Page 58 of Monster's Baby

They were probably all trash, but I could edit them later.The important thing was that they were written.

At dinner, all anyone talked about were the upcoming Dragon Polo matches.

I guess it’s not really a secret event anymore.

They were going to be timed—fifteen minutes each—and each team would get to compete six times.The scores would be tallied at the end.

It was hard to believe that an entire match could be played in fifteen minutes, especially with teammates who hadn’t played together before.

There would be no timeouts, and they’d have to communicate very well with each other.

I couldn’t wait.

We headed down to the portal as a group, Professor Dunlop and Professor Reynolds with us, at least for the first part of the event.I was glad that the professors wouldn’t have to miss the entire Olympics.

When we stepped out of the portal, I had to blink to adjust my vision.Everything seemed so bright.

Then I realized that it was bright because the sun was reflecting off the ocean in every direction.

“Where are we?”I gasped.

Aiden squinted at the sun.“Unless we time-traveled, I’d say we’re in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.”

“That was impressive.”

He shrugged.“The angle of the sun doesn’t really change.”

“It’s so hot that you know that.”

He grinned and squeezed my hand.

The portal had let us out at the top of the stadium.I noticed that there were six other portals spaced out around the stands, and people were entering through them as well.It would make it easier to leave at the end of the event.

“Where are the contestants?”I asked.“And the dragons?”

“They’ll be entering through their portals in the stables,” Professor Dunlop said.“They need more flexibility in space and resting, so their portals will allow them to enter for their match, and then leave again to rest afterward.”

I nodded my understanding.“That’s good.We wouldn’t want fights breaking out between the dragons because they’re crammed too close together.”

“Exactly.”

We took our seats about mid-way down the rows.There really wasn’t a bad place to sit when watching Dragon Polo, as the dragons took up all the space possible with their movements.

“Welcome to the Dragon Polo event at the two-hundred and fifty-third Magical Olympics!”the announcer’s voice boomed.“You all know how this event will work, so let’s get started!First up, is Africa versus Asia!”

The dragon riders swooped out, one team from each end of the stadium, filling out the pitch.

“Teams, you have fifteen minutes.Your time starts...Now!”

A whistle blasted from the referee, and the ball was in play.

I thought I understood how Dragon Polo worked, but seeing it played at the Olympics was a whole other ball game, to pardon the pun.

The ball was passed from person to person so fast that I could barely keep track of it.The dragons zipped past us at incredible speeds, weaving and dropping so quickly that my stomach flipped just thinking about how it must feel to be on dragonback during a game.

Africa scored first, and the ball was instantly back in play, going from player to player with just as much intensity as before.

“This is too much,” I gasped when one rider was forced to do a backward cartwheel in the air to avoid another dragon.

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