A Different Descendant: Freshman Year 1

Chapter 12

Chapter 12
    What a bummer. That was definitely not how I thought things would go down. We walked slowly towards the table. I wasn’t thinking of breakfast but how to get the hell out of the house.
     All that was on my mind was the move I was going to have him explain to me, and spending quality time with him no doubt. Unbeknowest to me, I wasn’t the only one thinking of crossing my mother and leaving the house.
    Just as I was about to settle into the chair     completely, I received a text. I unlocked my phone to see who it was from. It was from dad. It read;
    “We have to leave soon. I’m itching to play basketball.”
‘So am I,’ I said to myself.
    “Do you have anything in mind?” I texted back.
    “No phones at the table. Henry you know that,” mom cautioned.
I gently put my phone next to my plate on the table.
    I didn’t want to eat anything just yet as I didn’t know what my dad had in mind.
    ‘How does he plan on getting us out of here?’ I asked myself.
    I reached out for the glass jar that held orange juice at the center of the table so no one would ask any questions like why I haven’t touched anything on the table. Just as I was about to grab the jar, dad reached out and his hand and ‘accidentally’ tipped the jar over causing juice to spill all over the table.
    “Oh my gosh!” mom exclaimed. Everyone got up from their chairs to avoid juice from spilling on them.
    It seemed so much like an accident, but I knew it wasn’t.
    “I’ll get a rag,” said dad hurrying to the kitchen.
    As he walked towards the kitchen, he mouthed;
    “Nearest bus-stop.”
    With a hint of a sinister smile on my face, I immediately got the message. I would run to the nearest bus stop while he would get the car and pick me up. Not a bad plan considering that he came up with it in a short period of time.
    I stayed calm and waited for some sort of sign that he got them successfully. Then, I heard the sound of keys.
    ‘That’s my cue,’ I said to myself.
    “Eric, why do I hear keys?” mom asked curiously. She walked hurriedly to the kitchen, leaving me unguarded.
    I dashed towards the front door, grabbed the ball and his gym bag, opened the door and ran out.
    ‘He better make it,’ I said to myself as I headed for the nearest bus stop.
A few seconds after reaching our rendezvous point, I heard the sound of a car coming from behind. It was him.
I waited for the car at the bus-stop and when it arrived at the bus-stop, I hopped in and we drove off.
    He was laughing non-stop and I couldn’t help it as well.
    “You should have seen the look on your mom’s face,” he said. He was laughing hard.
    As he was about to say another word, his phone rang.
    “Mom I presume?” I said, finally catching my breath.
    “Yep,” he said, still laughing.
    “Are you mad at us?” he asked her.
    “Ha-ha very funny you two,” said mom. He had the phone on speaker.
    “Sorry but we just couldn’t resist. We were really looking forward to this.”
    “Just be back before I leave the house,” she replied.
    “Aye-aye captain,” he answered playfully.
        ******************
    “Now, how do we go about this getting to know each other thing?” dad asked.
    I stood in front of one of the hoops, making different shots.
    “Just ask whatever you want to know” I answered.
    “Um - okay. I know your name, I know how much you love history, basketball, I know you like snakes, I know your standings academically. Is there anything else?”
    I couldn’t think of anything else to tell him. Mom would most likely have told him all about me.
    “Maybe you should tell me about yourself,” I suggested.
He went silent. Did he feel weird around me or was he too happy about the time we were spending together that he was speechless? Did he have a rough past he doesn’t like talking about? His silence left me asking loads of questions.
    “You okay?” I asked.
    “Oh! I’m fine Henry. It’s just-”.
He stopped and sighed.
    “I never thought you would be the one to close the distance between me and you,” he said with a hint of a smile on his face.
    Ding ding ding!!! One option was right.
    “I thought it would be like, maybe when you were like eighteen that we would finally see eye to eye. But here we are. And--”
    “It’s okay dad. All that not talking to you and treating you well, it’s all in the past now. Let’s leave it there,” I said.
    “Of course Henry. Now, I take it it’s not only bonding you want to do out here today. What’s the other reason you called me here Henry?” he asked.
    ‘Looks like he’s caught on to what I’m about.’
    “I was watching a fictional series about basketball. Now the thing is, this player hits the ball with his palm with great amount of force and sends accurate passes to his teammates.
    It’s not always forceful and powerful passes, sometimes, well most times, it’s short passes, but it’s by slapping the ball. I know it’s fiction and not exactly humanly possible, but I was thinking. How about instead of hitting the ball, I catch it in one hand and then throw it with just enough power to send it to any one on my team.”
    After my explanation, he stayed quiet again. He kept his hand on his hairy chin.
Eric was a handsome young man of thirty-nine (younger than my mother). He had grey eyes and his hair was also raven-black. He had a mop of waves for a hairstyle and his facial hair was on point.
Hair grew from his jaw and perfectly linked to his moustache and beard.
I couldn’t exactly tell where his gaze was. I wondered if he was even listening.
    After a moment of pondering silently, he finally answered.
    “From all you’ve explained, here is my deduction,” he began.
    “That skill will require loads of intense training to fully master. You have to work on your handles, accuracy, court vision, strength, speed and agility.”
    “Hold up. How is speed super important here?” I asked, stopping him in his tracks.
    “Well Henry, it’s because if you master that move, you’ll be a target to virtually every player. You’ll need to be able to slip past them very fast. Not to mention, you’ll be an ace for your team. You’ll have to be available for them always to give surprise attacks. But don’t worry, I can definitely teach you.”
    “Alright. What’s the first lesson?” I asked.
    “Hold your horses Henry. I’m not only going to work you towards learning that technique. I’m training you to be an all-round successful player. One that would be beyond worthy of being your school’s best athlete.”
    “But I am the best on my team presently,” I said with a little pride mixed in my speech tone. It was a fact that I was a hundred percent sure of.
    “I’m not saying you aren’t. But you have no idea the kind of players the teams in your league will have. You need to be beyond ready. Ryuph Koylak yasil mon veril ka. It means--”
    “Prepare ahead for all thinkable outcomes. I don’t think you have to teach me ancient Iyes sayings dad. Where do we start?”
In my head, I admitted that he had a solid point. I had to get better and better. Eventually, the team would have to work harder to keep up.
    “Let’s start with your speed.”