Unexpected opportuniy

"Hey Quin, that was a hell of a game out there. I thought we had that one in the bag. You surely proved me wrong." Isaac smiled while saying that to me. This was the first time we had a proper conversation.

"Nah man, it was a very close game. It could've gone either way. Besides, I think you underestimated us a little bit when you got that huge lead just as I was back in the game in the second half." I told him what I truly think. It was the toughest game I had experienced yet, so I don't like pretending that it was not.

"Anyway, it sure feels good knowing that you're a teammate from now on. Let's get to the National Championships and win this whole thing." Isaac had the same genuine smile while initiating a fist bump with me.

I responded to his good gesture and said, "Of course man, that's what I intended to do in the first place."

"By the way, this here's Jerrold. You guys haven't officially met, I presume. He's not much of a talker but he's easy to get around with. He's really good at playing basketball and loves anything anime or mangas." Isaac chuckled while he introduced Jerrold to me beside him.

"Hey there Jerrold, so happy to finally get to know you." I extended my hand to shake his hand with a smile.

"Nice to meet you too." He lazily said while shaking my hand with droopy eyes and a deadpan face.

'I guess this guy's the lazy simpleton type.' I mused in my head.

"Don't worry about him, he's clearly also happy to meet you," Isaac told me with a slight chuckle.

"We'll be on our way then, see you this Monday at practice." Both of them left me and my friends and bid farewell.

"Wow, bro. I can't believe you were this good at basketball. If I'd known I would've asked you to teach me." Charles exclaimed, clearly still shocked by my performance against a pretty stronger team.

"C'mon bro, even if you'd known, I'm pretty sure you'll get distracted by the cheerleaders once we play." I jokingly said, but I wouldn't really mind helping him get better at basketball. He's just too distracted sometimes and even if he's not, he doesn't really commit as much to sports as I do.

"Hmm... I guess you're right. Those cheerleaders do be head turners sometimes." Charles considered hard at my joke cause he knows it was true.

"Nevermind bro, I don't need to play basketball to get chicks. I'm confident I can get a couple of them with just my handsome face."

"Alright ken doll, stop dreaming about barbie, and let's go home."

"Let's go, Anne, I'll walk with you to your bus stop." I showed a radiant smile at the pretty girl with us.

"Sure! Thanks a lot. By the way, Congrats on getting on the team, I'll be cheering for you in all your games, so good luck!" Anne blushingly cheered me with great enthusiasm which just warmed up my heart.

As I got home and opened the front door, a childish squeal greeted me.

"Brother! Brother! How did it go? Did you get on the team? How many points did you make?"

My little sister, Andrea, bombarded me with questions with great excitement. She always gets excited when we talk about basketball. And I'm quite happy with that.

"Easy there Drea, let me settle my things first and I'll tell you all about what happened today. You'd be very excited to know." I gave her a cheeky smile and she just puffed her cheeks cutely and pouted as I walked past her.

"Hmph. You better get back here quickly and not miss a single detail. Got that?" She told me in a commanding tone, yet I just saw that scene as if in a comic strip which I find really cute.

"Welcome back home, sweetie. I'll be hearing about your story today too so don't come back down here with a boring story." My mom shouted from the kitchen as she prepared dinner.

My dad got home a couple of minutes after me and quickly changed his clothes.

Soon after, it was time for dinner. During that, I told them all about what happened to my game today and how I got into the starting lineup. They were very happy for me, particularly Andrea. She was so excited that she said she wanted to watch my games after.

My parents discussed a little to set their schedules when I have an upcoming game to accompany Andrea. They also wanted to watch my games if they could, we just prayed it won't be during their busy hours.

"So Quin, aside from basketball, how are the classes?" My dad inquired me about my performance in class.

"So far, it has been easy topics since it has just started. But you don't have to worry, If I ever get a grade below A, I will stop basketball until I get my grades back up."

"We don't actually want you to stop playing basketball. We know you love it so much and we don't want to take that away from you. Your mother and I are just concerned that you may lose focus on your studies as it is still an essential part of your growing up to become a better person. Keep in mind that we only want the best for you." My dad lectured me.

"Yeah dad, I know. Thanks a lot for supporting me on this path. I know it might not have been the obvious one, but I promise I'll do my best." I encouragingly told them to not get concerned.

"By the way, there's this summer training camp that's open for early registrations. It's an annual training camp sponsored by the collaboration of the NBA and some big sports brands like Nike, Gatorade, Adidas, Reebok, and a lot more. There will be 3 categories according to age. Starting from 12-15, 16-18, and over 18 years old. I can sign you up for the 12-15 category now since a client of mine is one of the organizers. Would you like that?" My dad threw a huge piece of news so suddenly.

"Would I ever?! Of course sign me up dad! That's a terrific opportunity for me, I heard a lot of NBA stars will also make an appearance." My eyes almost popped out due to excitement.

"Okay, okay. Don't shout, that's bad table manners." My dad sternly warns me. So I calmed down back in my seat but inside I was still so giddy.

"There's still a whole school year till it starts. So don't get too excited. It's a good thing my client has a lot of authority to help you make a reserved spot until they open up for registrations. For now, focus on what's in front of you and just be the best you can."

"I also told him about you and he got quite interested. This could be a chance for you to make connections so he told me he'll watch your games if he has time and do what you always do best." Dad told me with a slight smile.

"Thanks a lot, dad. Even if you don't tell me, I would always perform the best I can. I'm pretty sure there'll be a lot of scouts watching our games if we perform the way we should."