"Oh come on, Gabe! Please?" Elena pleaded, fluttering her eyelashes as she clasped her hands in front of her and unleashed the full force of what they all affectionately referred to as her "sad puppy dog eyes".

"You can't be serious!" Gabe said incredulously, "You want me to coach a kids olaball team? I can barely play myself, how do you expect me to teach a bunch of kids how to win?"

"You're not teaching them to win, you're teaching them the basics, good sportsmanship, and how to have fun," she countered, "Come on, it'll be fun! The kids need good role models. You'll be perfect! Please?"

Elena and Gabe had been in the garden for fencing practice when Elena brought up how the Avalor City Youth Olaball League was in need of volunteer coaches for the kids, in an attempt to convince a reluctant Gabe to volunteer.

Elena kept up the puppy dog eyes until Gabe sighed dramatically, "Fine, I'll do it."

"Do what?" asked a curious third voice.

Mateo had just wandered into the garden, his nose stuck in a spellbook until Gabe's reluctant voice had caught his attention.

Elena beamed at her royal wizard and said, "Hey Mateo! I was looking for volunteers for the Avalor City youth olaball league and Gabe just agreed to help out."

Mateo's eyes brightened at this. "Really?" he asked interestedly, "That sounds like fun!"

Elena's face lit up as a sudden thought occurred to her, and she said excitedly, "Hey! You should do it too! You and Gabe would make a great team and I know the kids will love you!"

Gabe's jaw dropped in shock, but Mateo looked surprised but pleased to be asked. "What? Me? Coach olaball?" Elena grinned and nodded encouragingly as he thought a moment before shrugging and saying, "Sure! Why not?"

Gabe crossed his arms and raised a skeptical eyebrow at his tall, lanky friend who had been known to hit himself in the head with his drum wand on several occasions.

Before he could say anything, however, Elena squeaked with delight, clapping her hands and bouncing on her toes. "Yay! Oh my goodness, Mateo! That would be perfect! You've just made my day!" She clapped Gabe on the shoulder and said, "Ok boys, I need to get cleaned up before the grand council meeting, so I'll leave you two to discuss the details. I just know you are going to be a great team!" And she bounded off, giving Mateo a little half hug as she passed by, leaving the two teenage boys alone.

Mateo grinned, saying, "So olaball, huh? Coaching kids should be fun."

Gabe was still looking skeptically at Mateo. He knew Mateo well enough to know that his free time was spent reading books, not playing sports. He couldn't imagine that Mateo even know how to play olaball, let alone lead a team to victory. "Maybe, but I've gotta ask. Do you even know what an olaball looks like?"

Mateo stared back at him, looking incredulous. His eyebrows furrowed together as he asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I just mean that I never pictured you as the athletic type. You're more of a–– er–– reader than a doer."

Narrowing his eyes, Mateo crossed his arms and said, "You might be surprised at some of the things that I can do, including play olaball. And for the record, I do know what an olaball looks like."

Gabe scoffed, "Right. This I gotta see. Ok, wizard boy, we'll play a game of one-on-one. I need to know that you can at least recognize a ball if we're going to be coaching together."

Rolling his eyes, Mateo snapped his book shut as he shrugged and said, "Alright, if you insist."

Gabe ran off to grab a ball from the barracks and the two of them met up in the guard training hall where there was an olaball court set up as part of the royal guard fitness regimen. Mateo removed his tamborita and holster and set it, along with the spellbook he'd been reading, aside and joined Gabe in the middle of the court.

"Alright," Gabe said, "best two out of three wins. The hoops are there," he pointed to a hoop against the wall, "and there. You can touch the ball with anything except your hands and to score a point––"

"I know how to play olaball," Mateo interrupted, "Stop patronizing me and let's get on with it."

"Okay, okay! Touchy!" Gabe said, surprised by his friend's uncharacteristic abruptness. "I'll serve to you first. Ready?"

Mateo crouched into a ready position and nodded. Gabe bounced the ball to Mateo, who surprised Gabe by capturing it smoothly mid air with his foot and juggled it competently between his feet and knees for a moment before sending it flying towards his hoop with a solid kick. It bounced off the rim, but Gabe was still shocked that Mateo could handle the ball just as well, if not better than he could.

Well, that wouldn't do, Gabe thought–– he was far too competitive to lose after having his assumptions about his friend's athletic ability proven wrong. Gabe took possession of the ball and dribbled it across the court towards his own hoop, determined to get the first point. Mateo ran forward and feinted to his left but swooped in with his right foot, stealing the ball and taking it back to his own hoop, he flipped the ball into the air in front of him and rammed it with his elbow straight through his own hoop.

"One point to the royal wizard! How do you like those apples!?" Mateo crowed as Gabe just stood where he was, gaping at the hoop in disbelief.

The game continued on. It turned out that once Gabe stopped underestimating Mateo's ability, the two of them were relatively evenly matched. Mateo's slight frame allowed him to be quicker, but Gabe had more power. Mateo tended to strategize and finesse his way around his opponent while Gabe had more of a straightforward lunge and strike style. Gabe was still driven to beat Mateo–– his pride wouldn't have it any other way. They played well, hurling good natured insults at each other as the game went on until, eventually, they were tied, 2 to 2. The next point would determine the game.

Mateo had possession of the ball and saw Gabe running for him, so Mateo met him head on and feinted his way past his friend. As he dribbled the ball towards his hoop, he heard Gabe's footsteps approaching quickly from behind and put on an extra burst of speed, sprinting towards his hoop, flipping the ball off the ground with his toe and juggled it up from foot to foot, knee to knee, chest and shoulders before bouncing it off his head and towards his hoop, but he'd apparently miscalculated because the ball missed the hoop completely and bounced off the wall and back into Gabe's possession. He took off towards his own hoop and, with a mighty kick, he sent the ball soaring through the hoop and scored the final point.

Both out of breath and a little sweaty, the two of them met midcourt and shook hands.

"I haven't played olaball in years, that was fun! And from what I've heard, you've made some serious improvement since the Peace Festival Olaball Cup!" Mateo said with a wink.

"You better believe it!" Gabe responded, laughing, but then paused, looking uncertainly at Mateo, "I– er– I'm sorry I didn't believe that you could play. I'm actually impressed."

Mateo grinned. "Eh, I can't say that I blame you for making the assumption. But you know what they say, right?"

Raising an eyebrow, Gabe replied, "And what's that?"

"Don't judge a book by its cover."

Right," Gabe chuckled, "wait here, I'll go grab us some drinks."

When Gabe returned, he directed Mateo to a cluster of benches and crates in one corner and settled himself on a crate, handing a water cup to Mateo, who took it gratefully and sat, slouching, on a bench, propping his feet up on another nearby crate.

Taking a gulp from his cup, Gabe said, "So how did you learn to play so well?"

Mateo snorted, waving a dismissive hand in front of him, saying, "I really don't play all that well. When it comes to olaball, I'm average, at best, and that's ok with me. I can only focus on practicing so many things, and I chose magic a long time ago. Really, it's just for fun and, you're right, I am more of a reader, but I played as a kid. The reason I was eager to help coach is because I have fond memories of playing in the league as a kid. I'm sure you remember, but it was one of the few fun things that kids were allowed to do when Shuriki was still around."

"I do remember that. I played in the league too. You know, looking back, it's weird that Shuriki even allowed the league during her reign."

"Truthfully, I think that Esteban somehow convinced her to keep it. You know how he loves his sports."

"That's right! I remember that we also had the pro olaball league. I remember because my dad played for one of the teams when I was young. He loved it! It's also the reason he insisted that I play in the youth league, so I joined. And it turned out that I didn't inherit a drop of his talent. I was terrible. Seriously, I don't think I could have hit the broad side of a house with an olaball back then."

Laughing, Mateo couldn't help, but take a jab, "Well, it doesn't look like much has changed in that respect"

Looking offended, Gabe said, "Hey!" And, grabbing a towel from a pile stacked nearby, he chucked it at Mateo's head.

Dodging the flying towel, Mateo blocked his face with an arm, laughing. "I'm kidding! I couldn't resist the opportunity to poke back!"

They shared a laugh and Mateo continued, "My mom thought I needed more fresh air and exercise since I spent all of my free time in the dark reading books, so she made me play in the league. I'm not great, but I'm not terrible either and I had fun with the other kids. I still prefered working on my magic, but olaball was a fun distraction from those dark times."

A shadow passed across Gabe's features, and he shuddered. "Yeah, it was a good distraction. Not that I'd known any different, but looking back it's hard to believe what grim and dangerous times those were."

"Honestly, the only reason I knew any different was because of the stories of before that my mother told me. She told me all about the time from when my grandfather was the royal wizard and what life were like was like before Shuriki. She told me about the royal family and how the kingdom prospered under King Raul and Queen Lucia. And to be honest––" Mateo rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly before continuing, "those stories are what inspired me to learn magic."

Gabe's forehead crinkled in confusion, "I don't quite follow. You learned magic because of some old stories?"

"No," Mateo said shortly, taking a long drink before continuing, "after my dad disappeared, I made the decision to do whatever it took to bring those good times back to Avalor. I thought that if I learned magic, I could make a difference."

Gabe smirked, saying, "You were going to stand alone against Shuriki and the guard?"

Mateo deadpanned, "Yup, just me and my tamborita. What could possibly go wrong?" Then he shook his head a little and continued, "Actually, I was only eight years old at the time. I hadn't quite thought things through. But it seemed like a good idea at the time. And somehow I can't bring myself to regret it," he finished with a wry smile.

Gabe looked thoughtfully into his water glass for a moment and said, "You know, until the day that sorceress was defeated, I had resigned myself to working in my family's bakery for the rest of my life. But the day we heard the news that the lost princess had returned, I decided right then that I was going to do my part to protect Avalor and the princess from any other threats, so I left home to join the royal guard guard. My dad still hasn't forgiven me, but I regret nothing."

Mateo grinned, "And here we both are, doing our part to keep Avalor safe in our own way."

Gabe laughed. "And chasing Elena around, protecting her from her own crazy ideas."

"Truer words have never been spoken," Mateo agreed.

"You know? I think we're going to make a pretty good team," Gabe said, holding out a fist.

"Those kids won't know what coming!" Mateo grinned, returning the first bump. "So, here's to a great olaball season!" he raised his glass to Gabe.

"And here's to teamwork!"

"Teamwork."

With a conspiratorial grin, they clanked their glasses together in a toast and drank to the upcoming olaball season, to teamwork, and to friendship.