Plane

The Illinois Fighting Illini mood on the plane home was sombre.

No, it was not because of a 2nd half collapse from 27 up. After all, they took care of the job in convincing fashion come the 2nd half, not pushing the breaks on a dominant, professional performance. Instead, they polished their mistakes, and killed off any chance of a comeback bid before it even began.

The Illini slaughtered the Crimson by 36 points with energy to spare. They could've went for a bigger lead than their 39 point deficit against UConn, but they are wholly satisfied with the morale boosting win anyway.

It was supposed to be a merry ride home following such a convincing win, however, a revelation post game dampened the amped up spirits of these victorious adolescents. 

Miguel's brother died of the injuries he sustained from repeated blunt force trauma to the head, aggravated by the blows to the head in last night's bout.

For the better part of the week, Miguel was hyped up by his brother's undercard boxing bout. It was an undercard fight for two superstars of world boxing. 

This was supposed to be his brother's big break. 

Miguel watched the bout with high expectations of his brother's illustrious future last night…

"Brother, you've earned this shot! Take it!"

When his brother dearest to him collapsed on the ring… without getting up after a few minutes… 

Miguel lost himself.

Samuel was supposed to watch the fight with him… but he slept instead…

What a useless roommate he was.

Tremaine had nightmarish flashbacks of his own demise. He lurched on his comfortable seat in remembrance of the event. 

Whatever happened to him, must be pretty close to mine.

Taichi Kawashima sat at the furthest back of the plane. He was not supposed to be here, since he was not a member of the squad, nor is he an enrolled Illinois student. However, Coach Roughan allowed him to board the flight to Albuquerque at his behest. 

He was the man's roommate for a year, and he understood how much Miguel, behind his moustache and charisma, respected and loved his older brother the most. Along with the coach, he's the only other person to have met Miguel's brother in the flesh.

Miguel egged him on to stream the match too, last night. However, he was out and was doing some overnight research in the massive university library. He also regretted it. 

Head coach Michael Roughan had already informed Miguel and his family that they would swing by the high altitude of New Mexico to mourn and visit. Even the pilot had already rearranged his schedule earlier for the team's flight to Albuquerque after the match. 

Most of the team had a restless, sorrowful seven hour night flight. Sleeping only in short, messy intervals, throughout the flight. 

Only Jaylen Mitchell slept peacefully according to his schedule.

***

Upon arrival to the city of Albuquerque, it was already four in the morning.

Most of the team were either yawning, dispirited, or aloof. A lot of them had never been here, so their bland reactions upon arriving to a new city were discouraging without context.

Tremaine, despite having travelled to the most exotic places on the planet, had depressingly never been to Albuquerque as well. In fact, he's only ever been to less than half of the country's many states… despite that however, he was not at all enthusiastic because his first time here was due to a wake… it's a travesty...

Once they got out of the airport, a cold, dry breeze blew from the north, shaking every single one of them to their feet.

'Why is this place as cold as Chicago…'

A massive rental bus stopped in front of them. The overweight bus driver wore a grin that was almost perfect if you disregard his singular missing canine teeth… 

"Welcome to Albuquerque!" The overall lack of reaction from the group raised one of his eyebrows. "Tough crowd."

"Do you know where to go?" Coach Roughan climbed into the bus first. 

"Yes, of course, sir! Please board the bus!"

The team boarded the bus in low spirits. The driver consoled himself that these were basketball athletes that had just played a full 40 minute NCAA game. He had once been a backup linebacker for his university's football team before, so he had knowledge of how taxing those games could be to the body.

"Buckle up, y'all!"

The bus sped away into the empty early morning city…

***

"Who's this handsome, young lad, dear?" An old, Hispanic woman was served hot brewed coffee by a white man with distinct European features. 

"I don't know, to be honest, he does look like me in my youth!" An old, Hispanic man grinned. He took the brewed coffee, and hugged this relative he never met before. 

"Uhmmm… I'm sorry, grandpa, grandma, I'm just a teammate of Miguel in college…" 

The old couple stopped… and then laughed out loud… they even shook the hands of the polite youngster.

"Abuelo, abuela!" Miguel rushed out to meet his two old grandparents. His moustache had fallen into disarray and his slicked back hair had seen better days. One could see his weary eyes from crying, and the lack of sleep on his person. He was a far cry from the person he was just a couple of days ago.

"How's the plane ride?" 

"Oh, my beautiful grandson, come here." The old woman hugged his weeping grandson, and gave him some comforting words. They, much more so than anyone else, knew how much his older brother meant for the young Miguel. "You should rest now that your abuela is here, okay?" 

"Miguelito, turn this into your own power, okay?" The old man with the same slicked back hairstyle, gave his young grandson a strong hand. "We are always here for you. Never forget that."

Kristian Geis contemplated how close the bond was between them. It was something he had always been fascinated about, as a kid raised by two foster parents. 

'Families related by blood are an awesome thing.'

He was someone raised in a loving family as well, but he kept on longing for something else. What if they were related to me by blood? Would my feelings change?

Miguel once again bawled his eyes out on the endearing shoulders of his grandma, who never stopped comforting his last remaining grandson with her words, and reassurances.

"Why da fuk does Rafael hafta die lyk dat… granma..." Miguel was like a bumbling idiot while crying.

DJ arrived wiping his sweat off his forehead. Abdoulaye followed suit, while still holding a silver tray. Curtis sat comfortably on a wooden rocking chair as he swayed without any frills. 

The five inactive players of the Illinois men's basketball team all shared the atmosphere together.

***

Extras:

"Ever the basketball fan eh?" 

"Oh! You're back!" Yuna yelled out, without looking away from her laptop screen. She held a bowl of rice topped with a thick slice of salmon belly in oyster sauce. She even has some homemade kimchi on the side. "I cooked an extra one over there for you, Liz!" 

"Are we winning?" Liz' voice faded away, because he ran straight for her portion of the home cooked meal. Yuna is a great cook, after all. 

"I'd expect no less than domination! After all, Harvard's an inferior opponent for us!" Yuna's eyes remained glued to the screen, excitedly enjoying the game.

At least until the camera panned to someone who stood up from the bench and was now waiting on the scorer's table…

Tremaine Mills.

He's playing now? How? 

Yuna's eyes wavered a bit, before he burst out laughing once the ball was stolen from him on his first play.

"Haha! He's a scrub!"

"Why are you being animated like that?"

But in the next few seconds, Yuna slowly covered his mouth in awe. 

He… managed to block the shot?