Free Powerless Revision 1 by Jason Letts

sigh of relief and resuming his smug behavior, Vern relished that he had made it to the finals and his goal of retaining his class leadership was within reach. A tinge of nerves tightened his chest and he made fists with his hands.
    Fixing his eyes on the other semifinalists, he watched a match between Aoi and a boy named Will, who had short, light-brown hair and a boyish face. The two fought and fought, and Vern hoped and hoped, but his hopes were dashed when Aoi stuffed the ball into her own goal. It became obvious at the end that she had been toying with him. Egging himself on, he stalked out onto the field, ready for the match he knew would come all along.
    Roselyn leaned against a tree along the sideline with her best friend, Mary, a flighty girl and something of a scatterbrain. Mary couldn’t take her eyes off of Vern, and Roselyn put her hand to her mouth and chuckled when she noticed it. “And I thought you told me everything. Figures you would leave out the juiciest detail of all.”
    “You’re crazy! Don’t be jumping to conclusions just because I happen to like looking at his face.” Mary protested, blushing and returning her eyes to the field.
    “It all comes down to this,” Fortst said, striking a thoughtful pose. “No surprises yet.”
    Vern worked through his strategy over and over in his mind. He cast his eyes around at all of his watchful classmates before returning them on the ground to focus. He needed to get this over quickly. The longer the match lasted, the more likely he would lose. He took his place on the end line of his own goal and caught the eyes of his opponent.
    “I’m so nervous!” Aoi said with malicious glee. Vern gulped and they both took a ready position. Fortst threw down his arm and the competitors began sprinting forward to the center.
    Extending his hand, Vern pulled the ball toward him. From its state of rest, it suddenly jumped into Vern’s hands. He turned to throw the ball into his own goal, but before he could release it Aoi’s hands were already on him. She stripped the ball from him with a lightning quick motion, extended her leg behind Vern’s, and tripped him over it. His back hit the ground with a thud, and his feet extended into the air.
    Aoi, with a smile on her face, turned to sprint back to her goal. Her legs dug into the ground and each step launched her forward. She crossed the center of the field and soon her goal stood within reach. But she felt herself slow down drastically, and for a moment she was motionless, like when something is thrown into the air and it hangs for a second before falling.
    She moved backward, tumbling in the air without touching the ground. Vern, with his hand reaching out, got back on his feet. Aoi roared as she fell, completely out of control of her body and picking up speed. Vern cradled his head with his other arm before Aoi collided into his shoulder, knocking him back. Vern, Aoi, and the ball shot backward several feet, landing inside of Vern’s goal. All of the students ran out onto the field and crowded around them, cheering.
    “Well done! Well done, both of you!” Fortst yelled. “A razor-thin victory.” After Aoi scrambled off of him, Vern could clearly see the joy on everyone’s faces. A feeling of triumph came to him, and he felt his cheeks glow, basking in their excitement.
    “No one can stop us!” he hollered.
    The group of students, each of them elated or distraught after the result, relished or reviled the hike back to the schoolhouse. Vern led the group, as he’d become accustomed to, and in his mind he could see straight through to a string of glorious victories over the course of the year. When he heard the others behind him talking about the new girl and her abrupt exit, he felt it was his duty to weigh in on the subject.
    “You can’t blame her for losing or even feeling bad about it. She did have some tough competition,” he boasted.
    “But she just ran away! You saw it yourself. Seems a little