Sean rarely reflected fondly on his middle school years. He had spent years in Shu's company, and to be suddenly deprived of it after so long left him bewildered and lost. It didn't help that his new surroundings were hostile and lowbrow, with most cliques already solidified. He found himself shut out from most groups and easy prey for the rest. By some miracle, he managed to catch a young Lucas's attention, which saved him from an entire year of being the school's punching bag (well, not physically, thankfully). He remembered that for weeks, he hovered near his new friend, clinging to him like a needy remora. It got better, but for that short period of time, Lucas was Sean's go-to person for more or less everything. He was less like a person and more like a security blanket.

Sean wondered what it was like to be on the other end of that, and with Kiki, he got a taste. For the first few weeks of the spring semester, he was the first person she went to for any sort of problem. Couldn't find a class? Go to Sean. What the signs in the hall meant? Sean time. Needed to talk something out. Yep, Sean'll handle it. Not that he minded it; helping people always gave Sean a bit of a fuzzy feeling, even though this case was mostly just one person over and over again.

Best to be of some use to one than of no use to anyone, he thought to himself. Sounds nice. Put that on a motivational plaque or something.

It was lunch hour at Sutter, and Sean was busy tacking away at his laptop, hoping to squeeze in some "research" before his next class started. He had been building a new deck with the help of Midori and Carlos, as well as the input of a couple of the new members of the Committee. While still in its infancy, the deck had already been yielding encouraging results on some of the online simulators. Still, it could use some tinkering, which is why Sean was pouring over the cards already in his deck, seeing what could be tossed and what needed to stay.

I don't really need the extra defense this guy offers, but his counter charge comes in handy. Then again, it's pretty situational. This one helps me draw, but requires a bit of setup. Grade 1 space is a little tight as is, should I really be adding anything new? One-offs are a bad idea in general…

"Excuse me, Sean?" Kiki's voice alerted him to his new company. Her tone was far less shaky than it had been when they first met. Not dripping with confidence either, but it was a step in the right direction. "Do you have a minute?"

Sean closed his laptop. "Sure. Do you need help with something?"

Kiki paused, taking a seat. "I'm...not sure how to say this."

"Hmm?"

Another pause. "I...was thinking of trying out for Lucas's team."

"Oh." This was a surprise, but not necessarily a shock. Kiki had already been tearing her way up the Committee's ladder. "Didn't know you were interested in the Spring Circuit."

"I'm not, really. But I have to do this."

Sean was taken aback. "I don't get it."

Kiki pursed her lips briefly. "It's for my uncle. Business has been...slow. He hides it well, but I can tell he's worried about the rival chain."

"Card Shark," Sean recalled. "Yeah, that 'live demo' was a class-A jerk move."

Kiki nodded. "I thought that playing for Lucas's team, I could better represent the shop." A pause. "It sounds...silly, but maybe I could drum up business by participating in the tournament."

"I see."

Yet another pause, this one capped by a sigh. "I'm not sure it's a good idea to begin with."

"Well, I think you'll make Meeple Village proud."

It was Kiki's turn to be surprised. "Sean?"

"You're a terrific player, Kiki. If you got to play, you'd really blow people away."

"Y-you think so?"

"Absolutely. If you want to help your uncle, you won't disappoint. You've got a really good reason to fight."

"But...what if I lose?"

Sean paused. This was perhaps the most familiar fear he'd come across. "Well," he said, channeling his inner Lucas, "we won't know until we try. Though seeing you play, I think you'll pass with flying colors."

"I see." Kiki smiled slightly. "That...means a lot coming from you."

Sean blinked, then continued. "So you'll do it?"

"I will. I owe it to my uncle, at the very least."

Sean nodded in turn. "Well, do you want me to come with you? Maybe hang in the back?"

"That would be helpful, yes. Maybe you could try out, too?"

Sean smiled politely, trying to conceal his own concern. "I'll think about it."

"Sean?"

The boy didn't even adjust his view. His bed was too comfortable and his thoughts were too deep. "Yeah, Erica?"

"What's going on? You look...pensive."

"'Pensive?' How'd you come up with that?"

"I've been studying for highschool entrance exams," she admitted. Sean assumed she must have shrugged along- he couldn't exactly see from his prone position. "But you look like you've got something on your mind."

"Something like that." Sean collected his thoughts. Given the situation, maybe a little push would help. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Get rid of Thorley, run more Hildred."

"Duly noted, but that wasn't my question."

"I know, just messing with you. What's up?"

Sean began to sit up. "So Lucas is building a team for Spring Circuit, and a friend of mine wants to try out."

From his propped position, he could see Erica arch an eyebrow. "A friend, huh?"

"Her name is Kiki."

"You have friends who are girls?"

"Come on, you've met Sal."

"She's practically a boy. She calls herself 'Sal,' for hecks sake."

"It's short for 'Ursula,' she just doesn't like the name."

"So she picked a boy's name, QED."

"Alright, little miss scholar. Point is, Kiki wants to try out, and wants me to tag along."

"Weird date. Have you tried movies instead?"

Sean glowered. "Erica-"

"Alright, not a date then." A realization dawned. "Oh, and if you're there, Lucas would want you to try out, too?"

Sean nodded. "Sort of." He leaned back. "And, well, I'm not sure if I want to."

"Oh." Erica tapped her foot a couple of times, looking around the room. "I guess you're afraid of not making it?"

"I'm scared that I will, honestly."

"Okay, what?"

Sean sat up again. "Well, Lucas has been hyped for Spring Circuit. He's been talking and planning for it nonstop. It's clear he wants to win it, but...well, if I joined…"

"You don't think you're good enough to help?"

Sean winced. "Yeah, more or less. Might drag them down."

"Ah." Erica paused again. "I see. So you're debating whether to actually try out."

"More or less. I'll definitely go, she asked me. But I'm not exactly in a fighting spirit."

"You're not exactly a fighter to begin with. But I'd say go for it."

"You think so?" Sean's tone didn't change, like he'd expected that answer.

"I mean, you made semifinals in your first tournament, and you only started playing a few months ago. You'd be less dead weight than you think."

Sean furrowed his brow; given his prone angle, his expression was hard for Erica to scan. "So, what, nothing to lose?"

"More like nothing ventured, nothing gained. You'll hold your own if you just try."

There was another silence, which Sean used to ratchet himself upright. "How do you stand it?"

"Huh?"

"You do all sorts of competitions. You open yourself up to all sorts of people. You're always trying something. Don't you ever have doubts?"

"Oh. Well...yeah, all the time."

"Then why do you keep it up?"

"To me, not trying at all is way worse than trying and failing. If you don't try, then you've basically failed."

"...I guess."

"I mean, I could fall flat. That could always happen. But that just means I gotta give it my best. And the feeling I get when I nail it is way stronger than anything you get when you just stick to something you know." Erica sighed. "Look, not trying to pressure you or anything. Just saying that the least you can do is try. And if you lose," she smiled, "you can say 'I told you so,' for the rest of the year."

"That is tempting," Sean joked. "Well, the least I can do is try."

"Pretty sure the least you can do is nothing, but yeah. Now get up, food's here."

Sean followed his sister out the door. His course of action was clearer, now he just had to muster as much courage as he could. But at the moment, his mind was set on dealing with hunger.

The journey to the Committee's after school tryouts wasn't exactly solemn, but it was a determined jaunt either. The pair's anxiety and uncertainty were there, no question, but not palpable to onlookers. To them, their anxiety was fully justified, with so much riding on their success. One was looking to put her shop back on the map, and the other was trying to prove to himself that, regardless of what he told himself before, he could achieve anything if he put forth the effort. It wasn't a particularly long walk, but with both trying to maintain what courage they could muster, it was a quiet one.

When they had finally reached their destination, there was a pause. Sean glanced at Kiki, who seemed calmer than usual. Not brave or determined, but with a quiet resolve. It was contagious; if she could overcome her own fears, then he certainly could as well. With a breath, he opened the door. Destiny laid just beyond…

And destiny, it seemed, was very anticlimactic.

The room was nearly empty. Besides from a industrious Mrs. Mueller parked behind her desk, there were only four other students. Carlos and Midori were hanging back in a corner, quietly chatting about something over a table of cards. Meanwhile, Sal and Lucas sat across the room, the former hovering over the latter, who had buried his face in his hands. For all that was on the line, and for all the hype Sean had to commit to, it was an underwhelming sight. Sean and Kiki both exchanged one last look before making their way towards the current members of the Circuit team.

"Dude, at this point, you just gotta suck it up," they heard Sal say. "The deadline is super close. Just pick two members and we'll be good."

Lucas sighed heavily. "I said I'd pick people who beat us, and so far, none of them have come close."

"What, you're worried about going back on your word or something? This isn't the time for some 'honor' nonsense."

"It's not that, not even close. I just want to get the best players we can for the team."

"And at this point, that may just mean picking the people who came closest to beating us. Even if that does mean adding Jesse to the team."

Lucas groaned. "But he's so freaking annoying...can't believe this."

Sean cleared his throat. "Is this a bad time?"

Sal shrugged. "Yeah, kinda. Doesn't mean we can't talk, though."

"What's wrong?" Kiki asked.

"We're still two members short of a full team," Lucas explained, slumping back in his chair. "Not a single member managed to get past me and Sal. At this rate, we won't have a team ready before the application deadline."

"Oh."

Kiki hesitated, leaving room for Sean to step in. "Well, if that's the case, why don't we take a shot?"

Both Sal and Lucas looked like they'd seen an alien. While Sal was still dealing with what Sean had said, Lucas piped in. "You sure about that?"

"Well, you guys need players, right? Why not?"

Another stunned silence. "I thought you weren't interested in Spring Circuit."

Sean shrugged. "I guess I'm coming around."

Sal blinked. "Alright, but Kiki? What about you?"

Kiki nodded. "Well, I have to try. My uncle's business is counting on it."

At this point, Lucas had recovered from his shock. "Ah, what the hell, we've got nothing to lose." He smiled. "Let's get things started. Sal, you can fight Kiki. I'll take on Sean."

Sal was still a bit too surprised to quip. "Okay then. I'll get my deck. See you at...that table?"

Kiki nodded, and turned to Sean. "Wish me luck."

"Knock 'em dead," Sean smiled. He took a seat, pulling his deck out of his box.

"You look rarin' to go," Lucas chuckled. "Who are you and what have you done to Sean?"

"He's in a broom closet...somewhere. I forgot."

"Just saying," Lucas said, shuffling his own deck, "you really didn't like the idea of being on a Circuit team."

Sean cut his deck. "Well, I still kinda don't. But I won't know how far I'll go until I try, yeah?"

Lucas did likewise. "Too true. I'm proud you've realized that."

"Thanks," Sean smiled sheepishly. He performed his redraw. "Just letting you know, I've rebuilt my deck from the ground up."

"Well, what a coincidence, so have I. Great minds think alike." Lucas reached for his starter. "You ready?"

Sean breathed in, then did the same. "Ready as I'll ever be."

"Then let's rumble."

"Now stand up, my vanguard!"