Chapter 30
After that historic first ringball match, the word got out and it started to sweep througout the island as teams started forming all over Dinotopia. As for ringball among the inhabitants of Treetown, Croco, Darren and Melanie agreed that it would be best if first-time residents did not play for fear that it would interfere with their training. Soon, four more teams would come to Treetown to challenge Croco and Darren's squads, including one from Sauropolis and it was evident that ringball was there to stay.
Darren's Chandara team won three matches and their only loss came to the team from Prosperine while Croco's Treetown squad also won three matches. They would end up losing their final match to the Sauropolis team on a late minute penalty taken by Croco, and he ended up kicking himself for it. The culmination of this impromtu "tournament" was a rematch between Treetown and Chandara, and the Chandarans won rather handily by a score of 204 to 185. With the teams going home, Croco could finally get back to doing the things they did before, although Croco and Darren would occasionally gather their teams to practice.
One day as Croco was talking to Carlos, Nalina, and Sabrine, a girl came through Treetown that he never saw before. She was quite fit and had what appeared to be a velociraptor with her as she approached them.
"G'day," she said, "do you know where I can find the person who runs Treetown?" Croco stood up.
"Oh, Melanie...follow me." Croco led the girl up one of the main trees to where Melanie was talking to an adult, possibly a parent of one of the young people of Treetown. He tried to ask her what her name was, but she pleaded urgent business and left him. He knew she had to be Austrailian by her accent and the way she greeted him by saying "G'day." Croco wanted to get to know this girl a little better but didn't tell anybody for fear that it might wreck the relationship he had with Nalina. So he went on about his daily routine like nothing had happened.
The next few months were quite busy for Croco. Between his daily tasks in the trees, running his ringball team and tending to the dinosaurs, that left him very little time for anything else. And what little free time he had, he always spent it at the lake, which became sort of a hangout place for Croco and his friends. Even if they didn't swim, they were always sitting by the water talking about something, occasionally bringing a saurian friend along with them. Croco was well liked by all and he liked everybody he came across.
However, there was one young man that Croco wasn't too fond of. The boy's name was Alex Winchester and like Croco, he had ambitions of becoming a Skybax rider. But unlike Croco, he was very self-centered and arrogant and pranced about Treetown like he owned the place. One day Croco and a couple of his friends were going to the dining tree for dinner when he bumped into Alex. At fourteen summers old and being a full foot shorter than Croco, he had quite the nerve to stand up to him.
"Hey, why don't you watch where you're going?" Alex asked. Croco turned to his friends, who were chattering among themselves.
"Is this some kind of a mistake?" Croco asked. "I was just going..."
"Save it Hallaway!" he said rather boldly and pushed him aside. Croco just laughed at this and kept on heading toward the tree.
"Do you know that kid?" he asked them. One boy told him that Alex was from Canyon City and the only thing that he ever wanted to be was a Skybax rider. He also revealed that his mother was killed in an accident when he was young after her Skybax flew too close to the cliff and knocked her off into the canyon. His father, also a flyer, didn't like the idea of raising Alex by himself but he did so anyway. He developed an sense of pride which went too far and it rubbed off on the boy, causing him to be overly smug.
Still, Croco tried to make friends with Alex but every time, he got turned aside. It only got worse when he told him that he wanted to be a Skybax rider as well. Alex would tell him that he would be a much better rider than him and that made Croco upset. However he didn't let it get to him.
"You should watch yourself when you're around a hungry crocodile," Croco always told him, but that did nothing to change his attitude. Alex continued to be brash and confrontational to the point where all the young people of Treetown started to resent him. As spring turned into summer and the ringball fields would be needed to plant the millet that they were so dependant on, Croco was spending more time amongst the people and dinosaurs. He noticed Alex one day on one of the bridges connecting the trees. Going over to investigate, Croco saw that he and Darren were in a heated argument over something that he thought made little sense. Just as soon as he got there, Alex reached up and hit Darren. He stood his ground and tried to charge at him but was held back by Croco as supervisors rushed to the scene.
When things calmed down, Croco tried to ask Darren what happen but he didn't want to talk about it. He understood as they had been the best of friends ever since Croco arrived over a year and a half ago. Just as they were about to go off for a swim on that hot early August day, a Skybax rider approached them with a letter for Darren. He took the time to read it, then smiled as he rushed to his basket to put the letter away. About a minute later, he ran over to where Croco was still standing with a smile on his face.
"Hey Croco!" he said, "That was from the coach of a team from Chandara and they want to challenge us in a couple more weeks!" At first Croco was confused, but he remembered that after the success of the ringball tournament earlier that year, they were building the first ringball stadium near the town of Bent Root. Although all the seats hadn't been put in, they would still play and they went down to the lake in an excited state. Darren told him that if his team won, then he would become the lead for the Chandara team in the newly formed Dinotopia Ringball League as soon as he left Treetown. He also mentioned that they wanted to take on Croco's team as well and that made Croco excited as they went down to the lake for the afternoon.
After that historic first ringball match, the word got out and it started to sweep througout the island as teams started forming all over Dinotopia. As for ringball among the inhabitants of Treetown, Croco, Darren and Melanie agreed that it would be best if first-time residents did not play for fear that it would interfere with their training. Soon, four more teams would come to Treetown to challenge Croco and Darren's squads, including one from Sauropolis and it was evident that ringball was there to stay.
Darren's Chandara team won three matches and their only loss came to the team from Prosperine while Croco's Treetown squad also won three matches. They would end up losing their final match to the Sauropolis team on a late minute penalty taken by Croco, and he ended up kicking himself for it. The culmination of this impromtu "tournament" was a rematch between Treetown and Chandara, and the Chandarans won rather handily by a score of 204 to 185. With the teams going home, Croco could finally get back to doing the things they did before, although Croco and Darren would occasionally gather their teams to practice.
One day as Croco was talking to Carlos, Nalina, and Sabrine, a girl came through Treetown that he never saw before. She was quite fit and had what appeared to be a velociraptor with her as she approached them.
"G'day," she said, "do you know where I can find the person who runs Treetown?" Croco stood up.
"Oh, Melanie...follow me." Croco led the girl up one of the main trees to where Melanie was talking to an adult, possibly a parent of one of the young people of Treetown. He tried to ask her what her name was, but she pleaded urgent business and left him. He knew she had to be Austrailian by her accent and the way she greeted him by saying "G'day." Croco wanted to get to know this girl a little better but didn't tell anybody for fear that it might wreck the relationship he had with Nalina. So he went on about his daily routine like nothing had happened.
The next few months were quite busy for Croco. Between his daily tasks in the trees, running his ringball team and tending to the dinosaurs, that left him very little time for anything else. And what little free time he had, he always spent it at the lake, which became sort of a hangout place for Croco and his friends. Even if they didn't swim, they were always sitting by the water talking about something, occasionally bringing a saurian friend along with them. Croco was well liked by all and he liked everybody he came across.
However, there was one young man that Croco wasn't too fond of. The boy's name was Alex Winchester and like Croco, he had ambitions of becoming a Skybax rider. But unlike Croco, he was very self-centered and arrogant and pranced about Treetown like he owned the place. One day Croco and a couple of his friends were going to the dining tree for dinner when he bumped into Alex. At fourteen summers old and being a full foot shorter than Croco, he had quite the nerve to stand up to him.
"Hey, why don't you watch where you're going?" Alex asked. Croco turned to his friends, who were chattering among themselves.
"Is this some kind of a mistake?" Croco asked. "I was just going..."
"Save it Hallaway!" he said rather boldly and pushed him aside. Croco just laughed at this and kept on heading toward the tree.
"Do you know that kid?" he asked them. One boy told him that Alex was from Canyon City and the only thing that he ever wanted to be was a Skybax rider. He also revealed that his mother was killed in an accident when he was young after her Skybax flew too close to the cliff and knocked her off into the canyon. His father, also a flyer, didn't like the idea of raising Alex by himself but he did so anyway. He developed an sense of pride which went too far and it rubbed off on the boy, causing him to be overly smug.
Still, Croco tried to make friends with Alex but every time, he got turned aside. It only got worse when he told him that he wanted to be a Skybax rider as well. Alex would tell him that he would be a much better rider than him and that made Croco upset. However he didn't let it get to him.
"You should watch yourself when you're around a hungry crocodile," Croco always told him, but that did nothing to change his attitude. Alex continued to be brash and confrontational to the point where all the young people of Treetown started to resent him. As spring turned into summer and the ringball fields would be needed to plant the millet that they were so dependant on, Croco was spending more time amongst the people and dinosaurs. He noticed Alex one day on one of the bridges connecting the trees. Going over to investigate, Croco saw that he and Darren were in a heated argument over something that he thought made little sense. Just as soon as he got there, Alex reached up and hit Darren. He stood his ground and tried to charge at him but was held back by Croco as supervisors rushed to the scene.
When things calmed down, Croco tried to ask Darren what happen but he didn't want to talk about it. He understood as they had been the best of friends ever since Croco arrived over a year and a half ago. Just as they were about to go off for a swim on that hot early August day, a Skybax rider approached them with a letter for Darren. He took the time to read it, then smiled as he rushed to his basket to put the letter away. About a minute later, he ran over to where Croco was still standing with a smile on his face.
"Hey Croco!" he said, "That was from the coach of a team from Chandara and they want to challenge us in a couple more weeks!" At first Croco was confused, but he remembered that after the success of the ringball tournament earlier that year, they were building the first ringball stadium near the town of Bent Root. Although all the seats hadn't been put in, they would still play and they went down to the lake in an excited state. Darren told him that if his team won, then he would become the lead for the Chandara team in the newly formed Dinotopia Ringball League as soon as he left Treetown. He also mentioned that they wanted to take on Croco's team as well and that made Croco excited as they went down to the lake for the afternoon.