The game is today. The whole high school could care less about any of the work they have, their excited for the game. If they win the championship, that will be the third year in a row. The administrators try to keep the students from getting rowdy but that's no use. It's a Friday and they already are riled up and adding a game on top of that doesn't make it any better. Though everyone else is excited, Aaron's nervous. He's been to the championship game the year before, but this year is different. All his teammates are pumped. They all act like they've drunken eight cups of coffee that morning. Aaron on the other hand, keeps his cool. It's one of his responsibilities as the team captain.
Aaron comes after school. For the first time ever he forgets about his work. He's ready for the game. He gets himself worked up and ready to go. He takes his pre-workout protein for energy. It taste horrible but it's what athletes use and it's worked for him. He grabs a light snack. That last thing he needs is to eat something heavy and be puking in the court. Kian walks through the door pumped. This is his last run and he's going to make it big.
"You ready?" Kian says excitedly.
"Yessir" Aaron matches his energy. They drive to the game. They do their warm ups before and practice. It wasn't until then that the nervousness set in for everyone. Aaron and the coach notice this so they pump everyone else. Music blasts and everyone chants and sings along. The last thing they need is to not be confident. Aaron takes his own time to do his ritual that he does before every game. He keeps a little dinosaur with him in his locker. He rubs it for good luck. Andrew was his good luck charm and now that he's not here, a toy dinosaur will have to do. It will never amount to him though.
The team is about to go out. Aaron watches the clock. It's less than five minutes away from the start. He feels a little tap on his back. He turns around.
"Roni, how did you get back here?"
"The coach let me in. I came back her to check in you and wish you good luck. I know you got this. There's no doubt in my mind." She reassures him. They press their foreheads together and give each other a kiss. She rubs his back.
"Now go out there and do your best." She says. He smiles and watches her leave. He can't wait to marry her.
Nessa made her way to the locker room. Though Kian is not as nervous is Aaron is, he let his emotions show more than Aaron. Nessa sees him sitting on the bench in the locker room.
"How'd you get back here?" He asks.
"I have my ways. The point of me coming back here as is to talk to you. You got this." She rubs his back. "I'm so proud of you. Let's go out with a bang." He smiles at the last part. They kiss and she walks out. The coach blows his whistle. It's show time.
The gym is packed. There's not enough seats so people are lined up against the wall. Both teams have huge support. The bell rings and the game begins. Every point that's scored is followed by cheers and boos. The cheerleaders chant against each other. There's some tension between the teams. There has to be because that's what motivates them to win. When the other team calls a timeout, Aaron looks up in the crowd. He spots two people who look familiar. It's the girl from yesterday and her boss. Uh oh, that means that there's sponsors here. He can't let that distract him from his game.
It's a close game. Both teams are great. Aaron can feel the eyes of the sponsors following him. The time on the clock ticks. It's thirty seconds. He goes into his mode. He has this thing in his mind that comes when he plays basketball. Of course it's his talent and second nature, but when he's really focused he can go into a mode. Things go in slow motion. He can map out everyone's next move. He watches as the other team grabs the ball. A kid on his team passes the ball to him. He sees a clear paths that he's able to go through. He won't have time to position himself to make it. He's going to have to dunk. The ball falls from his fingertips as it dribbles on the floor. Everything goes silent for him but everyone is yelling around him. He throws the person that tries to block the ball off by pretending to go for the shot. He turns and jumps and feels his hand hit the rim. The swoosh is louder than ever. He's back on the ground before he knows it. The buzzer sounds. He snaps out of his mood and hears the screams. He's extremely overwhelmed. The silence and slow motion reminded him so much of the night that he was shot. He honestly feels nauseous. He takes a deep breath and snaps back into reality where everyone is surrounding him.
Everyone is basking in their win. Aaron got over the sense of shock and celebrates with everyone else. They go into the locker room and it's like a party. They're chanting and excited. The coach rallies them up and tells them how proud of them he is. He's coached some of these kids for four years, and they truly deserve this win. He lets them out but pulls Aaron to the side.
"Aaron, there's someone that I like you to meet." I front of him is a person wearing a UCLA shirt. "This is coach Rodriguez."
"Nice to meet you Aaron." They shake hands. "I'm the coach at UCLA and what I saw out there was excellent. We would love to have you. Now this is just an offer and you can always contact me later about it."
"Thank you so much and thank you for the offer. I would definitely hit you back up later."
"Wonderful." Coach Rodriguez shakes his hand. Aaron turns to his family.
"Did I just see you get your first college offer?" Nessa asks.
"Maybe." Aaron responds with a smile. Both Roni and Nessa jump up and down and hugs them both, each with a different arm. He hasn't totally forgot about his moment he had, but he's too happy to even think of it.
