Thump! It was the last sound to be heard on the court, a sign that Aaron had blocked Deandre's last shot, thus giving him the victory.
"Wow," the crowd was heard shouting in disbelief at this last duel, perhaps more intense than the 5 vs 5 game, due to the fact that in this best-of-5 game, each player's individual skills and technical prowess were more on display.
"Did you see that block?" a boy said to his friend beside him with a shocked face.
"I know, he jumps like he has springs instead of legs," his friend said with the same amazement on his face as he remembered the height Aaron reached on that last jump to make the block.
"The best 20 dollars I've ever bet in my life," the boy said, his eyes still fixed on the rim as if he still couldn't quite process what had happened minutes before.
"Better hurry up and claim your reward," his friend said, this time with a mocking smile as he pointed toward the man with the betting notebook who was being surrounded by everyone who had placed a bet.
"Shit," the boy said with a tone of urgency in his voice as he ran over to collect his winnings.
"Move aside," he said urgently, trying to get close to the man in question who was handing out the prize money to the winners.
"Don't push, man," an irritated man said as he also tried to get close to the same man.
"Get out of the way," said another, also trying to get close.
At that moment, a mob of people could be seen surrounding a single person trying to claim their money, but before things got out of hand and escalated further, a voice could be heard over the others that silenced the entire crowd.
"Silence!!" Hector shouted toward the crowd, trying to calm everyone down and prevent the situation from escalating any further.
"One by one," he said in a serious tone and with a look of "try to contradict me and see what happens." Then he stood in front of the man in question and waited for the rest of the people to line up to claim their reward.
"Thanks," Hector said, now with a goofy smile on his face as he counted the money he had won from the bet.
"Hehe," he couldn't help but laugh thinking about what to spend this extra money on.
After that, his gaze landed on the court and on how Aaron and Deandre were now approaching each other to talk about who knows what.
On the basketball court:
Aaron could now be seen picking up the ball and slowly walking toward Deandre, who stood there with a hollow stare still fixed on the rim, trying to conceive if what had happened was real or just a dream.
"I lost," Deandre whispered with his head down, as if he still hadn't processed that he had lost.
"Good game," Aaron said again with his hand extended, waiting for the handshake.
"Likewise, man," Deandre said, this time shaking his hand but still with a hint of melancholy in his voice due to his defeat.
"Are you sure you're only a high school student?" Deandre asked in an interrogatory tone, without taking his eyes off Aaron's face, trying to find a hint of a lie or if he was hiding something.
"Yep, 9th grade to be exact," Aaron said in a calm tone, as if he had already answered the same question hundreds of times.
"I don't know whether to feel humiliated or incredulous," Deandre said with a dry smile, as if he still couldn't believe there was a student who could play like that.
"I get that a lot," Aaron said with a friendly smile. "But I must admit that last move took me by surprise," he said, this time in a serious tone, making it clear that he didn't expect an In-And-Out at all.
At that compliment, a somewhat smug smile appeared on Deandre's face.
"Heheh, and you haven't seen anything yet," he said, this time with a friendlier tone in his voice.
"If it's any consolation, you're one of the toughest I've faced in a 1-on-1," Aaron said in the same friendly tone, giving Deandre a compliment.
"And you're one of the best point guards I've seen so far," Deandre said, trying to return the compliment to Aaron.
At that, the smile on Aaron's face vanished and turned into a simple flat line.
"I'm a pivot," was all Aaron said as he watched Deandre's expression change.
In the court, the two players could be seen with awkward faces in that classic "I look at you, you look at me" situation.
"Anyway, don't think I won't look for a rematch," Deandre said, this time in an attempt to change the subject.
"You know where to find me," Aaron said with the smile back on his face.
"Give me your phone," Deandre said as Aaron handed it over and they exchanged numbers.
"If you ever go to Harlem, don't hesitate to look for me," Deandre said, this time turning around, ready to leave.
Deandre and his teammates could be seen turning around and heading toward the subway station, not without one last look at Aaron and the court, taking in how that final game went. Afterward, Aaron set out to collect his winnings.
"150 dollars, not bad," Aaron said, counting the money and mentally calculating how much he had saved to date.
"Good job, kid," Hector said, patting him on the shoulder.
"How much did you win?" was the question Aaron asked him, assuming the reason for Hector's happiness.
"200 dollars," Hector said with a grin from ear to ear, showing the bills to Aaron.
Before Hector could even react, he saw Aaron's hand quickly grab 50 dollars to add to his own stack.
"Hey, that's mine!" Hector said with a tone of reproach.
"My commission," Aaron said with his own grin from ear to ear.
"We never agreed on that," Hector said, irritated and with a slight twitch in his eye.
"I know, but if you don't want my mother and my aunt to find out that you bet with me, then I deserve a commission," Aaron said, smiling falsely at Hector.
"You little..." Hector said, trying to find something to say without cursing.
"Be grateful it was only 25%, others would charge you 50/50," Aaron said while checking his phone for the time, seeing it was 18:00 h.
"I gotta go," Aaron said as he picked up the ball and prepared to walk toward the apartment where his mother and he lived.
"Say hi to your mother and Paola for me," Hector said with a brief smile at the mention of Aaron's aunt's name.
"Sure," Aaron said, already walking toward his house while raising his hand with his back turned as a sign of goodbye.
10 minutes later Apartment 2B
"I'm home," Aaron said once he opened the door and entered the apartment.
If someone entered the apartment, the first thing that would greet them would be clippings from school and local newspapers with photos of a boy with a trophy or surrounded by rivals in the middle of a game, with headlines like "The Next Big Thing," "Future NBA Player?" among others; and after those, in a small glass case, were trophies and MVP medals from middle school tournaments. Seeing everything he had achieved in the last 9 years, a smile formed on Aaron's face until a voice snapped him out of his daydream.
"Kitchen," his mother's voice replied, letting him know where she was.
Heading toward the kitchen, he saw two people, one sitting at the table and another at the stove, who were none other than his mom and his aunt.
"Hi, Mom," Aaron said, approaching his mom and leaning down a bit to give her a kiss on the cheek.
"Hi, honey," Melissa said, giving him a side smile while her focus remained on what was cooking in front of her.
"No kiss for your aunt?" Paola said from the dining table with a smile and her arms opened dramatically, waiting for her kiss.
"If you want a kiss, you can ask Hector for one, Auntie; I'm sure he'd be delighted," Aaron said with a devilish smile as he watched his aunt's face change at the mention of Hector.
"Tstch! Don't talk to me about him," Paola said, turning her face away, but even so, if one looked closely, they could notice the slight blush on her ears.
"What's for dinner?" Aaron said, deciding to change the subject as he went to the refrigerator looking for a bottle of water.
"Baked salmon with asparagus sautéed in butter and roasted potatoes," Melissa said, still focused on the stove.
"Sounds good," Aaron said with a smile as he drank water and prepared to sit at the table—or so he planned.
"Shower first," his mother said in a serious tone, making it clear there were no "buts" about it.
"But..." Aaron tried to defend himself.
"Listen to your mother, the smell of sweat reaches all the way here," Paola said this time, covering her nose, implying she couldn't tolerate the scent coming from her no-longer-so-little nephew.
"Fine," Aaron said in a resigned tone, heading toward the bathroom.
After a quick shower, Aaron can be seen in his room with a towel around his waist and wet hair, standing with his back to the wall with a ruler and a pencil.
"I grew again, huh," Aaron said with a smile, seeing that he had indeed grown again and currently stood at 6'6".
"At this rate, I'm not far from being 7 ft," Aaron thought excitedly, imagining himself being taller than the average person by a wide margin.
After that, he was seen taking the 200 dollars he had won in this afternoon's game and putting them in a shoebox under his bed.
"I currently have 3,000 dollars," Aaron whispered with a half-smile as he counted all the money he had saved over the last 9 years.
After hiding the box in its spot, he set out to change quickly and head to the kitchen for dinner.
If someone entered that apartment, they could see two women and a teenager eating dinner while laughter and smiles never left their faces as they talked about how their day went.
"And how is the new school so far, honey?" Melissa curiously asked Aaron.
"Everything's good, I've started to adapt in this month we've been going," Aaron said with a smile, reassuring her and letting her know everything was fine.
"I still can't believe you managed to enroll in that school," Paola said with a tone of incredulity in her voice.
That comment brought a smile to Aaron's face as he remembered that he now attends Christ the King Regional High School, one of the most competitive schools in the United States and the country in the field of basketball, and that this year he will be able to play in the CHSAA (Catholic High School Athletic Association), the league that has produced the most talent for the NBA and, above all, in the AA division, the most difficult division in the entire system.
But getting there wasn't easy, especially because New York State strictly prohibits giving scholarships to athletes, so to enter the Royals, they had to do it through Alumni funds to get his full scholarship.
Therefore, Aaron had to make himself noticed by winning championships and tournaments in middle school to be on the radar of elite high schools.
It was a long process and there were many schools interested in him, but after some meditation and discussion with his mother and aunt, they decided the best option was Christ the King because it was only 20 minutes away and had a solid basketball program being a Nike Elite High School and an excellent academic reputation as well.
Coming out of his memories, Aaron told the two of them: "It was a long road."
"Are you ready for the Open Gym tomorrow?" Melissa asked him.
"Of course," Aaron said with a determined look, unable to wait to start the practices and his career.
Author thoughts
Wow, over 50,000 views! I can't believe it!
What do you think of today chapter?