"I don't have time to play basketball with you!"
"Why don't you want to? Why? I don't look disgusting on the pitch either." Liam's tone is arrogant and dismissive.
"But your haughty words are disgusting. And I won't change my mind." I smiled sarcastically, looking at Liam's limbs one by one.
"That means you're a coward."
"Afraid? Afraid you say? I'm not a coward! I have big balls against you, I just don't have the appetite for people who don't matter."
"Many reasons! Just say you're scared. Coward!"
I was led. Damn. What did this man say? He's a coward. Oh okay...
"Okay, I accept," I said with a hot chest.
"This is the only Alea I know. There is no despair, let alone feeling afraid."
"What do you mean? We've only just met, so you don't have to pretend to know about my life."
"Sorry, just guessing. Regarding the challenge, there are conditions."
I didn't answer. I swear I feel like throwing up in front of this man. Liam smiled briefly, then continued. "The conditions are easy, whoever wins, he can determine the punishment for the losers for a week without protest."
"That is easy. But if I win, you must be prepared to stay away from this city! Forever! Remember, forever! Don't ever appear in front of me again."
"Forever?" This time the man was stunned.
"Yes. Right. Forever." Liam is very confident and arrogant.
"Okay, I agree." Liam held out his hand in agreement.
"Agreed." My hand met his. Before I could let go, another hand grabbed my arm and pulled me away. Dragging me away from Liam and stopping on the sidelines.
"Take it off! What the hell, Calissa! My hand hurts."
"What the hell are you! You're crazy for making decisions without thinking first. You know, Liam is the basketball captain at this school. So you can't beat him," she said panicked.
"Captain basketball?" I rolled my eyes. "Damn it! Really shit. I think the guy sucks at basketball." I continued.
"So, if you want to accept the offer, think about it first. Liam is great at basketball. You better cancel the agreement now, before it's too late. If you lose, the consequences can be fatal." Calissa patted her forehead.
"It's too late, I can't go back on my words. Whatever happens, I'll fight him with all my might." I took a deep breath. "I know the consequences. Had to comply with all his requests for a week. But, I believe I can win."
I hope and pray in my heart that my choice is not wrong. Hopefully, I can beat him and Liam stay away from me forever.
That's what I've been hoping for all along—no distractions, a naughty guy who's acting nice. I turned around and found Liam again who had been waiting for me where he was standing. Of course, he couldn't hear my conversation with Calissa at all.
"You still have time to refuse if you are afraid of losing. Please back off now! Before the game happens." He brought his face closer to mine.
"My decision is unanimous to accept your challenge. I'm not a coward!"
"Okay, Alea, our match starts next week after college. You have to prepare yourself to accept the fact that I'm the winner." Liam's scream filled the basketball court with his voice.
The pounding of the basketball can't be counted the number of times it hits the floor. The best moves have been made. Sweat dripped down my forehead, almost completely soaking my hair. Today's basketball practice is almost three hours at Calissa's house.
My throat is incredibly dry because I haven't taken a single sip of water.
The passionate enthusiasm made me lose track of time so I didn't have time to look at my watch. After school, I accidentally called Mr. Abu not to pick me up at school, because he wanted to practice basketball at Calissa's house. I'll call him later when I'm done practicing.
No tired words for today until next week. I should not be lazy because victory awaits in front of my eyes. It's a great opportunity to keep Liam away from me forever. There will be no more annoying me all the time, there will be no more men who make me always angry.
My breath was choking to hold all my limbs tired. My legs and arms began to limp from exhaustion. During practice here, the basketball never misses its place. I gripped the basketball tightly, and I was ready to jump high into the hoop. My breath began to weaken, I tried to throw a long-distance and finally, before doing that beautiful action I managed to stagger to the floor.
Calissa who saw me ran towards me. The look on his face was panicked. She helped me up, then gave a long grunt. "I warned you from the start, stop playing basketball! You kept insisting and pushing yourself, until it ended up like this, right?" She stared intently at me.
"I'm fine. This isn't the first time I've been sick playing basketball." I smiled bitterly.
"You stubborn girl! Can or not, we hear my advice just once. If you die stiff here because of playing basketball too much, believe me, I'll hang Liam in the town square," she grumbled at length. I just laughed at his chatter.
I looked at my watch and didn't realize it was already evening. I quickly searched the bag and rummaged through its contents to find an iPhone 11 smartphone and then contacted Pak Abu to pick me up now. But unfortunately, my driver didn't pick up my phone. I ended up standing on the sidewalk trying to get in touch with my driver.