Practice had been interesting. Michael was still getting his head around Quidditch sometimes, as it didn't have quite the same level of teamwork as something like rugby or even cricket. Sure, the chasers scored, the beaters protected everyone...and the seeker carried the weight of expectation and all he could really do was try hitting the other seeker and protecting their own. It wasn't like they could really help the seekers find the snitch. But he did like the team, they were a good group of people even if a little more diverse in age and gender than what he was used to. Monday was intense but a good beater, the younger students were either over confident or struggling, Xiuying was a good captain and Crystal...well, Crystal was a great keeper, as she'd shown in practice, but she also happened to be one of the prettiest girls in the school. Michael found himself specifically stopping bludgers from hitting her more often than not when he probably should've been focusing on Hamish. He couldn't help himself, he was still a teenage boy. It wasn't like he was going to be awkward about it, at least he didn't intend to be - she was a seventh year and he was only a fourth - but that didn't mean he couldn't harbour harmless admiration, right?
"Uh, hey Crystal," he said, nervously, as she approached, giving her a small wave and slightly shy smile. Really trying not to be awkward and not necessarily succeeding. "You were awesome today. I mean, you're a great keeper every training, but you were really great today." Maybe he should've just not talked. "Uh...nice weather, hey?"