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The Master and I practiced for months. I’d like to think I’ve gotten better. I mean, we are sitting here on this bench, getting ready for the final match. Last year, I was only able to beat maybe 2 or 3 contestants before I was kicked out…Literally kicked out. That’s when the Master kindly took me under his wing and helped me improve my stick hockey skills. He can be a bit rough sometimes. He sure does yell a lot. Haha…But, he has a big heart. He didn’t even need to help me. He just…wanted to. He’s REALLY good too! Much better than I’ll ever be. He always says the opposite, though. It’s still crazy to me. Death Dragon, the master of stick hockey, wanted to tutor ME of all people. I sure am lucky.
We’ve gotten real close after training this last year. He’s not only an excellent teacher, but he’s a great friend too.
I hear the sound of the buzzer, meaning it was our turn to go up. I don’t think it was obvious by looking at me, but I’m really nervous. These guys don’t mess around. Actually, a lot of them play real dirty, especially the challenger I’ll be facing, Chong. However, the Master and I aren’t like him. We were going to play fair and square. It’s the honorable thing to do. Besides, if you’re a real good player, you wouldn’t need to rely on dirty tricks to win.
“Well, looks like we’re up. Just remember what I taught you.” The Master gives me a small smile, making me feel slightly less nervous. I smile back at him as we share a small fist bump like we always do before a match. “Thank you, Master.” We both stand up and walk over to the center of the arena as the audience scream and yell excitedly. I can barely hear myself think in here.
I stepped up to the hockey table on the right with Chong standing on the opposite side, giving me a dirty look. I actually didn’t want to play against him, but the Master insisted that I was the one to beat him. He was confident that I could really win this. I don’t know why, but if he really thinks I can finally take Chong on, then sure. I trust him. I look over to the Master, who already had his hands on the handles, ready to go. I decided to quickly do the same, listening for the buzzer to start.
This was it. We were going to win this. We trained too hard to lose.
Once the buzzer went off, the match was already intense. I knew Chong was going to be a difficult opponent. No doubt about that. But, I wasn’t doing so bad myself. In fact, I was actually doing pretty well! I managed to score a couple of times. Maybe I was going to win this! I have the Master to thank for helping me improve so mu-Wait. What was Chong doin-
It hurt for only a second. After that, I couldn’t feel anything below my head. …Oh. That’s why. Ha…Haha…This has to be some kind of joke, right? I mean, it’s just stick hockey. No one would die from that…right?
I was wrong. I could feel someone touching my face, picking me up from the cold floor. It was the Master. He looked absolutely devastated. I’ve never seen him look so broken before. Was he…crying? I want to cry too, but I can’t…I don’t have the energy to do that anymore.
“Master, I thought you told me this was going to be fun…”
My vision is getting blurry. I can’t see his face clearly anymore.
I…I shouldn’t have said that. It was fun. It really was. He taught me so much. He made me so happy.
Thank you…Benson.