Chapter 5 - Teaming Up #5

While Vinny and Daniel were persuading Kobbie to join the team, Ace and Hao found themselves at the Ahmed Kebab store.

Hao: "Hey, Ace, what's up?"

Ace: "Hey."

Hao: "Come on, give me the money so you don't miss school, and so I can meet up with Vinny to find the last team member and register for the tournament."

Ace: "Look, I don't want to lie to you because that's not manly. I spent the money on basketball gear. I thought you wouldn't ask for the money right away since I planned to sell my old PC components by the end of the week and have enough to cover what I spent. But the truth is, I got greedy. I felt like I earned that money, and I completely forgot about everyone else. I only thought about myself. They say making mistakes is human, but I ended up being a bad person, not just a bad friend. I've decided not to be part of the team any more and will try to find the way to get the money by tonight to somehow make it up to you. Now that I've told you everything, I have to go to school. We'll talk later."

Ace turned and walked toward the nearby bus stop, leaving Hao stunned and speechless. Hao couldn't believe what had just happened. Unsure of how to react, whether to be angry or disappointed in someone he considered a good friend, he decided to call Vinny to figure out how to solve this problem.

And so time returns to the present where Daniel and Vinny met with Hao who told them what happened.

Vinny: "What an idiot! I knew that kid would mess something up. Look at this, we finally find enough people for the team, and he steals from us. What do you expect from a kid with zero social skills? He stole from us to buy Robux. So what now, Hao? You were the one who wanted him on the team."

Daniel was so shocked he couldn't speak, not expecting a 15-year-old to rob them.

Hao couldn't respond to Vinny because he had no idea how to gather enough money and didn't want to defend Ace, as he was completely disappointed in him this time. He just stood there, looking at Vinny in the eyes, and stayed silent.

Daniel: "Hao don't worry, you have to go to college, so go. Vinny and I will come up with something. We'll also go ask Samuel if he'll join the team. We'll have to make him skip class."

Vinny: "Yeah, meet us tonight at 9 p.m. at the neighborhood court and tell that little retard to show up too. Oh, and I didn't mention, we'll be playing with Alvaro, a D1 player, along with Kobbie. If we don't find the money, our chances of doing something will be ruined."

They parted ways, Hao heading to his college while Daniel and Vinny went towards the high school where Samuel was.

Hao kept questioning himself about what to do with Ace the entire way to college. Should he give him another chance, or do nothing since they hadn't registered for the tournament yet? Besides, Hao thought they were only doing this to kill time over the summer, not knowing about Kobbie's situation.

Meanwhile, Vinny and Daniel were brainstorming how to get the money. They considered borrowing from someone, selling something, or asking Alvaro. But both knew what Alvaro was like he probably spent all his money on certain things.

Ace, on the other hand, had been thinking the whole time since parting with Hao about how to make amends. He didn't want to leave the team but felt he had to because he had ruined everything for the others.

Daniel and Vinny arrived at the café near Samuel's school and sent him a message to meet them there during the next break and tell him to skip his next class. After about twenty minutes, a 6.5 ft tall figure in a school uniform with a blonde french crop haircut, he was clearly a strong guy, walked in. Samuel saw his two former school basketball teammates and sat at their table.

Samuel: "Hey, what's up, guys?"

He greeted them with a brotherly handshake.

Daniel: "Here we are, pretending to be unemployed and recruiting people for the Summer Basketball League. So, we came to ask if you're in."

Vinny: "The team is Daniel and me, Hao, and our two homies, Alvaro and Kobbie. We need a sixth man and a wing and you my brother are a perfect fit. There was another gypsy with us, but he stole from us and left. Maybe it's bette he never played basketball anyway. So, Sam, do you have 500 euros to register for the league?"

Sam: "Fam, you know I don't have 500 euros. I'll be lucky if I have enough to get something to eat after this. But do I want to play with you guys? Hell yeah, it'll be fun. In addition, Alvaro is there, he will be great, but it's strange that he didn't say that he came back from America."

Vinny: "You know him, it's not strange that he didn't say he was back, he always just informs Kobbie and we have to find out from others.Well, it doesn't matter now if Alvaro contacted us or not. This is important since you agreed to join, I'll treat us to a kebab later. Let's go to Ahmud's and get the best kebab."

Daniel: "Instead of treating us, we should use that money for the league registration."

Vinny: "Shut up, we can't think on an empty stomach. We'll figure something out for the money."

Samuel ended up skipping every class for the rest of the day, spending time with Daniel and Vinny.

Ace spent every class thinking about how to get the money and fix what he had done. As time passed, only one option seemed viable. After school, he hurried home and made a difficult decision.