Angel: Guys, I have a confession to make...
I know nothing about football.
And since this episode is all about football, a sport that I don't play and am uncultured in, bare with me.
"Stop lagging, you guys," Jenny pulls her two friends across to the football field. Both of them are wearing football uniforms (Amy hemmed her old uniform so that it was more form fitting on her body). "Tremorton High needs our skills."
"But I don't wanna try out for football," Brad protests to her. "The Quakers haven't won a game in a year! The only good player now is Jacque, the quarterback, and he's a supreme jerk."
"I second all of that! You're the one who's a robot, and I was asked to leave the team for a reason, Jen. They don't want me on the team anymore. And besides, I'm better off not playing with Jacque, I always avoided him when I was on the team. He always bragged everytime I scored the winning goal that he motivated me into doing it..." Amy looks away annoyed.
"Where's your school spirit, you guys? You're gonna join the football team, and I'm sure they want you back, Amy. And I'm gonna be a cheerleader!" She grabs the both of them off the ground, staring into their eyes with happy smiles. She starts shaking the both of them in excitement. "It's a great chance to increase our popularity. Don't you want to be more popular? Sure you do!"
Before they could protest further, she zips across the field with them.
"Okay, guys," The coach addresses the team. "I wanna see some attitude out there! I want you to be tigers, men of steel, warriors! Let me hear your war cries!"
"Roar," They all say without any heart.
"Looks like another great season...for my ulcer."
"Here you go, coach," Jenny speaks up, getting his attention. "Football superstars, coming at ya!" She pushes them to the coach, and he flinches immediately when he sees Amy, who looks just as uncomfortable. She has her arms crossed with a frown on her face as she hasn't spoken with him ever since she was asked to leave.
"...H-Hello, Amelia. I thought we had an agreement that it was best for you to be off the team."
"So did I, but apparently, fate—or my persistent friends—says otherwise," She rolls her eyes to the back of her head.
"Well, in any case-"
"She can't be on the team!" The other players start interrupting the coach in protest.
"Yeah!"
"It'll ruin our reputation!"
Amy gives Jenny a 'I told you so' look, but the robot just waves for her to convince the team to let her play again. "Look, can I just...I don't know, throw the ball and call it a day?" She rubs the back of her neck.
"No! Okay, Brad, let's see what you got," The coach tosses the helmet to Brad, hitting him in the nose. He then trips over the helmet, landing on his back. Amy covers her mouth in shock.
"I guess we didn't make the cut..."
"Did you black out?" The coach looms over him.
"No."
"Great," He walks off and Amy blinks at the man. "You're on the team. Sorry Amy, no hard feelings."
"Bye, coach," She waves at him and Brad grunts.
"Why can't I be you?" He grumbles and she looks down at him.
"He's only not letting me on the team because of what happened last year. I didn't even go to practice the first day I revealed myself as Amy, he asked me personally to never come back to practice," She shrugs at him. "Thinks it'll ruin the name further than it already is with me around."
"Okay, girls," The cheerleading coach speaks up. "Watch while Pteresa, Stephanie, and Jantrice demonstrate one of our cheers."
"Quakers, Quakers, rah, rah, rah. Quakers, Quakers, la, dee, dah. Go, Quakers!" After doing the cheer, they place Stephanie over their arms, the latter two doing the splits.
"Now, let's see what you new recruits can do."
Jenny suddenly jumps in front of them. "Gimme a Q, U, A, K, E-R-S," She spells out each letter by turning into them. "Go, Quakers!" She grabs a girl and then throws her up into the sky...only for her to disappear. She and the coach look up in shock, the robot dashing away sheepishly. She comes back to Amy, who had seen the whole thing. "Ugh..."
"Ooh," Amy winces at her. "Yeah, I don't think you'll get a callback after that..."
"You didn't get on the football team?" Jenny asks her friend, who waves it off.
"Nah...it's okay. I don't wanna be around Jacque anyway. Guy oughta be taken down a peg, though."
"What?! Injustice, outrage!" Jenny storms past her and Amy pulls her back.
"Jen, relax! Look, I think I'm done with football for the rest of high school. I'll live, okay?" She smiles a bit, patting her shoulder. "We can always support Brad at the games."
"I guess you're right..."
Jacque is standing behind the team, towering over them in height alone. "54, 23-"
"Hi, Jacque," The trio of girls run past, waving to him.
"Oh, hi, girls," He greets them, but by doing so, he gets distracted and is hit by the ball in the face. Amy snickers, covering her mouth with her hand.
"You better get your act together, Jacque, or you'll be off the team!" The coach warns him.
"Please, coach. Have you seen the rest of the team?" Jacque gestures to his teammates. "Somehow, I think you'll need me. And definitely not that faker from last year, Smith. I think we can all agree that I was holding the team together all along!"
Amy turns red as she clenches her fists, smoke coming from her ears. "Yeah, enjoy it while it lasts, jerk, Coach won't deal with you for much long with that arrogance," She grumbles as she and Jenny walk over to Brad, who's sitting on the bench.
"Brad, you look miserable. Didn't you make the team?" Jenny asks in concern.
"No, worse. I did. How'd you do?"
"Uhh, not so good," Jenny frowns at the reminder of her tryout. "I don't understand it. I even downloaded 120 percent more spirit."
"Downloading it and showing it aren't all you need to be a cheerleader. You have to...you know, not throw people in the sky," Amy points out, Brad chuckling and Jenny glaring a bit.
"Gee, thanks for the support..."
"Jen, if I already don't care about popularity, how do you think I feel about cheerleading?" Amy points out, raising a brow. "Just like with football, I wasn't gonna get very far."
"Yeah...I wish people would be more accepting of you..." As soon as she says this, a football hits her in the head.
"Yo, a little help here. Don't give it to the thing next to you."
"Thing?!" Jenny picks up the ball angrily and targets Jacque, tossing the ball at lightning speed...so much that she burns hair off the other cheerleaders. Jacque catches it, but gets knocked into the other post so far that the field gets dragged along with it. All the other players fall behind her, the coach falling into the sport quench fountain.
"That was amazing!" He pops out of it in awe. "Congratulations. You're our new quarterback!" He points to Jenny with a smile.
"Hey, what about me, Coach?" Jacque protests at this.
"Think of it this way, Jacque. You'll have more time to sign autographs, now that you're cut," The coach shrugs smugly, Amy opening her mouth in awe and chuckling at this news.
"Cut?!" He growls angrily and squeezes the ball until it pops in his face.
"I'll do it...IF you let Amy back onto the team," Jenny tells the coach. The brunette blinks in surprise at her friend, who wraps an arm around her. "I've seen her practice; she's a great player. You just don't wanna let her in out of embarrassment over who she is."
"That-I-" He sighs in defeat, sagging his shoulders. "Oh, alright. Welcome back, Smith. But if you don't shape up by the next game, you're out!"
"Thanks, Coach," Amy says happily, smiling at Jenny, who returns it. "You know, I was gonna be mad, but since you got Jacque cut, I guess I owe you this one, Jen."
The trio walk down the hall together, Brad looking disinterested as Jenny is holding a book. "Brad, I really need you to quiz me on the playbook at lunch."
"You need to relax, Jenny," He tells her honestly as she frowns in worry. "You can't possibly make the team any worse than it was without Amy around."
"I just don't want to let anyone down," She confesses to them as they walk past Pteresa, Jantrice, and Stephanie.
"Too late for that, team wreckers!" Pteresa says bitterly, the other two glaring. "It's both your fault Jacque got kicked off the team."
"Yeah, you show-offs. No one's seen him all week."
"Rumor has it that he transferred over to Ploy Tech and joined their team," Pteresa adds in.
"Oh please, it's nothing I haven't heard before with you guys," Amy rolls her eyes to the back of her head at the insults. "Let's face it, you just wanna oogle at him all practice for reasons I can't even comprehend..."
The three fume at her statements. "Did you hear that, guys? If we're playing Poly Tech, I really need to know those plays."
"Don't listen to them, Jenny," Brad also dismisses the three. "Poly Tech is a technical school," He holds up a brochure that he suddenly has. "Specializing in applied technology and electronics. They don't even have a football team."
"Brad, why do you have that pamphlet in your locker?" Jenny asks curiously, Amy placing her hands on her hips and raising a brow at him.
"I picked it up at the Poly Tech Bake Sale. Claudia was there too, something about dual enrollment stuff." The two just give him 'really' looks and he just looks confused. "What?" He shrugs at them. "They have a great bake sale."
"In any case, I'll help quiz you, Jen," Amy takes the playbook from her friend. "I could use a refresher on these plays anyway..."
"Thanks, Amy," Jenny tells her gratefully. "Maybe you could also teach me some moves!"
"Ehh, debatable. I haven't touched a football ever since I left..." Amy rubs the back of her neck.
Days later, it's the first game for the Quakers. "Good evening, and welcome to the first game of the season," A man announces over the speaker. "And now, boys and girls, your own Tremorton Quakers!" The team runs past Jenny, Amy, and Brad, the latter already in uniform.
"Suit up, Jenny," Brad puts on his helmet. "It's time to go." He runs past them and Amy places a hand on her shoulder while following after him.
"You've got this, Jen. Just remember what we studied on!" She runs after the boy while Jenny shapes her body to change into a football uniform.
"And now, introducing this season's starting quarterback and a surprise returner, Jenny Wakeman and Aa—Amelia Smith!" The two run out into the field one by one, and immediately they're booed.
"We want Jacque!"
"The coach allowed that onto the team?!"
"Okay, team," The coach waves them forward as the girls run past him. "Let's get out there!" He stops a shuffling player and adjusts his shoulder pads.
"So that's how these things go on."
The ball is kicked into Jenny's arms, one player getting sat on by a member of the opposing team. "Ooh!" Jenny looks to another player getting picked up...and then thrown into a player's mouth. Jenny gasps as give players rush over to jump her. She jumps over them with an extending leg, the crowd cheering at this.
"Touchdown! Quakers!"
"Hike!"
All the players start beating each other up for some reason and Jenny passes the ball to Brad. He rushes onto the field, skidding to a stop. The other team is heading right for him.
"Hey, Brad! We gotcha!" Jenny skids over to him while Amy is running next to her. She picks up brad while he tosses the ball to Amy, and she slides between two other players, who crash into each other. She comes to a stop on the other side, the crowd cheering again as it earns them another touchdown. The girls smile and then their picture actually ends up on the front page of the newspaper!
"Can you believe it, Brad?" Jenny asks happily the next day. "Us-on the front of the paper!"
"Even when I was a wide receiver, I only got on the back page of the paper!" Amy comments with a smile as they walk down the school halls.
"I told you you'd do great."
"We were pretty great, weren't we?" Jenny says knowingly.
"Great job on Friday, you guys," A boy tells them while walking past.
"Thanks!"
"It was our pleasure," Amy waves at him.
"All right, girls. Great game," A girl congratulates them.
"Thank you," Jenny replies, nudging Amy as someone actually recognized her as just a girl. Amy grins a bit.
"Looks like you're both on your way to major popularity, Jenny," Brad comments to the duo.
"And wherever Jacque is right now, he can suck it," Amy says with a smile, hands behind her back. "At least we won't get booed for replacing him anymore."
"54, 92," Jenny calls out in the next game. "54, 92, hut!" She catches a ball, looking behind the other team to see Brad jumping up and down, gesturing for her to throw it to him. She eats it and then launches it like a cannon. He catches it and gets them a touchdown. People have signs that have Jenny and Amy's names on them, cheering. Jenny smiles at the crowd.
The 5th week is another game. "Hike!" Once Jenny gets the ball, she gets tackled by the other team. However, they suddenly disappear through a hole in the field, as do the other players. Jenny had actually drilled a hole to the other side, tossing all the other players onto the grass. She smiles, hands on her hips.
After that, she then tosses a ball to Amy, who leaps past other players while running. She slides past a big player jumping for her and then she sprints until she reaches the other side for a touchdown.
"Hike!" On the 9th week, once she receives the ball, she tosses it and then flies across the field. She comes to a stop and catches it, the crowd going nuts. She jumps up and tosses the ball so hard that it makes a hole into the field, and it also creates an oil fountain.
"Go! Go! Go! Go!"
People hold up letters of Jenny and Amy's names in the crowd, fireworks even appearing for the two. Jenny gives a wink to the crowd.
Jenny, Amy, and Brad walk past students, the robot looking smug. The other two look more so annoyed as she signs autographs. "Thanks, Jenny."
"Right on, Jenny. You rule."
"Thanks, Jenny. You the man."
"Hey, thanks, but I'm really just an electronic artificial female with outstanding football skills, don'tcha know?" She replies back in a smug way, pointing at the boy who said that. She chuckles as the three come to a stop. "Well, guys, I've finally made it to the right side of the popularity fence. Did you see all my new friends?" She gives them a smug look.
"Still deciding if that's a good or bad thing," Amy rolls her eyes to the back of her head.
"Listen, Jenny, I don't mean to burst your bubble, but these people are your fans, not your friends. Their affections will only last as long as you keep winning."
"Exactly," Amy jerks a thumb to Brad. "Why do you think I don't indulge in the popularity? Sure, as a guy, I soaked it up a lot, but even then, I turned into you," She gestures to Jenny, who crosses her arms. Not to mention, all of the credit seems to go to Jenny now instead of her or the team...
"Friends, fans—what's the diff? Popularity is popularity. Besides, I know I'll keep winning. I got the skills," She snaps her fingers. "To pay the bills."
"Oh, give me a break," Amy scoffs at her. "It's not just about skills anymore. You've gotta have the strategy."
"Don't count on that, girls," They look behind Jenny to see Pteresa and her cheerleader friends. "You're playing Poly Tech in the champonship, and they're supposed to be unbeatable."
"Yeah, this is their first season, and they're kicking everyone's butt," Jantrice warns her.
"Oh, please; no one can stop me now, especially a bunch of nerds," Jenny waves it off.
"Hey, watch it, one of them is my sister, remember?" Amy growls, clenching her fists defensively. "Being a robot isn't gonna save you if what she just said is true."
"Oh, yeah? Well, the nerds' quarterback is Jacque."
Amy opens her mouth in shock at this. "Jacque?! Oh, man, this is gonna be a hard game," She pinches her temple. Even when she was a boy, she could never get past Jacque. Ever. And if Poly Tech has him, they have a huge advantage. Especially if they're undefeated...
"Who cares about Jacque-itch?" Jenny mocks as she walks off, and they stare after her. Brad and Amy glance at each other as the girls leave.
"Amy, you've played with Jacque before...does she have the skills for him?"
"Absolutely not. Nothing can stop Jacque, not even a robot..." She murmurs with a heavy sigh.
"Good evening, ladies and gents," The announcer speaks later that night at the game. "And welcome to the season's championship game. Now turn your eyes to center field for this season's star QB, Jenny!" She flies onto the field, soaking up the attention as flowers fall onto the field. "And now, the visiting team for tonight's championship game, the Poly Tech Bulldogs."
People boo and hiss at the opposing team, but no one seems to show up. "Where are the Bulldogs?" Everyone asks, looking around in confusion. A loud noise is heard and everyone turns to the side to see a large shadow appearing. After spotlights fall on it, it appears to be a large robotic dog? It bends down to the grass, opening up its mouth.
"2 point 6 point 8 point 10!" The Poly Tech cheerleaders appear, holding up a large metal P. "Poly Tech is here to win!" A large mecha appears out of the dog, driven by one of the Poly Tech students.
"Resistance is futile," He snorts in laughter, and then more mechas run out into the field. "And at quaterback, Jacque!" Jacque is the last to exist the giant dog robot, staring down Jenny.
"This is legal?" Amy asks herself in disbelief; no wonder they've been undefeated...
"Well, well, robogirl. Prepare for a taste of your own mechanized medicine!"
"Bring it on, Jacque strap," She narrows her eyes and then gathers the team. "Okay guys, huddle up." Everyone gathers in a huddle. "Now, I know these guys look tough, but I have total confidence in your abilities...and, of course, my skills. So let's get out there and kick some number-crunching nerd butt!"
"Break!" They all exclaim, laying down in front of the other team.
"54, 92. 54, 92, hike!" Jenny backs away to let another player grab the ball, and they rush forward, only to get squished between two mechs. In turn, he drops the ball, landing on his back with a flat face. He's taken away to the infirmary.
"Hike!" Jenny catches the ball and tosses it to a player...who gets shot at by two mechs. He dances around and drops the ball.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" He's also taken away with his feet scorched...Amy winces as it looks painful. Another player catches the football, but one of the mechs uses some blinding lights on him, and it makes him lose his eyesight.
Anotehr player with glasses is shaking in fear, only to get smacked by a mech hand. Another one screams and gets kicked. "Yikes!" One of them gets bumped on the head, his helmet rolling away. The crowd boos as Jenny watches the helmet roll past her and Amy.
"Toss the ball!"
"Boo!"
"Time out!" Jenny cries out, waving a hand as she walks off. "Okay, guys, let's huddle up. Now I know things look rough, but we only need one touchdown to win. If we all...pull...together?" She notices that only she, Amy, and Brad are left. "Are we the only ones left?"
"All that's left standing," Brad looks towards the ground, frowning.
"Yeah, they didn't go easy on the team..." Amy rubs the back of her neck.
"But what about Dominelli?"
"Broken scapula," Brad tells Jenny quickly.
"Thomas?"
"They ripped his lips off."
"Ooh, I don't need that image in my head," Amy winces in disgust as she recoils back a bit.
"Sanchez?"
"Fractured toe."
"Parkins?"
"Intercranial dislocation."
"Lopez?"
"Real bad owie."
Amy gives Brad a 'really' look, raising an eyebrow. "Cruz?"
"Comatose. But he wasn't much of a talker, anyway," Brad chuckles a bit. "It doesn't make sense. Nerds aren't supposed to know how to play football. No offense to Claudia again."
"Well, there's no time to figure it out. Let's give 'em the old sidewinder play," She smirks at her friends.
"Break!"
"24, 92, hike," When Jenny gets the ball, she moves her arms around the mechs and gives the ball to Brad. He smiles and runs off, only to be punched to the ground by a mech. The crowd boos at this and Amy picks up the ball, only to be picked up by a mech and thrown onto the grass in front of Jenny.
"Come on!"
Jacque laughs at his supposed victory as Brad staggers his body to the coach, having some bruises as well as a black eye. "You might as well hit the showers, Brad. It'll all be over soon."
"That's okay, Coach," Brad looks up at him after flopping on the bench. "I'll just watch the game from here. What the...?" He glances to the side, seeing Jacque saying something. He grabs the binoculars from the coach, using them to get a better look. He sees a little microphone attached to Jacque's helmet. "Ah-ha! I knew it!" He looks to one of the Poly Tech students pressing a finger to his ear, which has presumably a listening device. "That's how they're playing so well."
He uses a megaphone to talk to his friends. "Hey, Jenny! Amy! Check out Jacque! He's got an antenna microphone set up, and he's feeding football instructions to the nerds from the sidelines!"
"What?!" Amy exclaims angrily from her spot, growling.
"Why, zat leetle—All right, set up in blitz formation."
"Hike!" Jenny stands up with a smile as all the mechs rush forward. She looks to Jacque and then tosses the ball just as she gets trampled to pieces. Jacque just laughs until the football breaks his microphone, therefore shutting off all communication with his team.
"This is it, Brad. Only seconds left." The coach turns around, covering his face with his hands. "I can't look!"
"Jenny, pull yourself together!" Brad tells her through the megaphone. "You and Amy are our last hope!" She pieces herself together as Amy runs over from the opposite side. Jenny stands in front of the team next to her friend.
"2, 28. 2, 28."
"Stop them! Stop them, you nerds!" Jacque calls out from his spot.
"What'll we do?"
"I don't know!"
One of them rolls three dice, looking down at them. "Cast the dice from a force field!"
"Red dog right, red dog—huh?"
Amy backs up a bit in alarm as the mechs start glowing. They raise their fists and the lights form together to create a field. "Uhh, hike!" Jenny backs away and then Amy runs. The robot throws the ball and Amy slides underneath the force field. Jenny activates some pogo sticks underneath her feet and bounces over them, the crowd cheering.
"Oh, idiots!" Jacque yells at them.
"I agree," A player sitting out speaks up. "If they wanted a truly impregnable force field, they should've used a positively charged ion beam."
Jacque punches him out of the mech and then gets in himself. "'Now we are in beezness." He jumps onto the field just as Jenny stops hopping and Amy slides, catching the ball. "Okay, robogirl and faker." They turn to Jacque in surprise. "Let's see what you got."
Jenny just gets a wicked smile as she charges forward, a knight helmet and spikes appearing from her. Amy smirks and runs after her, jumping onto her back. The robot rams through the mech, leaving Jacque without underwear as well.
"Ha! Been wanting to do that for over a year!" Amy calls out to him juts as the two reach the other side.
"Touchdown! Tremorton wins!" The crowd cheers and confetti falls as they all cheer for the remaining two players, who walk away from everything.
"Hey, guys!" Brad runs up to them. "Wait up. Aren't you gonna stick around? You sure have quite a few friends now."
"Nah," Jenny dismisses and Amy smiles proudly. "Guys, you were right. These people are fans, not friends."
"Now you're learning," The brunette says with crossed arms.
"Hey, dweebs," Jacque towers over them with the dog robot, laughing evilly as he towers over them. "This game's about to go into sudden death overtime." He was about to step on them when a cat arrives and runs past. The robot chases after it. "Hey, what are you doing, you stupid mutt? Heel! Heel! Smash the girls, not the cat!"
A dogcatcher opens his mouth wide before smiling. "Christmas bonus, here I come." He activates the net, chasing after them. The three friends laugh at this; after this, no way is Jacque coming back to any football team!