Chapter 2: Half-Court I

It was the afternoon, school had just ended.

The Examinations were over.

Leonz was walking back home with his friend, Kent. He let out a long sigh.

"It's finally over!" (Leonz)

"How we'll do you think you did for the tests?" (Kent)

"Let's not talk about that." (Leonz)

"You screwed up, didn't ya?" (Kent)

"Shut up." (Leonz)

The both of them continued walking, walking slightly slower for whatever reason. Eventually, Kent started some small talk.

"Are you gonna continue playing basketball in high school?" (Kent)

Leonz shrugged nonchalantly.

"Like I said, I probably would. Nothing else going on for me anyways." (Leonz)

"Bet you won't be able to go far anyways." (Kent)

Kent had been joking around. Leonz simply smiled widely and pointed at the sky.

"Joke on you. I have a goal, and obviously I'm going to find my way to the top!" (Leonz)

Kent looked at his friend. He respected Leonz's enthusiasm and optimism, but in the high school level, there were freaks beyond freaks playing there. Even from the same batch as Leonz, there were still 42 players ranked above Leonz.

"Any awards you're gunning for?" (Kent)

Leonz scratched his chin, trying to think about it.

"In high school, they split the east and west, so there's the East MVP and the West MVP. But I heard there's also the overall MVP." (Kent)

"Three MVPs? Sounds like a pain." (Leonz)

"There's also the DPOY*, Sixth Man and Rookie." (Kent)

*DPOY: Defensive Player of the Year

"Gotta aim for that Rookie and DPOY man." (Leonz)

"No MVPs?" (Kent)

Leonz shook his head.

"Ain't the kind to get it." (Leonz)

"How are you going to get the DPOY anyways? You're a guard." (Kent)

Normally, the DPOY is won mostly by forwards and centers. For reference, in the NBA, only seven perimeter player had ever won the DPOY, and only one PG has ever won it.

"Doesn't matter." (Leonz)

They came to a stop when they walked past a basketball court. Out of curiosity, Leonz had looked into the court.

In the court, there was a match going on. It was a 3 on 2, probably because there were not enough people to play a 3 on 3. Kent looked in too, also curious as to what was going on.

"Are you thinking of playing?" (Kent)

"I'm still in my school uniform, can't really do much in these." (Leonz)

Leonz was about to leave when one of the strangers called out to him. The person who had called out to Leonz was wearing a headband.

"Hey! We need one more, ya interested?" (Headband)

Leonz glanced at Kent.

"I'll just watch and wait for you." (Kent)

Leonz put on a smile and walked in, taking off his bag.

"I'm down!" (Leonz)

Leonz walked onto the half court, looking at the people he was going to be playing with. Kent scurried to the side and sat down on a bench with Leonz's bag.

Leonz was wearing his uniform. Long pants and button up shirt, not the most ideal for playing any type of sport. Even his shoes were worn out and barely useable.

"Nice ta meet'cha." (Headband)

The guy with the headband extended a hand to shake hands with Leonz, who readily shook hands.

Looking closer, Leonz noticed that the people he was playing with were older men. Maybe around their early twenties. They looked skilled, and Leon was not sure how he was going to match up with them.

From what Leonz could tell, someone wore a Stephen Curry jersey, another wore a shooting sleeve on his right arm. One of them wore a plain white shirt. The last guy had piercings.

Leonz: 184cm, 6'0

Headband: 180cm, 5'11

Curry jersey: 188cm, 6'2

Sleeve: 175cm, 5'9

White Shirt: 195cm, 6'5

Piercings: 192cm, and 6'4

Leonz noticed that they weren't as tall as some of the people he had played with. But he guessed none of them played the big man position.

"You're from Tilt?" (Headband)

Headband seemed to be the friendliest one, the other guys just kinda waiting.

"Yeah, you heard of my school?" (Leonz)

Headband scratched his head before laughing lightly.

"That's where I've seen you before!" (Headband)

Leonz was understandably confused.

"My little brother goes to Yomi Middle school, and I went to watch his first game." (Headband)

Leonz really did not need to be reminded of the absolute embarrassment of a performance his team had put up.

Headband turned to the rest of the guys, a friendly smile on his face.

"This guy's a sharpshooter and a defender. I saw him block the two metre tall Center from Yomi." (Headband)

"I was lucky." (Leonz)

Leonz felt flattered that someone would remember him especially after the embarrassment he had went through.

"So, about the rankings, where did'cha place?" (Headband)

"43." (Leonz)

Headband shrugged and patted Leonz on the back.

"Well, whatever then. Let's start a 3 on 3." (Headband)

They had already started lining up at the three-point line. Leonz, slightly confused, asked Headband.

"Are we shooting for teams*?" (Leonz)

*Shooting for teams in this scenario is just the first three to make a shot becomes a team.

"Yep." (Headband)

"Why don't you go first?" (Sleeve)

The guy with the arm sleeve passed the ball to Leonz. He was much younger than them, so it made sense that they would give him a chance.

Leonz walked down the court to the corner three-point line. He was more used to shooting from the corner than anywhere else. He brought the ball to his hip, ending his knees inwards as he prepared to jump. He brought the ball up as his body moved up, aligning the ball with his eye level. He jumped from where he was, releasing the ball with a swift stroke.

'Swish' (net)

Leonz still had his shooting arm (right arm) up. He jogged forward to pick the ball up, hoping he wasn't being too rude by shooting from the corner instead. But from what he could tell, the people he was playing with seem mostly friendly.

Final team result:

Team 1 (made): Leonz, Headband, Piercings

Team 2 (did not make): Sleeve, Jersey, White Shirt

"By the way, I gotta ask what position you play." (Piercings)

Piercings, unlike his scary appearance, spoke relatively normally and somehow kindly. The game was about to start, and Leonz's team was to start with the ball.

"The two*." (Leonz)

*Leonz is referring to the Shooting Guard position here.

"Damn, we play the same position, nice!" (Piercings)

Piercings gave him a high-five before stepping out of the three-point line. The game was about to start, but Leonz realised he had never played under half-court rules before.