School passed by relatively normally, and so did Leonz's life.
He gone out to practice on his own often after school, prepping himself for high school basketball.
High school basketball was on a different level compared to middle school basketball, and it was for a simple reason. In high school, people were bigger and obviously smarter compared to when they were in middle school.
Leonz needed to make sure his three-point shot was clean. His physical condition needed to be at an all time high.
Leonz's training routine:
- 5km run
- 4 x 10m sprints
- Make 50 three-point shots
- core exercises (varied)
(Every other day)
Leonz wanted to get prepared. Before, he had been expecting to play on the team without much help, but after knowing that he was playing with the No. 1 ranked middle school player, he was excited.
First day of club activities.
'Ding… ding… DONG' (bell)
Leonz rushed out of the class, walking faster than usual. He carried his bag on his shoulders, his shoe bag in his hands.
"Yo, wait up." (Madelyn)
Madelyn was keeping up, speed-walking at Leonz's pace despite her shorter stature.
"Gotta be the first one there." (Leonz)
"Aren't you gonna have lunch?" (Madelyn)
"I've got an energy bar. That's all I really need for lunch." (Leonz)
"You're gonna die if you keep that up." (Madelyn)
"Probably won't." (Leonz)
They reached the first floor.
"First day of club activities, how nice. Hope I can make some friends there." (Madelyn)
"You still don't got any friends?" (Leonz)
"What d'ya think?" (Madelyn)
Leonz shrugged, and they walked into the gym. At the gym, there were already a few people.
At the closer court, there were some guys arranging shirts on the benches. At the far court, something similar was going on with the girls.
"In a bit." (Madelyn)
She tapped Leonz's shoulder and walked over to the girls at the other end of the gym.
Leonz walked up to the guys. They were likely his seniors, sophomores and seniors.
"Um… hi?" (Leonz)
The guy closest to him looked up at him. He glanced at the bench, then at Leonz. The guy Leonz was trying to speak to wore a sleeveless jersey.
#1 Quinn
"Right, you're the other freshman, right?" (Quinn)
"Yes…?" (Leonz)
Quinn stood at about 194, or about 6'4. He was taller than Leonz, and it was kind of condescending.
"Right, so we got your jersey here." (Quinn)
"Already?" (Leonz)
In middle school, it had taken them months to prepare the jerseys.
"You signed up through the Sports Offer, right? They arranged for your jersey early." (Quinn)
Quinn handed Leonz a jersey top and bottom. Leonz vaguely remembered filling in a form regarding his last name, number and size.
#22 Lovehart
The jersey was dark blue in colour, the number white. Leonz quite liked the colour scheme, especially the light blue slashes at the sides.
"Hurry and change, the other guys will be here soon." (Quinn)
"Um… just curious, how do I address you?" (Leonz)
Quinn laughed lightly and patted Leonz's shoulder.
"I'm Joseph, the team captain. You're Leonz, right? Glad that you decided to join our team." (Joseph)
By all accounts, Joseph seemed like a really nice guy.
Leonz quickly changed into his jersey, hoping he wasn't making a scene by asking for the captain's name personally.
When he walked out, his line of sight drifted to the girl's court, where Madelyn had also put on her uniform. It was a similar colour, a cool dark blue.
However, when he was out, he saw another figure. Tall, relatively slim and looking very bored.
He also wore his jersey.
#21 Monegotomy
The front of the jersey had a circle of zodiac symbols, the number of the player in the middle of it. It was a nice looking jersey, and Leonz was excited to be wearing a jersey again.
Leonz stood nearby Asher, the MVP.
Asher did not respond, only looking out at the basketball court, thinking about when he would be able to step onto the court once again.
As time passed, more people gathered for both the guys and girls.
"Yoooo! We actually got people through the Sports Offer?" (?)
The one who had started talking loudly had looked at Asher and Leonz when he walked in.
Leonz did not feel any obligation to reply, and nether did Asher.
The guy had blonde hair that was cut short. He wore the jersey as well.
#33 Devonte
Devonte walked up to the two of them.
"Hello, hello, nice to meet'cha both." (Devonte)
"Hello." (Leonz)
Leonz had to look up, quite high too.
Asher tried acting as if Devonte was invisible.
Eventually, the guy walked away, chatting to some other club members.
"Aren't ya a little unfriendly?" (Leonz)
Leonz was whispering to Asher.
"If I don't talk, they'll go away faster." (Asher)
Asher glanced at their seniors.
"You're talking to me though." (Leonz)
"Whatever. Out of everyone here, you're likely the most competent. Everyone here look like they lack skill." (Asher)
'Beeep' (whistle)
Everyone snapped their attention towards the middle of the court, where Joseph stood.
"Alright everyone! It's a brand new season this year, so let's make the most of it! Everyone line up, well introduce the rookies to this team." (Joseph)
Instead of lining up, they gathered around Leonz and Asher.
"Could you do an introduction? Since there're only two of you now, it'll be over quick. Um.. give your name, position and… goals, let's do goals." (Joseph)
Even Leonz could tell that Joseph was not an experienced leader.
"I'll go first then." (Leonz)
Leonz stepped forward, trying to look as formal as possible.
"Leonz Lovehart. I play the Shooting Guard position. I'm more of a three-point shooter and defender than anything else. My passion is to reach the top and win the Championship." (Leonz)
There was some silence before someone broke out laughing. A few others followed until everyone except Joseph and Asher was laughing.
"Like Hell we can. We would be lucky to even make it to the playoffs this year!" (Devonte)
Leonz stepped back, feeling slightly embarrassed.
He heard Asher speak to him with a low voice.
"Are you really aiming for the Championship?" (Asher)
"Yes." (Leonz)
"Even if I wasn't here, would you still claim that you want to win the Championship?" (Asher)
Asher still had the same bored look on his face, but Leonz was getting a different vibe from him.
"Without a doubt." (Leonz)
Asher nodded and stepped forward.
"Asher Monegotomy. Small forward. I won the middle school MVP award and scoring title. My aim is to win the high school overall MVP. Of course, I will also be aiming for the Championship and Finals MVP." (Asher)
As if Asher had demanded it, everyone became silent again.
They started whispering some stuff with each other. As expected, considering his achievements in middle school.
To break the silence, Joseph clapped once.
"Alright! So the couch ain't coming today, and we don't got no secretary yet, so today'll be a practice I thought up." (Joseph)
"Hold on." (Devonte)
Joseph let out an audible sigh as Devonte walked up to the two rookies. Asher did not look remotely interested.
"This guy's hot shit, isn't he?" (Devonte)
Asher, a tall guy, had to look up when looking into Devonte's eyes. Devonte was large, not just tall, but he was massive.
"What are you thinking of Crox?" (Joseph)
Crox Devonte.
"Well, the two of em said they were gonna bring home the Championship, so we gotta test out their skill, eh?" (Crox)
'Tsk' (Asher)
Leonz looked around. For the first time in awhile, he felt short. Perhaps being around a bunch of his classmates and Madelyn made him feel bigger than he actually was.
"C'mon, a little 2 on 2 won't hurt anyone, right? If the two of you can get us a Championship, surely you can beat two trash players from our team, right?" (Crox)
"Since when did we say that?" (Leonz)
"Everyone thinks that. Our school's cursed. Ain't been to the playoffs once." (Crox)
Leonz had to admit, he did think the team was trash based off their winning percentages. However, based on their players, Leonz had no idea of their individual skill level.
Asher did not say a word, only looking at Crox, bored as hell.
"Joseph! Team up with me." (Crox)
"Must I? It's the first day man." (Joseph)
"It'll be fine. It's a friendly little match, nothing too serious." (Crox)
Joseph gave them an apologetic smile as he told the rest of the boys.
"Aight, the rest of you can watch. The other half of the court can be used, so if you don't wanna watch our friendly match, feel free to shoot around." (Joseph)
Just like that, they were stretching and preparing for a match.
Leonz felt excited, but he had no idea what kind of a player Asher was, or Joseph, or Crox.
Team Rookies:
#22 SG Leonz Lovehart, 6'2
#21 SF Asher Monegotomy, 6'7
Team Not-Rookies:
#1 PG Joseph Quinn, 6'4
#33 C Crox Devonte, 6'11
Standing on the court, Leonz walked passed Asher.
"Try not to drag me down." (Asher)