Rainbow Connection, AFTG ✔️

1.1

PORTER
CHAPTER ONE

Blackwell University was the host for this year's fall banquet. Porter had only been to two Exy banquets before, which made him one of the least experienced in these events; there weren't many freshmen Ravens' this semester, and this was only Porter's second year on the Edgar Allan University Exy team.

Despite the lack of banquet experience, Porter knew public appearances down to the t. He'd been training since the age of nine, and though Riko loved to remind him that he wasn't good enough for his Perfect Court, Porter was passable at what his forced role was meant to be.

This banquet would be different from a normal public appearance. Porter knew that before they ever went on the buses. He'd known it since the previous night when Riko Moriyama, Raven's team captain, had decided to lecture them on Kevin.

Their gigantic team had been stuffed into their basement locker rooms and been warned to not "receive Kevin too kindly", but Riko seemed to meet specific eyes with Porter and James Knight.

Kevin Day had been Riko's right-hand man — an ironic statement, considering he'd broken his left hand just ten months ago. On one of Riko's cheekbones, right under his eye, a bold 1 was tattooed into his pale skin. Kevin had a matching 2, and Jean Moreau had a 3. There was no number four, but Riko's short, bitchy boyfriend James was his 5. The missing number always felt like Riko's way of mocking him, telling him that there was a place if he was just good enough; Riko didn't seem to understand that Porter couldn't care less about being inked across the face to show how amazing he was.

Similar to Porter, Jean, and James, Kevin had been raised at the Ravens' headquarters, Castle Evermore, the largest Exy court in the nation. He'd grown up as a star, same as his adoptive brother Riko, and been somewhat of an unofficial mascot for the Ravens before he too could join them. Where he and Riko had been privately educated by tutors on sight, Porter still couldn't manage to read the English words on the directory signs in Blackwell's school halls. They luckily had Spanish translations on many instructions, like the ones in the Ravens' room at the banquet.

Not similar to James, Porter, and Jean, Kevin had escaped the Ravens' vile clutches. After an allegedly skiing incident with Riko, Kevin's dominant playing hand had been shattered to a point where experts said he'd never play Exy again. He'd vanished after that, without so much as a goodbye to Porter, and turned up as the Palmetto State University's assistant coach.

It was laughable. The PSU Foxes were a joke in the world of Class I Exy. Porter didn't laugh unless he couldn't scream and cry anymore.

The Blackwell stadium was eerily quiet by the time Kevin arrived. When the Palmetto Foxes were announced to arrive, he tensed up and didn't turn his head; Ravens moved in synchronization, and even if they didn't, Porter didn't know if he could handle looking at Kevin.

Everyone who'd arrived already was on the court. Thick cushioned mats covered the polished floor to keep table legs and chairs from scraping up the wood. All of the lights were on, but the overhead scoreboard was dark. Music was playing in the inner court. These banquets — Fall and Winter — were huge events, with fourteen teams there, and another ninety or so bodies in dates and staff.

Riko sat down. Every Raven joined him as soon as he began moving, and Porter's legs turned wobbly when the Foxes headed their way; there was a seating arrangement on the court. Chairs had paper banners draped over the backs with school colors and mascots. Finding a short line of orange chairs didn't take a lot of looking. It seemed the Foxes didn't have much issue realized the two teams were seated across from each other at the same table.