Bronx
Once they got off the bus and entered the gym, the noise of the crowd could be heard, ready to enjoy the game that would be held in a few moments.
Christ the King Royals vs. All Hallows Gaels.
First game of the new season away from home and the excitement was palpable in the air once Aaron set foot off the bus.
"Move it!!" Artie shouted, making the boys start to enter the stadium directly, heading without looking back toward the visiting team's locker rooms to start getting dressed.
"10 minutes," was the last thing Artie was heard saying, closing the door while the boys began to choose their lockers and dress in the uniforms ready to play.
"Over here, rookie," Omar raised his hand toward Aaron, inviting him to use the locker next to him.
"Thanks," Aaron said, opening the locker to start getting dressed.
"Nervous?" Omar couldn't help but ask toward Aaron, it being his first game. "More than anything, excited," was all Aaron said while he put on the jersey and sat down to start putting on his sneakers.
After that, everything remained in a comfortable silence, the sound of the lockers and the shoes being the only sound that could be heard in the locker room.
"Hey, rookie," Roland said toward Aaron, who simply ignored him as if he hadn't heard anything, which did nothing but increase Roland's anger.
"I'm talking to you!!" raising his voice, Roland moved closer to Aaron in an attempt at intimidation, to which Aaron simply ignored him until he was in front of him and raised his head.
"Are you talking to me?" was the only thing Aaron asked without the slightest sign of emotion in his voice.
"Do you see any other rookie around here?" with a touch of venom in his voice, Roland couldn't help but ask Aaron.
"What do you need?" he asked toward Roland without knowing why he had deigned to speak with him, to which Roland simply put a smug smile on his face. "I hope you take advantage of the opportunity; not everyone gets to see the game from the front row," he finished saying in an attempt to mock and make Aaron feel bad.
"Is that all," was the only response Roland received from Aaron, which did nothing but make him angrier, then he turned and left, muttering.
"Well done," said Omar, who was by Aaron's side all that time, being ready to intervene at any moment if necessary.
"Don't listen to him; he's just nervous that you'll take his spot," giving Aaron pats on the shoulder, Omar gave his opinion on Roland's attitude.
"That's not my problem," Aaron responded while he adjusted his shoes and stood up, ready to leave at any moment toward the gym. "If he doesn't have the skills to maintain his starting position, it only proves he has no talent." Without looking back, Aaron approached the exit door just as coach Arbitello was entering.
"To warm up," with a single phrase he made all the players inside the locker room stand up and march toward the court to begin the warm-ups.
Once outside the 4 walls of the locker room, the sound of the crowd was deafening; wherever his gaze passed, Aaron saw the seats full, divided into two different colors: the blue of the Gaels and the red of the Royals. Staying momentarily stunned, he regained his senses upon feeling a hand patting him on the back.
"Go warm up, kid," Artie said with a knowing smile, imagining all the emotions passing through the mind of the kid in front of him.
"Understood." Without saying any more words, he entered the court and began with his warm-ups.
While he stretched, Aaron kept his gaze on the stands and the people who came to see the game, to which Aaron couldn't help but fantasize about the day he would arrive at a completely full stadium with people chanting his name.
Once the stretching was finished and with his body warm, Aaron took a ball from the pile that was there and began to give it slow bounces, familiarizing himself with the feeling of the ball and the court itself.
"Swish," with a standard jump, Aaron began to practice his shots from the free-throw line, adjusting and familiarizing himself with the sensation of scoring before the game.
"WOO!!" Aaron was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the crowd, which could only mean one thing.
The All Hallows team had arrived.
Dressed in their blue jerseys, the team gave some slight greetings to the crowd while they began to do their own warm-ups in preparation for the game that would start in a few minutes.
"Circle," breaking the silence, coach Arbitello's voice caught everyone's attention, making them approach and quickly form a circle with the coach in the center with a clipboard.
"Very well boys, first game of the season," he began his speech while his gaze scanned each of the players who were in the circle. "I don't want errors; I want a clean victory and without any altercation," he said this time with his gaze on Maurice, who rolled his eyes at that.
With a tired sigh, he began to say the names of the starting lineup.
Center: Dominykas Milka Point guard: Corey Edwards Shooting guard: Omar Calhoun Small forward: Maurice Barrow Power forward:
Suddenly, as soon as he said that, coach Arbitello stayed quiet briefly and raised his gaze, which landed on both Aaron and Roland, one of whom was as calm as if the decision didn't matter to him while the other was nervous while pressing his lips.
Power forward: Aaron Reed
The coach finished saying, the reactions of the players being a mixture of different emotions. Aaron simply nodded while Roland clenched his fists and lowered his gaze, while the rest of the players debated whether they had heard correctly or if it was some kind of joke.
"Concentrate on the game," pulling the players out of their stupor, coach Arbitello brought his hand to the center while the other players copied his same action.
"Royals on 3," he said to then start counting, "1, 2, 3."
"Royals!!!!!" all the players shouted, bringing their hands up and going directly into their positions.
Aaron positioned himself on the wing facing the other power forward in front of him, who evaluated him carefully while the referee entered with the ball in hand, ready to start the game.
"Ready?" the referee said toward Dominykas, who simply nodded to then turn toward the other player in the center. "Ready?" he repeated the question, to which he responded "Ready" while flexing his knees, ready for the jump.
"PII!!" with the sound of the whistle, the referee threw the ball as high as he could while both players jumped with all their strength, fighting for possession of the ball.
One hand was faster than the other; with a blue shirt, the opposing center got the opening jump and passed the ball quickly to his point guard, who upon receiving the ball stayed briefly still, scanning the positions of his teammates.
Quickly each one of the team got into position, Corey being in charge of blocking the opposing point guard's way.
But the point guard with an elegant dribble managed to deceive him to be able to pass him without problems and seeing a quick opening.
"Yours, Jet," he said to then pass the ball quickly to the forward, who got free without any interference from the null defense of Maurice, who stayed jogging slightly on the court.
Jet, the forward, then took advantage of the extra space to cut without any problem toward the Royals' hoop and make a quick dunk, or so he thought.
Dominykas, who as soon as he lost the rebound ran to position himself under the post, jumped almost at the same time as Jet and managed to slam the ball against the backboard, blocking and saving the team. Once on the ground, he took advantage of Jet's imbalance to take possession of the ball.
"Pass it," Maurice ordered, seeing with satisfaction how Dominykas passed him the ball to then turn and run toward the opposing hoop without looking back.
Using his exquisite dribbling skills, he managed to get free of his marking like it was nothing while his gaze remained fixed and set on the hoop.
Stopping briefly, he saw how the center and the point guard of the opposing team were double-teaming him, making his path to the hoop blocked.
"Here!" Maurice heard a voice seeing an extended hand on the other corner of the court.
Aaron saw how Maurice fixed his gaze in his direction to then simply overlook him and retain the ball, making Aaron unable to do anything else but click his tongue.
Seeing how Maurice retained the ball with both hands and dove in, clashing with both players in two steps, miraculously managing to get free of them based on pure strength.
After that, he jumped high to make a dunk that echoed in the arena, adding the first points for the team.
2-0 Royals in the lead.
"AHH!!" flexing his muscles, Maurice celebrated in front of the rival crowd, being received by whistles and insults, making the smug smile on his face widen more.
"Fuck you," one of the boys from the stands shouted.
"Go to hell," shouted the boy at his side. "You better not let me catch you or..." a boy near Maurice started while he brought his hand to his neck and made the sign of cutting his throat in a threatening tone.
Without being able to resist any longer, the coach grabbed Maurice and took him away before the situation intensified more than necessary. "What do you think you're doing?" the coach started in a low voice toward Maurice.
"Didn't you see that Reed was free and in front of the hoop?" before Maurice could even say anything, coach Arbitello didn't even let him speak, making Maurice furrow his brow and a slight trace of anger appear inside him.
"I had it controlled," was his only response, letting the coach know that despite everything he scored, which was what mattered most. "You risked the play when there was a free player in the other corner," the coach continued without buying the poor excuse of the boy in question while pointing to his board on which he had made some scribbles.
"Since they are double-teaming you, I want you to draw them toward the sideline," the coach began, showing him a line on the board. "Then when they corner you in the corner, make a quick pass to Reed or Calhoun, who will be free and score," the coach finished, only to see Maurice see all that with a bored look as if he didn't care in the slightest about the strategy.
"Listen to me well, Barrow. Follow the plan and stop sticking to the ball or I won't hesitate for a single second to put you on the bench all season." In a grave tone, coach Arbitello made Maurice see that he was not in the mood for games or the acts of smug players.
"Whatever," was all Maurice said, clicking his tongue and returning to the court.
Watching as Maurice's back moved away, Joe Arbitello couldn't help but give a sigh while he shook his head from side to side in a sign of disappointment.
Maurice was a good player, but nothing more; if it weren't for the system and that the lineup favors the outside shot, he wouldn't be where he is now.
3 stars is his rating in Rivals, it means that he is a solid prospect but nothing more, without any outstanding skill. If he wants to end up playing after college in the NBA, he will have it hard.
And considering his attitude and his lack of discipline in training, Joe already outlined that at most he would become a substitute in an NBA team or end up wandering in foreign leagues without a destination.
Sitting down and coming out of his thoughts, Joe gave one last tired sigh to then focus again on the game that continued being played.
"What did you say to Maurice?" Artie asked, seeing his friend's face.
"Nothing you should worry about," he finished saying, for then both to focus on what really matters, which was the game being played at that very moment.
Once he concentrated on the game, he saw Aaron in possession of the ball and, before they could even mark him, jump in a jump shot and score.
Once that was done, he turned and went back to his position without exaggerated celebration, only fulfilling the tactic and concentrating on the next play.
That attitude by itself brought a smile to the coach's face, being grateful that at least his new player has his feet on the ground while he hoped that in the future the smoke wouldn't go to his head.
8-5 current score.
Authors thought's
What did you think of today's chapter?
If you want to read a football fic, the first 2 chapters are available on my Patreon completely for free!
Don't forget to subscribe to my Patreon to get more than 5 chapters in advance! https://www.patreon.com/c/merchant17