Chapter 94

Dan watched as Peter tossed up the serve. He’d been fixated on the match ever since it began, and already, not even thirty minutes in, it was almost over. In a best of three Set match, an hour, at least, would have been expected, if not more. But that was assuming both sides were equal.

Even as Peter’s Health and Stamina continued to drop while Dan watched, Peter showed just why he was the best. Even with his Health and Stamina in the Poor Range, Peter played as if he were in perfect condition. And for everyone watching, it would have seemed that way. Peter was absolutely demolishing his opponent. Yet even as Dan marveled at Peter’s game, he was also worried. Because the downside of how great Peter was playing, was no one watching would guess Peter was in anything but great health.

When the match had started, Dan had been worried. Watching Peter warm up, it had been obvious to him that Peter wasn’t hitting as strong as he normally did. His shots were lacking some of the extra power and spin that he’d grown accustomed to seeing from Peter. And, he’d worried that would impact the match, or at the very least, make it drag on. And given how Peter’s stats had been dropping all through the day, a long match full of physical exertion, was the last thing Peter needed.

However, Peter had won the racquet spin, and opted to serve first. Dan had watched Peter with a critical eye, wondering how Peter’s serve would be impacted. Taking the option to serve first, gave Peter the chance to really set the pace of the set. If he started off strong, he could gain an early lead, and get into his opponent’s head. But if his opponent caught even a whiff of Peter not being at 100 percent, then Dan knew it would embolden his opponent, and cause trouble for Peter.

Dan’s concern was instantly tossed aside though, as Peter served. The toss went up, and then with blinding speed and power, Peter brought forth the true power of his flat serve. The ball, easily over 100 mph, rocketed off Peter’s racquet and impacted deep in the left-hand corner of the service box adjacent to him. The serve happened so fast; Peter’s opponent didn’t have time to move. Even if he did, the angle Peter had put on the flat serve meant after the ball landed ‘in’ the service box, it jumped off the court and flew wide of the boundaries of the tennis court. If his opponent had been able to return that, Peter would have had an easy time putting the point away. A sharp volley at the net, to the right-hand side of the court, would have been easy for the Senior, and impossible for his opponent to get to in time, even if he sprinted.

As if Peter could read Dan’s concerns that Peter was feigning being alright, each serve after that first, was just as powerful, deadly, and efficient. Four serves. Peter sent off four serves, without his opponent even managing to get a racquet on one of them. Four, flawless, perfect points, to establish Peter’s dominance on the court.

Of course, Dan realized Peter’s performance wasn’t just for show. The Senior knew by now something was wrong with his body. And Dan realized that was why Peter was playing so aggressively. Normally, the Senior would, at the very least, pace himself a tad during a match. He loved tennis, and winning every point without his opponent even touching the ball, would bore him to no end. Which was why, normally, Peter would go for winning points by ball placement, and forcing errors on his opponents side, rather than purely hitting a winner every shot. However, after his perfect serves won him the first game, and it was his opponents turn to serve, Peter showed he wasn’t there to waste time, or give anything at all, to his opponent.

Judging by the serve Peter’s opponent had, the player wasn’t bad. If Dan had to guess, he was in the 4.0 range of play, which, as a highschooler, was good. It was more than good, if Dan was being honest. From what he’d learned of the game so far, reaching a 4.0 or 4.5 level of play in high school was the exception, not the norm. Hell, with Dan’s skills moving him past the 3.0 range already, he knew he could likely beat most of his schools JV players. Especially given his, er, special abilities.

Still, Peter was a different beast. His opponents serve was powerful and true, but Peter acted like he had all the time in the world dealing with it. The first serve, which his opponent sent nearly down the middle of the court, impacting just a foot or two to the right side of the ‘T’ of the service box area, was fast, and stayed decently low. A serve that Dan would have had trouble returning, that was for sure.

However, as the ball impacted the court and skipped up, Peter was already moving. To make up for the lower bounce of the flat serve, Peter moved forward, his racquet held in his right hand. He turned slightly to his side, and caught the ball on the rise with a backhand slice that used the rising momentum of the ball to sent it hurtling in a low arc over the net, down the line and just to the right of Peter’s body. The shot impacted in the deep right hand side of the tennis court, just before the doubles alley line, and if not on the baseline, practically a mere inch or two before it. His slice skidded low, and his opponent was left once again, without the ability to even touch the ball.

Every point after, was the same. Peter put every single point away, with a single swing of his tennis racquet. If anyone didn’t know what was going on, they would have assumed Peter was a professional, and his opponent had just started tennis. Because every single point, was impossible for the poor player to win. And as the game went on, with Peter easily claiming the first set, flawlessly, it was evident his opponent was not happy about it, at all.

Dan could see the frustration on the player’s face. He could see the anger, and even more, he could see the despair. It was one thing, to lose to someone better than you. But this, this went beyond that. Peter was crushing the poor guy in such a way, that even Dan felt bad for him. At least, to some degree. Because Dan also knew, the only reason Peter was doing what he was doing, was because there was a clock set against Peter. For all his pride, Peter had to know, he was in trouble. Especially since as Peter prepared another serve, the final serve in the fifth game of the second set, Dan could see the sweat on Peter’s face. Sweat, that signaled as he tossed the ball up, his worsening condition. Because as he leapt to hit his serve, Dan saw Peter’s face wince. He saw a grimace, replaced instantly by determination, as another flat serve rocketed across the court. It was another Ace, securing the fifth game for Peter, putting him a single game away from victory. But it also came with Peter’s health dropping, as Dan had feared, into the Very Poor range. Dan made the call a second later.