One week has elapsed since Leesville, and both quiz bowlers and basketball players are adored by the town, at least for the time being. And the girls seem to have more love from the townsfolk on Wednesday after the boys lost their second-round game against Church Point.
Especially since VA won its second round playoff game against Brusly with the mercy clock active, 77-30, and the starters being benched after the mercy clock was activated late in the third quarter.
And, in the quarterfinals, VA won handily against the Leesville Wampus Cats, 72-41. Which leads to the semifinals on Wednesday. Boyfriends of girls’ basketball players come to see their love interests one last time before they go off to Hammond for the semifinals.
“Show Wossman that your successes in quiz bowl don’t drag you down on the court!” Pablo tries to encourage Audrey before kissing her.
“Yeah, Wossman will want to avenge its loss against us in quiz bowl, even though no one on their roster for tonight played quiz bowl!” Audrey harangues her boyfriend.
“Wossman plays quiz bowl?” Carrie gasps upon hearing about Wossman even playing quiz bowl. “We played there last year, and they clearly weren’t the kind of school that took academics seriously!”
“I would have loved to come to your game, but unfortunately I have to study for AP US Government along with my football teammates tonight!” Malcolm tells Cora before kissing her.
“Carrie, I attended the last two games, but my parents won’t let me out of town because I have to study for AP US Government, too...” Finn then hugs Carrie.
“You never told me about AP US Government. I wanted to focus on basketball in full; it’s my last season after all, and I don’t want to graduate with any regrets!”
Did the football coach somehow let Finn take AP US Government as a favor to him? A bewildered Audrey wonders how Finn could even be in position to take APs. Finn would need a lot of help to even pass it... Don’t tell me that he’s taking advantage of Cora or Lilina because they are girlfriends of his teammates!
Speaking of AP US Government, Malcolm has his football (and ex-football) teammates taking the course come over to his place. They even brought along Gerard and Tanith, since Gerard is taking it.
“While I am preparing pelekie zirni...” Pablo then cooks chickpeas.
“What’s pelekie zirni?” Bart asks him.
“A Latvian recipe of chickpea salad. Because I already took the course, I might be wondering what’s being covered in you guys’ upcoming test” Pablo asks, suspecting that Bart’s section might not be progressing at the same pace as his did one semester prior.
“Civil rights, like, you know, the first two amendments, the Bill of Rights, due process, EOAA, all that jazz” Malcolm answers him, while Pablo prepares the bacon for cooking.
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And, of course, there’s the pre-game speech in the locker room of Southeastern Louisiana’s basketball arena, the University Center, wearing the white and purple “home” VA jersey.
“Last year, we lost against them by a buzzer-beating three-pointer! This year, we’ll show them that VA actually has what it takes to go all the way!” Kent harangues his players.
“Yeah, we win tonight, and we’re going to play Pearl River” Cora tells her teammates.
“Cora, it’s too early to worry about the final; we still have a semifinal to win!” Heather scolds her teammate.
“Speaking of winning, we have the smartest front court still in play! To win, we need to play smarter than Wossman does!” Audrey adds.
Then, under the watchful eye of a volunteer from the community radio station, the home announcer lists all the players from both teams, and they are going to have someone else singing the national anthem prior to the game’s tip-off. It seems like, unless I sing national anthems at college basketball games, I may very well have sung my last national anthem on a basketball court already! Heather can’t help but feel like the organizers wouldn’t let players sing national anthems in the Final Four.
With Hugh, Tyler and other band members on the sidelines, Heather and the Wildcats’ starting big face off during the tip-off.
Heather wins the tip-off, dribbles down the court, but is getting double-screened, so, while she feels like she can’t take a shot, she passes the ball to Cora, who is already running for the rim. Cora catches the ball, but once she has the ball in hand, she evades the opposing defenders so she can then lay up and take a shot at point-blank. The ball spirals into the hoop… and VA scores the first 2 points of the game.
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Meanwhile, back in Jennings, Pablo tunes in on the radio station carrying the VAs’ game against Wossman while he serves the pelekie zirni to his guests taking AP US Government.
“Nasica shoots from the paint… And scores the Venomous Agendas’ first two points!” The radio commenter refers to Cora by her last name, just as the Wildcats pick up the ball.
“Now that’s my Debt Ceiling!” Malcolm comments as the Wildcats dribble down the court, and gets into position to shoot from downtown, i.e. the three.
“Debt Ceiling?” Savannah, Bart’s girlfriend, rolls her eyes. “How did Cora even earn that nickname?
“It’s a long story but it began with her taking AP US Government in the fall!” Pablo explains in front of the couple.
“She was on the same team as Pablo and me, and she argued the role of the debt ceiling in Congressional campaigning with him!” Tanith follows up with him.
Finn asks them questions about what the First Amendment means for freedom of expression, be it religion, speech or press. About how First Amendment freedoms have come under attack over the years for various reasons, about cancel culture being one of the main weapons in wokism’s arsenal back in the day to undermine the First Amendment. To the eyes of some anyhow.
“That’s a lot to take in. It seems like wokism hasn’t been covered much in class” Finn reacts to how Tanith explained the core issues on their upcoming test.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Now it seems like a lot of people in Bart’s section either take AP US Government because their love interests do, or, for the football players, such as Bart and Malcolm, the coach suggested they take an AP course if he feels like college attendance is realistic even without football, Pablo muses while eating pelekie zirni.
“Promise me that, if VA wins tonight, we’ll make the trip to Hammond for the final!” Malcolm suggests to Pablo.
“And then see our girlfriends play the biggest game of their lives… if they get there!” Pablo tells Malcolm and Finn.
“It sucks that we couldn’t be here in person tonight…” Finn sighs.
While the guests are busy eating their pelekie zirni, Pablo’s parents, on the other hand, are made to feel like the house is crowded.
“Whose idea was it anyway to study for AP US Government here?” Pablo’s mom asks the guests.
“It wasn’t just me; it seems like my football teammates are taking it right now, or at least some of them! And even a quiz bowler! I guess, that’s the price to pay for gaining popularity on the back of my quiz bowl prowess!”
Pablo’s dad tries to process who else came over who aren’t quiz bowlers or footballers. He recognized Gerard, Bart, Finn and Malcolm, along with Tanith, whom he knew dated Gerard. And the kicker. However, he doesn’t know who Bart’s current girlfriend is, since he never met Savannah.
Yet, as they keep discussing the material for the course, they fail to realize that they have been missing out on juicy plays. At that point, Wossman and VA are tied with a few seconds left to go in the first quarter. Their attention now turned to the radio:
“Halista steals the ball, dribbles past the center line, shoots from downtown…” the radio commentator comments while Heather leaps close to the paint to grab the rebound. “Misses, but Campbell catches the rebound. Steps into the paint, goes for the jump shot, scores with two seconds to the quarter!”
“Yes! Venomous! Agendas!” Pablo howls while the score after the first quarter is 16-14.
“I understand that you are all invested in tonight’s game against Wossman because, for some of you, your girlfriends are playing. And they give their all tonight, yes. However, Gerard dragged me here for one reason: study for this God-forsaken AP US Government test!” Tanith tries to get Gerard’s comrades back into studying for the test.
And, going into the second quarter, the guests Pablo brought to his house to study AP US Gov over pelekie zirni start discussing the political ramifications of the material, be it in terms of ideology, and how branches of government interact between each other. Obviously, Gerard, Pablo and Tanith dominated the discussions, but the other guests appeared able to contribute in some way. Especially when it comes to how social policy and civil rights just aren’t the only things that define a political ideology.
“You probably heard about things such as fiscal policy, economic intervention in passing” the returner tries his best to keep up with his teammates.
Damn it! Why is it that everything here reminds me of Cora? Cora was dominant when it came to the economic aspect of policymaking! Civic rights were my strongest area in that course, and not simply because of me being Hispanic! Pablo ruminates, frozen in place by the returner’s statement. To be clear, I hate her only in a specific context, but I still wish her the best in quiz bowl and on the court!
“At this stage of the course, I don’t expect much thought to be given to the economic part of government, it will come later” Pablo retorts.
“Can you please explain why there seems to be so many football players taking AP US Government?” Gerard asks the guests, since he doesn’t know everyone on the football team. “I might have understood one or two per semester, but at least four?”
“The coach teaches that course in the winter, and he encourages every player over a certain GPA to take it. And even some people senior year that didn’t take APs beforehand, provided they had B or better in social studies” Finn explains himself.
And it seems like Pablo and Tanith go into more detail into what makes an ideology more moderate or more radical, and more liberal or more conservative. By doing so, the pair disgorges material in hopes that they will better understand what’s on the test.
And yet, back in Hammond, into the third quarter, Carrie attempts a three-pointer for the third time in as many quarters, with VA trailing by 3 points, but in doing so, she gets hit in the elbow. Yet, even with her release affected by the hit in the elbow, the ball hits the hoop and spirals into it as the whistle is blown.
“Mailman gets fouled in a three-pointer attempt, and she is given one free throw!” the commenter tells as the Wildcats get in position to catch the ball.
“Quiet, please!” Finn asks the guests.
Carrie doesn’t get fouled much, since she doesn’t shoot much. It seems like a lot of fouls are called on people shooting, Finn muses while Carrie is at the free throw line, trying to sink the free throw she is awarded. Once the ball enters the hoop…
“That’s a potential four-point play and… yes! The Venomous Agendas are back in the lead!”
“Woohoo! Carrier can shoot when it counts!” Finn realizes that it’s a close game being played in the University Center.
But when the football players feel like they have run their course of reviewing for their test on Thursday, Bart’s girlfriend asks the following of the guests, as well as Pablo’s parents, who are gathered around the computer:
“We’re in the last two minutes! Please stop!” Bart’s girlfriend asks the guests, while VA is still neck-and-neck against Wossman with 2 minutes left to the game.
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And the final 2 minutes leave the spectators, be it at the University Center, in Jennings or in Monroe, on the edge of their seats. Especially since it’s a clash of the girls’ basketball titans, north vs south. The most exciting basketball either team would get to play all season, with scouts from various colleges in the stands.
And even then, with 10 seconds left to the game, with a stalemate still happening, Wossman’s coach takes its final, 30-second timeout, feeling like the players’ nerves must be calmed down. However, it had the effect of increasing the stress levels of everyone else.
When the timeout ends, Wossman makes a crazy drive to the paint, its shooting guard makes the shot. Heather blocks the ball, then dribbles down the court, passes to Audrey, who crosses the centerline, dribbling the ball.
With opposing players breathing down her neck, the power forward thinks only of one thing: breaking the stalemate. Using Cora as a screen for her to shoot, and the opposing point guard attempting to prevent Audrey from shooting, the resulting mismatch gives her an opportunity to shoot. As she is about to be sandwiched, she only has a second or two to move sideways, into the paint, and then shoot.
Which she does with only a split-second to spare, and the ball has left her hand when the buzzer rings. The people seated in the UC watch the ball travel towards the hoop and… the ball goes into it.
“Yes! Halista’s buzzer beater from the paint gave the Venomous Agendas their first appearance in the Division II Non-Select final in twenty years!” the home announcer shouts.
This means none of us were even born when VA last went to State in girls’ basketball. And it also means that it dates back from the pre-VA era, too, Audrey struggles to process what she just did for the VAs: getting them to girls’ basketball-State. As they get to the locker room:
“Way to go, ladies! We won against the big post-pandemic powerhouse, and you already know that we’re going to play the Pearl River Rebels on Saturday. Their star player is Libuse, a Czech swing whom the Rebels’ fanbase call the Starving Artist!” Kent harangues the players.
“The Rebels tended to shop for basketball players on the international exchange student markets based on their basketball needs! Last year, they got Huiling, a Chinese shooting guard, now Libuse, a Czech swing?” Cora asks herself, knowing Libuse can play both SF and SG.
“Libuse, a starving artist? Does Pearl River give nicknames to its players on nonsensical grounds?” Vanessa asks her teammates.
“Do you have any idea why Pearl River would look for basketball players on the international student exchange markets?” Carrie asks, rolling her eyes.
“Huiling was called the Chinese Bridge in Pearl River because of a soy sauce brand. Do you have any clue why Libuse would be called a starving artist?” Heather asks.
“She might be a writer, a painter, or, you know, be a theater actress on top of playing basketball?” Tamara asks, confused.
“It seems that, for some reason, Pearl River’s fanbase is trying to make fun of either her hometown or her off-court activities. Now, Bohemia being a region in Czechia, and Bohemianism is about starving artists, despite not being a particularly Czech thing, you have a better idea of how I feel about Libuse” Audrey attempts to formulate an answer. “If Libuse comes from a Bohemia city, of course”