CH 2. DRAGGED BACK IN

As Alex crashed into his bed after a long, tiring first day at his new school, he put his palm on his head and slid it down

to cover his eyes. "I really messed up today… DAMN IT!" he thought to himself, gritting his teeth, a big scowl on his face. "I have to do better if I don’t want to stand out… I won’t mess around on the court again… I’ll just focus on studies and have fun. There’s absolutely NO FUCKING WAY I’m going back to playing that game… not after what happened two years ago." Alex’s expression darkened, guilt and terror consuming his face. "I… should probably sleep."

Morning came, and Alex went through his usual routine before meeting Lily downstairs for breakfast. "Hey, you didn’t talk to me even once yesterday… Did something happen on your first day?" Lily asked, looking worried. "No, I had a great day. Yesterday I just… wasn’t feeling too well. I’m sorry," Alex answered hesitantly. "Are you sure you’re okay, Alex? You know you can tell me anything, right?" Lily pressed on.

Frustrated by her constant concern, Alex snapped, "YEAH, LILY! I’m okay, don’t worry about it!" He quickly realized his tone and muttered regretfully, "I-I’m sorry, Lily… I should go…" He bolted out with his bag.

"WAIT! ALEX!" Lily yelled in concern, but he was already gone.

At school, as Alex wandered through the campus, the sound of early morning basketball practice reached his ears again. "Just ignore it. Let’s go straight to class," he muttered to himself. In the distance, Alex spotted two men, one looking to be in his 60s and the other slightly younger, in his 40s or 50s. They were laughing amongst themselves while watching the basketball team’s practice.

Alex decided to ignore them, but as he walked past, he overheard the older man say, "HAHAHA! Look at these stupid kids practicing, thinking they’ll win the upcoming Inter-High." The other man chimed in, "HAHA! Little do they know that I won’t even let them participate, as the principal of this school!"

The older man continued with a sinister grin, "I will savor the look on that bitch’s face when I decline their permission to participate! All this hard work amounts to nothing. HAHAHA!"

"Oh my god, sir! You’re so evil, hahaha!" the younger man added. Alex, surprised and disgusted, thought to himself, "Motherfuckers…"

In class, Miss Natasha began teaching about world history. "Napoleon brought many fantastic and modern changes to France, but people were still critical of these changes and his rule. Does anyone know why?" The class fell silent. To everyone’s surprise, Alex raised his hand.

"Yes, Alex!" Miss Natasha said, encouraging him to speak.

"The people of France were critical of Napoleon’s rule despite his modernization because they realized their political freedom was being compromised. They believed these modern changes and political freedom couldn’t coexist," Alex explained fluently.

"Amazing, Alex! That was a wonderful answer!" Miss Natasha praised him. At that moment, Jake appeared at the entrance of the classroom.

"May I come in, Miss?" Jake asked, clearly nervous about being late.

"Jake, you’re late!" Miss Natasha exclaimed.

"Sorry, Miss. I was at practice, and it took longer than I expected. I promise it won’t happen again," Jake said respectfully.

"Jake, I know you’re working hard for the Inter-High, and that’s great… but you need to focus on your studies too, or you’ll lag behind," Miss Natasha said with concern.

"Yes, Miss. I understand," Jake replied as he took a seat beside Alex.

Alex felt bad seeing Jake’s dedication to the Inter-High, knowing what he had overheard earlier. "Hey… Jake, maybe you should take it a bit easy, you know…" Alex suggested, trying to lighten the burden.

"Why should I? I’m going to work hard, make us win the Inter-High, and restore the lost reputation of our team—the Blazewood Phoenix!" Jake said passionately.

"Oh, and hey! It completely slipped my mind! What were those reflexes and that pass yesterday, dude? Were you an athlete before?" Jake asked, curiosity gleaming in his eyes.

"Shit…" Alex thought to himself. "Uh, well—it was, uh—yeah, a complete fluke, I guess. Haha…" Alex stammered.

"Yeah, I thought so too," Jake responded, giving Alex a brief moment of relief. "However…" Jake continued, making Alex tense up again, "I’m really suspicious of you…"

"You don’t really have to be. Remember, I said I hate sports in my introduction?" Alex replied, trying to ease the tension.

"Hey, relax, dude! Chill out. It doesn’t even matter, so don’t worry," Jake chuckled.

As lunch break started, Riley approached Jake and Alex. "Jake, can you let me have a private conversation with Alex?" she asked.

"O-Of course, coach! Hey, Alex, I’ll be waiting for you in the cafeteria, alright?" Jake said as he got up.

"Alright," Alex replied.

"Now that we’re alone…" Riley began, but Alex misunderstood her tone and blushed.

"U-Uhm, ma’am, I-I’m sorry but… You’re too old for me, and I-I don’t think we should—" Alex stammered, looking down.

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"HUH?!? WHAT THE HELL?! THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT, YOU IDIOT!" Riley shouted, flustered.

"O-Oh… I’m sorry, then—" Alex apologized awkwardly.

"Anyway," Riley said, trying to regain composure, "I’m here to talk to you about… why you’re hiding your identity."

Alex’s eyes widened, but he quickly tried to play it off. "Uh, Miss, I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else… haha…"

"Oh really? I guess you’re right," Riley said slyly. "By the way, do you know someone named… Liam?"

Alex jolted out of his seat, rage overtaking him as he grabbed Riley by her collar. "Say that name again… and I’ll fucking kill you!" he said in a terrifying tone.

"What? I thought I had mistaken you for someone else, though?" Riley said sarcastically. Alex loosened his grip, calming down. "W-What is it… that you want? How… do you know about Liam?" he asked cautiously.

"I want you to join the basketball team. We really need someone like you," Riley said confidently.

"Not happening. My basketball days are dead, and I don’t want anything to do with it," Alex said firmly.

"I won’t force you, but… how about you join the team and just sit on the bench? You don’t have to play or practice. Just watch," Riley proposed desperately.

"I’m sorry, but the answer is still no," Alex replied resolutely.

"Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me," Riley said as she walked off. Before leaving, she added, "Oh, and thanks for saving my little sister from getting hit by the ball yesterday. You were amazing."

"What? She’s Emma’s sister?!" Alex thought, shocked.

As he made his way to the cafeteria, Alex was stopped by someone who made his heart race. "Hey, Alex…"

"H-Hey, Emma!" Alex stammered, caught off guard.

"I wanted to thank you for yesterday—for saving me," Emma said, a bit embarrassed.

"U-Uh w-well, my body moved instinctively, haha… You don’t really have to worry about it," Alex said awkwardly, clearly unaccustomed to such interactions.

"If you don’t mind…, do you want to have lunch with me? I mean, it’s the least I can do to thank you properly…" Emma asked, her tone equally awkward.

"Y-Y-Yeah, s-s-sure," Alex replied, blushing and unable to believe his luck. As they walked to the cafeteria, one thought consumed his mind.

"God is real."

As Alex and Emma reached the cafeteria, Jake saw the two hanging out. There was one big problem though, Alex had forgotten to bring any money, “Shit!” was the only reaction that came out of Alex’s mind.

As Alex and Jake’s eyes met, it was as if the Bro-code kicked in and Jake quickly brought two cans of cold coffee, burgers and fries and handed it to Alex as he was at the counter, amongst the whole crowd. Jake gave Alex a thumbs up and said,

“Win, my brother.”.

“Thankyou so much brother, I promise I will not lose.”. Both share a moment of emotional camaraderie and Alex goes back to Emma with the food.

As both of them get seated and enjoy the food, Alex mentions to Emma, “I didn’t know that Riley was your sister.”. “Oh, when did you meet Riley?” asked Emma with genuine curiosity.

“Uh well, she came to my class and asked me to join the Basketball team.”, “Oh really? What did you say?” asked Emma. “Obviously I turned her down, I don’t really… like sports that much…” answered Alex with a bit of hesitation. “Oh, that’s no problem, not everyone has to like sports you know!” Emma answered in a supportive manner which made Alex smile.

“Hey… Emma, what is your dream?”. “I want to play professional Basketball. I really love the sport and I can’t wait for the Inter-High to prove to everyone… my father especially… that I can really achieve my dream.” As Emma said this, Alex could see her expression becoming a bit sad but also determinant.

“This is bad… Emma and Jake, they are betting everything on the Inter-High… When they don’t even know… what the school is planning…”. All of a sudden, Riley appears in the cafeteria, “Hey Jake and Emma! In the Basketball gym. Now!” Riley said as she looked mad and worried.

“Alright Alex, I loved spending time with you but, I’ve got to go!” said Emma as she hurried over to the door. “Wait Emma! I’ll come with you. Jake you too let’s go!”. As the three of them reached the Basketball gym, The boys and the Girls team were lined up horizontally in front of Riley. The gym was quiet with a heavy atmosphere almost as if everyone was waiting for some bad news.

Riley, breaking the silence, announced, “OUR SCHOOL, TO BE SPECIFIC, THE PRINCIPAL AND THE VICE PRINCIPAL ARE NOT READY TO ALLOW US TO GO TO THE INTER-HIGH!”. The gym started buzzing with frustration of the players, everyone shocked and baffled by Riley’s statement.

“W-What?” said Emma, Jake following up with the same question seconds later. “THEY THINK WE ARE FAILURES! THEY THINK IT’S USELESS TO SEND US AND TO SPEND THEIR MONEY ON US!” Riley added to her statement.

“So, she finally got to know huh.” Alex thought to himself. The players of both the teams were frustrated, the captain of the boy’s team, Jace, spoke up, “Coach, is there really no way to go to the Inter-High?”.

One look at Jace and you could immediately tell that he was a center. Jace was 6’11 ft tall in his second year and he was bulky, perfect for fighting in the post. “There’s one way we could go to the Inter-High… However, it’s very risky.” Said Riley.

“What is it?”, “Yeah tell us!”, “We have practiced so hard! We will do anything to go to the Inter-High!”. Everyone in the gym spoke with passion, until Riley stated the condition that the school had proposed if they wanted to go to the Inter-High. “If we want to go to the Inter-High… WE HAVE TO WIN IT OR THE BLAZEWOOD PHOENIX WILL GET DISBANDED FOREVER!”.

The room fell silent, as much as one could hear each other’s heartbeats, until, a voice broke the everlasting silence.

“Is that all?”

When everyone looked to find the person who uttered such confident words, their eyes landed on Emma. “Wow, I thought it would be a much bigger deal… but this is quite a small condition that they’ve put against us. Coach I believe you should accept this right away!” said Emma as if she wasn’t even taking the deal seriously. “How could she be so calm?”, “yeah, if we lose, we can’t play basketball anymore. What do we do?”.

Whispers filled the gym, until Jake spoke up, “Yeah coach, I also believe you should accept this deal, it’s not like we were going there to lose anyway, am I right?”. Alex smiled, looking at the confidence and mentality of his two friends and thought to himself, “Haha… they’re crazy…”.

Riley smiled and prepared another announcement, “EVERYONE! I WILL ACCEPT THIS DEAL! WE’LL HAVE TO PRACTICE EXTRA HARD THESE NEXT 7 DAYS! REMEMBER! LOSING IS NOT AN OPTION! WE WILL WIN THE INTER-HIGH AND SHOW THESE OLD BASTARDS WHAT WE ARE MADE OF!”.

Everyone on the team cheered, full of confidence and enthusiasm. “Haha… what a bunch of maniacs…” says Alex impressed by all the people in the gym.

As the school got over and Alex was preparing to leave, he ran into Emma. “O-Oh hey Emma!”, “Hey Alex! You preparing to leave?” said Emma as she saw Alex packing up his stuff. “Yeah, and oh by the way, it was really bold of you to speak up at the gym earlier. That was… very cool…”

As Alex said this, Emma turned a bit red and muttered, “I-It wasn’t that good, you know… how you make it seem like!”. Alex smiled looking at Emma as she got a bit embarrassed. “You know… Alex… I’m scared… a lot… I didn’t show it at the gym but, the thought of failure… the thought of not being able to play basketball again… I’m scared…” said Emma looking down with a subtle voice break.

“Hey… Emma, you’re not alone you know that right? You have your teammates with you, your sister as your mentor and… me too…” “Don’t think about the negatives, stay determinant! And everyone believes in you and I know you’ll do great alright?” Alex tried his best to reassure and console Emma as her face lit up hearing him.

“You know, you should become our team’s moral support guy because you’re too good at it.” Says Emma giggling. “Well, is a spot open? Haha!” Alex replies in a fun demeanor.

As Alex reached home, he ate some food and went to rest in his room when he hears a knock. “Alex? Can I come in?” Lily asks politely. “Yeah, Lily sure!”.

As Lily enters the room, she sits beside Alex on his bed and says, “How was your day, Alex?” to which Alex replies, “It was good but, Lily… they know…”. “About what Alex?” Lily asks in concern. “They know about me… my past… the Reaper…. And also, Liam.”. Lily’s heart skips a beat, she asks him about everything that occurred at school and Alex told her everything down to the last-minute detail.

“So that’s what happened huh…” said Lily after Analyzing Alex’s whole day. “Alex, I think you should join the team.” Said Lily while looking down as she already knew Alex’s answer.

“ARE YOU CRAZY? NO, I WON’T! I’VE DECIDED TO NEVER WEAR THAT JERSEY AGAIN!” Alex roared aggressively at Lily. “I-I’m sorry Lily I- you know what happened two years ago… and how it affected me… how it affected us…”, “Hey, it’s okay Alex. I experienced it with you… it was a dark time in both our lives… but till when are you going to keep running away from it? Don’t you want to support Jake and Emma?”

Lily’s words put Alex in deep thought, as she continued, “Listen, she said it’s okay if you don’t play right? Then just go and join for the sake of your friends! Just watch them grow stay beside them when they are at the top… share their wins and losses. That’s what true friends do!”.

Lily’s words really hit Alex, they touched his conscience and heart. “Thank you, Lily… but I will have to give it a long thought…”, “It’s okay… take as much time as you need honey… there’s no rush…” Lily said to Alex as she enfolded him in her arms trying to comfort him.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you today Lily… you’ve always been there for me; I don’t know what I’d do without you…” says Alex as he hugs her back.

Alex thinks overnight about what Lily said and about what he should do. As the sun arises and another day at school starts, Riley doubles down on the practice and raises up the intensity ten-folds.

As Riley was making sure practice ran smoothly, she saw a person walking up to her that she would never in her dreams would’ve thought of, Alex. “Well, look who decided to grace us with his presence—Mr. Hoops Expert who’s too good to play.”

“You’re Emma’s sister so I’ll be a little respectful here.” Alex takes a deep breath and finally, says something that Riley’s mind was absolutely Itching to hear.

“I want to join the Basketball Team”.

A grin appeared on Riley’s face, a creepy one at that. “But remember… only watching, no playing, and please get that grin off your face… it’s creeping me out seriously!”, “WORKS FOR ME KID, WELCOME TO THE TEAM!” As Riley said this, her grin widened creeping everyone out in the gym.

To be continued…

NEXT CHAPTER – CH 3. INTER-HIGH