Just a Game

Summary: An innocent pick-up game after classes can turn into much more for the students of Anubis House. Please R & R!

Author's Note: I know it's been a while (almost a year, in fact) since I last posted, but I'm back! This is my first attempt at a House of Anubis story, so please be kind with your comments. Initially this was going to be a one-shot, but I've decided I'm going to continue it. Each chapter will be the next game. The first one begins about three weeks after Nina first arrives at boarding school. I'm saying that's just after "House of Hyper". The game featured here is one that gym teachers in my district made up many years ago.

Disclaimer: I do not own House of Anubis.

"Nina! Wait up!" Fabian called down the hall when he spotted her signature fabric messenger bag. Nina paused and glanced over her shoulder, smiling when she realized who was calling her. She waited patiently for him to catch up with her. "Are you coming to the match later?" he asked conversationally when they fell into step. He pushed open one side of the double doors at the entrance to the school.

"What match?" she asked, taking in the excitement on his face. It brightened as they stepped into the sun, as if he drew strength from its light.

"The first Friday of the month, the guys from Anubis and a few other houses go head to head out on the field behind the school. We always try and get the girls to come cheer us on," he explained as they walked on the path, once unfamiliar to Nina, from the school back to Anubis house.

"Why not?" Nina agreed as the house came into view. Moments later, they walked up the steps and through the front door into a whirlwind of chaos.

"Alfie! We're green this month!" Mick scolded his friend. Jerome, who had just emerged from the bedroom he and Alfie shared wearing a blue shirt, turned on his heel and disappeared from sight. Amber ran down the stairs with green headbands in her hand. She stopped in front of Nina.

"If you're coming with us tonight, you'll have to change. We're green, not red," she ordered before dashing out of sight.

"Well, are you coming?" Mara asked, looking at the headband in her hand for a moment and shrugging. Nina nodded. "Great! We have time to get ready while the boys head out for warm ups."

"Fabian! Get going, we have to get to warm-ups!" Mick called across the entrance hall, interrupting the conversation.

"Coming!" Fabian called back. "See you girls there," he commented quickly before running to his room to change into uniform. Mara grabbed Nina's arm and ran up the stairs with her to where Patricia waited. Amber followed them up and stood on Nina's other side. Trudy walked out of the kitchen with a pair of full water bottles in each hand. Moments later, the boys made their way to the door.

"Alright boys, let's move out!" Mick announced. The girls cheered from the top of the stairs as Mick took a bottle of water from Trudy's hand and walked out with just a wave goodbye. Jerome followed Mick first, with Alfie right behind him. Fabian was the last in their line, and he paused for an extra moment to meet Nina's eye. "Fabian!" Mick shouted.

"Coming!" Fabian replied too quickly. The girls laughed as he sprinted out the door. Trudy closed the door behind him and looked up.

"So, who wants to help me with the snacks for tonight?" she asked. Patricia looked at Amber.

"Mara and I will go down. You have to get Nina ready," she decided.

"Got it!" Amber agreed, taking Nina's hand and pulling her to their room. Fifteen minutes later, the four girls met at the front door. Trudy handed out their snacks and waters before sending them on their way.

"This month, the teams are split by the origins of their names. Since we're ancient Egyptian, we're teaming up with Khepri and Osiris. We're also joining with Mawat and Nergal, which come from regions just outside of Egypt," Mara read off as she consulted a notebook in her hand. "We're up against the Europeans – Leinth, Morana, Flins, Odin, and Freyja. Based on the statistics from the last few games, our side has a clear advantage, and Anubis has a good chance of keeping up our undefeated record."

"What exactly are they playing?" Nina asked.

"It's called whoopee. A few of the teachers made it up long before any of us started going to the school. It's similar to kickball, except that the runners can keep circling the bases for as long as they'd like," Mara explained.

"You'll catch on," Patricia added, seeing the confusion covering Nina's face. At last, they reached the field. "This way," Patricia directed them to a group of green girls. She sat down on the front bleacher, with Mara and Amber on either side of her. Nina took the open spot beside Mara and looked out to the fields, searching for her other housemates. From the center of the field, Mrs. Robinson blew a whistle.

"Teams, have you chosen your captains?" she asked. From the green team, Mick stepped forward. The Anubis girls cheered. Mr. Sweet, who was the chaperone for the night, turned to them.

"I see Anubis house has kept up its perfect attendance record," he commented as the action continued on the field.

With the flip of a coin, Mick sent his players to behind home base. Mara pulled out a pen and her notebook, quickly jotting down their order, and Mick sent Alfie up to hit first. Mara flipped through her notebook to a page titled with his name.

"Go Alfie!" Patricia encouraged. Amber, Mara, and Nina echoed the call, starting a roar that soared through the entire green cheering section. Alfie pointed at Amber and winked before the pitcher rolled the ball directly to him. When he kicked it, the ball flew over the fielders' heads and landed in the distance.

"Full round, Alfie!" Mick yelled from his place in the line. Alfie took off, running from one base to the next. He sprinted around, shouting "whoopee" at the top of his lungs when he started his second round. "Stay one!" Mick ordered as the ball flew back to the pitcher's hands. Alfie slid into first.

"Trudy's not going to like that," Nina commented, giggling.

"He does it every month," Patricia shrugged. The next player, a student from Osiris house, stepped forward.

"Though I don't know why. All that dirt..." Amber complained, to the amusement of her housemates. Mara jotted a few comments in her notebook. The boy launched the ball into the air and barely made it to first base, standing beside Alfie.

"Keeping track of their stats?" Nina asked Mara, glancing at the papers in her lap as the star player from Nergal house prepared to kick.

"Yeah. I've been keeping their records forever. The boys like to know how they're doing and how they can improve," Mara explained.

"Do you keep track of their behaviors?" Mara looked confused at Nina's question. "You know, things like warm-up lengths, traditions they may have individually or as a group..."

"Such as..." Mara trailed off, barely watching the game as the ball flew past the second baseman and gave the runners time to reach second base. A boy from Mawat house took his turn while Nina thought of the best way to change her thoughts into words.

"Alfie just pointed and winked at Amber, and then scored a home run." Mara lit up as she found Nina's thoughts.

"I've never even thought of that!" she exclaimed. The girls returned their eyes to the field just in time to see Mick step up for his turn.

"Go Mick!" Mara and Amber called at the same moment. When Amber leaned forward to glare at Mara, Patricia stepped in.

"We cheer for our housemates, remember?" she pointed out, adding, "let's go Mick!" for good measure. Nina echoed her, trying to ease the tension surrounding them. Mick glanced at their foursome for a fraction of his second, barely moving even his eyes to see them. He surveyed the players on the bases and in the field quickly, taking in their skill levels and his options. He locked eyes with Alfie, who was now on third base, and brushed his thigh three times.

"Line drive to third?" Amber gasped, just loud enough for their front row to hear.

"That's risky," Patricia commented as they watched, holding their breaths for the split second before he kicked. The ball hit his foot with a deafening crack and they watched it zoom past Alfie, just inches above the ground. By the time it bounced on the uneven outfield, Mick touched first base and headed to second. The Anubis girls leapt to their feet and cheered louder than any of their counterparts as Alfie tapped home once more and Mick dove, launching himself at the third base.

"This is really exciting!" Nina exclaimed as they all took their seats. One of the Khepri boys huddled with Fabian, who had taken over while Mick was in the field. He caught Nina's eye and smiled before sending the younger boy up to take his turn. The other girls noticed, but only Mara reacted, adding it to Fabian's page in her notebook as the boy successfully kicked the ball into an empty space in the outfield. After a few more boys gave their best effort, Mick slid into home for the final time. He surveyed the loaded bases. With a score of seven to zero and two outs, he decided to send Fabian up, hoping to lengthen their inning.

"Go Fabian!" Nina called out, grinning. Her housemates glanced at her for a moment, smirking. "Just cheering on my housemates?" she tried, flustered by the sudden influx of attention. They all turned back to the action on the field, intentionally ignoring the blush slowly rising on Nina's cheeks. Fabian turned his head, chuckled at the drama in the bleachers, met Nina's eye once more, and promptly scored a home run. The green team's cheering section leapt to its feet and the other players lined up, waiting to congratulate Fabian as he ran, arms held high in a victorious pose. As he ran by, Fabian turned to the girls on the sidelines and grinned at them each in turn, lingering longest on Nina.

"You guys were amazing tonight!" Amber complimented hours later as the eight house of Anubis residents walked under a darkening sky.

"Still undefeated, am I right?" Jerome grinned, still filled with the adrenaline from the game.

"You've got it," Mara confirmed. "It's quite a record. I'll have to check the numbers again, but I think this was your best game yet. By the way, what was your warm up routine today?" Mick fell back a step so he could cross behind Amber and stand between her and Mara. They reviewed the pre-game routine as well as the general statistics. Soon, the whole group barged through the front door, meeting Trudy at the base of the stairs.

"Well?" she asked, insinuating her real question rather than asking it outright.

"We won, Trudy!" Alfie exclaimed. Even Victor couldn't contain the excitement that radiated off the students. He could, however, insist they go to bed promptly at ten o'clock, just as he did every night. They returned to their rooms grudgingly. Nina began rummaging through her drawers for pajamas.

"Don't get too comfortable," Amber warned. "We're heading to Patricia and Mara's room for a movie."

"Just the four of us? Cool," Nina commented, changing into her pajamas and running to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

"You and Amber coming over?" Mara checked as she passed Nina in the hall.

"Yeah, we'll be right there," Nina confirmed. Ten minutes later, she and Amber crept down the hall, avoiding the boards they knew would screech at their arrival. All four girls sat between the two beds, a laptop placed far enough from them that they could see the images clearly, though they spent more time gossiping than watching.

"This is the real initiation," Patricia admitted as they caught Nina up on the backstories to the Anubis house members, the movie long forgotten. "Or, I guess it's more of a welcoming tradition. So, welcome to Anubis."

Author's Note: So, there's chapter one. As much as I wanted some of our favorite couples to end up together at the end, we all know that that didn't happen quite yet. As of right now, I'm focusing on keeping this story true to the actual timeline. I'm going to start working on the next chapter tomorrow morning, and also look out for some one-shots from me. Don't forget to review!