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~~~(POV: Ulysses Kennedy)~~~
~~~(Date: September 25th, 2025)~~~
~~~(Time: 3:20 PM)~~~
~~~(Location: Rucker Park)~~~
Lemar is keeping his distance now, not wanting a repeat of what happened earlier. Too bad he's giving me too much space. I pull up from 31 feet and sink another deep three. His friends grab the sides of their heads and complain at Lemar. That's 14 to 5, my teams getting closer to a win. We shift back on defense, and I'm guarding the center this time. He and the shooting guard are the only ones to score on their team so far. He's shorter than Lemar, but not by much. The center's friends start cheering him on and supporting him.
That's what Lemar's friends should be doing. The point guard tosses the ball down to the center, and I let him catch it. I could've just stolen it. I want to give him a chance. He quickly tries a fadeaway, but I jump and put my hand on the front of the ball before he can even get it off. I rip it out of his hands and quickly start the fastbreak. I pass the defenders, and many are hauling as much ass as possible to keep up, but they aren't faster enough. I jump in the key and slam down a hard one-handed slam. The crowd goes nuts, and the score is now 16 to 5.
I make my way back on defense as they inbound the ball, and I take the center again. They don't bother trying to pass to him this time, and the shooting guard decides to throw up another shot. This time it comes off the front, and I get the rebound. My team's point guard is already halfway down the court, and I toss a perfect pass to him from across the court, and he lays it up—the crowd cheers for him and my good pass. The score is now 18 to 5. I stay where I am, and the team brings the ball down the court, and I'm guarding the shooting guard this time.
The point guard passes to him, hoping they'll get another bucket before the game ends. The shooting guard tries some fancy handles on me, but I poke the ball out easy as he passes me. I pick the ball up and calmly dribble down the court, and I'm double-teamed. It doesn't matter to me. I start my jump shot from 33 feet out and sink my beautiful shot. Ending the game 21 to 5. The crowd goes crazy as I do, and Lemar's friends are grilling him hard. I came onto their court and crushed them the first game. I knew it would happen, but they didn't.
Now that the first game has ended, the other team leaves the court since we won. There are many people wanting to play and put on the jerseys for the next game. I just hold the ball and wait for them to sort it out. After a couple of minutes, I hear loud yelling, and I turn my attention to see two different groups of guys arguing who's got next. I sigh and decide to leave the court to talk to Ellie as they hash it out. This happens all the time on street courts. You just have to wait, and that's okay with me. It's only going to make other people angry.
I stand next to Ellie, and she wraps me in a big hug and wobbles me. I smile and place my forearms on her shoulders. She's so much smaller than me. This is the best way to hug her. "You were so awesome out there! You didn't miss a shot!" I chuckle and let her hug me and spoil me with words as much as she wants. Singularity's Space really is amazing, but I won't see its full capabilities until I go against real competition. This is a good place to check out its bare minimum in effects against another team's mentality.
Ellie stops hugging me, and the shouting stops as the beef has been settled. A group of guys who are better and taller than the last team I played jerseys up. It looks like the second game is about to start. I walk back onto the court, and I dribble the ball a couple of times before heading to the sideline to inbound the ball. Since we won the last game, it's our first possession. I inbound it to my point guard, bringing it into our half—time for game 2.