"One touch!" Sirena screamed, as the middle blocker ran to get into position after barely saving them from losing the set – again. They'd been pushing their luck for the past nine points.
"I got it!" Annabeth shouted back, readying her pass. If only her spikers were ready to hit the ball already… But of course that, after having lost two sets already, none of the girls was as eager to fight their way through as they would usually be.
That being said, Annabeth shifted mid-air, from pass to spike, and connected her right hand to the ball at full speed, scoring miraculously. At least, she thought, this'll buy us some more time. But Annabeth already knew, by then, that they were bound to lose.
She was not aware, however, of the boy, sitting on the stands, open mouthed at her over the top talent.
"I don't get why I have to watch the girls' regionals…" Percy complained to his coach for what must've been the hundredth time. He'd much rather spend his time practicing his own volleyball skills. Or, if he ought to, stay home and enjoy his Netflix subscription.
"Because I say so." Chiron was about done with his prodigy student's complains. Percy might be the best spiker he'd trained in a long while, but he sure had a lot to learn about life outside the court. "Now get in the car or I'll have to put you off the team for disobedience."
Long story, short: that's how Percy found himself sitting on a public high school gym, on a Saturday morning.
He knew Chiron brought him on these expeditions because he truly cared for Percy, who had been the lead spiker on his team ever since Chiron had found him playing on the streets when he was only eight years old. But he failed to see how either of them could benefit from a girl's match. For starters, girl's matches had different rules from boy's matches. But even if Percy turned a blind eye on that, it wasn't like they'd find any other prodigies out there. All New York players worth mentioning were already at Prestige, Percy's very own school.
The thirteen year old boy couldn't have been more wrong.
Chiron had been eyeing Annabeth for over two months now, and suddenly, his dedication to this particular player had shown itself rewarding. Even Percy was impressed.
"How?" Percy demanded, trying to replay the girl's movement in his mind. The way he'd seen it, she'd turned at the very last moment and spiked the ball down so naturally you'd have thought she'd planned the movement all along. But she couldn't have, he told himself. Even he, trained at the best of schools, could not have pulled such a trick.
"Despair." Was Chiron's simple answer.
"Eh?"
Percy, having spent most of his life without finding a worthy opponent, had never felt the mild panic that drives a player at the end of a game, as he or she tries to score just one more point.
No, Percy would not understand that. But before Chiron could explain any further, the referee blew his whistle loudly and the game was over.
The girl's team had lost, disappointing the young boy deeply. Percy was hoping to get to see this girl play again, or even just for a few minutes longer. But now that the season was over for them, the blonde girl would be transitioning to some High School only the gods knew where.
And so it was.
Resigning to the idea that he'd never see the skilled setter again, Percy forgot all about the impossible spike and the mysterious blonde. In fact, nearly three years went by before he would remember what he saw that day.