Quoted By:
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After a while, you decided to take a break and check in with Joy and Shark. You found them hitting tennis balls at Skids’ forcefield. They were taking turns fetching the balls that rebounded too far, or too far.
But when you told them that you were willing to coach them in how to play basketball, they dropped their rackets almost immediately and chased after you.
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<span class="mu-b">“Whoops! I’ll get it!”</span> Shark said, shooting into the air to go fetch what had to be the fifth ball that she nearly sent into orbit.
Abe whistled from his perch atop the web-fence you’d made.
<span class="mu-b">“That might be a new record.”</span> he said, craning his neck and shading his eyes so he could spot the rapidly disappearing dot.
Everyone who’d been watching your little training session stared up at it in awe. Some just pointed and laughed, which was fair.
To put it lightly, Iara stunk on ice. She struggled to moderate her strength, and because of that, she couldn’t dribble, pass or shoot the ball without something going wrong every so often.
Joy, on the other hand, was a quick learner, as she’d always been. She easily picked up on the fundamentals and put them into practice with ease. You’d been secretly worried that she wouldn’t be very good at this particular sport, but your concerns seemed to be entirely unwarranted.
If anything, Joy was far too unpredictable in the way she handled the ball. Sometimes she fell for feints, and other times, she would just sit there and stare at you. Since she didn’t know what to look for, her eyes remained glued to the ball, no matter where you went. And because her kinetic vision and reflexes were so good, she actually managed to steal the ball from you a couple of times.
<span class="mu-r">“Nice work, Joy. It’s scary how fast you pick things up, sometimes.”</span>
Joy gave you a confident smile.
<span class="mu-s">“You should see me put things down. Because, I can do that…pretty fast, too…”</span> Joy said, slowly petering out as she reached the end of what you thought might be her first quip.
She gave you and Abe nervous glances.
<span class="mu-s">“That…didn’t come out right.”</span> she admitted.
You and Abe wouldn’t hear of it. At once, you and him flanked the Gwen clone and lavished her with praise and headpats.
One’s first quip was a special moment, after all. You just wished you had thought to bring a camera to properly document it.
Maybe you could “borrow” one from Screwball later.
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As the time approached for your and Abe’s solo match, more people started showing up to participate in the event. You wanted to believe that they were here for you, but you thought it more likely that Screwball’s apparent fame was actually beginning to pay off.
And with the arrival of new players, you and Abe had to construct more courts. It was easier the second and third time. Even more so with Abe’s help, even though he wasn’t capable of web-shaping.
<span class="mu-b">“So, how do you wanna play this?”</span> Abe asked.
(Cont.)
