The gym buzzed with the energy of the local volleyball tournament. The bleachers were packed with parents, coaches, and a handful of scouts who occasionally took notes or whispered to each other. Luca stood at the back of the court, his eyes fixed on the players in front of him, watching the ball bounce and fly across the court. The scouts talked among themselves.
"That number 3, Luca Menendez, I heard he's the child of two volleyball elites"
"Really? I doubt it, if that's the case, he should have insane potential"
Luca thought to himself. 'We're losing by 4 points against these guys! How in the world did we get matched against kids older than us? This isn't fair for my teammates' Luca watches as the ball floats midair. 'But… their defense is very strong on the right for some reason, they also prefer spiking on the left side' The scoreboard lit up. 19-20, the other team leading. Luca's coach, his mother, called out a standard play.
"Luca! Do a quick set to Max on the left!" Luca exhaled. 'No, Mom. they're blockers are heavy on the left right now, we'd have no chance of breaking through' Luca watched the ball be received. He ran up to the net. 'What would Micah Christian do in my predicament?' Luca instantly cleared his mind, The court moved in slow motion as the Blockers prepared to move. Luca jumped to set the ball to Max as the blockers instantly jumped. 'Now stay over there, will you?' Luca suddenly set the ball behind him, another teammate spiking the ball without any blockers.
One of the scouts dropped their pen.
"T-There's no way" Another gulped.
"That was almost exactly the same form as Team USA captain and setter, Micah Christian!"
A girl turns to them.
"What, you didn't know?" The scouts look at her.
"Around here, that boy, Luca Menendez is called the Chameleon setter, because he copies your best moves and uses them against you!" A scout smirked.
"The Chameleon setter, huh?" For a moment, the gym was completely silent. The opposing team looked confused, their blockers still staring at the spot where they expected the ball to be. The players on Luca's team were stunned as well, unsure of what just happened.
Luca stood there, his heart racing, his face calm. He'd done it. He'd copied the technique exactly, down to the smallest detail, even though he was only twelve years old. His mother jumped up from the sideline, her clipboard almost falling from her hands.
"That… that was incredible!" Max blinked, still processing what had just occurred.
"Wait… did he just...?" Daniel looked up at him, wide-eyed.
"How did you… How did you even know to do that? That was—" Luca exhales.
"How I did it doesn't matter, what does, is we're gonna win this game"
[Present Day]
Luca tossed the ball and slammed it over the net. Tyler jumps forward and brings the ball up as Luca watches seemingly in slow motion. 'The score is 24-13, we're losing!' Luca watches the blockers shift heavily to the right following a signal from Kurai. Luca moves to the left, preparing to receive a sharp angle ball. Luca looked up as Kurai jumped to set. 'Wait a minute-' The blockers were on the right. Two spikers wee running. Sean on the right side and Tyler and Max on the left.
"There's no way-" Luca quickly jumps back as the ball goes to the left side of the court instead of the right. 'He just did what I used to do!!' Max jumps to spike as Luca rushes to jump for a block.
"NO YOU WON'T!!" Max swings but misses as Luca starts falling. 'A decoy set followed by a Pipe!?' Luca hit the ground as Tyler slammed the ball over the net.
"Diego!" Diego appeared under the ball as it flew nearly out of bounds. Hector suddenly appears under the ball. Sending it flying back to the net. Luca rushes horizontally to the net and jumps to spike as Kurai and Max appear to block.
"Reset!" Luca slams the ball into the block for a rebound, turning to look back at who would bring it up. But Hector and Diego were still rushing to stand off court and everyone else had helped partake in the attack. Luca grits his teeth and lands. Hearing the ball hit the court, but not opening his eyes, not wanting to confront the reality of the situation. Luca looks down and exhales as the arena goes quiet. Two whistles blow out from the referee. [25-19 (USA) / 25-18 (USA) / 25-13 (USA) / 3-0 (USA wins)]
Luca took several deep breaths and watched as the arena shook.
"Luca" Luca turned to look across the net. Kurai stood with his back facing the net.
"Good game… keep it up" Luca's eyes widened as Kurai walked away, the crowd cheering and stomping.