Chapter 2: The Tryout
September 6, 2010
Charlotte, North Carolina
Monday, the day that signified the start of a new week. The sun had started to peek over the horizon and rays of light started to shine upon Charlotte. As it was Monday, many had woken up to get an early start to their day, such as preparing for school or work. Homes had started to light up, dotting the abundant streets. Within one of the many homes, a middle schooler, Eryn Silva, had been curled up in his bed, tranced in a deep and peaceful slumber. Unfortunately, that slumber would come to an abrupt and dreadful stop, as something that tortures the lives of many in their sleep had come into play. Beep! Beep! Beep! The obnoxious and blaring sound immediately did its job, taking Eryn by complete surprise as Eryn jolted up and fallen off of his bed. A large thud was heard as Eryn flopped down, aside from a small bruise, he was fine.
"Oh my god." Eryn said groggily, clutching his forehead.
Eryn got up from the hardwood floor and stumbled towards his window and created a divot in between the blinds. Eryn looked outside to discover it was the crack of dawn. He kept peering through the window to observe his surroundings, the street lights were still on, barely any cars were going down the street and the houses he saw had some of their lights on.
"Why the hell did I get up so early?" Eryn wondered.
He started to trek towards his bed and collapsed on top of it. As soon as he plopped down onto his bed, he immediately realized why he had woken up so early; today was the Tankery tryout for his school.
"Ah shit!" Eryn swore.
He immediately jumped out of his bed and started getting ready for the occasion. He immediately booked it towards his shower and started to wash himself. After that, Eryn got himself dried up and threw on some black sweatpants and a comfortable hoodie.
Eryn rushed downstairs and into the living room, he immediately fixed up a quick breakfast, which included a glass of milk and a sizeable cup of yogurt. He downed the glass of milk, grabbed a plastic spoon from the kitchen drawer and ran down the hallway towards the front door. He opened it and made it down the street. However, trivial paranoia got the best of him and Eryn ran back towards his house to make sure that the door was locked.
As he continued down the long and winding streets of Charlotte, more and more fear started to settle in. What if he was late, and didn't make the second tryout? What if he doesn't make it despite his best efforts? What if- Eryn smacked himself in the head to stop him from overthinking, he needed all of his brain power for the tryout.
After a couple more minutes of walking, Eryn finally saw his new school; Queen City Middle School. The modern architecture of the school never failed to amaze Eryn. Aesthetic blends of white, grey and black were the dominant colors that were presented throughout the school's exterior. Large glass windows provided clear views inside the schools spacious and well organized interior. The other four buildings, including the Tankery garage all had the same sort of layout and styling as well.
Many students around the world attended Queen City, and it wasn't for the schools innovative looks and design. The thing that reeled in many students were the school's electives, which included Art, Music, Sports, Advanced courses and most importantly to Eryn; Tankery. Each elective was ensured to sharpen and enhance the skills of the students that attended them. The school was especially attractive to aspiring Tankery athletes, as it is considered to be one of the best middle schools that offer the sport. Eryn himself transferred here for his last year of middle school solely because of the Tankery opportunity.
Eryn made his way towards the rear of the campus and down the field to where the Tankery garage was located. As Eryn got closer, he started to see nobody was there, Eryn knew for sure that this was the meeting spot for the tryout, it was affirmed by the Tankery instructor that it would be at the garage. Eryn arrived at the Tankery garage and sat himself down on a nearby bench, he tilted his head up and started to zone out.
"You tryin out for the Tankery team?" A cheery voice rang out.
Eryn broke out of his day dreaming and looked at where the voice came out. Standing in front him was a girl that was a bit shorter than him, her long blonde hair having a bit of volume, wearing a light blue sweater paired with some jogging pants. She looked at Eryn with an eyebrow raised with a smirk.
"Uh yeah," Eryn answered. "I'm here to try out."
"I see," She said. "Names Kay."
"Eryn." Eryn Replied.
"How long have you been out here?" Kay questioned. "The Tankery tryout doesn't start for another 30 minutes."
Eryn looked at her in disbelief, he could have sworn the tryout was at an earlier time. Eryn collapsed his arms and sighed in disappointment, leaving Kay confused.
"I woke up at 6, thinking the tryout was at 6:30." Eryn explained.
"Yikes." Kay said, feeling bad. "They sent an email last night saying that it was moved to 7:00."
Once again, Eryn sighed in disappointment. Kay noticed this, and went into her school bag and grabbed a bottle out of it. She then tossed it over to Eryn.
"What is this?" Eryn questioned.
"Coffee," Kay answered. "Drink up!"
Eryn opened the lid and waterfalled the coffee into his mouth. The coffee was different from what he had expected, it was mellow and sweet. Delighted, Eryn kept drinking the coffee until it was almost empty. He then tossed it back to Kay. Kay caught the bottle and noticed that it was significantly lighter than when she gave it to Eryn, she peered into the bottle and realized that almost all of the coffee was gone.
"Damn, you almost drank all of it." Kay said, astonished.
"Yeah, my bad." Eryn replied awkwardly.
Kay and Eryn looked around them, they noticed that more and more people had started to show up.
"Do you recognize anyone?" Kay questioned.
"Probably not, I just moved here this year." Eryn said. "Do you recognize anyone?"
Kay peered into the crowd, she saw familiar faces and recognized some others. As she kept scanning for her own friends, her eyes finally landed on someone. A small figure, one with very bright hair tied into two French braided ponytails. Kay grabbed Eryn's arm and roughly tugged him along with her.
"Where are we going?" Eryn spoke uncomfortably. "I can walk on my own!"
Kay finally let go of Eryn, he looked around to see what Kay's deal was. He then saw Kay walk towards a blonde girl of shorter stature than her. Kay looked towards Eryn and gestured him to come over, Eryn obliged and walked over towards the pair, the unknown figure turned around and Eryn managed to get a glimpse of what she looked like. She had a round face paired with a somewhat large set of bright blue eyes, some of her hair was banged downwards which cover some areas of her eyes
"Eryn, meet Lillie!" Kay greeted enthusiastically.
"Hi." Eryn spoke.
"Hello." Lillie responded.
The three were about to engage a conversation until a buzzer sounded near the Tankery garage. All of the students started to gather around the main door, the trio was located on the outskirts of the huge crowd of people, any chance of seeing what was happening was denied.
The garage door crept open and out came a man who seemed to have a cowboy get up. He had a cowboy hat on paired with a black t-shirt and jeans, he then pulled out a megaphone and aligned it with his mouth.
"Welcome," The man said. "I am your Tankery instructor, Mr. Moran and I shall overlook todays tryout."
Eryn looked towards Kay and then Lillie, both of them had an expression of fear. Eryn would be lying to himself if he said that he wasn't scared at all, he knew nearly everyone participating had a blend of fear and excitement buried within them. Eryn kept running certain scenarios in his head.
"And that is all I have to say, good luck to all of you!" Mr. Moran finished.
Eryn's heart stopped. He had become oblivious to Mr. Moran's speech and now he had no idea what was happening, he noticed that the crowd of students was headed towards the main building. Luckily, Lillie was still beside him.
"Lillie," Eryn whispered. "What's happening?"
"We're gonna head to the main building and do an assessment of some sort, probably about Tankery." Lillie responded. Her expression changed to a smug and sly one. "He threatened the assessment to be hard but he never mentioned cheating on it."
"Alright," Eryn said questionably. "Wait, where's Kay?"
"She went ahead of us, also we have 1 and a half hours to write this test."
The hoard of students walked into the main building and headed upstairs. Due to the sheer amount of students that were present, multiple classrooms had to be used in order to hold everyone. Eryn followed Lillie as she probably knew where Kay was, Lillie and Kay were the only ones Eryn knew which gave him all the more reason to follow her. Eryn quickly gazed at each classroom the students were entering, most of them were full with students. Lillie made a right turn into the classroom at the end of the hallway and Eryn quickly followed.
Eryn entered the classroom and observed the area, Kay and Lillie were both sitting in the front row desks, so Eryn sat himself beside Kay. More and more students had started to enter and they dispersed into the many desks that were spread out in the classroom. A couple minutes later, a teacher handed out sheets of paper and pencils to the students. As soon as the sheet was handed to Eryn, he scanned through the questions and made some good observations.
"The test is all written response." Eryn thought to himself. "The questions are scenario based and absurdly hard."
Then it dawned on him, the test wasn't to test your knowledge on Tankery, but how you react to certain scenarios and how you adapt to them. Eryn looked around the room and saw that everyone was also very puzzled, he then looked back on his paper and started to write down his answers. After 30 minutes, Eryn had answered all the questions except for one.
'What does it mean to be a Tanker?'
Eryn read the question over and over again, it was different from the other questions the assessment asked. He kept thinking about the question until it finally clicked, Eryn looked back at his encounter with Ami Chono, and started to remember what she had said to him. Eryn put his pencil onto the paper and started writing.
'A Tanker is someone that carries the traits of being humble, respectful and honorable. They are also seen as people with the strongest of fortitude and most importantly, someone that can put others before themselves and can lead their friends to victory. People who participate in Tankery will carry these traits for the rest of their lives and will apply them in their future endeavors.'
Eryn finished writing up his answer and gasped a sigh of relief, he looked around the class and realized that he was the first one finished. He got up and walked towards the front desk where he laid down the paper. After that, Eryn looked at the clock and saw that there was an hour before the assessment was declared to finish, he then walked towards the door to head to a washroom.
"Hey!" A voice rang out.
Eryn turned back to where he heard the sound and saw that someone was gesturing towards him. He had curly brown hair and square glasses that were curved at the corners.
"What is it?" Eryn questioned.
"I need your help on the last question." He replied.
Eryn hesitated for a bit before remembering that Lillie mentioned that Mr. Moran didn't talk about cheating on the test.
"The question is just asking about what qualities define a Tankery Athlete." Eryn answered.
"Thanks!" He said. "Names Tomas."
"Don't mention it, Tomas." Eryn assured.
Eryn exited the classroom and managed to get a glimpse of the other classrooms on his way toward the washrooms, he noted that most people were still writing the assessment. After discovering this, Eryn felt a sense of pride within him.
Another hour had passed, and the assessment was declared finished. Mr. Moran and a few other teachers came into each classroom and collected the papers and brought them the staff floor. Afterward, everyone was told to disperse and go towards their normal classes, the first day of the tryout had ended at 9:00, which meant that first period had already started. Eryn walked to his first class, which was Math.
Eryn entered the classroom and sat himself near the back corner of the class, the class was relatively empty however, most likely due to the Tankery tryout. A few familiar faces entered the classroom a minute later, it was Lillie and Kay, they both sat themselves in front of Eryn. Lillie turned back and faced Eryn.
"Eryn," Lillie said. "How do you think you did?"
"Considering I was the first one finished, quite poorly." Eryn replied. "I probably should've taken more time."
"Oh?" Kay jumped in. "If you did bad then I probably did bad too."
"Wait, did you copy off of me?" Eryn asked.
"Mhm." Kay responded smugly. "I reworded the answers though."
"Eryn!" A voice called out.
The trio looked towards the entrance, the person standing there was Tomas, and another person that Eryn didn't recognize. The two walked over to them with Tomas sitting beside Eryn and the other sitting beside Tomas.
"Hey, Tomas." Eryn greeted, he turned to the person sitting beside him. "Hi, what's your name?"
"Oh, names Jonathan." He replied, he combed his dirty blonde hair to the side and looked towards Kay. "Sup, Kay."
"Hi." Kay greeted. "You tried out too right?"
"Didn't you see me? I was right behind you copying off of your answers." Jonathan said.
"Wha-" Kay exasperated. "Never mind."
The group continued their small talk until the teacher arrived and started to give todays lecture. Eryn loathed math, even though he exceled at it. The true reason he hated math was because of how much effort it took. He would have to show everything that he did in order to get the question completely right, or else he would be docked marks for not "showing his work".
Eryn saw that everyone in the class except for him, Lillie and Tomas struggled at Math. Eryn wasn't surprised, the curriculum at Queen City was more advanced than at other schools. The student average was pretty high, but a lot of people still asked for help when needed.
After 45 minutes of excruciating mental pain, Eryn headed off to his next class: History. Eryn loved history, simply because of how easy it was. All Eryn had to do was listen, not do any stupid equations and sometimes get some sleep in. To Eryn's knowledge, Tomas and Jonathan shared the same classes as Eryn, meaning he would be able to talk to them for the entire day.
He entered the classroom and saw that Jonathan and Tomas were already sitting down near windows, Tomas noticed Eryn at the door and gestured him to come over. Eryn complied and sat down beside Jonathan.
"What's good Eryn!" Jonathan said, he raised his hand and the two shared a high five.
"Eryn, where are you from?" Tomas asked.
"Charlotte, I'm a local." Eryn said.
"Oh damn," Jonathan . "Locals aren't common here for some reason, it's mostly transfer students here."
"Did you guys transfer here?" Eryn questioned.
"Mhm," Both of them responded.
"I see," Eryn noted. "Where are you guys from?"
"I'm from LA along with Kay." Jonathan replied. "Tomas and Lillie are from the U.K."
"I'm from London while Lillie is from Belfast." Tomas added.
"Wait Jonathan, have you and Kay known each other?" Eryn curiously asked.
"Yup, we're long time friends. But I didn't know she was gonna transfer here, that was a coincidence." Jonathan answered.
The rest of the morning was great for Eryn, he had been able to get close to Jonathan and Tomas to a point where Eryn could call them his best friends at the school. It was rather surprising for Eryn, as the school year had started a week ago, he expected to start making new friends around a month in. With the last morning class almost over, the trio were impatiently waiting for the bell to ring for lunch.
"Any second now." Eryn muttered.
The Lunch bell rang, and the trio bolted towards the cafeteria. The line was already huge and the three groaned in disappointment, but it was understandable. The food served at the school was simply sublime, the cafeteria was manned by an army of chefs that churned out an array of amazing dishes from different cultures and countries, the dishes were presented as if it was a buffet. Nearly every student would rush to get an early spot in line so that they would be able to choose the best dishes.
After nearly 10 minutes of waiting, the trio had finally got their food. Tomas got fish and chips while Jonathan had settled for giant steaks with mashed potatoes while Eryn went simple and chose a simple yet filling dish; Poutine. Ever since Eryn had tried it when he visited Canada, it was easily his favorite dish to eat. Fries smothered in gravy and cheese curds sounded like an odd combination in theory, in practice it was God's gift to the fry enjoyers of the world.
The three paced around the cafeteria for a while until they found two familiar blonde heads; Kay and Lillie. They both saw the trio and gestured them to come and sit with them, the trio complied and all of them started to divulge into their meals.
"Oh my god, this is heaven." Jonathan groaned with a full mouth.
"Agreed." Kay complied, with a piece of cheeseburger in her mouth.
"Can both of you learn simple manners?" Lillie hushed, embarrassed.
Eryn and Tomas started to giggle under their breaths as Lillie gave a lecture to Jonathan and Kay about how they should improve their manners. Unbeknownst to Lillie, the two didn't listen to her. The group finished their food, Eryn checked the clock and saw that they still had more than 20 minutes left for their lunch period, lots of time for small talk. Eryn wanted to get closer to them, although he had met them today, he could tell that they were keepers as friends.
"Guys," Eryn called. "What school do you guys plan to go to for Tankery?"
The four collected their thoughts for a moment, Kay started speaking first.
"I plan to head back to the West Coast and go to Saunders, they appeal to me the most."
"For me, I'm returning to the U.K and attend St. Gloriana." Lillie spoke.
"I'm either going to Richmond Arts or Georgetown High School in DC." Jonathan said.
"Hmm," Tomas zoned. "Either St. Vincent or Britannia College."
Eryn was surprised, he thought that they would all attend the same school and progress through their Tankery career together.
"I thought you guys would all attend the same school." Eryn said.
"Nah," Kay responded. "But that isn't gonna stop us from being friends."
"How are we gonna keep contact?" Jonathan asked.
"Good question," Kay responded. "Lets make a group chat!"
The group unanimously agreed with Kay's pitch and soon after, they all exchanged numbers and created a text group chat. The lunch bell rang, and all the students dispersed to their classes. The group said bye and all split up to their respective classes. The rest of the afternoon was uneventful, until Mr. Moran announced that the people who made the second tryout will be emailed to the participants this evening. The five sat at the main foyer, anxious about the results.
"Do you guys think you made it to the second tryout?" Tomas asked.
"I sure as hell hope I do!" Jonathan responded.
"Damn right." Kay quipped.
"I'm gonna go home now." Lillie frantically announced.
"Bye Lillie!" The group waved. Lillie quickly paced towards the main entrance but ran as soon as she was halfway through the door.
"Is she ok?" Eryn concerningly questioned.
"She does that a lot." Kay assured.
"I see, when are you guys going?" Eryn said.
"Whenever you leave, we live here." Tomas replied.
"This place has dorms?" Eryn exclaimed. "Where are they?"
"About a mile from here." Jonathan answered.
"That's awesome!" Eryn said, he felt his phone ring and looked at it, a message from his Mom.
Mom: Your Dad and I are coming home today, so be sure to be there because we're about to have a feast!
Eryn: alright mom thanks
Eryn closed his phone and looked back at his friends.
"What was it?" Tomas asked.
"A message from my mom." Eryn explained. "I gotta go now!"
Eryn waved at his friends and ran towards the main entrance, he exited the building and walked towards home. The sun was bearing down on Charlotte, as it was still mid afternoon, Eryn took off his sweater after a while due to the heat starting to get the best of him. After an exhaustingly hot walk, Eryn arrived at his house. He noticed that a silver BMW 335i had been parked in the driveway, his excitement grew further as he knew whos car it was. He walked up the porch and opened the front door.
"I'm home!" Eryn announced.
Two people peered from the hallway and looked at Eryn, their faces lit up in excitement as well as Eryn's. They all ran towards each other and embraced each other in a tight bear hug. A minute passed, and the three released each other from their grasp.
"Mom, Dad!" Eryn exclaimed, a tear dropped from his eye.
"Eryn!" They both said back.
"Let's go eat, there's plenty of food at the table." Eryn's mom said.
"Alright," Eryn's dad replied, he looked at Eryn and smiled. "Let's talk when we eat, yeah?"
Eryn nodded in agreement, and the three went towards the table. Eryn's mouth gaped as soon as he saw the food, it consisted of all sorts of barbeque, ranging from brisket to all sorts of ribs and pulled pork. To the side, there was cornbread, mac and cheese and some coleslaw. He walked towards the sink and washed his hand and went back to the table to start devouring the food. His parents had already started eating, Eryn took a piece of pulled pork and ate it.
"Oh my god, it's so soft." Eryn thought to himself.
"How is it Eryn?" His dad asked.
"Heaven." Eryn replied with a full mouth.
His dad snickered before talking again. "How was school?"
"Great, the Tankery tryout was today." Eryn said.
"Really?" His mom exclaimed. "Did you make it?
"Hopefully, there's a second tryout apparently." Eryn answered before putting a piece of cornbread in his mouth.
"They're trying to weed out the weak." His dad informed.
"The results should be out today." Eryn informed. "Can I go check?"
"Sure," Both of his parents replied. "Be back down here though!"
Eryn ran upstairs and got onto the family computer, he logged in and checked his email. There was one new notification and it was sent out 30 seconds ago. The email was from the school, he took in a deep breath and clicked on the email and read it.
'Eryn Silva is eligible to proceed and head on to the second Tankery tryout happening on Friday, September 10, 2010.
Signed, Mr. Moran'
Eryn immediately sighed in relief, he had made the cut for the second tryout. Eryn then pulled out his phone and checked the group chat he and his friends made, he started typing.
Eryn S: yo i made it what about you guys
Kay D: havent checked yet but am abt to
Kay D: good job tho
Lillie S: I made it.
Tomas M: nice same with me
Jonathan H: i also made it les gooo
Kay D: yes sir i made itttt
Jonathan and Tomas are typing...
Eryn turned his phone off and headed back downstairs, his parents were patiently waiting for him.
"So," His mom said. "Did you make it?"
"Mhm!" Eryn replied triumphantly.
Both his mom and dad grinned with pride, they both stood up and hugged Eryn. They let go and looked at him.
"Congrats," Eryn's dad applauded. "When is the next tryout?"
"This Friday." Eryn affirmed.
"Alright," Eryn's dad said. "There are some things that you need to know about Tankery, come to the living room with me and your mom."
Eryn's parents sat down on the main couch while Eryn himself sat adjacent from them. He waited patiently for his dad to speak.
"Eryn," His mom said. "Tankery is full of wonderful and great people, but there are people out there that will try to harass you based on who you are."
"What do you mean?" Eryn questioned.
"In the early 1900's, when Tankery was created back in Europe, it was originally meant for women." His dad explained.
"Today, boys are allowed and accepted in North and South America, due to some equality amendments. For us, it was something called the Equal Rights Agreement."
"In most of Europe, like France, U.K and Germany, boys can also participate too. But in Russia and most of Asia, they are segregated and treated unfairly. These countries still hold onto the traditions of long ago." His mom stated.
Eryn was surprised at what he had heard. He had always thought the sport was for everyone to grow and prosper.
"But why?" Eryn said. "Tankery is meant for everyone, right?"
"It is, and always should have been." His dad agreed. "But we can't really argue about a country's tradition and culture just because it's different from ours, even if it's morally wrong like this."
"What I'm trying to say Eryn, is that you have to be prepared for anything and everything." His dad affirmed.
"And if anyone tries to play dirty and be scumbags, make sure to kick their ass!" His mom shouted.
Eryn was surprised at his mom's sudden outburst of energy, he had never seen her like this before. "I will mom, I will."
"Good, make us proud Eryn." His mom said.
"I'm gonna head upstairs now." Eryn announced, he got off the couch and went upstairs.
"Goodnight!" His mom and dad said.
Eryn's mom leaned over onto her husband and cuddled him.
"He reminds you of us, doesn't he Joel?" Eryn's mom said.
"Yeah, I remember our days in Tankery." Eryn's dad replied. "Lisa, do you think he will succeed us?"
"Of course, he is our son after all." Eryn's mom assured. "He will make us proud, I know it."
The two drifted to sleep, they could rest easy knowing that their sacrifices will be worth it and that their son will have a bright future. Upstairs, Eryn laid down on his bed. He was on his phone to browse the potential schools that he could enlist for, he found a website showing the various Tankery schools in America, he started scrolling through his potential options that interested him most.
1. Saunders University High School
Hailing on the West Coast in the beautiful area of Los Angeles, Saunders provides a spectacular and laid back atmosphere for its students. Its various electives provide students with great insights on helping find and build their career pathways as well as preparing them in their future endeavors.
"So this is the school Kay is going to," Eryn thought. "It sounds like a great school, being near Hollywood and all that buzz in L.A."
2. Richmond Academy of the Arts
Stationed in the heart of Virginia, Richmond Academy gives its students the opportunities to experience and create various kinds of arts and crafts tailored to the person they are. Being one of the oldest schools in America, the experience that is provided is invaluable to the student as they will carry it for the rest of their lives.
"An artistic school, seems great for someone like Lillie."
3. Georgetown High School
Based in the capital of the United States, Georgetown gives its students a world-class learning experience to increase their worldview and their critical thinking. The various courses allow the students to get exposure to its diverse cultures, faiths and beliefs to allow them to increase their critical thinking and their worldview to help allow them succeed in the future.
"I heard this school has the best Tankery program, no wonder Jonathan might attend this school."
All three schools seemed to be very good choices for Eryn, their graduation rates were all above 95% and they all had superb Tankery programs. Eryn couldn't decide on which school to join, he looked towards his alarm and saw that it was almost 11:00. He placed his phone onto his desk and looked towards the roof, Eryn was proud of himself, he felt that he was taking his first steps into his dream career. With that in mind, Eryn closed his eyes and fell asleep.