Iralyn stood outside the gymnasium at 3:15 PM. Since she was now a tenth-year student, she had to try out for the Upper Team. The Lower Team covered eighth and ninth; the Upper Team covered tenth and eleventh.

“Hey,” someone said behind her, “You’re that girl who took Ezzie down a notch, aren’t you?”

She spun around. “Who?”

“Ezzie. That obnoxious jerk who is quite sadly right over there.”

Iralyn followed. “Oh. Her.”

“Well, thanks for that,” the person continued, “are you trying out today?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool! So am I. My name’s Vera. I’m eleventh-year.”

“Wait, she’s trying out?” Iralyn asked, shocked. The fact that Ezzie, of all people, was here was just now sinking in.

Vera nodded. “You’re new this year, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. You could tell that easily?”

“Well, Ezzie is the star of the team. She may be horrible at a lot of things, like being a half-decent person, but basketball is not one of them. Trust me, nobody likes her, but last year, she made over eighty percent of her free throws and scored exactly three-hundred and fifty-nine points. The entire team this year, even the new tenth-years know that, mostly because she wouldn’t shut up about it since it happened. She’ll say ‘Hi, my name’s Ezzie, did you know I’m God’s gift to basketball?’ and it is probably the most annoying thing in the world,” Vera said, “so you not knowing who she is gave it away.”

“Oh.” 

“But the rest of us aren’t that bad,” Vera said, smiling, “and the team’s pretty small, if you haven’t noticed. There are fourteen of us here, and the team takes twelve. The league allows a max of fifteen, though, so if you’re half-decent, you’re set.”

“Oh.”

“What’s that for? You sound disappointed. Don’t you want to be on the team?”

“I do, I just saw the stats for the team last year and I thought that it would have a bunch of people who are really good.”

“Most of our wins will come from Ezzie, Taelie, and Aniss. There were a bunch of good eleventh-years who graduated last year. They were pretty much the entire upper team since eighth year.”

“Do you think we have a chance?” Iralyn asked.

Vera shrugged. “Maybe. I know I’m going to be on the team, and you probably will be, too. As for winning? We won’t do as good as last time, but I’m still hopeful.”

“Do you know how many Virtue points Ezzie has?” Iralyn asked.

“Not off the top of my head, no. Why?”

“Because I just barely got into tryouts! I lost one hundred and fifty after the fight! And I know I had a high count.”

“Give me a second,” Vera said, turning away. Iralyn tried to see what she was doing, but Vera shot her a glare and made it impossible. “Okay, so, Ezzie’s currently at around one fifty. I think she lost...forty or so yesterday.”

Iralyn took a step back, her head spinning. Only forty? How? She was being a jerk to Veltola, and she’d fought back even harder than Iralyn had fought her.

“Doesn’t make the most sense, does it?” Vera paused, “But that’s how the system works.”

“It doesn’t,” Iralyn agreed.

-1.

She had forgotten about criticizing the system. Couldn’t make that mistake again.

“I wish I could change it sometimes. But I’m sure they have their reasons for making it the way it is.”

“That’s why all children go through the phase of questioning it,” Iralyn said, quickly catching onto what Vera was saying.

The whistle blew and all fourteen girls jogged onto the court. 

“Hello, ladies,” the coach said, “I’m Coach Joyce, and welcome to tryouts. For those of you who are new, we’ve got twelve spots available, and there are fourteen of you. That means that two of you are going to get cut. But let’s not focus on that right now — we’re here to play! Before we get started, let’s take roll call: Ezzie Aneis?”

“Here,” Ezzie said. She leaned against a wall, spinning a basketball on her fingers.

“Kori Galvan?”

“Present.”

“Osivia Linc?”

“Over here.”

The roll call went on for the rest of the team. Vera Maddox, Taelie North, Keegan Parvus, Farren Raine, Lenna Shay, Caelan Stroph, Lora Stroph, Zaly Umber, Aniss Valen, and Rilla Wilder. Iralyn knew she would forget the names as soon as practice started.

Coach Joyce smiled. “Looks like everyone came! Awesome. Since there’s an even number, grab a partner and get to an open area. You’re going to show what you know of basic defense and offense. Go!”

Iralyn turned to Vera, but she was already gone, jogging over to someone else she probably knew better.

“Iralyn,” Coach Joyce said, “go with Osivia.”

Osivia smiled at Iralyn, then said, “Go grab that area over there. The one by the window. I’ll get the ball.”

Iralyn nodded. “Okay!” She ran over to the area Osivia told her to go to.

Just a few seconds later, she was face to face with Ezzie again.

“Move,” Ezzie demanded.

“No.”

“I said, move. This is my area.”

“I was already here.”

“Let’s just find another area,” said the girl behind Ezzie.

“Uh, no. This is our area,” Ezzie replied.

“Pretty sure it’s ours,” Osivia said, running over to stand beside Iralyn.

“Who are you, another new tenth-year? We don’t want you here; leave.”

“Who even are you?” Osivia asked.

“You don’t know already?” Ezzie asked, chuckling.

“I don’t know who you are, but I do know that you’re the human equivalent of school lunches.”

A red -2 flashed over Osivia’s head.

“Ezzie! Aniss!” Coach Joyce shouted, “Over here! Iralyn and Osivia were already there!”

Osivia turned to Iralyn, smirked, and said, “Worth it! Now, you ready?”

Iralyn grinned. “I’ve been waiting all day for this.”

Coach Joyce blew her whistle. “Alright, ladies, let’s get started!”