Reading the Room

"What?" Kai couldn't control the volume of his voice once Dylan disclosed the information. 

All the other players turned to the two of them, causing Dylan's eyes to widen in panic. 

"What's going on there?" Yuze asked, a small frown gracing his face.

He glared at Kai before turning to the other players. "There's nothing going on here—" 

"We don't get our official jersey?" Kai asked, cutting Dylan off. 

The older boy tried to cover Kai's mouth, but it was difficult to reach due to their difference in height and strength. 

Yuze's frown deepened as he crossed his arms in front of my chest.

"Yes," Yuze said. "The school only gives us a certain amount of budget, so we can't give second-string players their own jersey. It has been like this since the club has been established."

"Aren't we a part of the team too?" Kai asked, finding it unfair how they were treated differently. 

"You are," Yuze sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose. "But you don't join a basketball league anyway, so the school decided not to give us a budget for your jersey." 

"And what if we do join a league?" Kai asked, mirroring Yuze's stance. 

Yuze's eyebrows raised in surprise. Kun and him exchanged glances, ambiguous looks on their faces. 

"You, the second-string team of Shizi High, will join a league?" Yuze clarified.

"Yes," Kai confidently said. "We're still a team like you, guys. There's no reason to hold us back if we were to join the second-string league." 

"Oh, we're not stopping you," Yuze smirked. "Go ahead and join a league." 

"Will you give us our jerseys if we do so?" Kai asked. 

Yuze thought for a moment, the smirk not leaving his lips. 

"Alright," Yuze agreed. "I'll have your jerseys done as soon as you're registered in a league." 

Kai smirked. "Perfect. Don't go back on your word now." 

Yuze scoffed in disbelief at the first-year students' blatant confidence. 

"I definitely won't," he firmly said. 

With that, he hung his jersey over his shoulder and gulped down some water. 

"You all should go home now," Yuze instructed. "Be present for the training tomorrow—same time." 

With that, he walked away from the circle and out of the court, Kun swiftly following after him. The other first-string players also started leaving the court, and as soon as they were out of the vicinity, Dylan calmly approached Kai. 

"What the heck did you just do?" Dylan asked, slapping the back of Kai's head. He even had to do a little jump to do so, but that didn't stop him from doing it again. 

Kai sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I was just asking a genuine question." 

Dylan clicked his tongue, getting a ball from the ground and wiping it with a towel. 

"Second-string players are never given the official jerseys. It's been like that since the beginning," Dylan said. 

"It doesn't mean it has to continue being like that," Kai countered, also cleaning a ball from the ground. He did it the most efficiently and cleanly among the rest because of his past experiences. 

"Couldn't you read the room or something?" Dylan asked. "This school doesn't have any budget for us. We're already lucky enough that we get to have the covered court by ourselves. Yuze had to fight off so many other teams for it to happen." 

Tony stood next to Dylan and placed his elbow on his shoulder, treating him as a human armrest. 

"Don't scold him so much, Dylan. He's still new, so he doesn't really know about this," Tony said. 

Alen cleared his throat and raised his hand. "I'm just curious," he started off. "How long have you guys been doing this?" 

"Since I was a first-year," Dylan proudly said. 

Kai frowned in confusion. "And you haven't joined any leagues so far?" 

"Well, at first, I was the only first-year member of the second-string team. Yuze, Kun, and I tried out together, and I was the only one who didn't get into the first-string team," Dylan lightheartedly said. "There were only four members back then, so it wasn't possible to join a league."

Kai had to applaud him for acting so composed despite sharing such sad experiences. 

"Then, come the second year, these two rascals came and pestered my life," Dylan continued.

"Still, the three other members graduated by that time, so it still wasn't possible." 

"And now?" Kai asked. "There's six of us now. We can form a team and join the official second-string league in the city," he suggested. 

Kai didn't know much about the second-string league, but he knew that it also existed. The second-string team of Huolan High was a separate entity from the main team, so Kai didn't know the rules of their league or how they operated. 

However, Huolan High's second-string team was also a front runner like the main team. They had their fair share of victories and always made it into the semi-finals. 

"You're right," Dylan said, making Kai's anticipation rise. 

"But the official second-string league only allows teams with a minimum of ten players to join." 

Dylan turned to Kai with a teasing smile. 

"So, no. We can't join the league right now. Maybe next year when we have more players!"