The Match

Jerry let Mia pick her side and if whether she wanted to serve first or not. Since he was basically handing her an advantage would only increase her chances of winning, she accepted. She picked the side facing away from the sun while also going on the defensive by serving first.

Mia shook her head in disdain at the scrawny looking boy on the other side of the court. The boy across from her didn't even seem to be paying attention to her but rather, he was dazing off staring into the vast blue sky.

Alicia watched nervously from the sidelines. She knew if Jerry lost this match, he wouldn't be able to talk with her again. Jerry would never go back on his word. There was only one thing that kept her from going out there and stopping the match.

Trust.

She found it extremely strange that Jerry would accept the terms of the bet. She knew that Jerry had never accepted a bet that he knew he would lose. But this was the vice-captain of the tennis team that challenged him. What made him so confident?

Why am I so concerned about him? Is it because he's an old friend? Or could it be something else? She pondered silently to herself.

Jerry held his racket loosely has he waited for Mia to serve. He twirled his racket playfully, his eyes continued to stare at Mia's legs shamelessly.

Mia frowned at him. "Are you ready?" she asked.

"Ready when you are." He replied. His relaxed stance didn't change.

"Humph!" She served the ball. It was a fast, flat serve that smashed into the corner of the service box and then continued to bounce low.

Jerry's eyes lit up. He rushed towards the ball that was quickly leaving the service box with incredible swiftness, before cutting into the ball with an even stronger forehand.

Whoosh! Her eyes could barely keep up with the ball's trajectory. Like a phantom, the ball zoomed past Mia's feet, hitting the baseline behind her.

Shing! A yellow ball embedded itself into the fence behind her.

The entire court was silent.

Alicia was shocked. She noticed that his grip on the handle had changed from a continental grip, which newbies usually used, to an almost full western grip, like Rafael Nadal. In her eyes, she felt that Jerry had become a lot more mysterious. She became even more drawn to him.

Mia looked at the tennis ball that was stuck in the fence, and then looked back at Jerry in disbelief. He must have gotten lucky, she thought to herself. I'll give him the point this time. Next time I will be ready for it.

Jerry was smiling from across the other side of the courts. "What's wrong Mia? Afraid to follow through with the bet?"

Mia snorted, "Of course not! I was caught off guard this time. Next time, it won't be as easy."

She walked over to the fence and removed the ball. She then walked back to her side and was about to serve again.

"Love-fifteen, first." She hit the ball even faster than before towards the service square.

Whoosh! Jerry returned it once again with a skillful backhand. The ball kicked forward after it bounced.

Mia ran towards the ball and swung at it. However, the kick in the ball threw her off and she missed again. Her face reddened from embarrassment because this time, everyone saw that she failed to get the ball even after she was prepared.

"Oops! I accidentally hit the frame that time! No wonder it went so weird!" Jerry scratched his head while laughing. Inside his head, he was trying not to get too excited. He knew if he were to hit so abnormally, people would start asking questions. I have to tone it down from now, he thought to himself.

He hit the frame? So he just got lucky again, Mia was relieved. She served again. This time, Jerry stumbled to the ball and managed to return it at the last moment. She returned it back with a strong drive and topspin yet Jerry stumbled again and returned it once more.

Plonk! Plonk!

The two players hit the ball to each other in an unusual rhythm. One seemed to be hitting it very hard, while the other returned it in the nick of time with a clumsy swing.

Alicia was stunned. She had never seen such a strange rally before. On the surface it seemed like one was completely dominating the other, yet they seemed to have a consistent rally going on. Eventually they came out to 40-40. Mia decided to not play advantage, so whoever won the next point would win the game. They were only playing a seven-point set so the person who got to seven games first wins.

"Oops!" Jerry cried out. He hit the ball with his racket frame once again and it barely went over the net. The ball brushed over the net and dropped onto the other side. Mia tried to run to the ball, but it had already bounced for the second time. Jerry had won the first game.

"Sorry, I keep hitting the frame for some reason!" Jerry blushed as he scratched his head innocently.

Mia stared at the scrawny boy in suspicion. There was definitely something strange going on here.

It was now Jerry's turn to serve. He tapped the ball lightly, barely clearing the net.

Mia rushed to the ball. She had stepped forward because she felt like something like that would happen.

She barely managed to reach the ball. Looking up after returning the ball over the net, she found that Jerry was standing in front of the net and exactly in front of where she hit the ball to. He held his racket with the face facing the ball. It bounced off and hit the ground again on the opposite side of the court.

The ball bounced on her side as the courts were silent once again.

Mia was shaken. When had he gotten there?

As they continued to play, she noticed something strange about Jerry. He would always struggle to 40-40 and then win by some clumsy accident. When she got ahead of him, he'd catch up somehow by luck. Eventually the game went to 6-6. An hour and a half had passed.

Jerry's head was dripping with sweat. Everyone but Jerry thought it was because he struggled so hard during the match. The truth was that he had to exert a lot more concentration and effort to not impulsively ace Mia and draw attention. Pretending to struggle for each point also made him sweat a great deal.

Mia was genuinely out of breath. Her soaking wet shirt stuck to her, showing off her curves. Even with her disheveled appearance, she remained captivating. Her long legs, and voluptuous curves were accentuated with the sweaty clothing as she bent forward in her ready position. I don't know how we ended up tied 6-6 but I can't lose now, she thought to herself.

It was Mia's turn to serve. Since they reached 6-6 they decided to play an 12-point tiebreaker.

5 minutes later, they were at 6-6 points on the tiebreaker.

Mia was shocked to see Jerry able to keep up with her. The next point Jerry scored another lucky point with a stumbling drop shot.

6-7

This was game point. If Jerry managed to score another one, he would win.

Alicia watched in amazement. Jerry had actually held on for that long. She felt warm deep inside. He had tried so hard to win for her sake.

It was Mia's turn to serve. She hit another flat serve which Jerry returned. Strangely enough, this was the first time he didn't stumble to hit the ball. He hit it into the baseline, which made Mia panic. She tried to hit a fast ground stroke and hit it into the opposite corner of where Jerry was standing.

Not good! Jerry sweated, his body had only been training for a day, he was about to break down from the physical and mental toll he had to exert trying not to stand out. I can't afford to go for another tiebreaker! This is it! He lunged for the ball.

Mia had also reached her limit. She stood there, her legs refusing to move anymore. At least we'll tie she thought. She knew that corner shot was impossible to get to even if Jerry ran to the ball. Watching as Jerry ran for the ball, she sighed.

… What is he doing? She noticed Jerry's steps get wider, and faster and then… he dolphin-dived for the ball. Madman!

Plunk! The ball floated into the air… and went over the net. Mia's legs wouldn't move anymore. Jerry had won!

Clatter! Jerry crashed into the ground and his racket flew out of his hand, flying a few feet away.

He lay on the ground not moving.

"Jerry!" Alicia ran to check on his condition. His eyes were closed. Her eyes began to tear up. As she held onto his hand. The entire left side of his right hand had it's skin scraped off and was bleeding. She felt his injury, her tears fell down her cheeks.

"Ow! What are you doing?" A voice cried out. Jerry's eyes had opened when Alicia touched his scrape. "I was just taking a little nap! Who touches people's injuries like that?" He complained.

Alicia was startled by his voice. She thought he had blacked out from exhaustion. Who knew that he still had enough energy to be feeling her butt. She wiped her tears away as she punched him softly on the chest.

"Y-You idiot! I thought you died!" Her eyes were teary and her face was red from embarrassment.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! What are you talking about? This is a tennis match, not a gladiator death match! Why would the first thing you assume of me is that I died?" Jerry teased her as his head lay on her legs. It was quite a comfortable position for him. Especially with the underside view of her assets along with his other hand on her butt.

Mia continued to stand there in disbelief. She had really lost.

"I assume you've remembered our bet. I'm positive you wouldn't go back on your word in front of so many witnesses." Jerry stood up and walked over to Mia.

Mia now remembered the bet that she had carelessly made. "I'll do anything you want!" Those words echoed in her head like a throbbing headache. She was about to reply but her head suddenly felt faint. She really had used too much energy trying to win. It was a sunny day, too and she only took one water break. Her vision began to blur as she swayed backwards.

She felt her legs get swept off the ground. Jerry had caught her before she fell. She could feel his muscles clearer than anyone at this moment, his shoulders seemed larger and more reliable at that moment. Her face reddened as she realized he was carrying her bridal style but she stayed quiet. She didn't even have the energy to push him away.

Jerry caught her in the nick of time. Her soft and frail body fell into his arms. He took a look at her closely. She had long lashes, a little nose and a pretty face. Mia wasn't the type to wear makeup, and was a natural beauty. Her blue hair was disheveled and some baby strands stuck to her face. She is really pretty without her glasses he thought. He focused on the matter at hand. He carried her to the shady grass outside the courts and took out a cool towel which he placed on her head.

"That's enough spectating, girls! Back to practice!" Alicia went over to watch over the girls who now looked at Jerry in admiration. Being able to beat the vice-captain was no easy task.

"Ugh…" Mia had finally come to. She blushed as she remembered that she was saved by Jerry. Jerry was smiling down at her with a mischievous look on his face.

"You remember our bet right?" He asked innocently.

Mia's face was like a ripe tomato. She nodded shyly. She knew better than to underestimate this boy in front of her. She knew she had been arrogant and paid the price for it.

"Don't worry, I won't have you do anything too… excessive." Jerry smiled slyly. He opened a bottle of water, and helped her sit up. Mai was too exhausted to lift her arm, so he helped her drink water by holding the water bottle up for her.

Mai was embarrassed of being in her opponent's care. She realized that Jerry didn't take any advantage of her though and genuinely took care of her. He's not as bad as I thought, she thought inwardly. Her impression of him approved.

Half an hour later, Mai was able to move again. Although her whole body was sore, she was able to stand. She looked over to Jerry to find him sitting under the tree in silence. He seemed to be meditating, But in reality, he was practicing his Qigong art to recover his exhaustion.

Jerry felt as the energy in his surroundings flowed through him. Maybe because he used so much of his energy, the qi that flowed through him seemed to become stronger than before. It strangely enough, began circulating around his body extremely slowly. The qi circulated through his body once, then twice, each time gradually circulating faster and faster. He felt a notification go off in his head and checked his unread messages.