Chapter 9 - Club Activity Begin
Dodgeball was a simple sport where you throw a ball to hit your opponent. Once they were hit by the ball, they were eliminated from the game.
In Malaysia, Dodgeball was known as Bola Berapi or Bola Beracun translated to Fireball and Poison Ball respectively. There was obviously no fire or poison involved in the game but the gist was that the ball was dangerous and you needed to dodge it.
Although the name was different, it was the same sport with slightly different variations based on the players' creativity.
In Malaysia, normally it was played during PE class but usually was played during elementary school. In secondary school, the students preferred to play football for boys and volleyball for girls during PE class.
The Dodgeball played during elementary school was the simplest. The whole class would separate into two groups. One group defense and the other offense.
The offensive players would form a massive circle surrounding the defensive players and then they threw the ball. If you were hit, you were out.
There was no time limit and the game could last for a while if the defensive player was good or the offensive player bad.
It was a fun PE game that got popular during this age of sports.
Dodgeball had the world championship tournament too similar to football but the professional scene was unpopular among the public. Some people knew it but did not care about it. The sports remained as the PE Class' sports.
Now that many sports became popular, their popularity was on par with football.
Tuesday, 3rd January 2051.
Class PS-B.
Akmal and Basir sat on their seats with gloomy faces. Their failure the day before was still in their mind. They wanted to enter the non-sports club but ended up with the sports club.
Moreover, the teacher handling the club was the popular Cikgu Malik, the discipline teacher.
After the registration, nothing else happened. They were allowed to go home. While some students decided to stay to watch the seniors' training, Akmal and Basir decided to leave.
Their club activities would be from Monday to Saturday. However, only those from the Sports stream and official team members would be training during these six days.
For normal students like Akmal and Basir, they had their schedule based on their year.
For Junior High, their training would be from Monday to Wednesday.
For Senior High, their training would be from Thursday to Friday.
If any of the normal students were chosen to join the official team, their training would be from Monday to Saturday.
The training would start from 5 pm to 6:45 pm.
Since it was Tuesday, there was no training for Akmal and Basir. So, they were quite free for the next two days.
"Akmal, I saw you guys following Cikgu Malik yesterday, what happened?" a classmate asked.
Akmal and Basir's faces darkened. Akmal decided to remain silent but Basir started talking without leaving many details.
After that, class started normally and the days passed peacefully.
Thursday, 5th January 2051.
"Akmal, are you going home first?" Basir asked.
"Yeah. There was nothing to do waiting at school. I am going home first," Akmal replied.
"Then, wait for me at the school gate first when you arrive. Let's go to the gym together!" Basir spoke and Akmal agreed.
It was their first day of activities in the Dodgeball Club and thus, they were quite nervous. Although Akmal showed the 'not-caring-much' face, he was nervous too.
He was never a part of any sports club and this was his first time, thus, he could not help but feel nervous.
Basir was nervous for a different reason. He worried that he could not keep up with the training.
The morning class passed peacefully and the school time ended. Akmal and Basir parted ways as they headed home. They would come back at 5 pm.
A few hours later, it was almost 5 pm. Akmal arrived at the school gate and Basir was not there yet. Basir lived in a neighborhood a bit further and thus, it was understandable he would be slightly late.
Still, Akmal patiently waited for him.
A few minutes later, Basir arrived unexpectedly with a motorcycle. Akmal was surprised.
Basir parked his motorcycle at the parking lot and headed towards Akmal.
"Do you have a license?" Akmal asked in shock.
"No way! I am not of age yet. My birthday is in April," Basir replied.
In Malaysia, you can get a motorcycle license when you are 16 years old. As for the car license, it will be 17 years old.
"... Be careful. If you are caught, the consequences will be bad," Akmal reminded him.
"Hahaha, no need to worry. I only ride this only in the neighborhood. I am not that brave to ride it outside," Basir replied nonchalantly.
"New motorcycle?" Akmal asked as he looked at the new motorcycle.
"Yup!"
"Lock it properly," Akmal reminded him. It was common for students to lose their bicycles and motorcycles at school. He did not want Basir to go through the same.
"Don't worry," Basir smiled.
"Let's go or we will be late," Akmal spoke and the duo walked to the gym designated for the Dodgeball Club.
The duo arrived at the gym but it looked like not many of them were here yet. They were relieved as they thought they were late.
"You are here," they heard a familiar voice. They looked at the guy and it was the same senior they met on their registration day.
His name was Ahmad Khairul bin Mustafa. A form 5 student and manager of the Dodgeball Club.
"Have you done your Asar prayer?" Khairul asked. Akmal nodded.
In Islam, there are five prayers a Muslim needs to do every day without missing any of them. Missing one of them is a big sin.
The five prayers are Subuh, Zuhur, Asar, Maghrib and Isyak. Each of them is done at a specific time.
"I… I did," Basir replied while stuttering. Khairul and Akmal looked at him speechlessly. It was so obvious he lied.
"Go do it first," Khairul spoke sternly. "No matter how important the club activities are, your daily prayers are more important."
Basir nodded and left for the school's surau. Surau was a small mosque.
"A reminder to you too. Cikgu Malik will get angry if you miss your prayer," Khairul said. Akmal nodded.
As such, Akmal waited at the side as more and more of the club members arrived. Fifteen minutes later, Basir came back too.
Since Akmal and Basir were newbies, they stood rooted at the side not knowing what to do. As for the seniors, once they arrived, they started stretching.
A minute later, Cikgu Malik arrived too and the club activities started.