Video Game High School: The Professional Game

Chapter 2: An Aftertaste of Defeat

"What a game that was in the French capital," Scott Slanders said. "It was another explosive match at the Paris Arena between the Paris Panthers and the Knights of Lyon. These two massive rivals were battling it out hard in a game of king of the hill. The Knights took the first two rounds before the Panthers were able to claw back the subsequent two rounds to tie the score. Both teams were spectacular, giving us epic play after epic play. It was a match where the skills of these players were at the forefront of the show."

"I couldn't have said it better myself, Scott, " Anna Lexington, his French co-anchor, said. "In the end it was the Knights who emerged victorious over the Panthers. As captain of the silver outfit from Lyon, Andreas Moreau (MonZ) spearheaded his team's offense. As expected from this season's top shooter, MonZ ended the match with the most kills at twenty-three."

"Though the Paris Panthers put up a valiant effort," Scott began. "They just came up short. Turning our eyes onto the French league table for the preliminary season, this sees the Knights climb up to second place in the standings, just five points behind league leaders Team Helios. The Panthers on the other hand fall from fourth to sixth. With just five matches left, the battle for a top five finish and qualifying for this year's Champions Tournament continues to heat up."

Smashing her locker door with her fist, Jenny cursed in anger at the Panther's defeat. Her teammates shared in her anger as a few threw their jackets and other valuables to the ground while others would join in the symphony of swearing. The only ones who kept their mouths shut were their coach, Jaque le Teur and captain, Jean Arsenault (Arsenal). The two leaders in the dressing room waited in silence for the team to cool down from their heated emotions.

Less than three minutes later, the locker room fell silent. Everyone took their respective seats once they had calmed down which gave Coach le Teur a chance to speak. Jenny and many of her teammates expected a hard telling off from the old man. However, they were all surprised by his sudden burst of laughter.

"That was a fun match was it not?" Coach le Teur said. "Arsenal here was outstanding. His triple kill whilst sliding across the ground was fabulous! Did you see Emilliana (Etrala) in the fourth round? I've never seen a heavy gunner boldly drop their weapon and take down two enemies with just a pistol whilst being backed into a corner. Then we have, Jenny! What an incredible performance in the second round. You were sniping enemies whilst providing reconnaissance for your teammates. Simply excellent!"

"We know everyone is disappointed in the result." Jean began. "But, on behalf of the coach, we're very proud of the team's performance tonight. We fought for one another. We encourage one another despite our mistakes. But most importantly, we did not give up. We fought till the end. We're all aiming to compete in the Champions Tournament. And we'll get there. Now huddle up."

As everyone on the team got together in a close circle, shoulder to shoulder whilst their hands joined in the center, Jean let out a shout. "Un! Deux! Trois!"

"Rugir pour Paris!" The team cried out in unison.

After leaving the Paris Arena, Jenny took a taxi back to her dorm at the Cisco eSports Training Complex, the Panthers' home base. It was unusual seeing as most of her teammates reside in one of the many high class apartments and condominiums within the French capital. Both her mother and the team's management had initially offered to pay for accommodations when she first came to France. However, Jenny wished to live on her own and that managing her own expenses, cutting costs where she can, would be a good start. Thus she lived in one of the many dorms traditionally used by youth players from the Panthers' FPS academy, especially those who originate from outside Paris or further abroad.

Once inside, Jenny took a cold shower to cool off her still burning rage. The painful memory of her missed sniper shots in the match flashed across her mind like a powerpoint slide, each being an example of how much more she still had to improve upon. How could she consider herself a professional when she could not even make a simple headshot without later missing five more. She then further recalled all the other missed shots in previous matches that could have changed their outcome. How many potential victories have been stripped from the Panthers due to Jenny's mistakes. How much longer before they would release her from her contract. Maybe she should have stayed at VGHS instead of jumping straight to the professional leagues.

Pulling on a dark-violet Panthers hoodie and black track pants, Jenny dug into a warm cup of instant noodles whilst catching up on some of her favourite shows on the television to clear her head. As the clock struck twelve, she had grown exhausted. Yet, disappointment and anger still lingered within her. Glancing over at her personal gaming station in her bedroom, situated near the window looking out onto the Paris skyline, newfound resolve surged through her veins to train harder.

New, tougher practice schedules and routines began to piece together in her head. She would wake up at five in the morning instead of six to accommodate an extra hour of practice before joining team practice at eleven. Jenny even thought about changing her diet to maximize nutrient intake whilst minimizing time wasted on consumption. If it would elevate her game from where she was now by even a little bit, she would not hesitate to try it.

Just then, she received a text from her vice-captain, Patrice Moreau (Frost). It was a surprise to receive a text from him at such a late hour. Jenny was afraid to read it as it either meant she was toast or that a youth academy player would be competing against her for the sniper position on the team.

In truth, she never really earned the role in the first place. Half way into Jenny's first season playing for the Panthers, they lost their first choice sniper, Henry Marshall (L0rde) to the Sentinels. Jenny was meant to be a back up, studying her predecessor while stepping in for him throughout her early seasons. This would help Henry avoid burnout whilst giving Jenny experience in the top flight of French FPS. However, almost no one was surprised by the sudden move. With L0rde being the top ranked sniper in France, it was inevitable that the Englishman would be snapped up by one of the top teams in the world. Jenny had some big shoes to fill. Fortunately, she was able to perform well enough when thrusted into the spotlight, and the team was able to reach new heights with her as the Panthers' main sniper. Though it would seem that her status as the new up and coming talent worthy of time to prove herself had ended. All she wanted now was one more chance to prove that she was deserving of being the team's main sniper.

Reading Frost's text, Jenny was perplexed at first. "Meet at training room one," Frost's text said, "And don't wake anybody up."

Making her way down to the training room designated with the big number one on its door, Jenny was met by the whole team already seated at most of the gaming stations in the room. From the first team players to those in the reserve squad, everyone part of the Panthers' first team was present. They were already deep into a nine against eight match of king of the hill. Each team was a balanced mix of the top players and those in the reserve squad.

Written on the whiteboard at the front of the room were tactics used by the Knights of Lyon during their match just a few hours ago. The few other scribblings dotted all around spoke of an idea to counter them. Though Jenny could not make out the exact details, she understood the basic concept of what was being expressed to combat the Knights' cornering tactics.

"I knew you were still awake," Frost said from behind his computer. "Get your ass over here and join our team. We need a sniper so that we can try out a new strategy I have in mind."

Taking a seat between Frost and Leon Faucher (L10n), Jenny logged onto the computer with her credentials and dropped into the match which now made it an even nine against nine. Arsenal led the opposite team and was playing a three sentinel defense with Adam Iskandar (Ataker) and Leonardo Ascari (Protez) which resembled the Knights' own defense from the match. Ataker was a new sentinel the team had brought in from Malaysia at the start of the season to strengthen our squad depth. Protez on the other hand has been with the team for nine seasons. Almost everyone in the match was focused on the match, not making any unnecessary noise except to communicate with teammates and the occasional frustrated grunt.

"You guys don't have to beat yourself up over the match." Arsenal said over the teamspeak. "Listen, we're all a team. While some of us have been in the Panthers for almost a decade and others have just joined, we're all fighting for the same goal. But most importantly, we're all fighting for each other. And no matter what happens in the arena, we're all still just people who love video games and we're blessed to be paid doing what we love. So, please calm yourselves and don't get too caught up in your mistakes. You'll get another chance soon. So grab it when it arrives. In the meantime, have fun!"

Arsenal then proceeded to take down five of Jenny's teammates who were approaching his team's spawn with a few bursts of his sub-machine gun. This was followed by the rest of the team joining the battlefield. This time everyone had a smile on their face. It had only been hours since their defeat, but now everyone was hyped for another game. Without hesitation, Jenny lined up her scope and joined the fray.