Marcus chuckled nervously as he glanced over at Kinsley, who looked at him with a reserved smile, before averting her gaze and crossing her arms.
"Hey, Kinsley." Marcus said, waving at her with a smile, "You look good." He added, hoping a simple compliment would make her happy.
Kinsley's cheeks turned bright crimson as she looked everywhere but in Marcus's direction. "T-thank you." She mumbled.
Marcus then turned his attention towards Cora, who was nervously fumbling with the spine of her book.
"Uhm, hey Cora," Marcus said with a quick wave of his head.
"Hi, Marcus." She replied shyly.
Before an awkward silence could form, Kira clapped her hands together loudly, drawing everyone's attention. "Well." She began, "Kinsley was here to practice, usually Cora and I cheer her on, but seeing as we have two strong men here today, do either of you want to challenge her?"
Kira glanced at Felix with a knowing look, before turning her attention towards Marcus and smiling.
"Well, my legs are sore from all the walking." Felix said as he bent down and tapped his calves, "I might have to sit this one out." He said with a chuckle.
Marcus glanced at Felix with a confused expression. "How?" He asked in genuine confusion, "I've seen you walk off much worse, literally."
Felix sighed as he tapped Marcus's back. "It must be those sausages and potatoes catching up with me."
It was no secret Felix had an appetite, but this sudden fatigue was suspicious.
Marcus narrowed his eyes before Kira emphatically clapped her hands together once more. "Marcus?" She asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Suddenly, Marcus was hit with a wave of realization, they were trying to get him to play against Kinsley.
"Wait," Marcus said, shaking his free hand. "I can't play against Kinsley."
"I barely know how to dribble," Marcus explained.
Kinsley, who had been quiet up until this point, finally spoke up. "It's fine." She said with a frustrated huff. "I can't just practice against the holograms like usual."
Kira sighed as she reached a hand to her forehead. "Kinsley please, please just be patient." She then turned her attention towards Marcus. "Marcus, I would appreciate it if you just gave it a try."
"Yeah, bro." Felix chimed in. "It's not hard, just control the ball with the insides of your feet, and use your superior size to keep her from the ball."
Marcus glanced over at Kinsley, who looked frustrated and conflicted.
Marcus sighed softly as he reached into his pocket to pull out Luna's candy, he then handed it to Felix, who accepted it.
"Can you watch Luna?" Marcus asked Felix as he walked her towards him, both he and her still interlocking hands.
Felix nodded. "For sure bro, does this mean you'll be playing Kinsley?" He asked as he reached his hand out for Luna to grab.
Luna denied Felix's hand but did stand by his side.
Marcus nodded. "Yeah, I'll probably get my ass kicked, but it seems everyone is dead set on this one V one happening."
Kira grinned as she grabbed Marcus's hand and began navigating towards Kinsley. Marcus was shocked by the sudden gesture but didn't resist.
Upon reaching Kinsley, Kira gestured for both her and Marcus to enter the football pitch, as Marcus stepped onto the pitch he couldn't help but feel slightly overwhelmed.
Kira brought both Marcus and Kinsley towards a set of pillars, one on each half of the pitch. These pillars had screens on them, each with customizable settings for the given half they were on.
"Okay." Kira said with a smile, "So we'll customize it so that it's a one-on-one match, you'll both have a hologram goalkeeper so that you can focus on scoring goals, but to make it fair, Kinsley your goalkeeper will be set to casual defense, while Marcus's goalkeeper will be semi-pro, sounds fair?" Kira asked as she navigated through the screens with rehearsed ease.
Kinsley nodded before glancing at Marcus, who nodded in agreement.
"Sounds fair enough, so will it be first to score a goal?" Marcus asked, crossing his arms as he glanced down at the screen Kira was working on.
"First to five, usually Kinsley goes to twenty, but we're here to have fun," Kira said as she chuckled to herself.
Marcus huffed a deep sigh as he licked his lips. His heart was pumping as his mind was racing. He had barely played any sports since middle school basketball, even then he was average.
Marcus knew that he was screwed because even though he knew the rules and how to move the ball, he couldn't do any tricks, no fancy dribbling, and if he wasn't inside the penalty box, he probably wouldn't hit anything but a stray cat.
Kinsley noticed Marcus's quiet demeanor and spoke up. "You don't have to play me." She said sincerely. "I won't hate you for it."
Marcus immediately shook his head. "I'm already in here with you now, might as well play ball," Marcus said as he rotated his neck.
A small smile played on Kinsley's lips as she averted her gaze. "Just don't go easy Marcus."
Marcus scoffed as he stifled a chuckle. "Don't do that, don't get my hopes up." He said with a grin.
Felix called out to Marcus from the sidelines. "If you lose, you're paying for today's lunch!"
Marcus responded with a middle finger, causing Felix to grin, "I think that just upped my hunger tenfold!"
Kira stepped away from the pillars, turning to face Marcus and Kinsley. "Everything is set, so take your positions near the center."
Marcus nodded as his back jogged towards the center circle of the pitch, where a lightweight ball sat in its center.
As he moved towards the ball, the goalkeepers began flickering to life, playing a warm-up animation before lowering into position.
Marcus and Kinsley both took their positions on either side of the ball, Marcus took a deep breath as he tried to calm his mind.
Felix's advice kept repeating in his mind, control the ball with the insides of his feet, and use his size.
Easier said than done.
Kira blew a whistle, signaling the start of the match.
Marcus quickly kicked the ball forward, as hard as he could, he hoped that he could outrun Kinsley and get to the penalty box as fast as possible.
However, Kinsley was on him almost immediately, hawking him down as if he were prey and she was a predator.
Her movements were quick and graceful, her eyes focused on the ball and nothing else.
Almost in an instant, she stole the ball from Marcus with a swift and fluid motion, sending the ball flying back toward Marcus's goal.
"Shit!" Marcus hissed as he turned on his heel, scrambling to regain control of the ball.
Kinsley sprinted towards Marcus's goal with quick, fluid strides, carefully drilling the ball to keep it close for a powerful shot.
Marcus raced to catch up with Kinsley, but it was over before he had even gotten close to her.
Outside the penalty box, Kinsley cocked back her right foot and booted the ball with a hard power kick. The ball made a beautiful arc as it soared through the air, hitting its mark in the top right corner of the goal.
The sound of the net catching the ball echoed loudly, and Kinsley's score went up by one.
Marcus could only chuckle as he placed his hands on his knees, he had barely touched the ball before the situation flipped on its head.
Marcus found it hard to believe she was only the second-best striker for her team.
"Go, Kinsley!" Kira exclaimed as she clapped her hands victoriously.
"Bro, that was terrible!" Felix exclaimed with a laugh, "That was the exact opposite of what I said!"
"Shut up Felix!" Marcus shouted back between pants, "I thought I was doing something special."
"Oh, that was special alright!" Felix called out to him.
Marcus rolled his eyes as he turned his attention towards Kinsley, who was already lining up with the ball in her hands.
She placed the ball down as she glanced over at Marcus, her expression blank, but her eyes burned with a flame that seemed eternal.
The game continued, Marcus trying his best to follow Felix's advice, but due to his lack of skill and speed, it was never long before Kinsley regained control of the ball, and scored quickly afterward.
She danced around the pitch with ease, scoring the next three goals back to back in rapid succession, however, despite the overwhelming difference in their skill, Marcus found himself having fun.
He enjoyed the few moments where he managed to control the ball for a short period, even if those moments only lasted for mere seconds.
After scoring her fourth goal, Kinsley handed the ball to Marcus directly and gestured towards the area right outside of the penalty box.
"I want to start there," Kinsley said as gestured by her goal.
Marcus chuckled as he tossed the ball into the air, and then caught it. "Do I suck that bad?" He asked teasingly.
Kinsley blushed slightly before hesitantly nodding her head. "Yes, but it's fun." She said softly before jogging towards her goal.
Marcus couldn't help but smirk at Kinsley's blunt honesty, he couldn't deny that he was terrible at the sport, but perhaps he could make this round interesting.
Reaching the spot Kinsley pointed out, Marcus placed down the ball as he glanced over at the sideline where the others watched him intently.
Marcus took a deep breath, focusing on the ball and Kinsley. Victory was far from possible, but if Kinsley wanted a perfect win, she'd had to earn it.
Marcus positioned himself so that he could use his size to his advantage, he'd control the ball with the insides of his feet, limiting Kinsley's lanes of attack, and hopefully buying enough time for one shot.
Once both sides were settled into position, Kira blew the whistle once more, and Marcus immediately took off towards the left.
Kinsley quickly reacted, denying him a direct shot towards the goal.
But this was exactly what Marcus expected, he wanted Kinsley to read him like a book, so that when he turned on his heel and kicked the ball. She'd be surprised, buying him just enough time to score.
Before reaching the upper left corner of the penalty box, Marcus switched his stance.
He kicked the ball back to the right. Kinsley quickly moved to intercept, but that's when Marcus pulled the ball back. He then kicked it with full force, sending the ball sliding forward with a spin.
Kinsley's eyes widened as she scrambled to intercept the ball, but it was too late. The ball smashed against the back of the net with a satisfying thud, the goalkeeper barely missing it.
Marcus' score went up by one.
"Let's go!" Marcus exclaimed as he pumped a fist into the air, he jogged over to the sideline with his arms forming an X shape. "She can't stop me!" He exclaimed upon reaching the sideline.
"Hell yeah, bro!" Felix exclaimed in excitement, "And it only took you having every advantage available!" He said with a sarcastic laugh.
"Damn you!" Marcus exclaimed, reaching for Felix's neck.
"Hey, you got it, bro." Felix said, dodging Marcus' attempts to grab him, "It's all ball."
"Alright boys." Kira said with a giggle as she gestured towards Kinsley, "Marcus you still have a game to play."
Marcus glanced back at Kinsley, who was setting up the ball in the same position where Marcus had just scored.
Marcus's eyes widened.
Was Kinsley going to play him in the same spot where he won the first time? A faint sense of dread formed deep within Marcus.
Kira was right, Kinsley was like a machine when it came to football.
Marcus chuckled nervously as he nodded his head. "R-right." He stammered as he jogged back towards Kinsley, upon reaching her, he and Kinsley exchanged gazes.
She looked at him with an unfazed expression, her demeanor unchanged and her breathing steady.
It seemed his victory had been short-lived.
Kira blew the whistle once more, but this time, Kira wasted no time in stealing the ball from Marcus, kicking the ball between his feet before dancing around his back with ease.
Marcus barely managed to turn on his to catch up, Kinsley had been quick and was now sprinting down the pitch effortlessly, her control and confidence almost otherworldly.
It wasn't long before she was right outside of the penalty box, the same area where she had scored her previous four goals.
She lined up her foot with the ball perfectly, connecting with a powerful kick, sending the ball soaring in a beautifully cured arc.
The hologram goalkeeper tried to intercept, but the ball went right through its flickering hands, and connected to the net with a loud, satisfying thud.
The game was over.