//------------------------------// // Ballislife part 1 // Story: Pony bound // by Shortcourt //------------------------------// 6 hours later Mom kept her promise and did eventually come back to the house to pick me up. My day was somewhat slow though. I did nothing but eat, watch tv, and surf the web. That sounds perfect for weekends, but weekdays? Ewww.  It makes going to school sound like going to a theme park. Now in the school building, I took a second to scout my surroundings. There were a small amount of kids hanging out in the halls, but I ignored them and concentrated on finding my team. What’s the first place I would look? The gymnasium of course. I walked past the halls and entered the gym. The moment I stepped in, I felt the need to pause and glaze at the environment just to recognize some tangible changes. “Holy shit…” I whispered. If the gym didn’t already look big, it looked bigger. For example, the bleachers look like the steps you climb at the Brooklyn museum and the rims look like its 20 inches higher than before!  What a great gym, heh. Yeah, despite my school being disheveled and lacking central authority, it does provide a gym that satiates any athlete crazy kid’s expectations. It has two basketball backboards that are mounted on the walls of the gym, which was hung high enough that it limited certain people from dunking. The floors were always shiny but never slippery… unless your sneakers were. The dimensions for the floor seemed to be about… well, it’s in the high school basketball range. The most memorable feature lied in the middle of the court where the official school’s logo is in all its urban, government funded glory. It was a cartoonized crocodile holding a sign in its mouth called ‘alligators’. Yup… no comment. Welcome to my school, the walking contradiction of school. I slowly walked further into the gym, feeling my anxiety on the edge of hot shooting. I swear it feels like anything can trigger it, even some random voice saying ‘hey’ can make my jitters jump.  Even if it wasn’t directed to me, it will feel like it! No, I shouldn’t be nervous. This is my school and I know all these kids, right? If anyone calls out my name, I’ll just ignore them… unless they’re one of my team mates. If I just stay quiet and keep my name clandestine, I won’t be a trending topic of the school... for the 100th time. I’m now fully in the gym and didn’t garner the attention I predicted… yet.  The girl’s basketball team was practicing right now which looked about right. I need to hurry up and get out so I don’t start a scene. I looked at that bleachers and only saw a few kids sitting down. Ah, good. I might be able to muddle through this without any- “Shawn?” a familiar female voice called my name. “Huh?” My pupils darted from the right side to the left side of the gym as I searched for the speaker.   I thought you were gonna jump? I said my jitters were gonna jump. “Right in front of you, dummy!” I wanted to slap myself but that wouldn’t be a good look, especially since it isn’t that serious. Instead, I should slap my ears for receiving the signal from the wrong angle. Ha, what is good with pony ears?  Something in front of you sounds like it’s from the sides… But, how does this person know my name? I don’t remember telling anyone. I looked at the source of the voice and immeaditely twitched. A black haired girl with a white practice shirt on that read ‘Raiders’ with matching shorts was staring at me impatiently with a basketball clutched in her palms. I looked at the rest of the girls on the floor and noticed all of their eyes were set on my body. Oh geez, now the whole team knows about my identity! Just like an up and coming model, I'm finna get exposed. I gave attention to the girl who put me on spotlight. “Jatrice, how do you know my name?” I muttered, ultimately removing all doubt that I am Shawn. “Shawn?” Another voice called out before she can answer. For some reason, that voice shared a strong semblance to Katie’s. Ami I tripping or- Wait, Katie! Shit!  “What are you doing here?” she asked in between pants, connecting her hands with her knees. “Coach told me to meet here around the time we usually do and-“ A high-pitched whistle barged into my sentence. I averted my head from Katie and looked at the bleachers and saw a man with a whistle in his mouth running closer towards me. “What’s the problem here? Why did everyone stop?” he questioned. I looked up so I can see his face. “What’s up Coach George, is the varsity team here?” He paused and exchanged a quick look with his players. “Uhh… yes, they’re downstairs…” he said slowly, bemusement written all over his face.   My eyebrows arched. “What’s the matter?” “Um, who are you exactly?” My gaze bounced from him to the floor.  Oh man, I forgot he didn’t know! Haha, he is probably like ‘who the fuck is this?’ “It’s Shawn reporting for duty, coach.” I responded confidently, adding a hoof to my head to supplement my military statement. He rubbed his chin. “Hmm… so you turned into one of them too, huh?” I gulped. The way he says ‘one of them’ suggests that he abhors ponies, or maybe he is just unsure how to classify the ponies. People I know say horse, thing, freak, and occasionally ‘mutant’. Only a true brony or mlp fan would say pony the first try. I’m just gonna pray he’s ignoring semantics, okay? “Yes, sir. I most definitely did.” I heard some of the girls in the background whisper. I didn’t understand what they were chatting about but their faces were all mixed with different reactions. I shrugged and retained eye contact with the man. “... why the fuck does your voice sound like that though?” Oh damn, I knew that was coming. The girls giggled at the abrupt question to my expense. I tried to think of something witty and quick to respond to without actually blowing my cover. Um, I know the kids on the team probably already know about my mareification due to my motor mouth sister, but I don’t see the merit of coach being aware of it. “Oh, you s-see I-I j-ust h-had a little-“ Fuck, I’m choking. “Use your words, son, if you still are a ’son’.” I looked at coach while allowing a sigh to escape from my muzzle. Dammit he already figured out. Why wouldn’t he, with this hairstyle Mom gave me. “No, I guess I’m not.”   “Wow…” he smirked. I gulped. Uh oh, I know that smile! That’s the sadistic smile coach gives when he sees someone’s vulnerability, the opening to the pot of someone’s heart where you piss in. In front of all these females he’s gonna son me! Do you understand the infamy of that? What if I turn back to a human and confess I was crushing on one of them, huh? Mannnnn! “Don’t give me jokes, please. Spare me this time, man. Please!” I squeaked while  crossing my forehooves. Wait, I forgot I don’t have hands. He laughed. “Relax, son, I’m not like that.” I let out a much-needed breath. Good, I still might have a chance at crucifying Jatrice's big ass.“Thanks, coach. I really mess with you for that.” He smirked again. “No problem, Shawn. You’re not the only person who turned into a pony, you know?” “Word?” I asked, feeling my eyebrows furrow.  I already know he is probably talking about Kaise, but what if he is talking about more people? What if the whole team were transformed into ponies? Oh man, that would be so cool but shitty at the same time! Now that I scrutinize the floor, the girl’s team looks like it hasn’t been touched yet. I see twelve players spread around the court, which is perfectly normal in practice.  The other two or three players are either on the bench or are just an early diagnosis, unlike the sole survivors over here. Yeah, I give them about a week or two.  “Yeah, it’s like three or four other ones. Anyways, you’re here for that meeting, huh?” I nodded. “Well, get your ass in that cafeteria. It starts in like five minutes.” My legs started twitching, feeling like it’s on the verge of collapsing.  In five minutes? Shit, I couldn’t have asked for more opportune timing. In addition, he said three or four players have been transformed into ponies? Oh man, this shit is spreading faster than I thought. Really, I’m not vexed at having more people in my boat, but the fact that this ‘phase’ is nearing human extinction is mind sucking. I rolled my eyes in irritation, but quickly looked at coach afterwards to show it wasn’t directed towards him. “Um, okay. Thanks a lot, coach.” I blushed. “No problem, kid. I wonder what he wants to talk to you guys about though.” I stared at him for a couple of seconds, feeling the tingling of my limbs. Hmm… that’s an intriguing question: What is he calling us for? I heard it’s crucial, but what type of crucial? What does it revolve around? Is it the basketball season or the health of the school? It can’t be the second one because the school would have reported it on the loud speaker. Hmm, dat suspense got me like –insert Kevin Hart what the hell face- “We’ll see. Well, see you guys!” On that notation, I dashed out the gymnasium and started to haul ass to the cafeteria. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… “Okay is everyone here?” “Hmm?” My ears perked. When I was nearing the cafeteria, I overheard a couple of voices clearly. That sounded like coach, and it sounds like coach is ready to make the big reveal. I sighed and walked towards the cafeteria doors. There were three large double doors and two of them were open. I hesitantly pattered behind the closed doors for a couple of seconds and licked my lips, which felt unusually dry. Shit, I hope there aren’t anything on them.  My current state plus having something white on my lips isn’t a great entrance.  I removed my hoof from the ground, grabbing the wooden structure while ‘peeking’ out the opening.   It was obscure, but I definitely saw people. I definitely saw… ponies. I got back on all fours and suddenly felt relieved of my anxiety. Whew, coach was right after all: I really aren’t the only one! When I walked into the room, everything became silent. I smiled and walked towards the tables. “Yoooooooooo!” I exclaimed too gleefully while searching for an empty seat. I found one and sat on it, sitting next to a kid on the team who I didn’t bother to try identifying. Now seated, I looked at the coach “No seriously, what’s up?” The man who wore a grey hoodie with the gator logo scratched his now-balding head before answering, “Who are you again?” “Shawn, Coach P, Shawn,” I answered, although coming off pretentious by repeating my name. I closed my eyes and complacently waited for his vocal reaction, not his facial one. “I may not be able to grab balls anymore, but I’m always here to watch you guys do it!” Next thing I knew, the lunchroom exploded with laughter. And it didn’t sound like a jovial laugh you share with someone, it sounded like a sardonic laugh you direct towards someone! I opened my eyes and naively looked around the room. “I don’t get what was so funny…” I muttered, my ears hanging flaccid. “You said grab balls!” someone shouted. Right after that comment, he was decked in the back of his head. “It’s not because of that, ya premature bastard, it’s because of his voice! Like really, we’re too old for innuendos!” the person near him grunted. “All I’m gonna say is Catfish...,” someone else muttered. I don’t even wanna know what that means…