Reshar Collifay: A Star in the Making - Part Two

     His mother frowned. "Well, maybe you can play Yooyuball with your friends."

     "We gave ourselves the day off after we won our game today," Reshar said. "But I don't know what to do on a day off." Reshar thought for a moment, until someone knocked on the door. Reshar went to go get it, and it was Thilve and Nixx, with all of the Yooyuball equipment. "What are you guys doing here?" Reshar said. "I thought we wanted to take the day off."

     "Yeah, that’s why we’re here," Thilve started. "We got really bored just sitting in our houses, and we thought maybe you wanted to play some Yooyuball, just for fun."

     "Well..." Reshar nodded. "I guess it won't hurt. Let's go!" They set up the goals and put on the equipment and they played Yooyuball for hours. Thilve suddenly stopped while Nixx tried to score a goal past Reshar. "Wait, wasn't this supposed to be a day of no Yooyuball?"

     "Who cares? I think playing Yooyuball is relaxing," said Nixx. Reshar smiled and continued playing until their mothers called them in for supper. "See you guys tomorrow, we'll practice some more," Reshar shouted as they each went into their homes. His mother greeted Reshar as he walked in.

     "Hey, how was your day off, Reshar?"

     "It was really fun," Reshar said as he sat down at the table. "It was one of the best days off I've ever had."

     "Well, you need to get ready for your big game against Northeastern. I'm sorry to tell you this, but I won't be able to make it to the game..."

     "What? Why not?"

     "There's going to be a Book Club meeting that day, and it starts at the same time as your game. I'm so sorry."

     "Well, okay. I guess I can go one game without my mom cheering me from the sidelines. Mom, I'm not really hungry, I'm going to go to bed. Good Night." As Reshar walked up to his room, he thought about Northeastern. They had a Quiggle who played the Forward position very well. But he remembered their one weakness was the goalie, who was a Chia. He was one of the worst goalies in all of Neopia Central. Reshar laughed and scrambled into bed, thinking of what the match would be like.

     ***

     Reshar woke up the next day to hear another knock on the door. He opened it and once again it was Thilve and Nixx. "We need to go the Smoothie Shop to tell Shirley about yesterday!" Thilve said. "She hasn't heard anything about the match, I bet. Let's hurry over there!"

     "Just let me get ready," Reshar disappeared to his room and got ready. He arrived at the front door again and they headed towards the Smoothie Shop. They passed the different shops and the morning shoppers and arrived at the Smoothie Shop, where Shirley was serving a few customers.

     "Reshar! Thilve! Nixx! How did the game go yesterday?" Shirley asked excitedly.

     "We won!" Nixx said, "The score was 2-1, we creamed them with Reshar on our team."

     "That's great to hear! Each of you deserves a free smoothie!" Shirley gave them each the smoothie of their choice and they started drinking. Shirley asked, "Who are you playing next?"

     "We play Northeastern Neopia Central tomorrow afternoon," said Reshar. "I can't wait to play against that team. They won’t have a chance." Once they finished their smoothies, they exited the shop after asking Shirley if she wanted to come to the game. She kindly declined their invitation and said she needed to keep the shop open.

     Once they got back on Wishing Well Drive, Reshar opened his mailbox and found yet another letter from the Yooyuball officials. "This letter says that our game has been rescheduled to 3pm today, due to an event going on there later today," Reshar said. "It's about 1 o'clock right now, how about we go over there right now? We can watch the Western and Northwestern game; this says that game starts right now." So they started walking towards the Neopian Bazaar right behind Hubert's Hot Dogs. When they got there, the game had already ended and the score was 3-1, Western coming out with the victory. "Well, there's our opponent if we win," Reshar said.

     They waited an hour before they put on their blue and green jerseys and started warming up. Northeastern had just arrived, with their yellow and blue jerseys on. The Quiggle glared at Reshar, and Reshar also shot a glare towards him, also. The two had a heated rivalry going into today’s match.

     After warming up, the referee walked to the middle of the court and announced the beginning of the game. The first Yooyu appeared, and Nixx was in very good shape. He scored three goals, and Reshar managed to save every shot the Quiggle threw at him, and Northern ended up being the victor, with the score 3-0. "WE'RE GOING TO THE CHAMPIONSHIPS!" Reshar and his team shouted as the crowd cheered. The referee announced that the game would be held at 7 o'clock that night against Western. The winner would go to the World Tournament to play for a chance to be crowned champions of Neopia. Reshar, Thilve and Nixx were excited to get to play in the Neopia Central Championships against a team they'd had difficulties with, Western Neopia Central.

     The three of them ran to the Smoothie shop, which was right by where they were playing. They rushed into the shop and shouted, "SHIRLEY! We're going to the Championships!"

     "The Championships? That's amazing! You guys definitely deserved to go to the Championships! Who are you playing?"

     "One of the toughest teams we've ever played, Western Neopia Central,” Thilve replied.

     "Oh," Shirley said. "Well, all I can wish you is good luck, and I'll see you when you finish the Championship game! Bye, kids!"

     It was only a few hours before the big match when they arrived back home on Wishing Well Drive. "We have to get back there in an hour for warm ups, so I'll see you then," Reshar said as he waved goodbye to his friends. He walked inside his house where he found his mother washing dishes. "We're going to the Neopia Central Championships, Mom!"

     "That's great! I heard the next game is at 7 o'clock, and I'll be there to cheer you on." His mother stopped. "I may be a little late, though. I need to send some beauty supplies back to the Grooming Parlour. Don't worry about me, though; you'll do just fine."

     Time had passed and it was an hour until the match, when Reshar and his friends headed to the Neopian Bazaar, ready for their match against Western. When they arrived, they already saw their opponents warming up. They all had black and silver jerseys on. The Robot Acara was looking superior at the forward position, while the Zafara was playing great as a defender. Their goalkeeper, a Xweetok, was looking in his best shape possible, and the Northern Neopia Central squad looked a little worried, but started to warm up anyways.

     The referee appeared on the field and blew his whistle to get the attention of each of the teams. He discussed the rules and told each team to play fair and not cheat. He stepped to the sideline, blew his whistle, and the first Yooyu appeared in the middle of the field. It was a fire Yooyu. Nixx and the Robot Acara ran to gain possession, and Nixx was successful and ran down the field. He ran past the Zafara to come face to face with the goalkeeper. He faked a shot to the right of the goal, and the Xweetok dived to the right, and Nixx shot to the left and scored the first goal in the first 45 seconds of the game.

     The next Yooyu to appear was a snow Yooyu. This time the Acara got it. The Acara ran right into Nixx and knocked him down. Nixx tried to yell to the referee that he had been fouled, but the referee followed the Acara downfield. Nixx's anger was mounting as he sprinted down the field. The Acara easily got past Thilve, and was now face to face with Reshar. Reshar couldn’t help but feel a little scared, not knowing what the Acara would do. The Acara released the Yooyu with unbelievable power and it zoomed right past Reshar, tying the score with 0:55 remaining.

     The next ball to appear was another fire Yooyu. Nixx was running as fast as he could, and when he reached the Yooyu, he shoved the Acara to the ground. The referee blew his whistle and signaled a foul against Northern. The Acara would take a penalty shot. The Acara was face to face with Reshar. The referee blew his whistle, the Acara aimed and shot to the right of the goal, and Reshar dived and recorded an amazing save that kept Northern alive. Reshar passed to Thilve, who passed to Nixx, and he sprinted down the field. With ten seconds left, he drove past the Zafara defender and shot with three seconds left... and the Yooyu went into the net! Northern took the Neopia Central Championship with a game-winning goal by Nixx!

     The score was 2-1, and Northern would advance to the World Playoffs. Reshar saw his mother cheering for him in the stands and Reshar gave a huge smile. The crowd was going crazy. Reshar thought, "If they cheer this loud in a Neopia Central game, imagine how loud they will be in the World Playoffs..."

To be continued...