Straight-Up Not Having A Good Time At Night Raven College: Chapter 2

Chapter 5: Magishift Competing

"...Huh?" Grim asked, twizzling his ears. "Magical... Shift? Tournament? What's that?"

"HUH?!" Came the significantly louder, more surprised echo from Ace and Deuce.
They hurried back over, stopping to stare down at Grim with pure, unmitigated shock.

"WHAT?!" Ace demanded. "No way-- fuzzball, don't tell me you've never heard of Magishift!? What, were you living under a rock before you crashed the entrance ceremony or what?!"

He looked over at Kat.
"Hey, Prefect-- what kind of education have you been GIVING this guy?! How does he not know what Magishift is?!"

Kat looked back at him, blinking slowly.
"...I never have any idea what you people are talking about," she sighed after a second, pushing her glasses up onto her forehead and rubbing her eyes. "God..."

Replacing them, she looked around at Ace and Deuce again, only to see that now, they were staring at HER in shock.

"Wh-- S-Seriously?!" Ace spluttered, gaping. "Dude-- Kat... C'mon! You've seriously never heard of Magishift, either?!"

"...No," she replied, an edge of irritation starting to build in her voice. "I'm sorry, am I missing something here?!"

"It's a world-famous sport," Deuce said. "Actually, it's probably, like, THE most popular sport in the world! There are pro leagues, and even a world championship tournament."

"...Ah-- well, there's your problem," she said after a second. "The whole 'world' thing."

"Ohhh..."
Wincing, Deuce and Ace nodded, giving each other awkward looks.

Grim tugged at her pants leg, and she paused to scoop him up, holding him against her chest like a stuffed animal.
"Hey-- I've never heard of this, either," he piped up, folding his forelegs. "What is it, anyway?"

Ace looked at him, then back at Kat.
She shrugged.

Sighing, Ace drooped his head, one hand ruffling his hair.
"Okay... So, basically, Magishift-- that's short for Magical Shift-- is a competitive sport. The games have two opposing teams, both with seven people on 'em, and, basically, the players have to battle for control of a disk. You get points by sending the disk into the other team's goal, and the team with the most points wins."

Putting his hands on his hips, he looked at Kat and Grim again.
"You got all that?"

Kat blinked.
"So, it's like... Soccer or football-- American football, I mean-- but... With a-- what kind of disk? Is it, like, a hockey puck, or like a Frisbee?"

Now it was her turn to be on the receiving end of the blank stares.
".....Spinny plastic plate you throw for dogs?" She suggested after a second.

"Ohhhh," everyone murmured again.
"The-- second one," Ace told her.

"Ah-- okay," Kat said, nodding.

"Marking... Foot? Ball?" Deuce asked, tilting his head with a puzzled look. "I've never heard of that... Is that a popular sport back where you're from, Prefect?"

"Yeah," Kat replied, shrugging again.

Crowley walked over, tapping his chin thoughtfully with a finger.
"Hmmm... Foot Ball, eh?" He mused. "This is the first time I've ever heard of such a game... Nevertheless, I shall look it up the next time I'm in the library. Perhaps it might reveal some kind of clue on returning you to your world, my dear!"

He beamed at her again.

"....Yeah, please do," she said after a second. "And-- don't forget this time."