Chapter 6 - First Day
Haikal went to the guard room right beside the front gate. Everyone needed to register first before they could go in. Only those with the right purposes could enter the sports district.
There was a reason they did this. It was because of the fans. The professional athletes were as popular as a celebrity, more so in the age of sports.
Many incidents were happening around where a fan got in and caused trouble. It was still fine for those who only wanted an autograph or picture but there were a few dangerous fans that scared the athletes a lot.
Haikal arrived at the gate and lined up to register. It was a long line as parents came with their children too. The parents were not allowed to drive inside and thus, could only park outside and get in using the sports district's internal bus.
After a few minutes on the line, it was finally Haikal's turn. He showed the email he got, wrote his name, ID card number, and phone number, and finished his registration. Haikal was given a simple laminated pass to prove he was allowed inside.
"You will be given a smart pass around this week. You can use those to enter this place from any other gates using your smartwatch or your smartphone," the staff explained.
Haikal nodded and went to the bus stop to use the internal bus. A few minutes later, a bus arrived and he got in with the other students and parents.
While he was on the bus, he passed through the Football stadium, Badminton stadium, and Sepak Takraw stadium.
It was normal for a big Professional Sports Club like the Cili Padi Club to have a few stadiums like this. They used these stadiums during tournaments or competitions and also training.
Other than the stadiums, there were also other buildings where it houses other sports in the club. The buildings were not stadiums but it was a sports centre for specific sports in the club.
The Shooter Ball was fairly new to the club and thus, the department was further back in the sports district.
While Haikal was on the bus, his smartwatch vibrated. He checked it and there was a message from Badrul.
[Where are you?] Badrul asked.
[Almost there] Haikal replied.
[There are many people here!] Badrul exclaimed.
[Isn't that normal? It is the first day and the parents are here too] Haikal replied.
[You know, those from other schools look strong!] Badrul added.
[So…] Haikal did not know what to reply.
[That means, it will be hard for us to make this a career. There are too many competitors in this club] Badrul continued.
[We are not aiming to go pro. What is the point of caring too much about them?] Haikal frowned.
[You are right. I forgot about that] Badrul replied.
The message ended there as the bus finally arrived at the Shooter Ball Department. There was a big building in the middle of the area where the sports centre was located.
Other than that, there were a few more buildings around where the administration office, the gyms, and others were located. There was a normal football field outside the sports centre and a few outdoor courts around too.
Haikal hopped off the bus and headed to the biggest building where the sports centre was located. There were a few more people who got off the bus with him but he did not recognize any of them.
As Haikal was getting closer to the door, he could hear noises inside the sports centre. Other than that, he could also see some parents sitting at the chairs and gazebos outside the sports centre.
Haikal passed through the door and he was met with massive indoor courts strewn inside the sports centre.
"Gasp!" Haikal gasped in surprise as he looked around the sports centre.
There were many bigger-than-the-basketball size courts inside the sports centre. The courts were also separated and surrounded by tall steel nets around them.
"Whoa~" Haikal was in awe of this place. He walked around the court to find his school. There was a computer screen in front of each court and on it were shown the name of the school that would be using the court.
Haikal found the court that his school would be training in and Badrul was there too. Other than that, other students from his school were also there.
Haikal recognized a few of the students there but he was not acquainted with them. He only recognized their faces and knew the name of the few of them. Even so, he found it weird as he knew that some of them were doing other sports but they were here now.
"Haikal!" Badrul spoke from behind him. He wanted to surprise him but Haikal was indifferent to it.
"There are many schools in Seremban but I don't think every school is here?" Haikal found it weird.
"Some of them will be in the evening session and some from a bit further from this location will be training at their school. There is no way this place will be able to accommodate everyone at the same time. Unless it is a competition, only a few schools will be around," Badrul explained.
"...You are quite well informed in this," Haikal was surprised.
"I heard the parents talking about it. Not only Shooter Ball but other sports are like that too," Badrul added. Haikal nodded as he understood.
Then, the duo did not know what to do. They stood at the corner of the court like a sore thumb. When they looked at the other students in the same court, some of them were in the same situation as them.
Some of them were moving around doing some sort of exercise which the duo was aware that they were stretching.
"Should we do some stretching too?" Badrul asked as he was a bit uncomfortable in this situation. It was too obvious that they were noobs in this place. Although there were a few like them too, it was still a bit embarrassing.
"Erm… Should we?" Haikal was a bit embarrassed by this too.
The duo looked at one of the students and decided to copy him. That student looked good doing the stretching but when they were doing it, it looked really bad. It was obvious that they never did that.
Their posture was wrong. Their rhythm was wrong too. Some of the students stared at the duo weirdly causing Haikal and Badrul faces to turn red from embarrassment. The duo decided to stop and waited quietly.
'I don't think we do it that bad…' thought Haikal as he started feeling self-conscious. After the embarrassing act, the duo stayed quiet.
A few minutes later, a man in his thirties entered the court they were in. He wore a black jacket with a white t-shirt inside and black tracksuit pants. He also had a whistle hanging on his neck.
"Gather up!" The man shouted.