Authors: Jack Simmonds
I told Robin everything I’d done as we sat by the fireplace into the small hours of Saturday morning. “In the Chamber, I could see, that
something
was making people
like
you.”
I nodded. “Yeah, the jumper.” I smiled, but Robin didn’t share my smile.
He shifted in his seat uncomfortably. “Don’t you see though Avis, you can’t manufacture popularity, you have to earn it.”
“Robin, I am a Blackthorn. I am starting a hundred points behind you!”
“Well, that’s even more reason to win people over using your personality, not a jumper! You were doing so well, I mean I know it’s hard what with your family, but you could have shown that you are different from them. But also… you shouldn’t care so much about what others think.”
I knew he was right, but I had come too far already. “I’m tired, it’s late…” I said before getting into bed. “Where is everyone else?”
“Midnight Riptide apparently,” Robin sighed, giving up trying to argue with me. “You do realise I am going to have to keep these spectacles on, so I can’t be pulled in by the jumper’s magic?”
“Yeah. Sorry,” I said quietly before falling asleep.
***
All of a sudden the first match of the Riptide season was upon us. Partington was a little late to form, but finally arrived bouncing into the room wearing a lurid blue and green scarf. “Before you ask, Magisteer Yelworca made me. So, who is excited about the first game of the season!?” he cried, certainly he was. We had twenty minutes or so until we had to go down to the match, so Partington queried us on our lessons. “How are you finding it all, anything your unsure of?”
“Yearlove is amazing!” cried Florence.
“Yes,” nodded Partington sitting across a desk nodding sagely. “Everyone loves Yearlove.”
“And AstroMagic is okay,” said Robin. “Magisteer Wasp is very…” he searched for the right word.
“Enthusiastic?” Partington offered. “It’s nice to have someone teaching you that is so interested in things, don’t you think?”
Graham lent forwards with a sly look on his face. “And we were also wondering Sir, I mean, you know we rebuilt the Riptide Stadium, well… why has no one mentioned it?”
“Yeah,” said Simon. “No thanks, no nothing!” murmurs of agreement crept round the room.
Partington grimaced. “Well, to be honest with you, I don’t know. It’s all up to Magisteer Simone.”
Joanna and Gret slammed the table. “But she’s a tyrant!”
“Ah, but a very effective Physical and Mental Training Magisteer,” said Partington with a wry smile, before standing and changing the subject quickly. “Are you all excited about your first game of the season? Who are you playing again?”
“Happerbats!” said Dennis.
Florence gazed towards me. “We should be ok Sir, we have Avis…”
“That’s very true you do,” Partington’s eyes rested on me and he blinked a couple of times. “My, what a wonderful jumper that is!” Robin sighed quietly next to me.
***
“PLEASE WELCOME OUT” cried Underwoods voice. “THE LORKERDOS!” The Lorkerdos were a fourth year team and wore blue and green, that must have been Magisteer Yelworca’s form. I’d never seen Magisteer Yelworca, but heard she was regarded in the same vein as Magisteer Simone — a taskmaster.
“Avis?” said Graham. “Wanna put a bet on with me? I’ll give you good odds?”
“I would, but I don’t have any gold left, sorry.”
“No worries,” said Graham before turning to Simon. “Oi, git face, a bet?”
Just behind us we heard some giggling and muttering. I glanced around and saw three, mischievous looking first years boys. They stopped laughing almost as soon as they saw me.
“Oh, it’s you Avis? Avis Blackthorn…” one of them said as the others stood staring, open mouthed.
Robin turned and glowered at them. “What are you doing?”
“Apologies,” said the first in a small voice.
“We were going to play a prank on you, but we didn’t know it was you Avis. So sorry!”
“That’s quite ok,” I said grinning sideways at Robin, who grimaced and turned back. The first years scuttled off again, shoving whatever toy prank they had back into their robes.
“AND NOW… WILL YOU PLEASE WELCOME OUT… THE SNARES!” My ears pricked up instantly. I didn't know they were playing? That meant… The white hair bobbed up and down, held back by a white bandana. The Snares wore all white and marched onto the field with a steely gaze. Harold, my brother was standing at the front of the Magisteer's plinth arms folded, surveying the pitch beneath him. A huge roar of applause rippled around the stadium as the Habitat changed in a flash of white light. “THE FIRST HABITAT IS A FARKINGHAM BOG…”
It was an exhilarating match. Zara Faraday was better at Riptide than all her form mates, and consistently outlasted them. The first match was won by the Lorkerdos 5-3, they were a tough team — slow, but powerful and their spells accurate. Whereas the Snares were quick and flighty, but haphazard. A big fat lad from Lockerdo found an ornament in the mud which made his spells ten times more powerful and he finished the Snare’s off in thirty seconds flat.
Brian Gullet and Sarah-Jane Thompson from the Snares took the headlines in the second and third matches — Brian is a notoriously clever magical geek, and did spells I’ve never seen before. Robin said he was using the bridge spell
Returious
to create an enclosed bridge for Sarah-Jane to run across. The Lockerdos sent spell after spell at the bridge, which crumbled, but not before Sarah-Jane had run the length of the pitch and slammed the ball in to the Lockerdos bolt-hole.
In the third match, the bigger Lockerdo boys went straight for Brian Gullet, knocking him out of the game. Then for Zara and then Sarah-Jane, before winning the match with a “
Libero-Manus
!”
The Lockerdos had some interesting tactics that Jake and Gret were analysing. Apparently they were very clever, adapting themselves to different circumstances. For instance one of their team, the large fat one, was a
Searcher,
it was his job to only search for Ornaments. He had someone who guarded him while he searched. Then their were three Lockerdo’s who went straight for the best players spelling them out of the game. The rest were the flounder players, it was their job to get the flounders and keep them, they did this by staying in shapes and finding space. Passing around to each other in circles. It was very effective. The Lockerdos, of the fourth year, beat the Snares of the second year by four games to one. Zara, Sarah-Jane and Brain Gullet left the field looking bedraggled and very worn out.
***
“So, what I am saying is this…” said Jake who was all charged up after watching the first competitive game of the season. “We need someone who can be our Searcher—so we have a chance at finding an Ornament. Finding an Ornament can turn a game around.”
“He’s right,” said Joanna. “What’s the point in having twelve of us charging towards their bolt-hole if they will just take us all out… the upper years know better magic than us. We need to work in a tactically sufficient way that suits us.”
“We should play offensively against teams in the league,” said Gret stamping her fist into her hand. “And operate a swift tactical defensive unit in the cup games. We need clear tactics so everyone knows what they are doing.”
We were standing in the clearing where we played Riptide debating tactics for what seemed a millennia. Everyone was up for it after watching a master show from the Lockerdos.
“Robin will be the Searcher,” I said. “He has a great eye for things like that,” I winked at him.
Robin rolled his eyes. “No, no, I don’t think the responsibility—”
“Great idea Avis!” said Hunter enthusiastically. “Robin, you up for it?” Our whole form looked longingly at him.
“I mean,” Robin glared at me, before sighing. “Sure, why not.”
***
“We’re still gonna get beaten,” said Hunter as we finalised our tactics for the last time with the girls in our dorm room. The fire crackled as Dawn put another log on it.
“What?” said Jake. “Look, we’ve practiced, we have planned tactics. What else can we do?” It was the night before our first Riptide match and the nerves were getting to everyone.
“Why did you put that log on?” said Simon. “It’s too big, this is the boy’s fire, only boys are allowed to operate it!”
“Sorry!” said Dawn flouncing back to the armchair. “Can’t do right for wrong with these boys,” she whispered loudly to Ellen.
My mind was on other things. Earlier, at dinner I was leaving the Chamber and Tina approached me smiling. “Hey you,” she cooed.
“Oh hi,” I said rather awkwardly.
“Long time no speak,” she said seductively twirling her hair. “Good luck with the game tomorrow. I hope you win,” she fluttered her long eyelashes at me and pecked me on the cheek.
“Thanks,” I said before Jasper’s sour face frowned at me from the top of the stairs. I shook my head and pulled myself back into the dorm room.
“I am just saying we need to ‘ave a positive attitude about ‘dis,” said Jake.
We’d been talking Riptide tactics for days and days. We kept agreeing on a final plan, but then someone would come up with a new idea and we would debate it for hours. “Jake’s right,” I said. “We do need to maintain a positive attitude. What happened last year won’t happen again. We had no idea what we were doing last year, it was a nightmare… but that won’t happen again. Let’s just keep our tactics as they are, nice and simple so we don’t get confused and just see how tomorrow goes.”
Everyone nodded. I didn't mention the training we had with Partington the day before, because well… it was a disaster. Everything that could’ve gone wrong did. Hunter face planted the bolt-hole and had to go to the Healer’s room. While the
pasanthedine
spell worked (
raising someone into the air spell
), it seems we had forgotten completely how to do
kadriepop
(
to get ourselves down again!
) I hung, limp in mid air waving my arms round like a lunatic, along with most of the others until Partington let us down, and then left early, claiming he had some very important meeting to attend.
***
The crowds chants rang deafeningly above us as we waited in the tunnel. The Happerbats were already on the pitch and had received a very well rounded applause. What would we get? Laughter probably —
Theres the team that doesn’t know how to play Riptide from last year, hahahaha!
I had the jumper on, underneath my Riptide shirt, along with my Seven League Shoes. I persuaded Robin to keep his spectacles on too. So now, this gave us a couple of advantages (
illegal advantages
). My heart began beating at the speed of knots as Magisteer Underwood came into the tunnel holding the long probe.
“Feet up and arms out,” she said. Joanna at the front was searched throughly by Underwood before being given a nod. “Anything illegal, please say now, or face the wrath of permanent exclusion.”
I froze solid, my heart beating in my chest. Would she recognise the jumper, the shoes, or Robin’s spectacles as illegal? I could say I didn't know, that I had no idea that they were magical—surely she would buy that?
She checked Hunter, then Simon, then Graham. Robin glanced behind at me with a panicked expression before lifting his arms. Underwood scanned him, then nodded. All clear.
But, maybe it was just glasses she couldn't see, maybe they weren't magical enough? My Seven League Shoes would surely be found out!
Oh, why oh why did I have to risk using the jumper and shoes, just to give us an advantage at stupid Riptide?!
This was unbearable. I held my arms out as she approached. I felt her eyes scanning me for what seemed like an eternity. “Ok the Condors, you’re all clear. Make your way out now,” she said.
My heart jumped for joy, before retuning to absolute fear as we slowly marched out onto the wide grass pitch.
“PLEASE WELCOME OUT… THE CONDORS!” A mix of gentle applause, not as loud as the Happerbats rippled around the stadium.
We marched out, jelly-legged and came face to face with the Happerbats who stood confident, in purple and green stripes. They were a lot bigger than us in size and weight. My stomach turned inside out—this could be another car crash like last year, in front of the whole school. But, then I remembered, we had three distinct advantages.
“Take your positions!” cried Underwood marching into the middle of the pitch. I walked solemnly over to furthest right side of the pitch. Jess and Florence stood just behind me, it was their job to follow me only.
Robin, who was rearranging his spectacles stood in the very middle, guarded by Dawn and Graham.
Jake, Gret and Joanna were standing dead centre in a small huddle — causing the spaced out Happerbats to look quizzically at each other, for this was not usual.
Hunter stood guard by the bolt-hole with a fixed mark of concentration on his face.
I stood anxiously looking around, for in a minute or so that blue or red flounder would be sailing straight for me. We seemed to have to wait an age for Underwood to initiate the Habitat change. All around the stadium were excited faces chattering away. The Magisteer's plinth had Partington standing arms folded, with Straker just behind muttering something that Partington was trying his best to ignore. The Lily sat next to Simone, both staring off into the distance looking bored. Hardly any yellow and black scarves waved in the crowd — it was all purple and green. I saw Tina and Jasper standing together with their forms, all wearing purple and green. And yet, there were some wearing Condor scarves. I looked closer… it was Zara and her Snare friends — my stomach fluttered again.
In a white flash the Habitat changed. Now we were standing in a long swaying grass field. Several sparse trees stood unmoving.
“AN AFRICAN PLAIN!” cried Underwood as the crowd crooned.
A whistle rang true across the stadium and a great roar erupted from the crowd. The blue and red flounders shot up out of the opposing bolt-holes. Flashes of
pasanthedine
spells zoomed towards us as the Happerbats charged as one with an almighty roar. I jumped into the grass, out of the way of three spells. Jess and Florence fired spells back at the runners who were charging full pelt towards us. Joanna, Jake and Gret, with their arms outstretched had grown the grass ahead of the charging Happerbats. In one go their feet became tangled. In panic they stopped, backing away and firing a tirade of spells at the grass — which promptly caught fire. Robin was frantically searching the pitch for an Ornament, squinting hard with Dawn and Graham following. It couldn't have been easy, there was so much magic going on that he must have been half-blinded.
A blue light lit up above me. The flounder was soaring through the air. Hunter had thrown it, but it was going to land way too far ahead of me! With a double tap of the shoes, I erupted up the right flank. It was magical. I saw the Happerbats charging towards me and I darted straight past them. In slow motion, I turned, aimed two hands at the three chargers and cried “
Pasanthedine
!” One blast of white light engulfed them immediately. I looked up at the descending flounder. “
Zxanbatters
!” I called as the magnetic spell drew the ball to my hand with a snap. Up ahead, a big Happerbat guarded the bolt-hole. The speed I was running at was impossible, my legs felt like they were being pushed beyond anything they had ever done. And I was fast running out of space before I smashed headlong into the end of the stadium.
The guard at the bolt-hole had spotted me and was aiming everything she had. In one fluid motion, I kicked off a tree, launching myself up into the air, ten feet above the ground. I double tapped the shoes, and then miraculously, began to slow, descending straight at the bolt-hole. Jess and Florence charged forwards through the fiery grass, hands outstretching as I curled my feet back and pulled the flounder behind my head. Blue and white light burst from Jess and Florence, knocking the guard high up in the air in a screaming fit of anger. I sailed downwards slamming the flounder into the deep, dark bolt-hole goal. A blue column of light shot into the sky. I landed on the raised grassy hill and slid down, feeling a little dizzy as a gigantic roar lit up the stadium.
But I couldn't stop now, the red flounder was in mid air. Simon and Dennis were standing beneath it, awaiting the fall. The Happerbats were so caught up in the fight with Jake and Gret, that they had forgotten about the flounder. When the ball dropped to Simon, he simply ran through the open space, the Happerbats realising too late as a column of red light shot skywards like a laser.