Hello everyone, and HAPPY NEW YEAR !

May 2021 bring you happiness and good fortune.

Take care !

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That guy was good. That guy was really good. His shots were deathly accurate and powerful. When Astrid was in one part of the court, he would automatically aim the point that was the farthest away from her.

The first rally was quite short, but the next ones were getting longer and longer. And he was looking at her in a way that wasn't good. That guy was definitely observing her movements and taking mental notes of how she was moving.

And Astrid was growing worried.

It had been a long time since she had played seriously, and her easy win against John had made her quite confident. That was not good. Unfortunately for her, the height difference was also not in her favour, and she was getting tired more easily than him because he had to move less to reach the ball. The score was three to two in her favour when suddenly, his playing style... changed.

He served, she send the ball back, and when she started running to go where she thought he would shoot... she felt the ball in her back.

She stared at the mark it left on the floor : Silas had sent the ball at the position she was in before. Hadn't she moved, she would have been able to return it.

Was that just a lucky guess from him ?

He served, and the same situation happened... again.

Once again, he shot the ball toward the position she was in just before. How did he knew that she was going to move ?!

"Seriously ?! Keep calm, Astrid. Just try something else."

This time, the girl did not move. But Silas changed his strategy again, and aimed away from her. Now she was sure of it : he was able to pinpoint what move she was gonna make with a terrifying accuracy. The score was now five to three, and Silas was winning. Only two points left, and she would have lost the match.

Wasn't there any mean to foil his analysis ?

Astrid tried to dupe him, but he was not stupid. He predicted that she'd go to her left... and then ran to her right to try and catch him off guard.

He won another point.

Only one point left.

- You're not gonna lose this match, are you ? Gritted a voice on her right.

She didn't even look at him, knowing fully who it was. Was Percy never gonna let her live her life in peace ? She bit her bottom lip, and tightened her grip on her racket, as if she was trying to not throw it on the black-haired guy that was on the other side of the fence.

He already won his second match ? That kid was a machine !

- Shut up, Percy ! she shouted without sparing a glance at him. Let me focus. Observe if you want, but in silence.

Percy snickered but didn't answer.

Losing this game ?

Yeah, Astrid was not gonna let that happen.

He was able to predict her shots ? Duh. Then she would play in an impredictable way ! This time, Astrid closed her eyes for three seconds, and waited until his racket touched the ball. She could see the look of surprise in his eyes. He obviously didn't think that she'd wait until he hit the ball, probably thinking that if she did so, she wouldn't have been able to catch it.

But Astrid, even if she didn't have strenght, had something else : insane reflexes and speed. When she was focused, her eyes could catch the ball's trajectory with accuracy, and her speed would make up for the time lost. It was not impossible for her to start moving after he hit the ball and still get to it.

And that's what she did, winning the point.

- Six points to four ! Announced the umpire.

Silas looked at her, and she could feel his mind racing, probably trying to compute the probability that it was just luck that she managed to send the ball back.

She kept a poker-face. Now was not the time to give him informations on her capacities with a smug look, even thought she really wanted to smirk at him.

- Eight points to six ! Astrid wins this game.

- Nice game, said Silas. You're a smart girl. I'll keep an eye on you...

- Uh... thanks... I guess ?

The guy didn't even seem sad to have lost against a freshman. I mean, another loss and he would be kicked off the team, but he leggit seemed like he... didn't care ? Wasn't he a senior ? That was his last tournament, right ?

Silas was scribbling stuff on his blue notebook, and wasn't even paying attention to the girl anymore. She shrugged it off and exited the court. It was not her problem.

Mona jumped on her, a big smile plastered on her pretty face.

- Congratulations ! You won against Silas, it's no small feat ! Are you ready for you game against Allen ? He's very enthousiast. He saw the end of your game with Silas and hopped away, saying how he couldn't wait to play against you.

Astrid grimaced. She was already starting to get tired, because that first match had stressed her out.

- Do you have any advice for me ? She asked her friend, almost imploring.

- Uhh... let me think... Well, Allen is a player that one would call... funny and original, I guess, she chuckled. He calls himself an "acrobatic player."

- Acrobatic ?

- In another life, he was definitely a gymnast. He's able to return shots from... well, from weird positions. You need to keep your guard up.

- Okay, I guess...

- Good luck, Ari.

- Thank, Moony.

When she arrived on the fifth court, Allen was already there, waiting for her. Upon seeing her, he jumped in her general direction and hugged her from nowhere. The girl tried to break free from his hold but didn't manage to. He had such strong arms !

- Ariiiiiiiiiiiii ! Allen exclaimed, visibly delighted to have caught her off guard. I heard that you won against Silas ? That's amazing, girl !

- ... Allen... Al... Please let go... I can't breath...

Her face was indeed turning blue.

- Oops, sorry, sorry !

She took a deep breath and sighted. That guy was very energetic. Maybe a little too much.

- I'm so happy to play against you ! I wouldn't have thought that you were that good !

- Because I'm small and cute ?

Allen had the decency to look quite embarrassed, and scratched the back of his head.

- Yeah, sorry about that... Isaac already told me off. But you are small and cute !

She glared at him. He took a step backward.

- It's just that it wasn't a reason to say you wouldn't be able to win a match.

- I appreciate your apologies.

- Can I touch your hair ? It looks fluffy. So pretty !

- Nope.

The guy looked so sad that she almost considered allowing him to put his hand on her hair, but finally decided against it. He was already so touchy with her, she didn't want to enable this comportment more ! She liked Allen already, but was not one who liked being touched.

Astrid looked at him as he was warming up a little bit on the side of the court. His messy berry hair were definitely not a natural colour, but it looked good on him. He was thin and tall, but he didn't have that much muscles. Probably that his playing style wouldn't rely on his strength, but more on his speed and ability to return difficult balls. Just like her.

But what was interesting about him was that like he couldn't stop jumping from left to right. He was throwing his racket in the air, fidgeting with locks of his hair, and overall was looking quite unrestful.

Was he hyperactive... ?

She had a friend suffering from adhd back in France, and that guy was acting exactly like him, constantly moving and looking around him. That was not good : tennis player with adhd were usually able to see more moves coming and had better reflexes because their brains were working twice as fast as a neurotypical's brain.

Astrid served, and the guy returned the ball easily. She threw the ball back at the exact opposite of his position, but Allen managed to get to it in less than three seconds, surprising her and winning the point.

She gritted her teeth.

A tall player with good reflexes was exactly the kind of opponent she did not like, for she was, once again, fairly small. She was obviously at a disadvantage. Another rally started, and Allen still managed to return all of her balls. Astrid changed the trajectory of her shot at the last moment, sending it behind Allen. That guy wouldn't be able to return it... would he ?

Well, he returned it.

He managed - God knows how - to twirl like a ballerina and to hit the ball with the center of his racket, sending it back with full strength. Astrid wasn't able to get it. The match went on, Astrid winning some points but losing too, and she was starting to get really tired. That guy was playing in an insane way, twirling, jumping and even doing a fucking salto once ! Mona didn't lie when she said that he played in a strange way, and Astrid had never seen something quite like that.

But the girl was not one to give up so fast.

There was a problem in Allen's style : even though he was able to return her shots thanks to his gymnastic abilities, he also had difficulties when the rhythm was varying. Since he was playing rather quickly and jumping everywhere, a change of pace was very hard for him to handle.

Astrid noticed that.

She had always been good at understanding the weaknesses of her opponents. She mimicked a smash, but did a drop shot at the last time. With his speed, Allen was able to get it, and the ball when high in the sky. But the change of cadence threw him off and he wasn't even able to react when the girl smashed the ball.

It was tiresome to change rhythm like that, even for Astrid. She had to be always on edge trying to analyse how her adversary was gonna react, and grew quite worn out with it. Fortunately for her, she managed to hold her lead until the end of the match.

- Eleven points to nine, Astrid wins !

- Girl, the coach wasn't lying when she said you were good !

But Astrid wasn't listening to him, for she was already lying on the floor, breathing loudly. "Fucking tired" were the only words she could think about. Her last tennis competition was several months before, and she did not keep up with her stamina training during her time off. If her mom could see her now, she'd be disappointed. Good thing she was eight thousand kilometers away.

A towel landed on her head, plunging her in the dark. When she managed to raise her hand to take it off, she glanced around, and saw Percy just above her, looking at her with a smirk.

She put the towel back on her face immediately.

Why was he here again ? He was the last person he wanted to see !

- Guess we're teammates, now, he said with a calm voice.

- You won ? She managed to exhale.

- Were you doubting me ?

- ... No, she answered truthfully.

She knew that the guy was good. She could feel it.

- Are you done, then ?

- Yep. Everyone is, chucked Mona. Actually, grandma is waiting for us to announce the players for the new team.

- Who's losing his spot in my group ?

- Silas. He lost against Allen. He plays in such a way that it's too hard for Silas to predict his moves.

The girl sighted. He was a senior, so it was his last year in the tennis club. To lose his spot like this...

- Isn't he sad ?

- He doesn't really care. He's an amazing player, but he has always been more interested by the place of manager, so that's what he's gonna do now. Get up, Ari. As I told you, grandma is waiting !

She guided them back to the court numer one, where the regulars and the coach were waiting for them. Astrid was dragging her feet. She was soooo tired ! But Mona was pulling her by the hand, and they were almost running.

Allen waved his hand, obviously very happy to see her. He jumped toward her and passed an arm behind her back, dragging her along.

She took a look at all the guys near Selena, some of them she never met, and soon realised that apart from Percy and her, all of the regulars were players from the previous boys' team. She was gonna be the only female player.

- Percy, Astrid, congratulations on your wins. Welcome to the main team !

Percy and her exchanged a satisfied smile.

Getting a spot on the main team : check !

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Thank you so much to the readers ! Don't forget to vote and comment in order to help me reach new people ❤️

QoTD : how old are you ?

Take Care everyone !

- Liszka