The Sports Captain's Tale полностью

I felt, rather than heard, my team gasp in shock. I leaned forward before someone else could speak. “The idea was mine, sir,” I said. No one would thank me if I got them caned – coming to think of it, I couldn’t recall Mildred ever being caned. She was probably the only person in school who’d escaped it. “If there’s anyone who should be caned, it is me.”

The Grandmaster said nothing for a long moment, then shook his head. “We’ll let the matter pass,” he said, finally. “But did you win fairly?”

“No!” Blair snapped. He’d insisted on joining the meeting, after being released from the spell. I wasn’t sure why the Grandmaster had let him. “He cheated!”

“There’s no rule against using transfigured animals to convince you they’d won,” I pointed out. “It’s hardly my fault you didn’t bother to check the bodies.”

“Sir!” Blair looked at the Grandmaster. “He’s a cheat!”

The Grandmaster pinned him in place with a look. “No rules have been broken,” he said, firmly. “Or so it seems. If you can point to a rule he has actually broken, please do.”

Blair scowled, remembered where he was and made a very visible attempt to compose himself. “Sir, the tactic is not one that will work in the big leagues,” he said. “And his willingness to throw away his people to convince us he threw away them all makes him unsuited for the prize!”

“We volunteered,” James said, quickly. “There’s no ‘I’ in team.”

“And there’s no ‘U’ either,” Karen added, to Blair. “We knew what we had to do and we did it.”

“Very well argued,” the Grandmaster said. He looked at Blair. “Kai has shown more than just a willingness to do whatever it takes to win. He has created a team of diverse students with diverse skills, which suggests he’ll be capable of being a good Captain-General. He has also played nearly every sport at this school, which gives him insights few can match. And, most importantly, he has the respect of the vast majority of sporty students.”

He looked at me. “Are you prepared to become Captain-General?”

I grinned, broadly. “Yes, sir!”

“Good,” the Grandmaster said. “You’ll be formally confirmed after you return from the championship. Choose your teammates wisely – remember, you are representing the school as well as yourself. We’ll discuss the rest of your role later. Until then … dismissed.”

I tried not to let my grin break my face as we turned and headed for the door. Blair stamped ahead of us, opening the door and slamming it behind him in a display of petty spite. I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Blair could have won if he hadn’t decided he was going to mess around with the teams … hell, if he hadn’t betrayed the other teams back during the first match, he might have been able to convince David or Sarah to ally with him now. I wondered if he’d even bother to attend the party, then shrugged. It didn’t matter. Blair would never be Captain-General.

Mildred shot me a shy smile. “What now?”

I grinned as I opened the door. “Now? I guess we’re going to the big leagues.”

And you know what? We did.

But that’s another story.