The Emperor's Empress

Chapter 17:

"We are going to use the half-court to warm up and then we'll use the whole court for the first practice game," Coach Leah informed the girls. She then saw the four girls sweating and still breathing not too heavily. Where did they get huge stamina? Thirty laps was not an easy feat. "Courtney, Lilly and Kath vs Rina, Libbie and Honey, you will play for ten minutes then you will exchange with Liza and Julia vs Vanessa and Keiko."

"What!" Keiko grumbled. "I thought we are going to have a rest after the hellish thirty laps on the field." She sighed and slump her shoulder in act of dejection but a smile was on her lips.

Coach Leah scoffed at the act. "Ten minutes is all you get as rest, Keiko."

Keiko then glanced at Honey then her eyes met Rina. "I'll go first."

Rina nodded in response. Honey tripped on the field earlier and just a look on her foot she and Keiko knew that it would need rest. Ten minutes would do and a ten minute game would not put harm on the foot.

Libbie patted the back of Liza and Julia and grinned at them. "Good luck," she implied teasingly.

Julia and Liza grumble unintelligently that earned a laugh from Libbie, who winked at them in return.

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Coach Leah blew the whistle. "Same rules follows, no handicapped," she glowered at Keiko, who smiled in return, "no teasing and joking around, play seriously..."

"They're all the same," Keiko whined to the coach.

Leah chuckled in amusement. She knew Keiko would drop a great amount of her abilities to accommodate the still tired players of the second string and even Vanessa, who was in the first string. "Ten minutes."

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"Coach, we should watch this," Akashi stopped the game and nudged his head to the other side of the court.

Eiji sighed but nodded.

The Rakuzan team sat on the bench and looked at the game that was going to start on the other side of the court.

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"Head or tails," Coach Leah asked.

"Tails," Vanessa responded. She knew Keiko would let her choose which side anyway. Keiko didn't participate in choosing head or tails in any game they had.

Coach Leah flipped the coin in the air and caught it in the back of her hand. She removed her hand that was covering the coin and it was heads. "Offense or defense?" she asked Liza and Julia.