Mario Tennis, Power Shots: Part I: Ace's Story
Chapter Three: Secrets and Lies"Did you see the veil that girl was wearing? She looked more like a princess than a tennis pro!"
"Darn! Wrong again!"
Ace frowned as she entered the Training Court, wondering where the center court was. Why couldn't Clay have taken her with him? She had already stumbled into two other courts, which turned out to be the Senior Court and Junior Court. She heard voices coming from the other direction, and she ran to it. A group of four kids, obviously Juniors, approached her, their faces glum.
"Alex lost!" the lead blonde boy was saying to his three friends. "That's crazy! Who was that masked guy anyway? He must be an amazing player!"
"What if those masked yahoos enter the Island Open?" a boy with short red hair asked, more worried then glum. "How is academy supposed to win?"
"Alex seems to be handling his loss pretty well," a girl with blue hair and bright orange shades said to her gal friend, who had light red hair. "All things considered. Or maybe he's in shock…"
"Did you see the veil that girl was wearing?" said her gal pal. "She looked more like a princess than a tennis pro."
The four friends moved closer to Ace, and she moved out of the way to let them by. She walked onto the middle of the square and felt a stab of disappointment because she had missed the match.
"Ace!"
Ace spun around wildly, wondering who had called her when she spotted Clay. He was the last person she wanted to see at the moment.
"Alex and the other coaches lost to the mask players!" Clay said, panting as she sprinted to her. "I-can't-believe-it…"
"I can't believe you left me to find the center court on my own," Ace said, not bothering to hide the malice in her voice.
"Oh, then you missed it," Clay said as he caught his breath again. Ace frowned now and Clay returned it. There was a silence between them, and then Clay broke it. "I never thought I'd see Alex lose with my own two eyes."
"They must've been powerful players, then," Ace said. "To beat our school legend."
Clay laughed, it was the first time she had heard him do that since she'd been here.
"What's going on here?"
Ace felt her heart skip a beat, and she saw Clay's tan face turn pale. They both jumped into the nearby bushes and popped their heads out. Two coaches and the academy secretary, Terra, stepped towards them, then stopped on the bridge.
"Did you see the masked players go into the headmaster's office with Alex?" said the female coach. Her name slipped Ace's mind. "Like they were invited in?"
"I went up there to 'buy some juice,' but Alex blocked the doorway," Terra said, grimly. "He wouldn't let me see inside."
"Very fishy!" both coaches said in unison.
Terra raised an eyebrow. "Do you think those masked players really came here to beat Alex in tennis?"
"Kevin and the others are all former rivals of Alex's," said the male coach as he pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. "But they don't remember anything."
The female coach frowned. "So…the masked players weren't from Union, Factory or one of the other schools from the Open?"
"If someone's good enough to beat Alex, why wouldn't he play in the tournament?" Terra said, closing her eyes in concentration.
"Even fishier!" the coaches agreed together.
Terra sighed. "Who can they be? And how come the other coaches aren't as worried about it as we are?"
"Oh!" the male coach said, remembering something. "After the match, Kevin was upset that Alex was all friendly with them. Then they started talking…"
His voice trailed off, leaving the female coach and Terra thinking. The female coach started walking. Ace hid back in the bushes, thinking the coach had spotted them, but the coach turned back around to look at Terra.
"Yeah, whatever Alex said to him, he backed down right away. But, what did he say?"
Terra and the two coaches stood in silence. Ace wondered if she should take Clay and escape before they were caught, when Terra spoke up.
"I think I speak for us all when I say Kevin knows who they are. Go ask him! See if he knows."
The coaches nodded. "Right, of course!" They turned to leave. Ace held her breath again, wondering if they'd be able to see them in the bushes.
"Tell me everything you find out!" Terra said. The two coaches turned around to nod at her. "And no skipping on the details!"
Ace took her chance. She grabbed Clay's hand and they both darted behind the strange stone in the middle of campus, the one with a large gold star on it. Ace watched as the two coaches walked by into the large gym. Clay was watching Terra.
"I guess I could take a look at the mask warriors," Terra mumbled, her voice carrying in the wind. "I think the headmaster is seeing them off."
Terra turned back around and she entered the main tennis building through the sliding doors. Clay and Ace jumped out from their hiding spot.
"Come on," Clay said, grabbing her wrist. "Let's follow Terra, we'll be able to see them."
"No," Ace said, yanking him in the other direction. "Let's see what this 'Kevin' guy knows about them. It'll be a lot more useful then spying on the masked players."
"Aw, come on!" Clay said.
"What if Terra, or worse, the headmaster, catch us? I don't want to be sent home on day one!" Ace said. "And besides, if we don't get anything from Kevin we can run to the front gate."
Clay eventually gave in and they both headed for the gym.
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Next time, on MT: PS-
"You mean…" the coaches said in unison. Ace leaned closer. "That it was Ma-"
Ace lost her balance. She crashed into the leg of the table and it flipped over. Ace squealed as she hit the ground, her chin banging on the hardwood floor. Clay moaned as he scrambled to his feet to help Ace up. The four coaches jumped in surprise and Ace knew from the look on Kevin's face that she and Clay were in trouble.