“Next!”

Coach Spitfire’s voice echoed down the sidelines as a long row of students inched their way forward. With the new soccer season just around the corner, and the new soccer coach from Cloudsdale Academy here to take over, tryouts were under way on this Friday afternoon. However, a new soccer coach wasn’t the only change to come this year.

Due to the circumstances surrounding the strange outbreak throughout the regional area, certain qualifications needed to be set by the school before students were able to join any sports team. In this case, a weight no higher than 285 pounds. So with a weight scale ready and a clipboard in hand, the new coach stood at the halfway line as each student of various physiques anxiously waited for even a chance to try out.

“Next!” Spitfire shouted as a chubby, purple-haired girl nervously approached. “Last name, first name?”

“Um… Blossom, Aqua… ma’am,” she stated tensely.

Barely looking up from her clipboard as she wrote down the name, the coach simply gestured down towards the scale. “Take off your shoes and hop on.”

“Y-yes, ma’am.” Doing as told, Aqua slipped off her shoes and stepped onto the scale, watching as the digital reader rapidly climb until it’s reached its stop.

“287. Better luck next semester,” Spitfire shrugged. “Next!”

“But, it’s only two extra pounds, ma’am,” Aqua whimpered, starting to well up in tears. “Maybe I can lose it before the first game.”

“Two pounds too many, wide load. Now get outta here!” Spitfire sneered as she crossed out the girl’s name. Hiding her face in shame, Aqua ran off the field crying. Paying no mind, however, the coach continued. “Next!”

“Harsh,” Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath as the next potential victim stepped up. The longer she stood in line with the other students, the more she had to watch Spitfire living up to her name. With an threatening voice and a cut-throat attitude, it was enough to send even the toughest of athletes crying home as withered and broken spirits. But even if she wasn’t nervous before, she was absolutely feeling terrified now. So many questions were racing around her head…

“Next!”

Why was she even here if she already weighed herself this morning?! Why couldn’t she lose any of this weight to begin with?! And why does this lady need to put everyone on the spot like this?!

“Next!”

With every step closer, she felt her knees shake and buckle beneath her 300-pound body. She was just about ready to just walk away from all this and hope that nobody would notice. At her weight, there was no way she was getting in the team anyway.

“Next!”

She could feel her heart pounding against her chest…

“Next!”

And her breaths sounding shaky…

“Next?”

Her palms sweating…

“Next??”

Her body clenching…

“Yo, Thunder Thighs, I SAID NEXT!”

“Huh?” Realizing she had been completely zoned out for the past minute or so, Rainbow finally saw it was now her turn. “Oh, r-right. Sorry!” She rushed up to the coach, trying to keep as straight-faced as she could. She was still terrified, but at the very least, she want to show it.

As she approached the hot-headed coach, Spitfire barely mustered up a half-hearted glance. “Alright, you know the drill. Shoes off, hop on.”

“Um… aren’t you gonna ask for my name?”

“On the scale, I said.” Spitfire snarled back in response.

Rainbow smiled awkwardly before kicking off her sneakers and finally stepping onto the dreaded scale. She looked down and watched the number rise. She didn’t know why. She already knew how much she weighed. But maybe, by some miracle, the scale would glitch out and stop before hitting 285. But alas, her heart sank to the pit of her stomach as she watched the number pass the weight limit before finally stopping…

300.4 lbs.

She shut her eyes so she wouldn’t have to look at that number. She held back the tears so she wouldn’t have to cry in front of everyone. And she braced herself for the worst… for the bitter sound of rejection…

“284,” Spitfire lied. “You’re in.”

Her eyes shot open, staring down at the number on the scale. It still read 300.4 lbs. “Wait…” Jolting her head up, Rainbow wondered if she just heard wrong. “Wait, what?”

“Wait over at the bleachers. We’ll get started in a bit.”

“R-really?” Rainbow was simply confused, still trying to process the emotional whiplash she just had. “B-but… But I-”

“I said move it, Thunder Thighs, before I change my mind! Next!”

Hopping off the scale and grabbing her shoes, Rainbow decided not to question it for now and just make her way to the bleachers. Despite her heavy breathing and water-filled eyes, she was relieved.

Extremely confused, of course. But relieved, nonetheless.