Expectations When Expecting

Book 2, Chapter 5

"I never know what anyone is talking about." Yuu sighed, figuring out immediately that it was something that would have Grim whining once they knew what it was.

Ace pushed his way over to Yuu, much to the annoyance of Deuce, and looked at her incredulously, irking Yuu quite a bit.

"Dude, Yuu... You've never heard of Spelldrive?!" He inquired, his red eyes scanning over her as if she'd just sprouted a third eye.

"Ace... say sike right now." She grumbled, flicking his forehead. "Dude, need I remind you... I'm legitimately not from this world."

"It's a world-famous sport!" Deuce added helpfully, shoving Ace out of the way. "There's even a pro league and a world championship tournament."

"I ain't never heard of this either!" Grim grumbled as Yuu stared a bit blankly.

"Spelldrive is a sport played by competing teams of seven people. Basically, players battle for control of a disc and earn points by drivin' it into the enemy team's goal. The team with the most points wins!" Ace explained, barely contained excitement in his eyes.

The wheels in Yuu's head turned slowly for a moment as she registered Ace's information before the pieces finally clicked.

"That sounds like football." She remarked, earning bewildered looks from the boys.

"Football...? Say what?" Deuce repeated blankly.

"Similar to Spelldrive, but no magic."

"Ah."

Crowley scribbled something onto a stray page. "I've not heard of such a game, but I'll look it up the next time I'm at the library. Perhaps it will yield some sort of clue." He chirped, Yuu turning her attention to him.

"Oh, man, I just realized that Yuu would have a hard time actually playing." Ace said, placing a hand on his head as Yuu shot him a deadpan look.

"I wonder what gave you that idea?" She said sarcastically, already having figured out the requirements of the game with the contents of its name.

"Yeah? Why's that?" Grim asked, oblivious to Yuu's sarcasm. For a moment, she considered teaching Grim sarcasm, but ultimately decided against it. A sarcastic Grim would be far too powerful...

"You need magic to play. Not only do you move the disc with magic, but you use it to attack and defend, too." Deuce stated matter of factly as Yuu nodded.

"It makes sense given the word magic is in its name."

"Yeah!" Ace said, buzzing in excitement. "The flashier the magic, the better—it's how players show off their skills!"

"Yes, quite! That is why Night Raven College is known throughout the world as a leader in the sport! This school has produced countless pro players!" Crowley cawed loudly.

"That's why our interdorm Spelldrive tournaments attract attention even from pro league recruiters. Also, those simply looking for up-and-coming magicians use the event to scout hopeful candidates. Yes, the tournament is quite an affair. The campus will be full of visitors and lined with various kiosks. And the main event will be captured by television cameras and broadcast worldwide."

Yuu looked up, impressed. "Wow... That's actually incredible." She remarked, Crowley puffing out proudly, pleased with her praise.

"It's broadcast throughout the world?!" Grim meowed. "So you're sayin' that if I were to play in this tournament—and win of course—the whole world would see it?!"

Yuu's eyes widened as she realized the familiar route that this was going. "Oh... oh no."

"Of course! Players who excel at the tournament invariably attract great attention. Both from the pro leagues and the public at large!" Crowley cooed, ignoring Yuu's glare.

What have you just brought upon this cursed land-

"In your case, the magic would barely even matter. Just having a monster like you out there is sure to turn heads." Deuce added, Grim's little mind doing flips as he closed his eyes to picture the glory.

"It's settled, then! I'm gonna train around the clock, join a team, and become a legend!" The monster cheered, making the headmage freeze.

"Ah..." The Headmage's smile melted. "Alas, Grim, you cannot enter." He informed, completely crushing Grim's rapidly built dream.

"...Wait, what?"

Yuu glared at the Headmage, who seemed to flinch under her glare and turned away to avoid meeting her eyes.

"Y-yes. Did you not hear me speak the word 'interdorm' multiple times? Your dorm doesn't even have seven members. Therefore, you cannot enter the tournament." He informed, flinching when he heard Yuu's annoyed inhale.

"Whaaaaaat?! No faaaaair!" Grim whined, further angering Yuu. She took a deep breath and bit her tongue to avoid verbally attacking the headmage.

"B-But there's plenty else to do, from tending to the grounds to selling drinks in the stands!" Crowley suggested in a weak attempt to appease the pregnant woman who was assigned to care for the little monster. "Those who stand upon the field are not the only stars of tournament day."

"Not. Interested!" Grim yowled, stomping his paws like an unhappy three-year-old. "I wanna be on TV! I want everyone in the world fawning over me! 'Squeee! Grim is sooooo cool!' 'Did you see that play Grim made?' You get what I'm sayin'?"

As Grim whined, Yuu's glare hardened considerably as it fixated on the birdman in the room, who opted to attempt to hide behind his pile of documents.

"Your delusions are oddly specific, dude." Ace remarked, as usual, oblivious to the current situation.

"Well, if you can't field a team, I'm afraid that's that." Deuce said, attempting to calm Yuu down. "Maybe next year, Ramshackle House will get some new members. But it's not happening this year." He suggested, gently turning her away for the insufferable headmage and picking Grim up by the scruff of his neck.

Yuu sighed, still bristling. "Very well... but if Grim so much as whines..." She said, a threat hanging in the air, making Crowley nervous as he stood up, scrambling to collect a couple of documents on his desk.

"Anyway, as I believe I've mentioned, I'm a busy man. I must be off." He said, hurrying to the door and tipping his hat.

"Yeah, thanks for takin' me outta your busy day to build up my dreams and crush 'em!" Grim hissed before releasing a loud, high-pitched whine and burying his face into Yuu's uniform, sobbing.

Yuu cradled the cat gently, hushing him as she watched Crowley escape. She internally groaned as she realized that Grim's whining and crying would not cease for the rest of the day.