Mark arrives at Samantha’s house when he rings the doorbell. There is a long pause when suddenly Samantha sticks her head out of the door.

“Hi, Mark. Nice to see you today. Come in. Cesar and Justin are already here,” Samantha says.

“Thanks, Samantha,” Mark says.

“You know what, why don’t you call me Sam from now on? We’ve been friends for a long time and you need to call me by my nickname. Is that ok for you?”

“Sure, Sam,” he says with a chuckle.

She chuckles with him and says, “That’s better. Let’s go in.”

Mark goes into the house with her and they walk towards the basketball court. They talk about trivial matters along the way until they get into the topic of basketball.

“So, what are they doing right now?” he says.

“They’re practicing how to deal with an opponent while you have the ball. It’s exciting to watch.”

Just about the end of her sentence, they arrive at the court. They see Justin with the ball, shifting left and right just to get through Cesar. Cesar eventually tips it out of his hand.

“Dang it!” Justin says.

“Be patient with yourself, Justin. You just have to place the ball as far back as possible when you try to body and push through your opponent,” Cesar says.

“Understood, master.”

“Looks like you two are having fun,” Mark says.

They look at him and joy erupts from their hearts.

“Mark!” they exclaim.

They go over to him and exchange with him kind regards.

“So, what are we gonna do today?” Mark says to Cesar.

“Well, we’re gonna practice based on your expertise or specialization. Justin is gonna practice handling the ball and midrange shots. He’s also gonna practice some layups and floaters when the defense is slack.

“You… you will practice only threes, and also off-ball movements, and also floaters and layups. But mainly, shooting threes, with a little midrange on the side.”

“Looks like shooting threes isn’t gonna be what I will practice today.” Mark and his friends with him laugh.

The boys then continue to practice basketball while Samantha and Manny pla-

Samantha turns to me and says, “Hey, narrator. Would you please stop calling me with my tedious name? Just call me Sam for the entirety of the book. Understood?”

“Wait, how are you doing this? How are you talking to me?” I says.

“It’s by God’s will that I talk to you, now call me Sam. Please.” She says with her puppy eyes.

I concede as I say, “Ok, Sam.”

“Good. Continue with your narrating.”

“Whew. What have you done allowing her to break the wall between character and narrator, Lord Almighty? But as it is, it’s your will. Now let’s get back to the story.”

The boys continue to practice basketball while Sam and Manny play ping-pong. Justin continues to play against Cesar who is excellent at defense, allowing him to develop further his handles and shot selection.

Justin crossovers Cesar and drives towards the basket with his dominant hand which is his left. He drives with force with Cesar holding out a hand at the forefront. He bumps against his defender and lays it up only to be blocked.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“How? I bumped you, master. You shouldn’t be able to jump,” says Justin with a heavy panting.

“You’re right, my student. My vertical significantly plummeted when you bumped me, but I’m a six-foot-three guy with a six-foot-three arm span. You have to keep the ball away from me as far as possible. Or find another way to score; for example, by stepping back and shoot, by pump fakes, or be changing the shot mid-air. Don’t settle on what you’re used to doing, find creative ways to overcome the obstacle that’s put in front of you.”

“Understood, master.”

“Good. Now you have to rest and catch your breath,” Cesar says. He then turns to Mark saying, “Mark, your turn to practice now. You’re gonna practice shooting threes first with pressure from me, with or without the ball.”

“Will do, master,” says Mark.

Mark dribbles the ball from the left and then to the right between the legs. He attempts to drive as he plants his left foot forward. Cesar anticipates the drive only for Mark to step back and shoot the three. The ball soars into a high arch and by the 2nd law of thermodynamics, it falls down into a swooshing without-touching-the-rim bucket.

Mark goes crazy as he jumps up and down with Justin joining him. The both of them hit the griddy and Cesar is amused while dribbling in freestyle with the ball. The duo eventually calms down when someone enters into the court.

“What did I miss?!” shouts the man.

The boys look at the source of the voice and they see him.

“The Sniper!!” Mark says.

“The Legend!!” Cesar says.

“The Populator!!” Justin says.

Mark looks at Justin and says, “The populator. What does that mean?”

“Don’t you remember what he said when we escorted him to his room?”

“Hmm. I vaguely remember it. What was it exactly?”

“Oh. Come on, Mark. He said, ‘I have decided to fulfill God’s will to be fruitful and multiply. I WILL FULFILL THE WILL OF GOD BY FILLING THE WORLD WITH MINIMES!!’. And then he said he just simply likes to screw his wife and have kids. Ain’t that wholesome?”

The air seizes to make a sound for a while as they awkwardly stare elsewhere. But the standstill breaks when the man maniacally laughs.

“You got that right, young fella. I am the populator of worlds and a screwer of wife; the father of many whose mother is one. I am Alfred “The Sniper” Macapobre. Call me Al for short.”

Justin is wide-eyed, Mark’s jaw splits the earth, and Cesar smiles widely. Al walks over to the rack to grab a ball and then goes over to them.

“So, what are y’all practicing? Maybe I could help.”

“Uhm, Mark is practicing mainly on three-point shooting and penetration, sir. And Justin is practicing mainly on ball handling and penetration.”

“I see. Would like me to practice with you, Mark, on three-points?” Al says while glancing at Mark.

Mark is giddy and says, “Sure thing, Sniper.”

Cesar smiles and says, “You can use the other half of the court while I and Justin practice this half.”

“Sure thing, young buck,” Al says as he offers for a dap

Cesar obliges and gives him a dap like they’re bros for life.

Mark and Al go over to the other side of the court. Stopping over just outside the three-point line, Al shoots a three. The ball falls down for a bucket without even touching the rim.

“Woah, that’s so fast. How’d you do you that?”

Al smiles wryly and says, “I was Steph Curry before there was a Steph Curry, baby.”

“Now, that’s improbable, sir. The Chef is about your age and I thi-“

Al chuckles and says, “Ok, ok. I take it back, but I shoot the same as The Chef.” Al looks at the distance and mumbles, “He’s just more popular than me.”

“What was that, sir?”

“Oh, nothing. I think Steph is great.” Al stares into the distance and mumbles again, “He’s even better than me when it comes to having kids.”

“You’ll have many, sir. Don’t worry.”

“Wait, you heard that?”

“Of course, sir.”

“Well, never mind what I said. I’m just gonna teach you how to shoot, The Sniper or The Chef style.”

Mark passes him the ball and says, “Teach me, sir.”

Al smiles and demonstrates his shooting form as he shoots it.

“Did you notice how I shot it?”

“No, sir. What was it?”

“My shot has no hinge where I stop my motion mid-air and then shoot. From what I see from your shooting, that’s what you have; a two-motion shot. Mine is a one-motion shot where there is no hinge. It’s when I jump, I place the ball just over my forehead and shoot. You need that shot since you’re the one and only three-point shooter for your team, where you need to be quick to avoid hard contests. Practice it.”

“Yes, sir.”

Mark gets the ball and goes over the outside of the three-point line.

“I know you’ll pick this up quick kid, but I know too that you’ll not get used to it right away. But over time with practice, you will get even more used to it.”

Mark nods and shoots with a one-motion shot.

“Good, kid. That’s natural.”

The ball falls down and sinks into a bucket. Mark is elated and Al nods in approval.

“Not bad for a first time. But what about a second time,” Al says as he gives Mark the ball.

Mark shoots swiftly and the ball goes down hitting the rim for the bucket.

“Dang, young fella. You’re a natural. No wonder they have you as the three-point shooter. What’s your alias?”

“Alias? I guess Chef Mark.”

“Nah, kid. Let’s find something original.” Al thinks of something for Mark.

“You know, sir. It doesn’t really matter for me. I don’t mi-“

“Shh, I’m thinking.”

So Mark is mum and didn’t even bother him.

“Ah, I got it,” Al’s lightbulb lights up

“What is it, sir?”

“You shall be called The Splash or Mark the Splash. What do you think?” Al says as he crosses his arms.

“The Splash. Cool. I’m up for it.”

“Nice. You shall be called The Splash.”

‘The splash. I like that. What do you think, ma?’ Mark thinks while looking up.