Chapter 1

‘No way.’

Jason turned around slowly, his heart in his stomach.As he looked around the snowy canopy, his face shifted from a look of horror to confusion: the creature had the face of a pig, but that was the only thing that seemed somewhat familiar.

It had a humanoid body, but its muscles were all wrong; its shoulders were longer than they should be, stretching down to its big, grimy hands. Its arms hung loose and boneless, veins and muscles writhing underneath slimy skin, as the creature wheezed a bitter growl, mouth breathing through its tusks.

Jason maintained eye contact with the creature as it approached him, dragging its deformed arms in the snow. Despite being the logical decision, Jason’s mind fought against its natural instinct to run, instead fighting the buckling of his knees in an attempt to steel himself.

Jason slowly started moving back from the creature, taking care to not startle it. “Hey, man…?”

For a moment, the swine-man halted its march, stopping to tilt its head, never losing eye contact. Jason noticed how the creature hadn’t blinked its leathery, hollow eyes.

Not once.

Then, it screeched, slamming its fists into the ground in a grotesque display of flexibility, before charging at him.

…

“AND THAT'S THE FINAL SHOT! JASON RAJA BRINGS HIS TEAM TO A HISTORIC VICTORY AGAINST THE NORTH TECH PEELERS!!! THIS IS A MAJOR UPSET, FOLKS! THE FAN-FAVORITE TEAM BEATEN BY A WHOPPING 50 POINTS, ALL SCORED BY JUST ONE PLAYER!”

…

‘I hate this damn game.

I still remember when Dad would walk me and Yuzo around the neighborhood to play with him. He’d always want to play the same stupid game: HORSE.

The last time I played, I ended up missing every shot. Dad tried to teach me to play properly. He told me my arms didn't arc out correctly, I was throwing my body forward, and so on and so forth.

He forced me to shoot the ball again and again, then would chew me out for how bad I was.

It felt like it went on for hours. I couldn't even get to an H.

Even now, every time I sink a basket, I can feel the air from that day in my lungs when the ball leaves my hands. I feel the feeling of rain and spit from his lecturing hitting my face. I feel the look of disappointment in his eyes burning through the back of my skull if I hold the ball for just a second too long.

The only thing worse was when he turned, refusing to look at me for the rest of the day.

I wonder if I look like him when I wear my jersey. I hope that bastard feels the same way I did when he looks at my back, sitting on the couch with a bottle in his hand.

I hope when he looks at my back, he sees that I am what he never could be;

The best.’

…

Jason's ears nearly burst as his feet slammed into the court, the sound of screams and cheers erupting from the stadium around him. The energy was electric as the buzzer rang out, and within moments, he was swarmed by his teammates, screaming with adoration.

The four sweaty, exhausted young men pulled him swiftly, lifting him high and tossing him into the air, their sweat mixed with their tears of joy. Camera crews fanned around the boys, focusing their lenses on Jason, who gave them a poster smile as he rose and fell from his team’s arms.

But despite the commotion of the arena and the yelling of teammates, classmates, families, and fans alike who had come to see the college finals, it all faded away quickly.

After a few moments, all Jason could hear was the ringing in his ears as his eyes darted around the arena.

‘Where is he?’

He searched the crowd as the team carried him off, the glow of victory fading into the hollow sound of the blood in his ears. His obsessive, near-frantic scanning eventually gave way to a sigh of resignation.

“He's not here, is he...?” Jason lamented, unable to hide the smile falling from his face.

‘At least I’ll be getting paid; that makes it all worth it.’ He assured himself. Even then, though, a bitter taste was left in his mind.

Even with the money, I can't wait for all this crap to be over. It's going to be great to go home and treat myself to a nice bowl of ramen. Maybe I'll even throw on a movie if I feel like really going in on some self-soothing.’

The spotlights of the stadium gave way to a dark hallway, then the dim green-grey lights of the locker room. Despite all the work Jason put into training and playing, the victory felt hollow. Searching to justify the ache in his chest, Jason started to fall away from the game, into his own head.

‘Maybe I'd feel better if Yuzo hadn't skipped out… He's probably at home playing video games, the bastard. I know it's been a tough time, but it’d be nice to have him at least try to come out and support me…’

Suddenly, he heard a loud voice in his ear, causing him to jolt upwards.

“Jae, snap out of it!”

After being abruptly woken out of his trance, he found himself in the locker room, the smell causing his face to scrunch. The cheers of his teammates had turned to concerned looks as they huddled around him; faces he had played with for years and even a few he didn't recognize all looked at him with concern.

“You alright, dude?” one asked, handing him a water bottle.

“I'm a fine man, just… tired. Carrying your team on your back takes it out of you, you know." Jason quickly pulled himself from his stupor, smirking mockingly.

“Sure, man, I'll let you have that one because we won.” The boy said, slapping Jason’s back as he walked towards the lockers, “I'm just happy the game's over, honestly. Because damn, that was hard to watch. The rest of us are going to hear nothing but your name non-stop for weeks.” He turned to their teammates, pointing at Jason teasingly.

“Mr. MVP is probably still soaking it in. Let's give him some space."

Eventually the sound of his teammates' indistinct banter faded until he was left alone with nothing but the dripping of the showers. Once the silence had settled in, he lingered for just a moment, enjoying the quiet before taking a deep breath and stepping out hastily.

As he walked out into the hallway, he was bombarded by the flashing of cameras and the press in his face.
“Mr. Raja, how do you feel about the fact you’ve now set the record for the most points scored in a single quarter by a single player in the entirety of league history!? Your parents must be proud!”

Jason had to muster all of his remaining energy to not scowl on camera. “... Ah, you know, what can I say? The other team played great, but in the end, I’m just too good.” He gave an awkward but shining smile to the cameras before trying his best to step to the side.

“I’ll take questions and talk more about the game tomorrow. Come see me on stage at the press conference at…” Muscling his way through the crowd of reporters, he then began to run to his left, desperately trying to get towards the doors.
‘They’re just doing their jobs, they’re just doing their jobs, they’re just doing their—’ he repeated to himself in a mantra, trying to stop himself from running back and giving them a piece of his mind.

…

After running for what felt like forever, Jason eventually stepped out into an open atrium. He sighed in relief, looking up at the night sky, allowing his muscles to relax as he caught his breath.

Finally, now, today’s over. My head is killing me.

Suddenly, a familiar voice called out from behind him. “Jason!”

'Oh great,' Jason thought, 'Emma.'

Please say she didn't bring friends this time.

Sprinting towards him from the other side of the now emptied atrium, Emma ran into Jason’s arms before being flanked behind by two other girls, the two giggling and red-faced as they hid themselves in Emma’s long blonde hair.

“Jason, you played amazing; I'm sooo happy for you!” She bounced with excitement as she looked up at him, pulling away as he caught his breath from the tackle. “Hey, Emma…”

A forced smile broke onto the corners of his mouth as he tried to hide his exhaustion. “Thanks for coming; I'm glad you enjoyed the show. What's up?”

“I’m so happy we ran into you! Um, I’m really sorry to ask ‘cause you must be tired, but can you sign my friend’s jerseys? Everyone at school has been following your season; they're big fans. We even brought you a Sharpie if you need it,” she explained nervously as she fumbled around in her bag.

‘She’s still the same kid I remember, always trying to be the crowd pleaser. I can't lie, though; it's nice to see that even if she's gotten older, she's still just as disorganized as she was as a kid. Just like Yuzo.’

With a patient sigh, Jason grabbed the marker. “Who am I to say no to fans, right?”

Emma’s face went bright like a lightbulb as her friends squealed beside her, their smiles causing his face to soften. “Thanks so much! You’re the best, Jason.”

After Jason signed the jerseys, Emma’s friends lingered for a moment, staring at him bug-eyed, before awkwardly walking off, “Thanks, Girlie! See you at school tomorrow! It was, um, nice to meet you, Jason!”

“Y-yeah! See you!” Waving back, Emma smiled at the girls until they were out of sight, at which point her shoulders began to droop. Wordlessly, Jason put his hand on her shoulder.

“Seriously, Em. Thanks for coming,” he smiled softly. Despite his exhaustion, it bothered him to see her saddened face.

“Do you want me to walk you home?”