Wrangling teenage emotions is hard enough on good days, but what if on bad days they could manifest as giant flesh and blood monsters?
Pacific Rim meets Friday Night Lights as knee-jerk rebel Sage Sawyer is forced to join her high school "tourneytub...
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Wednesday afternoon right before practice and the whole team sits crammed inside Coach Wu's office. They're all staring at a scruffy looking chalkboard hanging before them, trying to memorize strategies and new tactics.
Artie Amphigore leans forward, taking it all in.
The tubs need to be ready. And so does he.
At least, Artie needs to be ready to modify and fix the tubs. No more jockeying for him. And now with Sage off the bench again, he doesn't have to.
Coach Wu jots things down on the board before them, carving white arrows into its green surface. Her motions are urgent but forceful.
"Alright everyone. Now that we got those strategies out of the way, I want to explore how we're gonna implement them for this Friday's game." She says.
"Uh, Coach? Can I stay on the benchpen this week, since Sage is-"
"If that's what you want, Artie. You weren't bad out there against the Octopi. I know you think you were, but I think we'll make a jockey out of you yet." At least Coach Wu is encouraging. Unlike the Jackalopes' previous coach, who was perfectly content to watch Artie rot in the benchpen.
"I'm not sure about all that, Coach. Besides, Sawyer gives us the best chance to win." Artie says. He turns to see Sage nod curtly at him. They both know it's true.
"So be it," Coach sighs as she limps over from the board and leans her other leg on the front of her desk, which is only slightly fancier than their usual school desks. She brushes chalk from her fingers and points at Peter.
"Donkersmit, I want you to really focus on your manifestation skills for this week's game. Don't worry about practicing your shield skills so much. I want you providing this team with the meanest leanest son of a bitch humor you can dig up from within." Coach Wu says.
Every member of the team could hear a pin drop in this office. They are all glued to Coach's instructions. Artie is startled. He's never heard a member of Jupiter High's staff ever say the 'B' word before. He didn't know that was even allowed.
It probably isn't allowed.
But Coach Wu said it anyway.
His respect for her grows by the hour. He notices Gee clap her hands over her ears again, though.
As always, she's just a little too late.
Peter nods in acknowledgment of Coach Wu's words, a serious expression on his face. Coach Wu continues.
"Once Donkersmit manifests our first humor, we'll rally around its position. If Donkersmit's first humor and any part of Jackalopes city survives beyond the first ten minutes of the game, I will have Donkersmit get back into one of the manifestation stations again. And so on and so forth. So Donkersmit will be our thaumaturge and our shield, while our wranglers will be O'Toole and Sawyer. Alright Jackalopes, that's all for now. Go throw your gear on, get out there, and have a good practice."
Coach Wu claps her hands together once. It's all she has to do for the team to jump to their feet and head back out her office door into the main locker room. Artie turns to follow the rest of his teammates, when a firm finger makes itself known on his shoulder. It's Coach Wu's.
"Hold on a moment, Mr. Amphigore. I have a special project for you."
***
Photo courtesy of Niamat Ullah on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/@niull8664. Edited.
