It was 9:30 a.m, Parth was still burning from fever , feeling drained and exhausted yet he managed to get up and get ready to go to the sports Complex.
" How are you feeling now? " Lily said as she entered his room and held his hand to see if there was still temperature.
" Omg! You have very high temperature. No, need to go for playing. You better take rest. The game is no more important than your health.
" Sorry, i can't step back now, try to understand me. " Parth said.
" But " Lily uttered to persuade him.
" Please, don't force me.You wish me good luck. " Parth said.
" Okay, all the best. " Lily said and ruffled his hair with care.
He moved out of the house, took taxi and reached there.
"Parth." Darsh ran to him when he saw him coming, " Our team is there. Let's go to them. "
As he held his hand, he felt burning. He touched his forehead, " Oh! You have fever. " Darsh said, " What were you doing after going from the party? "
" Nothing, let's just focus on our game. " Parth said, " don't worry about me. I'm alright. "
Darsh didn't insist him anymore because he knew he wouldn't spill anything. He patted his back and they reached to their team. His captain was instructing his teammates.
" Most probably we will have match with students of Talent Hunt school. After winning from them, we will finally play with the winner of team of group A. " captain said.," Let's see who will be winner in group A."
Parth looked around the whole sports Complex but he couldn't see Ryan.
" Oh! He didn't reach yet. " he thought. He then looked at audiences seating places. He saw Ryan's girlfriend, Rose and other friends were sitting there.
" It means, he has reached here.He will be in the changing room probably. " he thought.
The match was going to start between two teams of group A. Soon, Ryan was shown coming towards the court with his team. Both teams were on the court. Parth and his friends sat on the bench to see the match. The coach blew his whistle and the game started.
The team of Ryan was playing nice from the starting. His girlfriend and friends were continuously cheering him and his team.They really played well and ultimately won.
The condition of Parth was getting worse with time due to fever. The second match was of group B. Parth and his team went to the changing room. Ryan was also there outside the changing room and his girlfriend was wiping sweat of his face with towel. He was holding a water bottle.
When Parth was passing by them. Rose said, " Before challenging anyone, one should know one's limit. " and smiled at him scornfully.
Parth didn't say anything and walked away.They reached on the court. Before starting of the game, Parth looked on the audiences' side, Ryan and his girlfriend were not there. The coach blew his whistle and the game started. Parth was not able to focus on the game as he was exhausted from the whole night practice but the team of Talent Hunt school seemed lack of practice. So, anyhow they managed to win from them.
"Parth, are you alright? You didn't score even a single basket. " his captain said, " you know very well which team we are going to face now."
" Sorry, i'll give my best this time."Parth said. He was really worried about his performance. The second match was after two hours.
" Parth, will you eat something? " his captain said. Parth took a drink and said, " no." He went to sit on a bench. He took a sip and laid his back on the bench and closed his eyes.
" I heard, someone didn't shot even a single basket." Rose said to Ryan.
Parth opened his eyes and turned his left side.Ryan and his friends including Rose were sitting on another bench next to him.
" Today it's going to be heart broken day for someone, losing game and losing his friend, no it's better to say losing future girlfriend. " One his friend said and they bursted out laughing.
" Parth, what are you doing here alone? " Eva said. He saw Eva and Isla were approaching him. As she gave water-bottle to him, she touched his hand . She said, " Omg! You have fever. Just look at your eyes, as if you are going to faint."
He heard a loud laughing from the next bench.
" Ryan, it's not good to scare your junior like this. Please show some sympathy to him. See how much he has scared and got fever." Rose said to him.
Isla got angry at her. She grabbed Parth's hand and moved away from there with Eva.
" Parth, i'm really sorry on behalf of my brother." Isla said.
" Just ignore them and cheer for us." Parth said and smiled.
" You don't have any idea, what he had done yesterday? " Eva said to Isla, " he had practiced here whole night in the rain till morning."
" What the hell? " Isla got shocked.
" Hey! What are you saying? It's not right. " Parth tried to cover up.
" You can't hide anything from me. I have already asked your sister. " Eva said., " I am coming from your home only. "
" But why?" Isla said, " Why did you do that? "
" Because of your brother. " Eva replied angrily.
" Eva, please stop it. " Parth said, " Let's go to the court, our match is going to start now.You guys wish me good luck. "
"First tell me, what did my brother do now? " Isla said.
" That reason i'll tell you. " Eva said, " Let him go now. "
" All the best Parth. " Eva and Isla said and showed him thumbs up.
Parth walked up to Darsh. They were back to the court and game started. Eva and Isla were sitting on one of the bench, ready to cheer Parth and his team.Parth had decided give his best. Ryan and his team gave a nice start. He continuously scored 5 basket. Whenever he scored basket, his girlfriend showed thumbs down to Parth. Parth was getting so annoyed at her. He pushed himself harder and started scoring score one after another. His captain patted his back. Ryan and his team were bewildered at his aggressive game. He alone scored 15 out of 25.The game ended and the final score was 23-25.His team had won the match. His body was drenched in sweat, felt struggled to catch his breath. Isla and Eva ran to hug him in the court. Suddenly, he fainted in the middle of the court.