Championship Climax

"Chipmunks! Chipmunks!"

"Foxes! Foxes!"

"Chipmunks! Chipmunks!"

"Foxes! Foxes!"

"Chipmunks! Chipmunks!"

"Foxes! Foxes!"

Both sides of the gym stayed energetic. With every shot their teams made, they screamed out cheers. The sound booth had been taken over by Felix and Henley. Devin had been left alone except for the occasional request of commentary from the student council president.

"Your kids surely know how to make a spectacle of themselves," Ethan commented above the cheers. He sat by Steve's left near the front row, "Did you ever play basketball? Or were you purely dedicated to the stage?"

Principal Parker reddened in the ears. His fiance laughed on his right. She answered on his behalf, "Sadly, Steve was never good at basketball. He loved the sport but it didn't love him back. It excited him to see both Jae and Logan to be skilled enough for it."

Ethan recalled the lunch meal he had for his mother's birthday. The kids and the women just had a volleyball match and asked Logan if he played for their school. It seemed that his answer about choosing basketball for his father had been truthful.

"No need to be ashamed, Steve," Angie spoke up from behind them, "Ethan's sport is badminton. Anything with a ball gets him injured."

"Dear!"

"How did they learn then?" She proceeded to ask, ignoring her husband's protest.

James chuckled from her side. North Valley's coach asked for a timeout. The noise calmed down enough for them to hear each other, "It was me who coached the boys."

"I thought you had them studying?" Lilly reacted.

He shifted his attention towards her, "I did but whenever I hit a slump, I played a bit. I decided to take them with me once and the rest was history."

The whistle blew and signaled the resumption of the game. There was about 30 minutes left on the clock. The first half ended with North Valley in the lead by a point. For them, it was one step to winning the trophy.

For Alex, it was the experimental result of Logan's strategy.

She bit her inner cheek and watched him jog back to the court. Even if the trial ended on a good note, that didn't mean it would happen a second time. The foxes would have reviewed their strategy and planned to catch the chipmunks off guard.

Logan couldn't have… seen… it beforehand…

A groan escaped her lips. Logan didn't rank 2nd for nothing. The first half had proved that. How could he play basketball like it's a game of chess?

Another whistle pierced through the air. The referee held up a yellow card on a North Valley player. He had committed a foul, giving Woodlands a chance at the free throw.

Max dribbled the ball twice before he did a jump shot. It went straight in, making him score another 2 points for their team. He glanced at the scoreboard.

It read: 31-30.

From the corner of his eye, he glimpsed at Colin having a showdown with the Fox Mascot. Never in his life did he foresee a Chipmunk twerking before him. If only he had a camera, he could use it in the future—for certain circumstances.

Selene tapped Alex on her shoulder, "Are you okay? Or are you losing the bet?"

The latter question was merely a wild guess. Compared to the rest, Alex had a peculiar reaction towards the game. She seemed displeased instead of happy or nervous. She also hadn't used the camera for some time. She always got distracted.

"Logan is manipulating the game in order to win the bet!" Alex spilled out in one breath, "And he had the whole team cooperating with him! How could they not find this absurd?!"

The score now read: 34-30.

She rolled her eyes. It was as if it could read her mind and wanted to eliminate suspicion. Now, she would be the one to sound absurd. Selene would tell her that she was seeing things because of the bet.

"Really?"

Alex took her eyes off the court and faced Selene. Her fingers shook while they held the DSLR, "I know how this sounds like but I am serious! Somehow Logan had prepared the perfect strategy to win that bet!"

Selene watched the game for a moment. The red foxes scored from the 3-point line. Jae gave the ball to Max and they headed over to the other basket. They passed it between them like a pinball machine. It would dive over or under hindrances. When an opponent caught the ball, Logan swooped in from behind and snatched it.

"So?" Selene raised her eyebrow, "How is that a problem? The strategy is supposed to be about winning the game."

"So... so…!" Alex stammered. She threw her hands in frustration, "I don't know! It just didn't feel right."

She wanted to say that the strategy Logan devised didn't revolve on winning. Then, she thought better of it. It had been designed for victory—in both the game and the bet.

"Maybe it's because you never thought you'd lose" Selene reasoned. She rubbed Alex's upper back, "If you said that your chances were 99% then, I could only think that this strategy must have been hard to do. If he had come prepared and won it, doesn't that mean he actually deserves to? Not everyone can put that much effort into something."

Alex sighed. She had gotten the point. If the team did manage the winning shot she asked for… she could only applaud. Instead of relying on luck, Logan had taken the lead into making it happen. A person who created their own fate should be praised.

All that was left to do was prepare for her loss.

The game progressed without a pause. The scores for each team continued to rise up. The leagues had changed. This was the part where all players powered through so their team could sustain the lead. It didn't matter how wide the gap was—a win was a win.

A point ahead was all they needed.

Everything narrowed down to this moment.

With the constant change in the leaderboard, both sides became anxious. Yells had turned agitated. Hundreds of hearts began to pound irregularly. The air seemed to squeeze their chests. Yet, they had to keep an optimistic outlook. No one felt the pressure more than the players.

As their supporters, they had to cheer for their sake.

"I'd like to think of this as the 100 meter dash for the game" Felix remarked, observing the players closely, "These last minutes are legendary. Anything could happen here, including miracles!"

Henley laced his fingers and stretched his arms overhead, "It's surely known as the heart-racing part of the game. Anything the teams build up could be broken and there wouldn't be enough to get back up."

"Wouldn't that just mean they hadn't prepared enough?" Devin spoke up for the first time without being asked. He looked down at the court, watching it with judgement in his eyes, "They should have seen all the possibilities. If faced with something new, they should be quick to think for a counterattack."

The student council president clasped his shoulder, "It's easy to say that when we're not involved. Down there is a pressure cooker right now and not everyone works well under it."

50-51

That was what the scoreboard said.

They only needed to keep it that way until the last minute, Logan thought to himself. He wiped his face with the front of his shirt. The bright lights shined down at them almost as hot as the sun. The gym heated up like a sauna. Nothing could cool down their sweats.

Jae walked to his side, "You ready for this?"

"Oh, I am definitely ready," Logan smirked. He rubbed the back of his hand against his temple, "We'll win this at the last second. Then, I will go and confess to Alex."

His older twin snorted, "Okay, okay, Mr. Romantic. I hope she sees how much you've put into this because of how you feel about her instead of you being a sore loser. It's not an extravagant way to confess but since you're both smart, I do have high hopes for it."

Logan had to force himself not to look at Alex. He had been tempted multiple times. Whenever a part of his strategy worked, he wanted to know what she thought of it.

"Come on, we need to keep neither team from scoring" Jae reminded his brother. He pushed Logan towards their other teammates, "We also need to do it subtley. Let them take it so we can snatch it back. Then, repeat."

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"10 minutes left on the clock!" Felix clapped. The microphone picked it up, "Score is 55-56. Red Foxes are as sly as their mascot. They snatch the lead at every possible window. Wow. There goes their number 5… He is headed for the basket! He shoots! And scores! 55-58. Almost 9 minutes left on the clock."

Logan groaned. He fidgeted from several parts of his body. His brain had gone on hyperdrive. Every detail of this game now mattered significantly. It made him restless. If he didn't calm down, he might regret his decisions.

Max dribbled the ball into enemy territory. His main job had been to rebound their score. He liked it because it gave him free rein to shoot. Crossing the 3-point line, he jumped and tossed the ball towards the backboard. It hit right above the ring.

Then, it bounced into the basket.

57-58

He ran for the side lines. He and Logan watched as their teammates went for the ball. They had to stay open in case a teammate was left in a pinch. In order to keep the ball away from their opponents, they had to scramble them. That could happen if they constantly passed it—

Shit.

"Another 2 points for North Valley! 57-60 with only 5 minutes left!" Felix announced. His voice had become hoarse, "I can't tell if time is going faster or slower."

"It's not changing speeds, Felix."

"Woah!" Henley. He blinked several times, "Did you see that? Not even a minute later, red fox number 4 went downtown and scored another 2 points. 57-62! Chipmunks, how will you catch up?"

"Damn it," Logan muttered. He could almost hear the ticking seconds inside his head. He abandoned his post and followed Max. Jae seemed to think the same. They both guarded their number 01.

Max attempted a shot after they ran past the center circle. Both twins dashed for the basket. Even if the ball didn't go in, they had to score. They slipped past their opponents. They dodged left and right.

The ball bounced off the ring and landed right into their opponent's possession.

The brothers stayed on their tracks.

Left arm ready, right arm ready, they intended to swipe the ball whichever direction the player would turn.

Jae hit it first. His left arm swiped the ball in the middle of a dribble. Surrounded by opponents, he jumped and tossed it right away. It hit the ring again and circled it. Then, it slipped off to another side.

Logan reached up and threw it back into the basket.

It went in.

59-62

2 minutes left.