"So, would someone care to fill me in on why this is the stack we are playing with?" I asked casually.
Everyone turned to each other like it was the most obvious thing in the world. My eye twitched.
It may be obvious to you, but it isn't to me! So get to explaining!
Yu threw an arm around Sora's shoulders, grinning like he'd been waiting for this moment. "Well, before Sora was the student council president, he was on the basketball team with me. He was the ace, actually."
I let out an impressed whistle. I could believe that he was on the basketball team at one point, but being the ace? Which implied that he was better than Yu—who was six-foot-two and strong? Even if Yu had improved a lot since he started, it was quite the achievement.
"Okay, now that makes sense. But what's Remi doing here?" I asked, turning to her.
Remi crossed her arms with a subtle frown, looking genuinely offended. "Whoa. Why are you saying that like you don't want me here?"
I scoffed. "Well, last time I checked, you're a nerd. You don't do sports."
Luna was the one who came to her defence. "Actually, Remi used to be on the soccer, volleyball, and basketball teams back in middle school. She was even better than Sora. But when she entered high school, she wanted to focus on her academics, so she stopped."
I turned to Remi, eyes wide. "Well… shit. You fell off. You sounded so much cooler back then."
Remi's brows furrowed in a comedic display of fury. "Oh shut the hell up! I'll have you know that just because I haven't played in a while, it doesn't mean I'm bad!"
I rolled my eyes. "Dude, literally two weeks ago, when we were talking, you fell down the stairs and sprained your ankle. I had to carry you to the nurse's office! You never thanked me, by the way."
"W-well… I…" Her gaze darted as she scrambled for an excuse until it landed on Sora. She looked at him with pleading eyes. "S-Soraaaa."
Sora placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. He gave her an innocent, pure smile that looked far too saintly for our friend group. "It's okay. It's true you aren't as athletic as you used to be, but that doesn't mean you fell off!"
Remi gritted her teeth, let out a sharp huff, and slapped him across the face. Sora ended up sprawled on the ground, clutching his cheek in sheer horror as she loomed over him. She stepped closer, and he scurried away.
Well, looks like they're in their own little world now.
I then turned to Julie. "So why are you here? With the Student Council of all people?"
She tilted her head slightly. "Hm? You didn't know? I work with the Institute of Education. We were discussing what to do for your school's upcoming sports festival. Since I used to go to this school, I wanted to personally help with it. Can't let my school's reputation get dragged in the mud."
She crossed her arms confidently and began laughing manically. I couldn't help but wince as I took a step away, ashamed that we were related.
You know… you're a big part of the reason why the school's reputation would be bad. You single-handedly caused so many problems.
"Anyway," she continued once her laughter died down. "I was discussing with your student council some special events we could do while walking around. Then I saw these two at the park, hooping. I thought we could use a break, so I called out to them. And here we are!"
I suppressed the urge to smack my face. Wow… What an unbelievably impossible turn of events. A miracle that provided absolutely zero benefit for me. How unlucky.
Julie called Remi and Sora back to her side. She stopped spinning the ball and pushed it into my chest, still holding it. "So, here's the plan: Three versus three. Half court. Up to eleven points. Street rules, so we have to win by two. Every shot is worth one point. Winner's ball. Sound good?"
I shrugged. "I don't care. What about everyone else?"
Sora pushed his glasses up. "I concur."
'I concur'????? Who the hell says that? And in a pickup game of all places? My sister was right about you—you're a dweeb.
Remi slammed her fist into her palm. "I'm in!"
It's not that serious, Remi. It's just a basketball game.
Luna and Yu both gave a simple, normal "sure."
How are these two the normal ones?
Julie took a step back and tossed me the ball. "You guys can start since one of you just woke up and the other has long nails and can barely play."
Uh, what?
My head snapped toward Luna. She flinched, awkwardly scratching her head and showing me her nails with her tongue stuck out mischievously. She had long, black nails with bright yellow, green, and pink graffiti art. She didn't have those yesterday.
I pressed my fingers against the ridge of my nose, suppressing the urge to exhale.
So you're telling me… You woke up early today, spent who knows how much money to get your nails done, saw Yu message the group chat to play basketball, and said 'yes'?? I take it back, you're crazier than all of them.
With the ball in my hands, I walked over to the top of the court. Julie was on me, Sora was on Yu, and Remi was on Luna.
I quickly studied the match-ups.
Yeah, it's over. We lost.
Without wasting another second, I checked the ball.