Although mostly used in a figurative way, I took "late to the game" prompt literally this time. I hope you like what I crafted with it.
Against All Odds
For Daku it was not only pitiful due to his movements did not match those of his semi-professional wife, but also because his male friends kept making fun of him as he looked so clumsy. The rest of the audience also booed his childish mistakes.
“Sakura, you'd better have another player go with you, I am playing worse than ever,” Daku whispered to his wife after making another bad serve.
“It's our honeymoon, we decided not to separate,” his sweetheart replied tenderly.
“It's just in the game, of course I'm going to serve better tonight,” Daku smiled naughty.
Amid doubts, the newlywed decided to stay, but the advantage for the other team kept increasing. In fact, the opponents won the first set.
“Love, this is not working,” crestfallen Daku said to Sakura after hydrating.
She looked back at him somewhat annoyed, but didn't open her mouth. Instead, in her pushing on tandeming with her husband, she got up from the bench as soon as the break music stopped.
Daku knew his wife was very competitive. Nothing would stop her in her goals. If she didn't say anything to him, she was actually insulting the rival team, who were giggling, with just a look.
The umpire was getting into his chair to start the second set, when the entire audience started screaming and falling down as they tried to escape the place.
“Am I going to get swept away by a tsunami on my honeymoon, too?” commented the dejected player.
“Shark!” alerted the opposing team.
But Sakura did not despair like the others.
“People's costumes are getting more and more curious,” she said after letting out a chuckle.
It was about some crazy person who, disguised as a white shark, was scaring people away from the beach every now and then. More than his screams, he was scary because his costume was ugly.
“When I catch you up, I'll bite your butts,” that weird man kept yelling as he saw that the volleyball players weren't moving.
"Ethan, it's you? What the heck!" exclaimed Sakura as she saw the male figure approaching, thanks to the powerful sunlight.
"Sakura, it's really you? How people change over time!" replied a very tall, tanned man as he opened the shark costume.
“Is this an episode where ex's magically reunite?” asked an anxious Daku to himself.
This surprising encounter revealed the affection between coach and player. Ethan had not even taken off his costume completely, when Sakura had already run to hug him. They joked about college days and how they had stopped this summer in Barbados.
“I didn't know there was another honeymoon on our honeymoon,” Daku ironized coming over to where they stood.
Sakura shook her head and introduced him to her former coach. They shook hands and then Ethan made some bad jokes to cool down Daku as if indeed sea water suddenly washed over him.
“So the match isn't going very well,” Ethan commented looking at the scoreboard.
“She's fantastic, but I think I'm better at sleeping,” Daku replied embarrassed.
“I guess it's a free tournament,” Ethan said looking at the pair.
“That's right!” replied Sakura immediately.
"Then it doesn't matter that I'm late to the game. I can make a miracle happen soon in the next set," Ethan added with an overflowing smile.
To make the new team possible, Sakura went to explain to the referee that Daku's blood pressure had dropped because of the Sharkman thing. The referee readily agreed and they resumed the game even in full sun.
The back and forth exchange was very intense. Ethan and Sakura seemed to be playing from memory and the other team could barely keep up.
"Come on, guys, we can't lose the bet. Those Benjamins must be ours" Daku got excited.
So much was the intensity of the new duo's play that not only did they end up winning the second set, but the previously frightened crowd started coming back and chanting “Sa-sa-Sakura!”
“A shark with legs came out of the sea, and now Daku looks like a Jamaican model,” commented Daku's friends who really didn't know what was going on.
With a loud whistle, the referee invited the teams to play the third set.
Seagulls seemed to fly overhead expectantly, people were slathering on sunscreen and Daku was eating chips without breathing. It was the best time of the summer and all of Barbados seemed to know it.
However, another surprise awaited that tragicomic game. At the start of the last set, the opposing team seemed to have planned some mischief, and they served the ball so hard in Sakura's direction that she could not receive, but was hit in the head.
“Love, are you okay, can you see me?” rushed Daku to ask a dizzy Sakura lying on the sand.
Ethan was quick to call the paramedics to see her. But it seemed Sakura wasn't too bad as within minutes she regained her senses.
“Guys, I'm not dizzy anymore, but I don't want to play now,” Sakura commented glaring hatefully at the other team members.
“I'll do it for you,” said frowning Daku after kissing his wife's forehead.
“But Daku..” she worried.
“Are you sure, kid?” asked Ethan putting his hands on Daku's shoulders.
“Better late than never, let's win those 300 bucks!” exclaimed Daku before running onto the court.
The game resumed and it was amazing for everyone to see the determination of this other duo. Ethan was finishing off with an arm of steel and Daku was blocking as if he was defending his beloved Sakura from a deadly attack.
“Yeah, this super late to the game team is really smashing it,” the two players celebrated after taking the lead.
The final point was complex. The opposing team was giving everything back, and Daku seemed to be exhausted, but in a burst of bravery for his beloved, he leaned on Ethan's thigh to jump up and give a subtle touch to the ball so that it fell like an anvil on the opposite side. Ethan and Daku won. Sakura cried. Daku's wallet smiled, and no one could believe such a comeback.
It didn't take long for the boos to rain down on one side, and the applause on the other. The final photo of the winners had Ethan, Daku and Sakura as the protagonists, and the return to Orlando could not have been more full of love, anecdotes and money. Perhaps one of the strangest honeymoons ever.
A fun, unpredictable, and heartwarming story—full of humor, tension, and an underdog victory that leaves you cheering in the end.
Thanks for reading. I appreciate your kind words!
Thank you!!!
You captivated me with this story. It was a thrilling game where the protagonists overcame all obstacles to achieve victory. The narrative was action-packed and very exciting.
Thanks for sharing your story with us.
Excellent Thursday.
It is nice to know you enjoyed it that much. Thanks for reading. Have a good one, @rinconpoetico7.