Wrangling teenage emotions is hard enough on good days, but what if on bad days they could manifest as giant flesh and blood monsters?
Pacific Rim meets Friday Night Lights as knee-jerk rebel Sage Sawyer is forced to join her high school "tourneytub...
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It didn't take long for the Barnum City Humor Pacification Brigade to come and drag Nate away.
Neither did it take long for everyone else to drag their own selves back to bed.
And it certainly didn't take long for the two days before the Atlas State Final to fly by.
Now, here the Jupiter Jackalopes finally find themselves: sitting in the locker room on the day of the game, uniforms on, helmets by their sides, twiddling their thumbs, hearts wild in anticipation.
Of course they have to play the Birchside Barracuda.
None of them would want this game to go down any other way. Last year's champions? Undefeated this year? The team who kicked the Jackalopes asses barely over a month ago?
Bring them on.
Wendy is chomping at the bit.
Luckily, she doesn't have very long to wait. Dr. Howder, Dawn, and Talia burst through the locker room door, their eyes alight with anticipation and excitement.
"Holy crap, kids! Nairobi is sitting out there in the front row, as we speak! She's here to cheer on little bro, of course. But that doesn't mean we still can't put on a show!" Talia says, slapping her hands together. Nobody really knows what to do with all their excess energy.
"Damn right. OK, kids. Let's put our arms in." Dawn says, kneeling at the front of the room. For once, she seems oddly calm. At peace. Emotional hurricanes are apparently her time to shine.
Everyone present, every member of the Jupiter Jackalopes, even Dr. Howder herself, puts their arms in, following Coach's lead. Gee even bows her head. Wendy doesn't, of course, but she smiles anyway.
They rise as one, heading out to climb aboard their tubs.
One last time.
At least for this season...
Wendy strides down the hallway and hoists herself inside Jolly Roger's crouching body and open hatch. She snaps on her helmet. Slides the visor down. Powers on the machine. Breathes in its familiar funk.
Then charges out into the greater Ithaca Court.
Every electrical light in the entire universe seems to beam itself directly into Wendy's eyes. She's temporarily blinded. But she can still hear the roar of the crowd as both teams arrange themselves into their starting positions. She can hear the thunderous yet somehow still comforting stomp of five thousand feet.
She can still hear her own heartbeat.
Strong. Defiant. Joyful.
Wendy's vision returns.
Tonight, for the Atlas State High School Tourneytub Final, the two teams are playing on a standard court. Green turf. White lines. Centrally located cities, twenty skyscrapers apiece. And an endless expanse of flatness stretching between the Jackalopes and the Barracuda.
