The next quarter began. The teams then lined up on the field and took their places.
"Calvin, can we talk?" Lance asked walking up to him. Calvin then turned around. "It's about your strategy."
"What about it?" Calvin asked.
"It just seems kinda screwy." He said. "Most of it involves aiming towards Carnot. I'm sorry, but where's the logic in that?"
"It's all part of the plan." Calvin said. "Trust me."
"You better not let us down." Lance said. They then got ready for the next quarter to kickoff. Dennis and Jim were in the sidelines discussing the plan that Calvin had made.
"So, what does it look like?" Jim asked.
"We're dead." Dennis said pessimistically.
"Well, let's just see." Jim said. The whistle blew; the ball went to Kadic's side.
Calvin ran down the field with the ball and passed it to Lance. Lance, seeing Alex in front of him, turned to Calvin giving him an unsure look; Calvin just nodded. Lance then kicked the ball to Calvin, but he didn't just kick it: With the side of his foot, he kicked the ball at such a sharp angle, it gave Alex the illusion that the ball was heading towards him. He just reached out and swatted the ball away with his hand. The whistle blew.
The crowd gasped. Even Dennis was somewhat surprised. The referee then came out and presented a yellow card to Alex for the handball.
"What did you do that for, man?" Kjeld asked.
"I…I don't know." Alex said. "What else was I supposed to do? It was coming right at me."
"It was coming nowhere near you!" Benedict shouted.
"Calvin, how did you know that was gonna happen?" Lance asked.
"Alex always has the best reflexes, but they only serve as a fatal flaw when given the right situation." Calvin said.
"Alex DuMott called for handball." The referee said. "Kadic is allowed one penalty shot."
The Kadic side of the bleachers cheered. Lance then lined up in the penalty area; it was just him and Nikolai now. Lance's first instinct was to kick the ball to the lower corners. However, despite his instincts, Lance followed through with Calvin's plans and kicked it upwards. Nikolai, immediately assuming it would reach below him, darted to the ground while the ball sailed above him and went into the net. The score was now 5-3. Nikolai just stood there, dumbfounded.
"Ah, I get it now." Dennis said.
"What?" Jim asked.
"He's taking advantage of their instincts."
"Calvin, that was so impressive." Sam said. "How did you know that would happen?"
"Magic." Calvin said sarcastically. "No. Due to Nikolai's mammoth height, no player would ever think of shooting up. Because of this, he's grown so accustomed to aiming low."
"I see." Ian said. "So we should keep aiming up?"
"No. Keep it an even balance." Calvin said. "Otherwise, he'll catch on."
They then continued with the rest of the game. Throughout the quarter, Kadic was getting the upper hand. They were scoring more goals and blocking more shots. Kadic retained possession of the ball for most of the quarter, while Carnot was constantly on the defense. Eventually, the score was tied 6-6 with only ten seconds left in the half; Calvin had the ball as was running alongside his defenders. As he got in close proximity, he was able to kick the ball right between the legs of the opposing defender and to the side bar, where it ricocheted off and went into the net, putting Kadic in the lead 6-7 while the clock expired.
"I don't believe it!" Ami reported. "For the first time this season, Carnot has lost the lead. We've only reached halftime and already our school is showing these rising stars why we're the national champs. The teams will retire to their locker rooms for a half-hour to discuss their next strategies while the cheering teams, including myself, will kick off the halftime show. Ami Stern. Kadic News."
In Kadic's locker room, the team was celebrating over their advantage over Carnot.
"Calvin, you're a genius!" Dennis said excitedly. "I've never seen anything like it."
"Yeah." Sam said. "It's like you saw the game ahead of time and knew exactly what was gonna happen."
"Oh, it was nothing." Calvin said. "It's just basic trigonometry. Anyways, let's not get too cocky."
"Calvin's right." Dennis said. "After all, we still have another half left."
"Right, now…" Calvin said. Just then another split-second flash entered his eyes and another sharp pain entered his head. Only this time, Calvin could make out part of it.
"Calvin, are you alright?" Sam asked as Calvin fell to the ground clutching the side of his head.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Calvin said getting up. "For…For a second, I thought I saw William Jr. and he…"
"Calvin, maybe you should sit out for at least this quarter." Dennis said.
"I'll be fine, Dennis." Calvin said still clutching his head. "Do you have one of those instant cold packs?"
"Sure, but I really…"
"Thanks." Calvin said taking the pack at squeezing it. He then placed it on the side of his head.
In Carnot's locker room, the team was already expressing their disappointment.
"How is this possible?" Manuel said slamming his fist against the locker. "How have we allowed ourselves to fall so greatly?"
"Perhaps we really did underestimate our opponent." Romero said.
"Guys, come on." Dean said nonchalantly. "You're overreacting. I already have a plan that'll guarantee us our victory."
"Oh?" Kjeld asked.
"Yep." Dean said. "All I had to do was to convince the coach to bench all you guys."
"You what?" Benedict shouted.
"I'm sorry but are you crazy?" Kyo said.
"That's enough." Alex said. "Who are you to question Dean?"
"Thanks." Dean said "As I was saying: Most of you guys have already accumulated one yellow card. One more exploited mistake and you'll be out with no substitutes. Plus, they never faced our substitutes, so they won't know what to expect."
"Well yeah, but..."
"I'm glad you all agree." Dean said. "Now if you excuse me, I have a game to win."
"And were back with the start of the second half of this exciting game." Ami said. "Kadic currently leads the game 6-7 and I tell you, they were dominating this last quarter. Now the two teams will come out and… Wait a minute. It seems as if Carnot has brought in a new line up. I'm going to assume the rest of the team is sick and/or injured, otherwise this just doesn't seem like a good choice."
"What is he doing?" Sam asked.
"He knows about our plan." Lance said. "He's bringing out players that we have no idea about." Calvin just chuckled a bit to himself.
"Dean, you are so naïve." He said to himself.
The kickoff began and Dean got the ball. The teams ran down the field try as hard as they could to keep the ball away from the others. Kadic, who were oblivious to the playing styles of all but one of their opponents, saw their offence being overwhelmed a bit. However, their defense was just as strong against their opponent's inferior offense. In the last seconds of the 3rd quarter, Calvin found himself with the ball and heading down to the field. But, again, a similar flash and stabbing headache appeared before him and Calvin ended up losing possession. One of the defenders then took the ball and sprinted down the field. He then kicked hard and made a goal. However, the ref blew his whistle, signaling something was afoul.
"Offsides." He said. "Goal declined. End of 3rd quarter."
"Phew." Dennis said. The team then went back to the locker rooms to refresh themselves.
"Hey Cal, can we talk?" Jim said.
"What's going on?" Calvin asked.
"I've noticed you've been clutching your head quite a bit. Is everything alright?"
"Just a few headaches." Calvin said. "Nothing serious."
"Well, you do remember what the nurse said." Jim said. "I'm going to require that you sit out of this last quarter."
"What?" Calvin asked. "But, sir. The plan requires that I…"
"You have a choice to make." Jim said. "Your body or a game. And I'm going to make you choose the former. Got it?"
"And Calvin." Dennis said. "Look at Dean." Calvin saw that Dean's smile had faded quite a bit.
"He's nervous." Dennis said. "He doesn't know what to do. This is our chance to hold them off."
Calvin just nodded as he sat on the bench.
Final quarter. The teams went back to the field and the next kickoff began. Calvin's replacement got the ball and sprinted down the field. However, as he made the shot, it missed and went out of bounds. Dean was now in possession of the ball as he plowed through the field with his defenders and made a powerful shot that slipped through Tyson's hands. The score was now tied 7-7.
"Yeah!" Dean said pumping his fist in the air.
Next kickoff. Kadic, again, was able to get the ball. However, Calvin's replacement made several mistakes on the field causing him to lose control of the ball again. The ball went back and forth, back and forth. Eventually, with two minutes left, Dean stole the ball away and made another successful shot, putting them ahead 8-7.
Kadic was devastated. They had lost the lead they had held onto for so long. Jim then called a timeout and the team went to the sidelines.
"Alright guys." He said. "We have two minutes. That's plenty of time to make those goals up."
"And how do you suppose we do that?" Owen asked.
"If I may." Calvin said. "I have an idea. You won't even have to put me in."
"Sounds reasonable." Dennis said.
"So, what is it?" The team then huddled together as Calvin told them the plan.
"And you're sure this'll work?" Sam asked confused.
"Trust me." Calvin said giving a quick smile. The team then went back on the field. As the last two minutes wound down, both teams were trying as hard as they could to keep the other from scoring. As soon as Kadic got the ball, they ran down the field and, with 30 seconds left, made a shot that wasn't all that intense. However, the goalie, anticipating a much harder shot, just jumped in the air blocking the ball that wasn't there as it just rolled underneath him. Kadic cheered as the score was now 8-8.
Dean wasn't the last bit happy over this rookie mistake. He then ran over to his goalie.
"How did you miss that?" He shouted. "That was an easy goal!"
"I'm sorry, I…"
"Don't be sorry!" Dean said. "You'd just better get us through overtime or I won't even let you attend our next games!"
"Dean, I don't think…OW!" Dean just kneed him in the stomach, shutting him up. But it didn't matter; everyone saw everything. The ref then blew his whistle and ran over to Dean; he then pulled out a red card on him. Dean was suspended.
The Carnot side just booed and the coach and benched starting line just gave him cold, angry stares as he sat down beside him.
"Dean Bouchard has been suspended for the rest of the game." The ref said. "Kadic will now take one penalty shot."
"You hear that?" Sam asked excited. "We could win this thing after all."
"And we owe it all to you." Dennis said. "Care to do the honors?"
"Can I, Jim?" Calvin asked. Jim just nodded.
"Calvin, how did you know?" Lance asked.
"Dean forgot the most important rule of any sport." Calvin said. "The starting lineup always has all the best players. If he benched them all, he wouldn't have all his trump cards to help him."
"And the tying goal?" Sven-Søren asked.
"Make an intentionally weak shot as your desperation shot and he'll overreact since those types of shots are normally so strong; it's a common rookie mistake."
"Dean assaulting his goalie?" Sam asked.
"Okay, I didn't know that was going to happen." Calvin said. "But he did seem pretty stressed."
Calvin then walked out onto the field preparing to make his shot. Since the goalie was too hurt to continue, Nikolai was brought in his place. Calvin just smiled. Too predictable.
Calvin just closed his eyes for a second. Immediately, he sprang forward and kicked the ball. As hard as he could, Nikolai tried to block it, but he was too late. The ball went in; the score was now 8-9. Kadic had won.
All of Kadic was cheering ever so loudly, as the rest of the team ran out to the field to celebrate. Jim was given a Gatorade bath and the entire team was dog piling on Calvin.
"You've seen it here, folks!" Ami shouted. "Kadic has just done the impossible. After coming from behind, they have defeated the Carnot Eagles and will be advancing to their third consecutive national championship!"
As the team got off of him, Calvin just walked to the edge of the field and saw all the people cheering for him. Calvin then felt something warm roll down his face; he was crying tears of joy. It was happiness he had never felt before, and he liked it. Just then he felt someone grab his shoulder. He turned around and saw his father and sisters standing by him.
"You did it, Calvin." Rumiko said.
"We did it as a team, Rumiko." Calvin said wiping the tears from his eyes. "I just came up with the plan."
"Either way, Kiddo, we're so proud of you." Ulrich said hugging him. "Even in my prime, I don't think I could've done what you did out there."
"Not to mention you pretty much destroyed Carnot's, as well as Dean's, reputation." Rumiko added.
"So, you wanna catch a ride with us, or what?" Ami asked.
"Actually, I think I'll take the bus back." Calvin said. "The team's probably expecting me to ride with them."
"Okay then." Ulrich said. "We'll see you soon."
Calvin then walked to the front lot where the team's bus was. As Calvin walked on, the entire team was just chanting his name and applauding as he tried to find a seat. He then sat down and the bus took off. After a few minutes, through all the noise, Calvin managed to fall asleep and stayed asleep for the remainder of the trip. When they arrived, Sam went over to Calvin and woke him up.
"Hey, Calvin." He said shaking him. "Buddy, wake up."
"Hmm?" Calvin said turning around and yawning.
"Have a nice nap?" Sam asked. "Come on. The team's in the rec room celebrating. Wanna join?"
"I suppose." Calvin said. "But if I fall asleep, let me sleep."
"Got it."
The duo then went down to the rec room and joined in on the festivities. The party went on for quite a while and Calvin found himself crashing out on one of the couches. True to his word, Sam made sure that nobody disturbed him (he could sleep through all the partying in the background, but not if they were any closer to him). Eventually the party ended and the team went to their dorms. Jim carried Calvin up as Sam followed him. Calvin was placed on his bed while Sam got himself ready and fell asleep. It was indeed a tiring, yet enjoyable, night.
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