Chapter 1
It was mid-October and college basketball season had begun. Jack was gathered with the other freshmen, on the bench, watching their team dominate the game. By halftime, they were winning with a 30 point lead. The boys huddled in a circle and listened to their coach praise and insult them at the same time.
“Okay, we’re switching it up. Andrew good work out there, take the bench,” said coach looking down at his clipboard.
“The bench? You just said good work,” said Andrew.
“Jack, get out there, let’s see if you have a better form than Andrew.”
“Hey,” shouted Andrew.
“Yes coach,” said Jack feeling pumped to be given this opportunity.
“Don’t make me regret this,” said coach pointing the clipboard at Jack.
“I won’t coach,” assured Jack with a smile.
“Alright boys make me proud,” said coach as the second half buzzer went off.
The boys took the court again. They missed the first toss-up but stole the ball back within seconds. The ball was passed to Jack who missed the shot.
“That’s okay, go again Jack,” yelled coach from the sidelines.
As the game progressed, Jack was missing more shots than scoring. It was hard to keep calm under all this pressure and he was starting to break. He glanced at the scoreboard, they were still ahead with a large lead. There wasn’t time to recollect himself, the game was moving too fast. So he slowed his pace down and changed up his gameplay. He attacked and stole the ball, before passing it to his teammates who he trusted to get the shot in.
“Good work Jack!” yelled coach.
He continued with this gameplay and only shot close baskets and it was working. He wasn’t the star of the game or anything but he was playing well. There were 3 minutes left on the clock, plenty of time for a few more baskets. Jack went in for a layup but was knocked down but the other team. The foul wasn’t called, so he got back up and tried again. He could hear his coach and teammates shouting angrily at the referee.
After a few more knocks and bumps, Jack started to get more frustrated and aggressive. He went in for another layup and was shoved, whether by accident or on purpose he’d had enough. He shoved the opponent back.
“Get out of my face!” he yelled and a fight broke out between the two.
His teammates pulled him away before the referee could come in and break it up and they call for a time out.
“What the heck was that?” shouted coach.
“He’s been shoving me all game,” said Jack.
“So show him up on the court, don’t shove him back,” said coach.
Jack stayed silent.
“Jack, you were doing well so I’m putting you back in for the last few. Prove to me that you deserve it.”
“Yes coach,” said Jack.
“The rest of you, don’t get sloppy now, I want to keep that 30 point lead - the buzzer went off - finish with a bang boys!” shouted coach.
And that’s exactly what the boys did. Jack stuck to his strategy and decided to lay off the shots and when the final buzzer went off, they had won with a 37 point lead.
Back in the dorms, Jack took a long hot shower. He had a few missed calls from his dad but decided to call him back later. He checked his schedule for Friday, no classes till noon. He had a few pending assignments, but none of them were urgent enough to work on now. So he got dressed and went out for a walk to find some dinner.
It was reaching 9 o’clock when Jack received another call from his dad. He decided to answer this one.
“Finally, I’ve been trying to call you, haven’t you got my missed calls?” asked his dad.
“Yeah, sorry I was meaning to call you back.” He stopped outside a restaurant and browsed the menu.
“I heard you played your first game today, how was it?”
“It was good, could’ve played better.” The prices at this restaurant were too expensive.
“You guys were up by 37 points, sounds like a good game to me.”
“Yeah, but hardly any of my shots were getting in.” He stopped outside a burger joint that smelled good.
“Well then practice getting those shots in.”
“I know, I know,” sighed Jack. “Hey, can I call you back I’m about to get something to eat.”
“Yeah just wanted to congratulate you on the win and your first game! Mum says hi by the way and that she’s very proud of you.” Jack smiled at the thought of his mum.
“Tell her I say hi back.”
“Will do, alright catch you at another time, enjoy your meal.”
“Thanks. Bye, dad.”
“Bye.” He could hear his mum yelling ‘bye sweetie’ in the background. He ended the call and ordered a burger with fries and a coke. He took a seat by a brunette while he waited for his food. She had headphones on and was studying away. He unlocked his phone to scroll through Instagram but found himself watching her.
She had a very serious face when reading, but it was soft. And she was handwriting her notes, something he hardly saw anymore. He found himself wondering what she was listening to and imagining her life. She was most probably a literature student, no she’d be studying in a cafe. Maybe medicine? Just then her jacket slipped off her shoulder slightly revealing her tattoo, but not enough for jack to see what it was.
His number appeared on the screen and he went to collect his food. He took a last glance at his mysterious girl and headed back to the dorms.
