Episode 1

Chapter 3:

The school day passed by in the blink of an eye. After his meeting with Li, Ming tried to find his fellow 2nd string members; who were also part of their thrashing at the hands of Junhui the day before. However, each teammate he tried to check on either avoided him or just didn’t even pay him any attention, much to his surprise. It wasn’t until he caught Xiaoli on his bike by the schoolgates, did he find out the reason as to why they had ignored him.

“We heard you’d been kicked off the team,” Xiaoli said, unstrapping his helmet and putting it on. He had not even looked at Ming, nor did he seem bothered by the crowds of students passing by.

“Well, that's not exactly the case”

“Is it not?” Xiaoli raised an eyebrow as he adjusted the straps. “I’m pretty sure you’ve been kicked off indefinitely”.

“Li said I could come back-”

“Yeah? And when will that be?”

Ming fidgeted awkwardly hearing this. He’d always thought of Xiaoli as like a little brother to him. Xiaoli had been taken under Ming’s informal guidance, ever since he’d made it to second string. Now that Ming had been kicked off the team, he felt slightly embarrassed checking up on someone who he had once taught. Technically, Xiaoli was above him in the pecking order now.

“I don’t know when I’ll be back, I guess whenever Cap feels like it and stops with this weird lesson,” Ming said.

“It's going to be a while isn’t it?”

“Well I wouldn’t say that…” An awkward silence descended upon them as they both knew the truth. Ming would not be in training for a long time.

“Ming, honestly, I shouldn’t even be speaking to you,” Xiaoli said suddenly. His baby face looked around at the crowd sheepishly, as if worried about something.

“Your replacement, he's a bit…let's just say he's not the biggest fan of your way of leading.” Unlocking his bike, he jumped onto the seat and put his foot on the pedal.

“I can’t say much more. I’m sorry, I need to go.”

With that, he cycled off.

An air of uncertainty was left in his wake. Ming stood there, half filled with amazement at the events of today, and half in confusion. He did not remember making any enemies on the team. In fact, he was certain that most people on the team liked him, as he had made it a habit to check up on all of his team-mates regularly. If he was to take over captaincy in the future, it was only natural. And yet, it seemed that he had some not so receptive peers after all.

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The thought of his team-mates suffering in silence, through their new leader, weighed heavy on Ming’s mind as he trekked home. Still, it was an issue that he was of no help in. Being exiled after all. If he stayed away from his former team, then they shouldn’t be harmed…hopefully.

His thoughts wandered back to the words Li had said earlier.

“Why do you play basketball?”

Why do I play basketball? Ming thought, as he entered through the doors of his home.

“Oh Ming, you’re back early!” A woman’s voice shouted from the kitchen.

Taking his shoes off and sliding his slippers on, Ming walked over into the living room and placed his schoolbag on the dining table.

“Yeah, I’m off the team for a while, mum” he sighed, as he sat down.

The shocked face of an older woman with frizzy, black hair popped out from the kitchen door.

“Are you making a joke Ming? Jokes like that aren’t normal from you” she said, eyebrows furrowing with concern.

“It's true mum. I’ve been placed on break indefinitely, as per captain Li and Coach’s orders.”

“Why would they do that? You’re the best point guard they have, after Li. Who’s going to lead the second unit now?” Ming’s mum said as she shook her head in disbelief. She walked over and ruffled his hair, forcing a smile onto her face, in an attempt to comfort her child. “Well, I mean, there’s still outdoor courts that you can play on right?”

Ming’s face winced in slight pain as he was reminded of the events of yesterday. He turned to see his mother’s concerned face and began to feel flush with embarrassment. There was no way he could bring himself to tell her of his humiliating defeat.

“Yeah, yeah I guess so-” he stammered. Then, he grabbed his bag and briskly walked to the stairs. “-I’m gonna go rest.”

“Oh, ok, sure. Dinner’s ready in the kitchen by the way, whenever you’re hungry.” His mum smiled, not wanting to pry further.

Ming rushed to his room and flopped onto his bed. Burying his face in his pillow, the question replayed in his head over and over.

Why do you play basketball?

Doubt filled his mind, as he wondered what would have happened, if he had just answered the question differently, if he had just played better and won yesterday. If he had been a better leader. Frustrated, his eyes wandered over to the poster of John Stockton, pinned above the basketball in the corner of his room. The player that represented the epitome of the team-over-everything playstyle, that Ming so desperately wanted to achieve, to perfect. He wondered how his idol would have gotten out of this slump. Would he even be in this position to begin with?

Shaking his head, he decided he needed to distract himself. There was no point dwelling on such events now. After all, he had been brooding since lunch time, it would only make himself feel worse. Mustering his last ounces of energy, Ming got out of bed and rummaged through his bag for his homework. Then, he placed it on his bedside desk and began to write.

For the next two hours, Ming tried to focus on his homework. But try as he might, his mind did not want to work. Instead, he found himself restless and his thoughts constantly drifting elsewhere, still distracted by everything. He looked over at the clock on his wall. It was ten minutes past seven. In the time since he had started, he had only been able to do one question sheet for physics. This was getting nowhere.

His eyes began to wander again, darting around the room, until they rested on the poster, and finally, at the basketball which lay beneath. A feeling began to emerge from within his chest. It was small at first, like an annoying itch which was hard to reach. Then, it began to grow, festering underneath, constantly poking at Ming until finally, it became a wildfire that was too uncontrolled to ignore. He rolled his eyes to the ceiling and sighed. Leaving his seat, he took his uniform off and changed into his tracksuit. Then, picking up his ball, he slung his bag over his shoulder and left his room behind, rushing down the stairs.

“Mum, I’m going out for a bit!” he shouted as he slipped on his Jordans.