The Cloak Guard

It Begins

Guilt. That was what kept eating away at Luke for the last day. The guilt of cheating.

But...was it cheating? He still wasn't sure. It was hard to define rules for superpowers. He knew it was probably cheating but there was no rule against it since no one ever thought it would actually happen.

Whatever the case, he did his best to push those thoughts away and just focus on what came next. He knew he killed it during training, his new powers giving him that extra boost he needed. So it would be next to impossible for him not to be chosen for the team. He just wondered what position he would get. And his friends. Did they get in? He hoped so. It wouldn't be right for him to play and not have his real team with him.

He'd done the play-by-play with his dad already and they'd had their usual training session that evening, sharpening up on the skills Luke felt he was lacking. He was actually grateful for the training then. Even if it wasn't technically cheating, he was resolved not to use his powers again, especially during a real game. Then it would really be unfair. So Luke focused on improving everything he could so he never felt like he had to rely on his power again. He would be better than that.

This morning though, all the confidence he'd had that he'd make the team had somehow managed to leak out of him during the night, leaving him a dry husk of anxiety and stress.

"Don't worry," his little sister Amy had said with a big smile on her face. "There's no way you didn't get in. You're the best!" She did an arm-pump as she said that which Luke couldn't help but chuckle at. It did make him feel a tiny bit better.

Still, that anxiety stayed with him throughout the day no matter how many times his friends tried to comfort him, although that may have been because they were also trying to console themselves. And 'don't worry, at least you'll get in' didn't really make him feel better. Neither did 'you've got to get in, for our sakes!'

Coach Beatriz had said she would post the new team list at the end of the day so Luke remained unfocused and stressful all day. He even passed up a moment to flirt with Emily, something he would berate himself for later.

Finally, the moment came. The final bell rang and he ran out of the class full speed, rocketing over to the school's bulletin board in the entrance hall, practically shoving everyone aside on his way. He heard several yells and cries of profanity but ignored them all. Right now, nothing was more important to him than this. Everything he'd been training so far for led to this moment. He had to have made it on the team. Otherwise...well, he didn't know what came next but he didn't like it.

He reached the board and found the list almost immediately, doing a scan to find his name.

The second he did, he felt like all his emotions got washed away.

He should have felt great. Fantastic even. But he didn't.

When that list had gone up, showing the names and positions of the new football team, he should have been over the moon. He was right at the top, just under Andrew Stroneman as an alternating quarterback.

He'd made it. He had actually done it. He may not be full quarterback, but he still had the position. And with it, he could show everyone what he was capable of and his future prospects were looking better.

Even so, he knew it had been wrong. Ever since he'd left the tryouts, he just couldn't shake that feeling. He knew no one else had what he had after all. No one else could move things with their mind and make winning the game look so easy. Just him.

But...this was his shot. That was what he kept telling himself all afternoon and through the night. He had to use every tool in his arsenal to succeed and this just happened to be a new one. And like he kept telling himself, it wasn't like there was a rule that said no superpowers.