Though the team hadn't lost anybody to graduation this year, none of the positions were absolutely assured for returning team members. Chances were exceedingly high, that they'd get their spots back, but they would need to try out again and give any new people at least a fighting chance to get on the team.
Plus, Saul was always glad for reserves, and some of his best players had been reserve players for a couple of years. They would all get to play during practice, making them that much better once they did get to play in a real game.
So it was with eager anticipation to see which of the second years (and even first years, though that was technically against the rules) would decide to join them for practices and improve their skills for next year or the year after.
PECARI QUIDDITCH
Please sign up below if you want to join the Pecari Quidditch Team. All players must try out. Return positions NOT guaranteed. First years are allowed at practice, but will not be able to play in games until second year.
Include name, year, and position(s):
And then, on the first line, in very different (and much less legible) handwriting than the rest of the notice, since Saul had signed his name manually instead of using his Quick Quotes Quill, was written Saul's information:
Saul had barely turned from the sign-up when Irene was at the board. Quidditch had been fantastic over the summer. Practicing with Elly had helped her flying so much more than she would have dreamed! Her turns were sharper, her dives (still needed work) were better, and her bludger dodging? Well, Elly had tought her some tricks. Irene didn't know where all of this confidence was coming from, but here she was, ready to seize the title of Assistant Captain at the end of the year. At that thought, Irene felt a framiliar downing sensation. This was Saul's final year... What would Sonora do without him? This was like the twins' departure. There was a strange gap left in their wake.
In a sudden, out of character, moment, Irene felt a strange compulsion. She wanted to leave that gap behind her. Would she be remembered when she left? Would she be missed? Oh yeah. She was going to make it so. Maybe it was time to step it away from simple-Irene? No. No, that was crazy. She did not want to be remembered as some crazy chick who did whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. She wasn't one of those girls. That wasn't who she was. She was Irene Liddowe, Pecari Chaser, Pecari Prefect, future DADA Professor. And being with the Quidditch team helped her keep that in mind. So she had to make sure she held onto it. As she stepped away, her cursive writing read:
Irene Liddowe, Fifth year, Chaser
0Irene Liddowe*races to sign-up*106Irene Liddowe05
Caedence had been waiting for ages for Saul to post the stupid sign up sheet. It was odd that she had less injuries after becoming a beater. But last year she didn't recieve one quidditch injury! Oh well she got the occasional pulled muscle and stiff and sores, but Caedence wasn't attacked by a bludger. That's all that mattered. Perhaps she'd get rid of the names like Dents and Bludger Magnet? No...no she really wouldn't. Caedence liked those nicknames. They weren't meant in a mean way at all and it was almost like a part of her now.
She scribbled her name on the team roster.
Caedence Redoak, sixth year, Beater. Will do chaser if needed She still felt a sort of affinity for the chasers out there, being one herself until just last year. She knew that if Saul needed to pull her out of beater he would. She didn't really mind it, but Caedence hoped that didn't happen. She stared at her name for a few minutes, marvelling at the fact that she was a sixth year now (my how time flies!) before heading off to the Hall to see if she could get something to eat.
By the time Elly got to the Quidditch sign up sheet, two of her friends (or three, including Saul) were already on it. She smiled to herself; Quidditch was a big part of her life these days. In fact, it had been ever since Caedence threw that huge book at her head at the start of her first year. Elly supposed that she'd always have a soft-spot for hockey (it was where she first found fame - if being the school captain when she was eleven counted as such) but nothing could really compare to the feeling of freedom that was Quidditch. Not to mention the immense adrenaline rush.
As Elly added her name to the list, she felt fairly confident she would be able to reclaim her position. Sure, there might be a second year with amazing talent, and of course Elly would have to step down to accomodate them, but she'd been the Pecari Seeker for five years already. She wasn't the typical Seeker build by any means, but Elly had found that her long arms had helped on occasion. Besides, her game was at its best; after a summer of actually being able to play Quidditch rather than just dreaming about it, Elly had managed several weeks more practise than usual. She was ready to do her team proud.
Elly Eriksson, sixth year, Seeker
0Elly ErikssonNot surprising anyone, am I?92Elly Eriksson05
When Meredith saw the Quidditch sign up sheet, her very next motion was to grab a quill and sign her name. The idea of another year on the team with her friends made her bounce on the balls of her well worn sneakers and brought out her ear-to-ear grin. The way she acted made her look six years old rather than sixteen.
Quidditch was her comfort zone at Sonora. She wasn’t a perfect student—far from it—and her CATS results were only slightly better than expected, but when it came to Quidditch, nothing could get in Mere’s way and only once did she feel behind, but she was quick to catch up. And with this being Saul’s last year, Mere was even more excited to let him leave with a bang, with Pecari holding the glory.
Meredith Lail, Sixth year, Beater/Chaser
Mere signed beneath her friends and smiled at her usual scratchy writing that even Ms. Corona couldn’t improve upon. She skipped away, twisting her mother’s ring in habit that she said was for luck.
The morning of the first day of classes, while Saul was gathering the other first years for the guided tour to their first class, Jose wandered over to the bulletin board. He'd only wanted to double check the password, but the Quidditch sign up sheet that his cousin had already posted caught his eye first.
He'd been told Quidditch was good fun and the closest thing to a stage performance Sonora offered on non-concert years. He wasn't quite sure he was going to like an organized sport, but he wasn't going to discard the possibility without trying it. He took out a pencil and added his name to the bottom of the list:
Jose Hernandez, 1st Year, Recruit Trainee
He double checked he'd spelled everything right and that it was legible (though if Saul could read his own handwriting, it was unlikely either failing would have been much of an impediment for the Pecari Quidditch Captain), then turned his attention to the password that he'd come over here for in the first place.
1Jose HernandezGettting Ready for Next Year149Jose Hernandez05
Mike had never been one to try hard. He was fortunate in that most things came to him easily, and when they didn't, he wasn't bothered by the fact. Teachers had often applied the term 'under-achiever' during parent-teacher sessions, a label his mother was somehow selectively deaf to. He had been recruited, often after games of pick-up, to join little league groups: baseball, soccer, swimming; and while he'd tried his hand at them after the invitations, he rarely stuck with it. Too often he was fouled on seeming technicalities, or his teammates would begrudge his lack of effort and apparent effortless ease. In short, Mike's experiences with organized teams had not been good ones.
He was, however, of the mind to give the whole thing another shot. And besides, riding a broom was the closest thing he had to surfing at Sonora. He had actually paid a (short) visit to the library to research the positions and skim through the general rules of Quidditch. From the list of positions, and from his own personal repertoire of talents, Mike had settled on keeper. While he wasn't anywhere near tall (yet), he had excellent balance, and five years of baseball pick-up games in the cul-de-sac had given him the sort of urban training necessary to be a proper catcher.
Slinking his way across the common room, Mike scrawled his name on the list.