Descendants 1: A New Story

Part 6: Tests and Date

The tourney field was electric, with less than a minute on the clock, the scoreboard was tied 2-2. The cheerleaders, led by Audrey, chanted for the Fighting Knights. Even Jane, sweating inside the knight mascot costume, bounced along with them. In the stands, Mal, Henry, and Evie watched anxiously as the teams huddled up.

Down on the bench, the coach pointed at Jay. "You're up!"

Jay grabbed his stick, then pulled a nervous-looking Carlos to his feet beside him. "Coach, how about my buddy here?"

"I'm not so sure about that," Carlos mumbled.

"He's been practicing," Jay insisted. "You said yourself a team is made up of a bunch of different parts. Well, he's kind of like my brain."

The coach looked Carlos up and down, then tossed him a playing stick. "You heard him!" he barked. "Get out there!"

Jay gave Carlos a friendly noogie. "Don't worry, bro," he said with a grin. "I got your back."

"How about my front?" Carlos gulped, trotting onto the field behind him.

The announcer's voice boomed over the speakers. "And Jay from the Isle of the Lost is coming in, along with that little guy, Carlos, who can barely hold his shield! Here we go!" The whistle blew. A long pass went to Jay, who expertly dodged a player and dished the ball off to Ben. Out of nowhere, Carlos managed to block an opponent, then did a funny little victory dance right in the guy's face. The ball came back to Jay. He hurdled over a fallen player and zipped a pass to Ben, who was nearing the goal.

But Chad, wanting the glory, blocked Ben and passed the ball back to Jay. Jay was in the clear! He took the shot, but the Falcons' goalie made a diving save. "Twenty-three seconds left!" the announcer shouted. "You could cut the tension with a sword!" The next play was a blur of motion. The ball was passed to Jay, who leaped high to catch it. He ran down the field but was blocked hard by two players. He managed to pass to Ben just as Carlos threw himself in front of another Falcon player and went down in a heap.
Jay scooped Carlos up, helping him to his feet as they dodged a barrage of balls from the cannons. Jay got control of the ball again, sprinting until he was clear.

"Jay!" Carlos yelled, standing wide open right in front of the goal. Jay whipped the ball toward him. It was a perfect pass, but it bounced comically off Carlos's helmet and flew right back to Jay. Without missing a beat, Jay passed it to a waiting Ben. Ben shot. He scored! The buzzer sounded as the ball hit the back of the net. The crowd roared. The Knights had won.

The crowd in the stands went wild as Mal covered her ears as the announcer's voice boomed across the field. "What a team! It's the new guys, Jay and Carlos, who set up the prince for the win! An absolutely wonderful end to one of the best games ever! Here they come, folks, the winners..."

Suddenly, Ben grabbed the golden microphone right out of the announcer's hands. "Excuse me!" he shouted, his voice echoing on the field. "Can I have your attention, please?" The entire crowd went silent. Ben climbed up onto one of the dragon-shaped cannons, looking out at the sea of faces. In the bleachers, Mal's eyes went wide with alarm.

Henry snickered and nudged her with his elbow. "Uh oh. I think your love spell broke his brain."

"Shut up," Mal hissed, her focus locked on Ben.

"There's something I'd like to say!" Ben announced. "Gimme an M!"

"M!" the crowd roared back, copying him.

"Gimme an A!" Ben shouted.

"A!"

"Gimme an L!"

"L!"