"Pum Pum," the sound of the ball bouncing on the rim was the only sound heard on the court while 4 pairs of eyes watched it with different reactions on their faces.
Aaron and Drew watched it with total concentration, waiting for the ball to enter, giving the first game as finished and taking the victory.
While on the other side, Marquise and his friend looked at the ball hoping it would miss, waiting for the opportunity to counterattack the score.
But fate is something unpredictable and difficult to understand; when the ball was finishing its bounce on the rim and it seemed it was about to go out, suddenly its balance changed and it fell straight into the hoop.
"Swish" was the last sound heard from the ball as it went through the hoop, giving the first game as finished.
21-15 final score.
"YES!!" could be heard from an enthusiastic Drew as soon as he saw that the ball finally entered the net.
"Well done, dude," was the only thing Aaron could say as soon as he saw his excited friend starting to jump with his hands held high.
"We won, dude," Drew was saying while he approached and began to give frantic shakes to Aaron, who rolled his eyes at the over-enthusiasm of his friend.
"2 games left, dude," Aaron mentioned toward Drew while putting both hands on his shoulders and taking him out of his enthusiasm.
"2 more," this time Drew said it with a dull tone as he imagined having to play another 2 identical games. "I can't go on, dude," Drew finished saying dramatically.
"Just drink water and try to recover," was the last thing Aaron said while he grabbed the water bottle he had brought and threw the other one to a Drew who caught it on the fly.
"Glup Glup," drinking water, Aaron did not take his eyes off the two boys who were in front of him, being met by the gaze of both in his direction.
"They aren't normal," were Aaron's thoughts after playing a first game against them and seeing that they were nothing like streetball street players. "They play in the CHSAA maybe," was the reasoning he reached after seeing the way they play and their coordination.
Usually, streetball players play as a team but make flashy and unnecessary movements; the opposite case with these 2, where every play they made had the goal of scoring and not so much of putting on a flashy show.
"Let's continue," Aaron said, already feeling recovered and ready for the second game.
"Friend, 5 minutes more," pleaded a Drew who still wanted to keep resting or maybe go home.
"We are ready," Marquise exclaimed, without giving Drew any opportunity to keep looking for some way to rest for a few more minutes.
"He's tired," Marquise thought with a smile upon seeing that now they only had to worry about Aaron and not so much about Drew.
"You guys start," Aaron said, heading directly under the post, being followed by a Drew who was dragging his feet, still not being at 100%.
"Ready, friend," Marquise said in the direction of his teammate while he slowly approached his teammate.
"The second boy is tired, just concentrate on blocking the big guy," Marquise sentenced, holding the ball ready to start.
"Understood," his teammate responded, simply fixing his gaze on Aaron.
Resuming the game, this time Aaron was more heavily marked by Marquise's teammate, who stuck to him like a second skin.
"Get off, dude," Aaron said, trying to create the slightest distance between him and the other boy.
"No way," the boy replied while he continued pressing his body against Aaron's, trying by all means to interfere with his movements.
"Ugh," responded an irritated Aaron, who couldn't get the mark off him and saw how Marquise was only marked by Drew, who apparently was still tired from the previous game.
To his horror, he saw how Marquise began to dribble the ball, easily knocking Drew off balance to then cut inward into the perimeter.
Before he could even try to interpose himself in the way, he saw how Marquise jumped to then shoot the ball cleanly against the hoop.
"Swish" was the simple sound that could be heard from the ball as it went through the hoop.
"Damn," Aaron couldn't help but curse upon seeing how he and Drew were starting the second game poorly.
0-3 current score.
"Concentrate, dude," Aaron growled in Drew's direction, who took a step back at his friend's outburst.
"I'm sorry, dude," was the only thing Drew could say, trying to soften Aaron's temperament.
Taking a great sigh, Aaron began to calm down slowly, trying to think with a cool head, knowing that getting irritated would not help him at all.
"It's okay," Aaron sentenced, calmer this time. "Just don't let him pass you so easily next time," he finished saying while picking up the ball.
"Copy that," Drew finished saying, this time with more seriousness and glaring in Marquise's direction.
On this possession, Aaron was giving bounces to the ball while scanning the court in search of any hole or advantage he could find.
In front of him was Marquise's teammate, who was staring at him, fearing that if he lost sight of him for a second, Aaron would disappear.
"So, what's your name?" Aaron asked in the direction of the boy in front of him since until now he had never heard his name.
"Call me Clarke," was the sharp response Aaron received from the boy in front of him, now identified as Clarke.
"Not a man of many words, right?" Aaron asked again, trying to get any response or sound from him.
"…" silence was the only thing Aaron received from Clarke, who decided not to keep talking and concentrate more on the rival he has in front of him.
"Ok," Aaron finished saying while this time he began to move, ready to go through Clarke.
Deciding that the best was a direct approach, Aaron cut directly through Clarke's right side with speed, being quickly blocked by a Clarke who spun on his heels and was running at the same speed as Aaron.
"You won't pass, dude," was the only thing Clarke said, preventing Aaron from easily entering the zone under the hoop.
But to his consternation and horror, he saw how Aaron braked suddenly to then stabilize himself and make a jump shot to throw the ball.
While Clarke struggled to brake and turn, he saw how Aaron was already releasing the ball, which headed cleanly toward the hoop.
2-3 current score.
Once his feet touched the ground, Aaron turned halfway, ready for the change of positions.
Without saying a single word, Clarke took the ball and prepared to continue the game with a Marquise already ready in position.
Once ready and giving bounces to the ball, Clarke could see how now the roles had been reversed, being this time marked by Aaron.
Decided to follow the same approach as Aaron seconds before, Clarke decided to cut to one side like Aaron did a moment ago.
"The same approach won't work with me," was the simple phrase Aaron directed toward Clarke.
Without saying a single word, Clarke continued heading toward the hoop while Aaron struggled against him, preventing him from advancing easily, but in a second Clarke changed approach and passed the ball to Marquise, who had gotten the mark of Drew off him.
Receiving the ball, Marquise was preparing to throw but was interrupted by Drew, who managed to get in front of him, blocking his clear path.
"You won't pass," Drew sentenced with his gaze focused on the ball in Marquise's hands.
"Watch closely, friend," Marquise said with a smile while giving light bounces to the ball.
In a moment, Marquise seemed like he was going to advance, but instead he jumped backward, leaning his body ready to do a fadeaway under the watchful eye of Drew, who jumped as much as he could to be able to block the ball.
Jumping as much as he could, Drew saw with helplessness how the ball rose higher than he could jump and headed toward the hoop.
But the ball was not as clean as it should have been, since once the ball was close to the hoop, it was seen how it bounced on the rim to then go out.
Without losing a single second, Aaron jumped quickly almost at the same time as Clarke, who was at his side, but perhaps it was the reaction or the larger wingspan of Aaron that managed to catch the ball with his hand before Clarke and fall to the ground.
Without losing a single second and before Clarke's feet even touched the ground, Aaron spun on his heels and jumped again with fury to then dunk the ball in the hoop.
4-3 current score.
Releasing the hoop and falling cleanly to the ground, Aaron stabilized himself to then jog lightly toward Drew, his back being seen by Clarke, who had slight signs of frustration on his face.
"Are you okay, dude?" Marquise asked in the direction of his friend upon seeing the face he had.
"Let's keep playing," was the simple response Clarke gave him, waiting to return to the game.
"You won't pass me again," Clarke thought while he had his gaze fixed on the boy who minutes before performed a dunk in front of him.
After that, on their turn of possession, Clarke passed the ball to Marquise while he ran in the direction toward Aaron, ready to face him again.
Without saying a single word, Marquise found himself again in front of Drew, who was still in front of him, stuck to him no matter where he was.
"Fine," Marquise said, giving quick bounces between his legs to try by all means to get Drew off him, but he saw to his consternation that Drew was still stuck to him no matter what he did.
"TSHT," Marquise clicked his tongue while an idea surged in his mind. "Clarke!!" he shouted in the direction of his teammate while throwing the ball upward in the air near the hoop.
With the ball in the air and without losing time, Clarke jumped, being followed by Aaron, both with hands extended in search of getting the ball. "You won't do it," Clarke thought while he leaned slightly in the direction toward Aaron, knocking him off balance while with all his strength Clarke got the ball and with fury slammed it against the hoop.
"PUMM" was the sound heard from the hoop upon being slammed with force.
4-5 current score.
"AAHH" Clarke's scream was heard once he fell to the ground after that dunk, half emotion, half contained frustration.
After that, with a smile on their faces, Clarke and Marquise high-fived while they prepared to defend the advantage they currently had against Aaron and Drew.
Without getting carried away by the score, Aaron didn't say a single word and got into position ready for the new possession, passing the ball to Drew.
And without losing time, he headed toward the right corner of the court under the confused gaze of Marquise and Clarke, who didn't understand why Aaron was going there instead of returning to fight in the paint.
Without losing time and with a bad feeling, Clarke headed toward the same corner where Aaron was positioning himself, but even so, he wasn't faster than the ball that Drew passed to Aaron, who received it with both hands and got into position ready to shoot the ball.
Jumping high, he saw how Clarke jumped at the same time as him, but to the horror of the latter, he saw how in the air Aaron leaned his body backward and threw the ball at a high angle, making the ball stay suspended in the air a few seconds longer than usual.
Watching how the ball finally began its descent and headed straight for the hoop, all he could do was observe as the ball cleanly went through the hoop and Aaron and Drew scored 3 more points.
7-5 current score.
"That's how you perform a fadeaway," Aaron said, passing by Clarke's side and high-fiving Drew under the watchful gaze of both.
Without losing a single second, Clarke grabbed the ball and got into position ready to restart the game, knowing that nothing had been decided yet.
Authors thought's
What did you think of today's chapter?
Someone commented about Aaron going to play in Europe. Would you guys like to see him go to Europe at 16 and then get picked in the 2014 Draft?
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