Bubbles sprouted little by little as he sunk his nose beneath the water level in deep thought, while looking around the bathroom taking a notice of the slightest detail within his immediate surrounding. He groaned loudly again, but the sound was insulated because of the water. Bubbles sprouted up again like a burning volcano.
"How does someone have a good life like this served to him on a platter of gold and squanders it like ist nothing..." He said out loud, resurfacing the entirety of his head above the water.
*Chinnggg*
The holographic screen chimed up immediately.
[MORE ABOUT HOST HISTORY?]
"Nope, I know all I need to know" he chuffed. "Enough about this Jaxon Lin of a delinquent, what about my old body?" He finished emphatically.
The system hesitated in giving a response which got him riled up a bit.
"Ahem! I asked a question!" He said kicking up a considerable amount of water from the tub splashing it on the bathroom floor.
[ INDISPOSED ]
"What?! Indisposed? What do you mean indisposed?".
No reply.
"I'ma talking to you this fucking system holographic screen thingy!"
No reply.
At this point, he could feel his temper begin to rise so he took a deep breath and sunk back into the water tub.
"Huhhhhh. How do I get back to my old body then?" He asked reluctantly.
[ INDISPOSED ]
He lashed out like a loose tiger, kicking and slashing out in rage while yelling at the top of his voice. In a few seconds he came back down from his tantrums and sank back into the tub.
"I see", He began as he ran his fingers through his wet hair as he stared at the bathroom ceiling letting his him mind flush out as he began to feel exhaustion creeping in and within a few minutes of utter silence, he fell asleep right in the bath tub.
***
His body jolted heavily as the sudden sound of someone banging on the front door woke him up from his sleep. He took a minute to recollect his thoughts and memories before jumping out of the tub and wrapping a bath robe around his waist in a hurry to check who was banging crazily on the front door. On reaching the living room, he glanced at the digital wall clock above the TV and he was shocked to see the time.
'Who is disturbing at this hour' he said to himself as he twisted the door knob opening the door.
On opening the door, he was shocked to see a bunch of people all dressed in party clothes and shinny dresses at his door front chattering and clattering to themselves. The hall way was packed with at least twenty to thirty people.
"What..." He managed to say as he was in shock.
"Heyyyyy! Bro!..." A young man dressed in party clothes as well walked up to him all enthusiasticaly and cheerful. "What's up my hooper friend... Why are you not dressed, you forgot you were having guests tonight?"
"Guest... For what" he stuttered. "Who are you guys..." He said, to which the young man burst out into laughter and so were a few other individuals that heard the conversation.
"Hey guys! Looks like my friend Jaxon had a little too much to drink after last night game!" The young man shouted at the top of his voice and the everyone in the hall way bursted out laughing.
"Hey, hey, shhhh! Keep it down. Do you know what the time is? It's 3:00 am. How are you people not in bed sleeping?" Jaxon shushed him.
"Since when did you give a fuck about not making noise... Look bro, tonight is gonna be lit as hell. I hooked us up with some of the areas baddies and chicks, we gonna smash till dawn!" The young said full with excitement. "Come on bro, you're our captain... Let's partyyyy!" He finished out loud, and everyone else yelled out in agreement.
"Captain... " His eyes widened with realization. "All of you have to leave right now!" He yelled out with authority immediately silencing the chattering noise.
"Aye aye aye bro... Take it easy we just wanna party as usual..." A Random voice called out from the hallway.
"I said OUT!" He yelled. "Get the fuck out and don't come back!"
"Bro? What's gotten over you..." The young overly enthusiastic man asked, this time with concern all over his face.
Jaxon starred at him straight in the eyes and said word for word. "Leave now or I'll call the cops".
"Okay. Sheesh we'll go take our party somewhere else... Party pooper... Let's go people". He said rounding up the crowd in the hallway.
Jaxon immediately shut the door. "Captain... My captain said I have training tomorrow... What kind of basketball professional parties on the night before a training day?" She said to himself and dashed into the apartment.
***
"Early morning Mr Lin" the man at the counter in the lobby said as Jaxon handed his room keys over him. "Where to this morning?"
"Erm... Training" he replied wryly.
"Training?" He replied with a surprised tone.
"What?"
"Hmm?"
"What do you mean by training? You do I'm a basketballer and I need to train..." Jaxon said.
"Well sir I know you're in fact an athlete. You're just not the athlete to attend training sessions" he said with a steep expression.
"Really?... I see" Jaxon turned on his heels and zoomed out of the building.
***
The court was alive with the rhythmic sounds of sneakers squeaking on polished wood and the occasional thud of the ball hitting the rim or backboard. It was a typical training day for the Neon Dragons, their usual roster grinding through drills under Coach Morgan's watchful eye. The air smelled of sweat and determination, and the team had long since settled into the routine of practice—until the gym doors creaked open.
Heads turned as Jaxon Lin stepped inside, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. Jaxon's reputation preceded him; he was known for his erratic attendance at practices, showing up only when it suited him- he wasn't called "Lazy Lin" for no reason.
"Well, well, look who decided to grace us with his presence," muttered Ken, the team's captain, loud enough for those nearby to hear. A few chuckles rippled through the group, but the laughter held a nervous edge.
Jaxon only replied with a faint smile and proceeded to drop his bag on the side court bench.
"Lin, you finally remembered we have practice today?" Coach Morgan's voice was gruff, but his eyes betrayed a flicker of interest. Everyone knew Jaxon was a wild card.
"Thought I'd check in boss," Jaxon replied casually, pulling off his hoodie to reveal his jersey underneath. His tone was light, but there was a hint of challenge in his eyes as he looked directly at the coach.
The room was silent for a moment, the other players exchanging glances.
"You better hope you're not rusty... Last nights game was just the first game of the season," Ken said, dribbling a ball in place. His voice carried a mix of sarcasm and challenge, clearly daring Jaxon to prove himself.
Jaxon grinned. "Rusty? I hope not"
He strode to the center of the court, gesturing for the ball. Ken tossed it to him with a bit more force than necessary, but Jaxon caught it effortlessly.
"Make a three point, shooting guard..." Ken encouraged.
He strode to the side of the court beyond the three point line and immediately entered into a shooting form, releasing the ball at his highest peak, the ball swerved through the air like a canon ball as his teammates watched on. The ball swished up and over passed the rim without making any contact then falling to the other side of the court.
The gym was quiet again. Only the sound of the basketball Jaxon had shot bouncing till it came to rest.
"Damn what an air ball" someone said from the group and everyone bursted out in laughter.
"You thought you were going to ignore training sessions for the whole of the off season and hit a three like it a childs play. I don't know how you did it last game but that ain't happening again!".
Shame plastered all over his face as he made his way to pick up the ball he missed his shot with.
Coach Morgan clapped his hands, breaking the heat. "Alright, Lin. Since you're here, let's see if you can keep up. Everyone, back to work!".