Chapter 13: The Chariot

Duncan stood in the middle of the football field, between a row of freshmen. He, like everyone else, was dressed in sports attire because it was time for football tryouts. Aside from him, there were a bevy of testosterone-fueled adolescent boys; their bodies didn't look to be particularly well-built, but they could be once they joined the team.

The sun was shining brightly, and the temperature wasn't too frigid this time of afternoon, but perhaps it was simply the buzz surrounding Duncan that made it feel a few degrees warmer than usual.

Mr. Wilson, the tryouts' supervisor, promptly blew his whistle, drawing everyone's attention.

"Alright! Listen up everyone," he yelled. "First, we'll do some drills to assess your individual abilities. We'll do some shuttle runs, then you'll rush roughly 30 yards through the field, and then we'll test how far you can jump. After that, to save time, we'll play a quick game to see how skilled you are in the game, understood?"

"Yes, sir!" Everyone responded on the spur of the moment.

"Alright, first up! Thompson!" Mr. Wilson called.

"Yes sir!"

"Go to the shuttle run section, your seniors will check you up," said Mr. Wilson.

The blonde man hurriedly approached the section to which he had been allocated. The name-calling went on for around 3 minutes until Duncan was called.

"Last but not least, Plagmann!" Wilson stated. "Go to the jumping section. Oh, there are two Duncans here."

Duncan didn't understand what the coach was saying, so he just strolled over to the jumping area near the spectator stand. He noticed an instrument that looked like cards stacked on top of each other and linked to a pole, which he assumed would measure how high he could leap.

"Plagmann?" inquired the scruffy-looking man holding a scanner board.

"Yep," Duncan replied.

"Huh. We have the same name," he said. "Name's Duncan Matthews. If you pass the tryout, we'll call you Duncan Junior. Now, try to jump as high as possible and move those cards up top."

Duncan simply nods in agreement. The boy took a position beneath the card stacks, next to the pole, and prepared to jump. He quickly kicked himself out of the ground as hard as he could and reached for the cards above. Many cards had been moved, and he could hear Matthews whistling.

"30 inches," he said as he scribbled down the result. "That is almost a professional standard. Okay, you can proceed to the next section."

Duncan moved on to the next part, passing Flash Thompson on the way.

"I never thought you were the sporty kind, Plagmann." Thompson sneered as he purposefully struck Duncan's shoulder with his own. Duncan only raised his brow before moving on to the next section.

The remainder of the drills went well, and while not as successful as the jumping test, Duncan managed to earn above-average times on them all, thus he was already sure of making the team's bench.

"All right, listen up," Mr. Wilson said. "We're going to do a simulation. We won't be playing a real game because we don't have enough boys, so we'll see how effectively you pass, block, and sprint under pressure. Freshmen will confront some juniors, so be prepared."

The boys, including the freshmen, swiftly lined up at the spot allotted to them by the coach. Duncan was assigned to the quarterback position and stood in the back of the offensive line.

As this was not a true game, the line contained only two or three people on each team, with two more in the wings.

Duncan recognized Matthews in one of the boys in the opposing team's line, as well as Thompson in his team's right wing. He needed to prepare because the ball was in his team's possession.

Duncan could definitely see it was going to be a catastrophe of a play with no plan because they'd never played together before.

Mr. Wilson blew the whistle after Duncan took a deep breath to focus.

The ball was then tossed from the line to Duncan, who caught it wonderfully, and the lads began to crash against each other.

All of the freshmen wanted a throw to score a touchdown and impress the coach, but Duncan had other ideas.

Duncan looked to the right and saw Thompson racing through the line, trying to pass, so he threw the ball to the blonde brute's face as hard as he could. The ball sped through the air; Thompson couldn't reach it in time, and it struck the boy's helmet.

After that, Thompson let out a "oof" sound as he was tackled from behind.

"What the hell was that?!" Thompson screamed fiercely on the ground.

Duncan only shrugged, a nasty sneer on his face. He approached the boy and extended his hand. "Didn't think you couldn't catch that easy ball."

Thompson groaned as he looked at Duncan. He stood up without taking the boy's hand and stood alone.

"Plagmann! Don't joke around!" warned Mr. Wilson.

"Yes, Coach." Duncan let out a sigh.

As a result, his team shifted to defense. Mr. Wilson blew the whistle again as they took their positions.

When the ball was thrown to the opposing team's quarterback, Duncan saw Thompson lunge towards him, knocking the quarterback away instantaneously, changing possession once more.

Thompson huffed like a bull and tossed the ball to his teammates. He signaled Duncan with his fingers, as if to warn him. "Pass correctly or I'll break your fucking hand."

Duncan only chuckled, and the boys took their positions. The line was rebuilt, and Mr. Wilson soon blew the whistle.

Duncan received the ball from the front. He surveyed the field; Thompson was heavily defended this time, so instead of passing, Duncan went towards the left flank, which was relatively empty.

The spotlight was suddenly on him. The opposing squad ran at him to block, but Duncan easily avoided their tackle. Thompson had enough room now that the boys around him were trying to block Duncan, and Duncan eventually tossed the ball at the blonde boy.

The ball was caught by the blonde boy who sprang from the ground. The other squad ran for him as soon as he landed, but it was too late. He surged towards the backline and kicked the ground with his foot before scoring an easy touchdown.

Mr. Wilson blew the whistle, signaling the conclusion of the game. "Alright, that's enough!"

The boys made their way to the coach for a briefing. Duncan was walking towards it when he received a pat on the shoulder.

"Nice pass," exclaimed Flash Thompson, the boy who tapped his shoulder.

"Good run." Duncan made a hum.

"If we do that for the remainder of the season, we'll be fine." Thompson went on, as if he was aware he had already passed the tryout.

"Assuming you pass the tryout." Duncan sneered, which made Thompson scowl in amusement.

Suddenly, Duncan's environment abruptly darkens, the temperature drops substantially, and time appears to stop.

Duncan heard a voice in his head.

[I am Thou, Thou Art I…]

[...Thou hast acquired a new vow…]

[...It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity…]

[...With the birth of the Chariot Arcana, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall guide thee to freedom and new power…]

Though not as much as the first time he heard her, the feminine voice made his head hurt. When the voice died away, the environment around Duncan returned to normal, and he saw he was alone in the field, while the others had gathered around the coach.

"Plagmann!"

"Come on, coach!" exclaimed Duncan, immediately joining the others.

Briefings took up the rest of the tryout. The coach chastised the juniors for their weak defenses, while applauding Duncan and Thompson for their fast thinking and explosive power.

Following that, the coach stated that he will announce who passed the tryout the following week, and the session concluded.

Duncan, while taking some drinks from the benches, noticed a girl sitting on the stands. She had red hair and was quite a looker, though something in his mind told him to stay away from said girl, as something seemed off about her for some reason.

Duncan frowned as he noticed she had a somewhat fearful expression on her face. Then he noticed one of the football players, Duncan Matthews, approaching her, and Duncan noticed that the dread in her expression had evaporated, though the grin on her face was forced.

"Don't look too long, freshman," one of the juniors who was drinking with him advised. "That's Matthew's girlfriend,I say. He's the jealous type. If he notices you taking a liking to her, he'll corner you and beat you up.

"It's difficult not to notice her." Duncan made an awkward chuckle. "What's her name?"

"Jean Grey." The junior then completed his drink and stood up. "A sophomore."

"I remember last year, a kid got his arm broken because he accidentally pushed her in the corridor," said another junior. "So you better be careful."

"Isn't that too much?" Duncan seemed bewildered.

"Well, tell that to Matthews," shrugged the junior.

Duncan hummed as he smashed the cup in his hand and tossed it away to the bin. He then returned to the school, planning to shower and go home.