Phantasia wasn’t surprised she was left until last. During her previous PE lessons she’d done her best to look unfit and uncoordinated. It was better than getting into the game and forgetting to keep her true nature secret! There had been an embarrassing incident in her very first week, too, when Shelley struck a hockey ball at a bad angle and sent it flying through Phantasia’s neck. By some strange twist of fate, no one had noticed at the time, but it left Phantasia wary of getting involved. Even if she could get away with it, it wouldn’t be fair on the other students, anyway – they couldn’t fly or pass through matter, after all!

With only two students left, Khandro had the four captains draw straws. Theseus gained Kaori, putting her on the same team as her boyfriend, while Phantasia was with Hermia. After a bout of vest-swapping, so everyone was wearing their team colour, the tournament began.

The first match was between Hermia’s blue team and Theseus’s red. Both captains were quick to assign positions to their players, but few understood the technical terms they were tossed around like professionals. Hermia instructed Phantasia to ‘play midfield’ without any further explanation, but Lysander was on hand to help.

“Pass the ball to me, and don’t let the other team get it!”

Hermia retreated to the goalposts to bark orders from her position of keeper. Given that this was her best subject, it stood to reason she knew what she was doing, but when Phantasia glanced at her fellow midfielders – Katrina and Shelley – for reassurance, they looked as anxious as she felt. Ahead, Lysander and Theseus, the opposing forwards, met at the middle of the pitch for the kick-off.

“You freaks are going down,” said Theseus, thrusting him thumb towards the ground.

“We’ll see whose talking big after time’s up, Fleecy,” retorted Lysander.

Phantasia’s first game of football was over before she knew it, and she only ever kicked the ball once! Lysander, Angelo and Lyra had done all the work, twisting their way through the red team’s concentrated attack and slipping through a lacklustre defensive line consisting of a gossiping Joel and Kaori, and a determined but outnumbered Elone. Vincent, their goalkeeper, made only the slightest of moves to save Lysander’s shots, whereas Hermia ended the game with muddy knees from the times she’d taken Theseus on head-to-head.

The two teams stood on the sidelines to watch the green and yellow teams play. Lysander slinked over to Phantasia, Angelo in tow, to explain the situation.

“Korrigan’s an athlete, not a player. She’s just not the competitive type. Deneb, on the other hand, is some kind of master strategist.”

“I believe the odds are three-to-two in Deneb’s favour,” quipped Angelo.

Lysander clapped his hands in approval. “An excellent deduction, my betting companion!”

Korrigan’s mismatched team struggled against Deneb’s quiet strategy. Even the star athlete’s deft agility failed to make an impression because of her team’s lack of effort.

“I can not believe what my eyes are seeing!” cried Lysander, “Chris Shaw and Lance Algar have just scored another goal! What is going on?”

Deneb had been clever enough to use their hormones for the team’s benefit. The lecherous twosome were on top form, following their captain’s orders to a tee while Doyle backed them up in defence, flashing his white teeth in her direction whenever he made a successful tackle.

“Oh dear, Korrigan hasn’t even positioned her team,” wailed Lysander in melodramatic fashion, “They’re all over the place! In all my years I have never seen such a farce! Look, half the team has taken a break in the middle of the match! Dear-oh-dear, this can’t possibly end well!”

Chapter 27
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