Haitam leaned slightly toward Haruf with a grin that carried both jest and mischief, "Well, considering our situation, we'll choose to bowl first. Shouldn't we, Haruf?"
Haruf narrowed his eyes at him, though there was no bite, only a quiet depth. "As you deem fit," he replied, voice calm as stone.
Adam raised his brow clearly displeased.
"Haha! Then bowling it is, sir," Haitam waved casually at the match organizers, almost as though signing off a declaration. He and Galleous turned back toward their pavilion, leaving the air thick with the decision.
Adam, however, stayed rooted, glaring at the coin in the umpire's palm as though sheer will could force it to flip. His cheeks puffed, and his lips twisted into an exaggerated pout. Clicking his tongue, he stomped a foot hard enough to startle the grasshoppers in the circle. "What in the world?! It was clearly going to land on heads. I was watching it the whole time! How could it—! Argh… forget it!" His shoulders hunched as he stormed toward the pavilion, muttering under his breath.
Behind him, Haruf chuckled warmly, his large frame shaking slightly with the sound. "Haha, that's what luck is all about, little one," he raised an arm toward the rest of Karachi's players waiting anxiously at the pavilion and flashed the "okay" sign.
Adam spun on his heel, his face screwed up in comical frustration, "Hmph! If that's the case, then I hate it to the core! Never am I going for the toss again!"
The crowd around them laughed at the boy's antics, the floodlights gleaming off his tiny defiant figure marching back, while Haruf's laughter followed softly behind him—calm, steady, and strangely reassuring, as though nothing in the world could shake his confidence.
"Huh? An okay gesture? Did I see right?" Cassiel turned to Xavier and Nagi.
"Well, you saw more than just right," Kazuna added already anticipating the turn of events, as he grabbed his bat from the dressing room.
"Congratulations. We lost," Senri deadpanned clapping his hands amid silence.
The middleschoolers glanced at each other at a loss of words.
"I saw it coming anyway." Feng uttered poker-faced.
Alan smiled amused.
"Seems like we truly drained all our luck from the first two matches to lose two tosses the next on the row," Noah jested.
Coach Musa and Pedro turned towards the player files silently.
"Tch, I knew sending him would be as useless as hell," Orion scoffed.
Isa glanced at Zach wordlessly.
"Get ready boys, we are going with batting first," Evan announced after the final confirmation.
"Great. Could it get any better? See, I told you his best of the bestest lucks was going to backfire big time." Ezekiel said to Helios, Gabriel and Kenzo who sat above while wearing his gloves.
"You just jinxed it, didn't you," Helios recalled.
"Yeah, yeah, I am the villain, after all," Ezekiel rolled his eyes tying his shoelaces next.
"No wonder he is walking back like that," Aigou giggled pointing at the grumpy Adam who came back.
Elias ruffled Aigou's hairs, "Just don't tease him now."
"Huh? That's practically impossible after how big he went, don't you think?" Feng added clearly in the mood to tease Adam now.
Alan exhaled wordless yet, a smile bloomed his face.
And, as everyone had intended, the moment Adam stepped back inside the boundary line, he was ambushed. The middle schooler freshmen and sophomores swarmed him like moths drawn to a flame, their grins wide and merciless.
Their laughter rose above the stadium's rolling chants, louder even than the echo of drums beating in the stands. The high schoolers, lounging at their seats, exchanged sly glances—there was no way they'd miss the fun.
"Hey—quit it, I said!" Adam flailed, his arms stiff like a windmill as he tried to wrestle free. His face was already scrunched into a storm of frustration, "Losing the toss is already frustrating enough!"
Feng, however, had locked his arm firmly around Adam's shoulder, grinning ear to ear, his grip as immovable as iron. "Huh? Says the one who was practically pleading Gabriel for a chance at the toss," he teased, poking Adam's cheek with a finger for emphasis. "
That was a HUGE! HUGEST! Of huge mistakes I had ever made!" Adam shrieked.
Cassiel slapped a hand over his face, groaning, "Who even built his dictionary?"
"Haha!" Noah clapped him on the back in sympathy.
Adam's voice cracked, his cheeks puffing like a sulking chipmunk, "One I am never—ever—going to make again!" He jabbed a finger skyward as though swearing before the heavens.
"Yeah, nobody even told you to go…" the third years thought inwardly.
"Heh~ what a bummer," Azazel leaned forward, his grin mischievous, his eyes glinting with the chance to stir chaos.
"Hah?! Then you should go instead next time!" Adam retorted, jabbing his finger in Azazel's direction. His little body trembled with indignation, but that only made his glare more comical.
Azazel shrugged lazily, scratching his chin, "Nah, I'll pass. I seriously hate the toss guts." His words oozed with mock casualness.
"Yeah, me too," Mikael chimed in, raising a hand as if voting in class.
Ryan echoed immediately, nodding with his usual calm, "Same here."
Adam's jaw dropped, his face reddening. "That was seriously so embarrassing…" His words came out muffled as he puffed his cheeks even more, until he looked like he might actually explode.
Seraph, standing beside him, couldn't help but smile. His eyes softened with quiet kindness as he reached out and ruffled Adam's hair, messing the strands into a nest. "It's alright," he said, his voice calm and bright as sunlight breaking clouds. "You'll get it right next time."
Adam froze, blinking up at him. For a moment, his pout melted into wide, almost childlike eyes. "Really?" he asked, his tone soft, as if the embarrassment he'd been weeping over moments ago was nothing more than a passing shadow.
"Of course," Seraph repeated, his smile radiant—so gentle, so certain, it seemed impossible to doubt him. He looked like an angel in the flickering lights of the evening.
Above, Kenzo gave a sharp scoff that sliced through the tenderness. He leaned against the railing, his chin propped on his palm, eyes narrowed like a hawk, "Yeah, if your best of bestest luck ever refills one day. Surely, we'll be seeing miracles then." His lips twisted into a smug smirk.
"Hah?!" Adam spun, pointing at him like an outraged attorney, "Who was even asking you, you annoying king?!"
Kenzo only shrugged, slow and deliberate, his smirk stretching wider, Not my fault the truth stings." His voice dripped with mock innocence, as if daring anyone to argue otherwise.
From the row above, Isa's voice cut in, calm but edged with a polite reprimand, "Well… it's not exactly the nicest thing to say either."
Kenzo's brow twitched. He turned halfway around, his glare sweeping over Isa, Zach, and Orion, who sat with maddening composure. "Oh, right," he muttered, rolling his eyes, "I forgot—I've got three of the highly esteemed seniors breathing down my neck. Seniors who, by the way, don't bother checking their own words, either." His groan was loud enough for everyone to hear.
Helios, Damian, and Poseidon exchanged a glance, their lips twitching before they all broke into quiet chuckles.
Meanwhile, Alan, who had been silent, suddenly felt a familiar weight shift on his shoulder. Little Will, after finally completing his stadium tour, had hopped onto him, settling comfortably on his shoulder.
Alan absentmindedly ruffled his fur, his expression softening in contrast to the playful chaos unraveling around him. His eyes flickered with thought, though he said nothing, content to let the others squabble.
From the seats beside the middle schoolers, an audible sigh rose, almost synchronized. The high schoolers collectively looked at the younger boys like elders watching over an unexplainable species.
"I clearly don't get them or their mood swings…" Nagi whispered, his tone weary, as though trying to solve a riddle too complex.
"Haha, nobody does, buddy," Aaron laughed, his voice warm, shaking his head at the scene aside.
Ren leaned back against the railing, his smile faint but genuine, his eyes soft as he watched the boys bicker with unshakable energy. "Well, at least they're optimistic," he said, his tone thoughtful—half a sigh, half a smile.
"Still, Zachariah should go in there next time…" Aaron remarked, tapping his chin as his gaze slid toward Zach, who sat with arms folded and face unmoved, as though the chaos of Adam's failure hadn't even rippled his surface, "It's too much loss on luck now."
Xavier leaned forward, elbow on his knee, his sharp grin widening.
Feng mirrored him, raising a brow, "Wait, senior Zachariah's got good luck?"
Heber blinked, looking from one to the other as if they had just revealed a state secret.
"Yeah, better than most of us. Like ninety-five percent out of hundred." Aaron's voice carried with dramatic weight, "He never lost a toss, by the way."