Spy x family (reader insert)

Play ball

A note to make, I have been busy with summer ending getting, more hours out of work, and going out of state with family for a bit. I do apologize for keeping you waiting... I must also confess I am...not too fond of this chapter. So instead of torturing myself going into the amazing, super detailed chapters authors have regarding sports...I have taken a different approach to help this go by easier, but I also hope you enjoy this as well.

Mr. Pinson yawns, rubbing the back of his neck while talking. "All right, kids. Get to your groups. We'll play by numbering the teams, then decide who will play by drawing numbers from this." He holds up a baseball batter's upside down by its brim.

The students quickly scramble, looking to team up with friends and good players. Many are excited, and some are disappointed by the answers they receive. Soon enough, any kids searching for a team find each other and lock in as a team, not wanting to get yelled at by the teacher for not following the command quickly enough. Some students show how happy they are to play, while others look like they want to go home immediately.

With a nod, the teacher grabs a rubbery red dodgeball, tossing it up and down. "All right, guys. No face-hitting, no derogatory comments, and if I see any sass, I'm making you do serpentine. During each round, I want each team to have a new defender so everyone can have a chance. All right. Let's play ball." With that, he tosses the ball into the air.

Over the next hour, dodgeballs flew across the room, the rubber hitting the skin, and shouts of excitement and frustration were heard at the results of their actions. Overall energy is on a high with kids enjoying their time over time. With my team and I, we had a more...competitive nature. Even with Angel when someone laughed and said she'd probably rather be painting her nails and hosting tea parties, it fired her up as much as Aedin, who was cackling like a madman.

While we all played competitively, there was no bracket or one being held in the teacher's mind it seemed as if he was staring absentmindedly, only speaking up to scold students who were acting up and causing harm to themselves or others. Luckily, I was able to make the games faster when I played while making us lose sometimes as well as not to raise any suspicion. 

It was... simpler than I thought. Seeing people my age giving it their all let me see how strong they were, so it put me at ease and showed how much force I could use...and the thrill of it put me less rigid than before we started. 

But the one thing that felt so strange? The shouts of encouragement from my team, even Audrey encouraged me when I didn't hit my target or got hit with a ball. Dante was the loudest, his cheers nearly made me flinch every time I succeeded, I even heard sounds I thought were dramatized on TV, I believe it was called a squeal of delight. To be honest, it took everything in me to not jump up and down with them, as the thought of them being weirded out of losing my composure.

Overall with the game, I felt...like a teenager. Is that the right feeling? Feeling so cozy around people getting to know you while so anxious you want to throw up and be buried under all the blankets and pillows in your bed to suffocate and die in.  Was I feeling, acting like a teen that I would be if I had a life like everyone else here...?

Do I even deserve this life after what I was brought up to be from where I escaped?

The thoughts were growing in my head, my throat tightening so much that I was swallowing up my voice deep into my stomach. I felt so aware of my body, my hands feeling like I had gloves over them, there was no way my fingers felt like this. The cold pricked at my skin but only settled on the surface, not daring to burrow deep into me, like it wanted no part to join my inner turmoil, it just wanted to make it worse.

And my thoughts...it was too quiet in there. My voices just gone. Maybe they wanted no part of me, punishing me for feeling like this. Who could blame them, I was tearing myself piece by piece on the inside, judging it silently with disdain and hatred. I was cleaning my brain out while playing some silly game with other people.

A hand on my shoulder made me jump, it felt like my skin was gonna tear off and my muscles would be in the air as I looked to see Audrey quickly retracting her hand with surprise. I quickly focus on her as she coughs into her hand and points at the teacher. "He's um... announcing the winner." She mutters, eyes remaining away from me, a hint of red on her cheeks.

My eyes quickly flick over to Mr. Pinson as he looks over a clipboard he has in hand...did he have that on him the entire period? The man clears his throat before projecting his throat. "All right, I'll be announcing the top three teams who had the least amount of losses." He tells all before looking around. "3rd place: Team6. 2nd: team 12, and first place...team 9."

Huh...we got 2nd place? Was that good?

Before I could ask it out loud, it gets answered as Aedin takes a pose, bending his knees, arms flexing on either side of him, and looking up as he lets out a yell of joy in an aggressive tone. Dante laughs at this as the girls smirk at this. They all group together, jumping up and down before noticing I'm not moving. Without saying a word, they drag me in and have me jump up and down in a circle around them, side hugging each other. 

Other students were to congratulate us and the other team, a smile on their faces while some seemed upset only for a moment and then shook it off, no one getting snippy about how happy all three teams were acting about this, some even joined us, their voices drowned out in each other's but you could still hear the happiness.

It was so strange, all of it. But maybe...I can stop thinking about what I deserve and let myself be happy over something so small as my Uncle wanted me to be.