive a speeding penalty. Your mastery over that Blackbird has landed you in hot water. So now, you'll be on the bench for the next five minutes. However, that was a terrific play out there, good work." Coach Florence patted my shoulder. "Just take it a tad slower next time." She winked and motioned for my teammates to join us. Before addressing them, she went to the end of the platform and held up a series of hand signals so the captains knew which formations to execute.
The whistle blew, and both our team and the opposition swarmed the field like frenzied bees before setting up their next play. The Aquasos arranged themselves into a formation, and one player darted into our zone, swiping away the trophy. The score was now 3-3, with only two minutes left in my penalty.
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They attempted to capitalize on my absence from the field, but our team managed to defend our zone and prevent another trophy swipe.
As my five-minute penalty concluded, the referee blew a quick whistle and gestured for me to rejoin the game, which didn't pause for my re-entry. Momentarily confused, I hesitated, unsure if I had to wait any longer.
"Go in, Rollie! Go in! Go in!" Coach Florence shouted.
"Okay! I'm going!" My dragon bike sputtered for a moment as I tried to reenter the field, and it took me a minute to determine my position and the next play. The captains glided around, looking to Coach Florence for guidance. She finally motioned something for us to see. The captains signaled to me and a few other players, and I instantly knew what to do next. They wanted me to charge into the Aquaso zone solo.
Challenge accepted.
As the Aquasos surged towards me, my teammates formed a triangular barrier around me. They all split off and engaged the Aquasos while I broke through into the Aquaso zone, once again confronting the formidable goalie. She rapidly unleashed a barrage of water bolts. None were aimed directly at me, but they surrounded me, forcing me to think quickly. I wasn't sure if it was due to my inexperience or my untrained eye, but I instinctively jerked to the left, trying to dodge an attack that I believed was heading straight for me. Instead, I inadvertently leaned into the bolt.
The impact left me stunned, unable to move even though I desperately tried to maneuver around the goalie. She charged another bolt, a few yards away from me, and just as she released it, I regained control of the Blackbird. I swiftly strafed to the right, zigzagging to evade another water bolt, and outmaneuvered the goalie, forcing her in the opposite direction. The pedestals were left undefended, and I snatched a trophy before speeding out of the zone and returning it for another point, being mindful of my speed this time.
The score was 4-2 once again.
Half the crowd erupted in cheers so deafening that I wanted to cover my ears, but I couldn't help but revel in their excitement.
Coach Florence signaled to the captains, who relayed the same message as the previous play.
Really? We want to run that again?
I trusted that the captains and coaches knew best, so I rejoined my teammates. However, we had to defend against an all-out charge from the Aquasos. Our defenders struggled, missing several fire bolts, but when I swooped in, I managed to land some shots on the Aquasos: on their sides, their backs, and one right in the face.
Another whistle blew. The referee flew to the center. "Targeted fire bolt to the head. Penalty for violent conduct. Rollie will be benched for another five minutes."
"Wow! Rollie just cannot catch a break with this match today! This amazing performance has been hindered twice, unfortunately!” Mickey exclaimed.
As I returned to the bench, Coach Florence signaled to our team and approached me. "Rollie, have you not read the rules of the game?"
"I know you're expecting me to know them, but I don't. I'm not from this world.” I frowned.
Coach Florence rubbed her forehead. "I'm sorry, that's on me. I should have made sure you were aware of all the technicalities. Sorry about all of this. Can't help but laugh. But, yeah, can’t throw a bolt at someone’s head.” She contained her laugh, and the game continued.
Watching from the bench made my blood boil. Knowing that I had been commanding the entire game but kept getting benched due to foolish penalties made me want to scream. I kept my frustration bottled, remaining silent.
The Aquasos attempted to swipe another trophy, but our defense held strong. We tried a different strategy, switching to attack mode despite being down one player and facing a significant disadvantage.
As soon as I reentered the game, Coach Florence had us execute the same play as the last time I successfully swiped the trophy. Running it again, I managed to steal the trophy and escape unscathed.
The scoreboard displayed 5-1 in our favor. The fans in the Fyron section were ecstatic. There was still a significant amount of time left on the game clock, but Coach Florence had us run the same play once more. That made it three times in a row, even though we had practiced at least seven plays over the course of the week—one play developed per day.
Regardless, we ran the same play one more time, and I became the primary target for every single Aquaso, both defender and attacker. It was an all-out defensive assault, with everyone charging their water bolts and aiming directly at me. Glancing to my left and right, I narrowly dodged water bolts that flew all around me. Most of them had terrible aim, but there were a few that required me to duck, spin, and strafe to avoid. The adrenaline rush from evading each attempt was exhilarating.
As I entered the Aquaso zone, I took one last look behind me to see my teammates exchanging bolts in a dazzling battle. Streaks of red and blue zipped everywhere. Refocusing on the pedestals, I spotted the last, glorious trophy waiting to be claimed for our team.
The goalie scowled at me, her hand already cocked back before she hurled a water bolt directly at me. Her aim couldn't have been better, but I performed a barrel roll to the left and cut back in through the right, snatching the trophy and accelerating upwards in an aerial uppercut. Racing back to our zone, only a few Aquasos realized that I had the trophy in my hand. They scrambled to catch up, but I was faster and made it back to our zone, dropping off the final trophy.
"Wow! That's the match, folks! What an amazing matchup and exciting game. This is the first time the Fyrons have beaten the Aquasos 6 to 0 in over a decade! Congrats to the Fyrons on an outstanding game, led by the new kid on campus. Rollie Magpie makes an astonishing debut!" Mickey shouted.
The entire Fyron side of the crowd erupted in a frenzy of shouts, cheers, loud horns, and applause.
I floated aimlessly, watching the jubilant crowd. The biggest and goofiest smile stretched across my face, as I experienced a rush of joy I had never felt before. My teammates flew by my side, waving at the crowd while receiving applause.
All my teammates celebrated victoriously, hugging each other and patting one another on the back. The captain and two assistant captains approached me.
"Well done, Rollie."
"Hey man, we couldn't have done it without you."
"Congrats on our first win. I know practice was a little rough this week for you, but we can only go up from here."
"Yeah, you three played great too! Don't forget! Thanks for setting up those blocks and landing a few strikes with the fire bolts," I replied.
I was on top of the world, but I had this creeping feeling that the good times weren’t going to last long.