The Tryouts

She rushed inside and ran up the stairs. She dumped her school uniform into her bag and dashed out of her room. She entered her father's room and shoved him awake. She hastily said "Papa! I have to go to school. See you later!" Just as she was about to get out of his room, he said "Come back here you brat! ". "I've got no time dad! Talk to you later."

The old man grumbled and got out of bed to start his day. Shanaya rushed downstairs and just as she was about to leave, she heard a voice say "Where are you rushing to so early in the morning?" Shanaya turned around to see Yifeng standing before her. He looked like he had just got up from bed and was rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. The way he looked at her was different from before. It contained respect, admiration and gentleness. It seemed yesterday's fiasco changed someone's views about her. Yet she did not notice. She was to busy to do so. She replied as she was walking out "I'm going to school for basketball tryouts and I'm late. Tell little Sheng I'm borrowing his bike!" Yifeng looked at her as she ran to the bicycle parked in front of his house and disappeared as if she was not there in the first place.

Shanaya was riding the bike with all her might. She somehow managed to make it in time. She parked the cycle next to the basketball court. She walked to the basketball court trying to get her breath back. The coach - Ms. Meng - saw her and was relieved. She was a graceful woman who was in her mid 40's. When she saw Shanaya's skills yesterday and knew she would be the best addition to their team. For the past few years their school had not been doing well against other private school's in the annual sport's competition. She wanted a change this time and felt Shanaya would be the perfect candidate for this.

Ms. Meng's loud voice was heard throughout the court, "we will be starting the selection of new candidates for the school basketball team. You will be split into 2 groups and will play against each other. You will be judged individually based on the criteria needed. They are: Skills, Teamwork, Leadership and damage control. If you have any queries you are free to talk now." There was a short pause. Then she continued "So Let us begin!"

The girls were split into 2 teams A and B. Shanaya was in team B. She spoke with the girls about tactics they could use and who would suit which position in the team. The girls were drawn to her presence. The aura around her made one feel they could trust her. She naturally became the captain of her team. While the captain for team B was selected without any problems, there were many conflicts within team A. It took a long while for them to select a captain.

Coach Meng blew her whistle and both teams came to the court. The captains - Shanaya and a girl called Yang Feili - went to the center. The ball was thrown and both of them leapt towards the ball. Shanaya was much faster than Yang Feili. She grabbed the ball from the air and dribbled it across the court with ease. It did not look like she was playing a game but rather, it looked like she was dancing elegantly. She passed the ball to her team mates and all of them got an opportunity to show their skills. They were naturally very happy with choosing Shanaya for the captain position. Shanaya scored many points by dunking and shooting the ball into the hoop. Her tall stature of 178cm helped her in this.

The game ended with a landsliding victory for team B. All of them were celebrating but not before they shook hands with the other team. Coach Meng was really pleased with the new candidates for the basketball team. She announced, "Thank you all for attending the tryouts. You have all performed exceptionally. The results will be out by tomorrow. Wish you all the very best." With that all of the girls left the court to go take a shower. By the time they were done, It was already time for classes to start.

When Shanaya walked in she was greeted by her new group of friends. The all asked her how the tryout went and she told them she did well. All of them believed her as they had seen her monstrous ability. All of them became quite when the saw the teacher entering. He was their physics teacher and was one of the top physicians in the country. But, he was not arrogant and overbearing even though he had a right to. He wanted to pass on his knowledge to the younger generation. He also wanted to find some prodigies in physics like his other student Lu Yifeng.

As Si Mubai ( the teacher) entered the room everyone was quite. Everyone respected him. He walked to the center of the classroom and started his lecture. After that he asked them some questions. Most of the time, none of the students were able to answer his question. But this time he had Shanaya Rathore in his class. As he was asking his first question, he was prepared to solve it on his own when a voice rang out " The answer is zero."