The Volleyball Club as a Bargaining Chip

["I have some interesting news for you~"] One day, Cato showed up in front of Fiona with a smirk. Of course, he practically always wore a smile, but this one was bigger and more sinister than usual. Fiona was almost wary of hearing this news.

And, in a way, she was correct. The tale Cato told her was something that probably was best left untold.

["You won't believe who I just saw the other day. My Classmancers club had a scrim against another school, and guess who I saw playing on the other team? None other than your most beloved chess rival~" ]

Yuel Fermond. Yes, it was him, playing for StormBlitz, the team that supposedly posed the greatest threat to the crowned regional champions.

Despite being but a freshman, he actually participated in that important scrim as a second-string. What's more, according to Cato, the man performed quite well for such a young player.

At the time, Fiona was not familiar with that "digital sport", so she did not have a strong opinion on Yuel's performance either way; she had to trust Cato's narrative on that.

However, what did intrigue her was the fact Yuel Fermond didn't show up to the regional chess tournament, yet he did show up to that Classmancers scrimmage. And, based on Cato's words, the man played very competitively.

So, did Yuel abandon chess in favor of that video game? Is that how it was?

In fact, he did mention something to this effect back in grade school as well. When Fiona confronted him about the match he lost to Cato, Yuel mentioned he was busy with "other matters" that had higher priority for him.

Could it be he was talking about Classmancers back then? Was that the "higher priority" matter he prioritized over chess? 

At the time, Fiona did not consider video games to be a legitimate competitive field, therefore her reaction was quite bitter upon hearing Cato's news. But at the same time, she was curious as well.

Why did somebody as talented as Yuel Fermond choose to abandon chess for a video game? And, there was Cato, too. He also competed in Classmancers. Though he continued practicing chess as well, it was clear where his priorities lay.

On top of that, Karen also played that video game. She did not seem as serious about it as the two boys, but she nonetheless raved about it every now and then. She even invited Fiona to join her on occasion, but naturally, Fiona declined the invitations.

Interestingly, on some other days, Karen ranted about the game nonstop and told Fiona to stay away from it instead. It looked like an interesting love-hate relationship.

Ultimately, as all these curious factors accumulated, Fiona's curiosity finally got the best of her. She folded and decided to venture into this unknown world of video gaming.

Though, to be precise, she only focused on Classmancers. The few other games she tried before it was just a gateway for getting used to the medium.

The more Fiona learned about competitive Classmancers, the more appreciation she developed for the video game as a legitimate sport. It was definitely very different from conventional competitive sports, yet its core was very much the same.

Knowledge, skill, and experience - these three pillars were as important in this esport as they were in any other sport. Not to mention, there was a lot of meta information to unpack here.

Before all of this, Fiona thought video games only existed to pass the time in leisure. However, competitive Classmancers proved her wrong.

In many ways, learning a MOBA game proved to be more taxing than picking up most real-life sports. There was tons of data to unpack and process. There were so many classes, so many items, and some many terms to learn.

And, it did not help that Fiona had next to no experience with any of that. As a result, it took her very long to get used to the sheer magnitude of information. 

However, no sport was unlearnable, that was Fiona's firm belief. With the aid of professional coaches and with enough hard work, she managed to become a player who occasionally even stumped Cato in Duel.

As her interest in the esport increased, Fiona developed a new point of view on her unfulfilled rematch with Yuel Fermond. If the man was so dedicated to Classmancers now, then Fiona likely had no chance of having a satisfying rematch against him in chess. So then, how about challenging him at his own game instead?

Classmancers was no chess but it offered more than enough strategic avenues to compete in. So, Fiona and Yuel could settle the score in this game as well.

By the end of the day, chess was just one specific game. It was highly regarded due to its rich history and elegant design, but there were plenty of other games out there with tactical depth. For example, there were Shogi, Go, and many others.

Truly, there was no shortage of alternative games to choose from. It just so happened that Yuel chose to focus on Classmancers. So, Fiona could challenge him there.

Ultimately, it was not necessarily a "chess rematch" she was seeking. Fiona simply wanted to face this irritable man once again and prove that she had conquered the weakness Yuel exposed back then.

To that end, facing him in Classmancers will do. And so, Fiona decided on her course of action.

Except, there was one problem: Classmancers was a team game. Fiona could not play the game competitively by herself.

Fortunately, she already had Karen on her side, but two players were not enough either. Fiona needed a team. And, not just any team, but one that was officially recognized and could participate in the regionals.

That was when the story came a full circle and returned to St. Mary's Junior High. The school was old-fashioned in many ways but it was making strides to modernize itself, as shown by the existence of the volleyball club.

Following that successful trend, would it be too much of a stretch to request the school to open a Classmancers club? Yes, it probably was.

Real-life sports were familiar to the common folk regardless of age, but what about esports? Most likely, the elders of the school's staff were not even aware that video games could be played competitively. In fact, even Fiona was only loosely aware of the concept for most of her life before Classmancers. Considering all that, St. Mary's was likely not ready yet to adapt to such novel concepts.

With that said, the school valued Fiona as a "mascot" of sorts. She was like a magical creature who brought fame and media attention to the school. Therefore, had some leverage to start off with.

However, that was not going to be enough to convince the principal and Fiona knew it. So, this was where the volleyball club returned into the picture.

The coach, and the school by extension, were quite desperate to bring Fiona into the club. They were almost literally begging her to participate.

That was when advice from Fiona's dad came to mind. ["Sometimes, you might have to do a big favor to another person or an institution, even if it means sacrificing something important in exchange. But, there is no need to be too agitated by that. The important part is making sure the other side understands just how much you're sacrificing for them. You want to make them feel indebted to you. Sometimes, such is the way of business."]

Following that advice, Fiona made it clear to the school just how much joining the volleyball club would inconvenience her. She went through many such discussions with the coach and the school principal. So surely, at this point, they should have started feeling at least a little guilty about pestering her so much.

Thanks to this setup, if Fiona were to ultimately honor their request, then the school would be indebted to her. That would become a leverage she could use against them in order to push for the establishment of a Classmancers club.

But, naturally, simply joining the club will not do. To make the school even more indebted, Fiona had to prove herself as an invaluable part of the volleyball team. In other words, she had to immediately become a starter and lead the team to victory.

The more competitions the team wins thanks to Fiona's contribution, the more dependent everybody will become on Fiona's presence there. At that point, she will be in a winning position to present her demands.

Fortunately, once Fiona set her mind, it was easy enough for her to put in the effort. At any sport she picked, winning had always been a natural goal for Fiona. As such, this whole "ploy" barely even felt like one.

Overall, Fiona's short-term goal was the same as always: play to win. The whole part about using her participation as leverage for Classmancers became a secondary priority until Fiona proved herself as a volleyball player.

Truth be told, it was a harsher road than expected. Unlike the other sports Fiona practiced, volleyball was a team game, therefore Fiona alone could not control everything by herself. So, although it was clear she had the makings of an excellent player thanks to her innate athleticism, it was impossible for her to carry the entire team on her excellence alone.

Fortunately, the club's coach was very passionate about the sport and had a knack for teaching it, so a few other club members also sprouted into dependable teammates. This lifted a huge weight off Fiona's shoulders. She did not actually have to carry the entire team all by herself, which was the main aspect of team games that she always disliked.

Overall, Fiona brought in satisfactory results. She became a starter as a freshman and the club won the regionals that year. Unfortunately, the nationals remained outside their reach. Winning there would have practically guaranteed that Fiona could request just about anything from the school, but alas.

In the end, though Fiona failed to gain maximum leverage, she nonetheless established herself as a remarkable player. There was no question in anybody's mind that she was an irreplaceable part of the team.

Therefore, she still had a weapon in her hands, even if it was not quite as strong as she had hoped. And so, at the start of her second school year, Fiona presented her request: ["I would like to form a Classmancers club."]

Needless to say, the board of education was baffled. They exchanged awkward glances as they tried to process what Fiona was asking for.

At first, they shot down the request on the spot. They used the typical outdated arguments about video gaming not being "educational" or "ladylike".

But, that was alright. Fiona came prepared. She did her research in advance by asking some of the teachers' opinions about esports.

["Same as other board game sports you are familiar with, competitive video games, namely esports, have solidified themselves as a popular and widely practiced activity nowadays,"] Fiona explained. ["As a chess player myself, I was quite entranced by the amount of depth and complexity this video game offers on the competitive level."]

Fiona hit the board with a lecture she practiced in advance. She made sure to stress that even though esports involved "video gaming", there was a distinct difference between playing them for fun and using them as a vehicle for competition.

Amidst the many arguments she placed, Fiona also made sure to remind the school that she only joined the volleyball club because the school pleaded with her. 

["At the time, I had no interest in partaking in volleyball,"] Fiona said. "[As far as I was concerned, it was a team sport that had absolutely nothing to do with me. And, considering how little free time I have in my daily schedule, adding yet another sport to the mix was, and still is, a very big commitment for me."]

Combined with a few other strong arguments, Fiona ultimately made the school submit to her demand. However, not without placing some conditions first. The first and most important of which was Fiona's continued participation in the track and volleyball clubs.

That much was expected. Fiona excelled in both clubs and brought medals to the school, so they did not want to lose their golden goose.

Furthermore, they indirectly hinted that the deal will be called canceled in case Fiona's impressive achievements in track and volleyball suffer as a result of her dividing her focus between more clubs now.

Furthermore, they insisted that this newborn Classmancers club had to prove its "worth" at the regionals, or else they would have to "reevaluate" the matter. In other words, they will shut the club down if it does not bring the school enough clout.

Truly, from start to end, the school was nothing but selfish. Fiona even considered canceling the deal multiple times because of the school's absurd demands.

Nonetheless, in the end, she stuck through with it. As absurd as the arrangement was, such absurdity was not alien to the "Landberht Princess", the one famous for partaking in so many different competitive sports at the same time. 

And so, Fiona established the Classmancers club, remained in the track and field club, and continued practicing in the volleyball club. This tight schedule was why Fiona and Karen had to get to the school's gym so early in the morning.

There awaited them their usual "rival", or at least that was what the girl often called herself...