New Faces (Part 1)

Not long after, the coach starts picking the newbies that would join us, just like how I got here a year ago. Looking at their tense expressions, it reminds me of my own experience as I was so anxious before I got picked.

“First, Ryo Eiji, you will play as a Point Guard.”

The coach’s first pick bewildered everyone. Tony was left flabbergasted while Carlos let out a small laughter before quickly close his mouth with his hands, as we are looking at the figure of the newcomer.

A slender, black-haired Japanese Guy wearing square framed eyeglasses, striking enough resemblance to a Japanese black-haired protagonist troupe, started walking toward the couch, looking all proud as his name getting introduced.

Suddenly, Tony started to walk toward us. A sense of anger is reflected in his eyes.

“What the hell!" Tony opens his arm wide in a protest. "Why would the coach pick that nerdy four-eyes!? He doesn’t even have a speck of a muscle in him… He should have run for the student election instead…”

As Tony was in anger, the black-haired guy suddenly corrected his glasses up and proudly says “Yosōdōri, watashi ga shujinkōda”.

The coach was confused, unable to understand what Ryo said. So, he asked what he means by that.

“Sorry, Ryo, I couldn’t understand what you mean. Can you speak English?”

“Ah… Sorry, I’ll speak that again in English.” He corrected his eyeglasses again which shone brightly for a moment. “As expected, I’m the main character…”

That 9th grader syndrome statement of his stirred a storm in the Aula. Jake Carter, our Shooting Guard role-player, just passed out on the spot while standing. While Gordon Weaver, a Small Forward role-player in same year as him, are shaking him front and back trying to get his soul back.

Looking at how Jake sways like a hay getting shaken back and forth, Carlos was unable to contain himself anymore and straight bursting his laughter. And soon most of the players followed.

I get them though. While we shouldn’t be laughing at our rookies, his delusion is on another level.

I mean seriously, wake up buddy. You aren’t a manga protagonist!

You don’t suddenly get a skill board panel out of nowhere and then you can buff your stat, add some skills or whatnot. You don’t suddenly get plot armor or power of friendship to make you win. You don’t suddenly get superpowers and then the girls will flock on you.

You are just an athlete… Ahem… Aspiring basketball player that is trying to make a name in the professional scene.

We’re all but hatchlings that yet to mature. We’re just nobodies. We are here, trying our best to get ourselves into professional basketball team for our living.

Some of us went extra miles, dedicating all of our lives training and try to improve ourselves. And sometimes, that’s not even enough as we unable to grasp our chance to play in the professional scene.

Those people will be forgotten, with only lingering regrets that they were unable to carve their name in the history.

We aren’t a story’s main character that loaded with powerups or cheat skills. We are those that have to sacrifice everything, bleed and dry just to have a chance to shine.

We are far from being heroes, whose job is to save people.

We are villains, who have to tramples on other players’ hope and dreams.

We are soldiers, who have to crush our opposition.

We are proud basketball players, whose job is to put the ball into the opposing basket.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a grudge against Japanese. In fact, I don’t give a shit if they are African, Indian, Chinese, British. Heck, even if they are aliens. I only judge people based on their personality and their ability in the court. We all here to play basketball, not to be racist and squabble about our origins.

But even so, who could hold themselves back with a pure comedy in this caliber. I mean, what kind of drugs someone has to take to be able to shamelessly announcing themselves as the main character out of a storybook?

Whew… Calm down, Keith, calm down…

I took several deep breaths, trying to find my inner peace, that is, until a big, explosive voice just vibrated through the Aula.

“Silence!” The coach shouted loudly.

The aula has become silent in a blink of eye. Not only that, as everyone looked at the coach, everything stops. How can I describe it… It’s precisely as if the time is frozen in place. Nobody dares to move or make a sound, and only tension remains.

Just as everyone is frozen solid, the coach put his right fist on his mouth.

“Ahem.”

That slight gesture is all it takes to make all of us understand, that we have to organize ourselves and to pay attention to him.

After sorting ourselves back to stand in grids, the coach continues.

“Okay, let’s continue. Next, we have Jonathan Garrison to be our new Shooting Guard.”

A muscular freshman around 6’4”, with ginger tinted undercut hair is walking confidently in front of us.

Oooh! Despite his size, he got muscles! Mannn… How come he could be so buffed like that?

I mean, a muscular forward does make sense to penetrate the opponent defense. A muscular center allows them to box out properly, and to muscle their way to rebound and block shots. But… a muscular guard…?

A shooting guard, like the name itself implied, is a position of a small player to shoot, not to muscle their way to the net.

Of course, there’s Anthony Edwards being in the same category, but can he do what Edwards did in the NBA? Or being shut down by taller defenders? Only time will tell.

As it wasn’t enough to stir us, we are going in for more surprise as the coach called another player.

“And then we got Jacob Harland, joining us as a Small Forward.”

As soon I turn my eyes to look at him, I started to seeing and hearing things. A handsome, 6’6” blonde man in faux hawk haircut is smiling, waving his hands. Some people are cheering and shouting Harland’s name as he walks through a red carpet, away from his black limousine…

…

…

Wait a minute!

I shook my head, trying to snap out of my hallucination.

We aren’t in Hollywood… We are in the training aula! We aren’t celebrities… we are trying to be a professional basketball player! Get a grip on yourself! Wake up!

And just like that, I dragged my consciousness back into reality. While my soul enters my body, the coach called the next person. “Mamagou Hogan”, a 6’8” tall black man with a black Afro haircut to play as Power Forward…

No… Wait… Before you accuse me of being white supremacist, I will say that I actually respect black-skinned players.

In fact, most players that enters the Hall of Fame are black skinned. Julius Erving aka Dr. J., Michael Jordan aka Goat MJ, Kevin Durant aka KD, Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquile O’ Neal, Kobe, and much more.

In the court, the ball doesn’t care that it being held by any color of the skin. Only your skill matters. And I respect them. Not to say I don’t respect players that is brighter in color. Stephen Curry, Blake Griffin, etc. They are also good players and worth to be looked up to.

Anyway, everything was normal… Until he starts talking…

“Hallo almal, my naam is Mamadou Hogan. Bly om met julle saam te werk, en ek sal in julle sorg wees.”

Uh… what? What did he say? All I can decipher from that shit is his own name, Mamadou Hogan… Ugh… My head’s spinning.

But before it makes my brain explode from overheating, Jamal Stephenson waved his hand to him and responded.

“Lekker om jou ook te ontmoet. O terloops, jy stel jouself in Afrikaans voor, jy moet jouself in Engels voorstel, my boetie.”

The afro guy rubbed the back of his neck while looking embarrassed.

“Sorre. My englesh is not very gud.” He responded in such an accent.

Oh, dear God…

I felt I lost strength in my leg, and I barely able to keep myself from falling down like those in comedic ‘anime’ shows. In fact, I was lucky I was able to keep myself from blacking out from shock. It wouldn’t be funny if I fainted due to this…

Eh? You are asking why I suddenly watch anime despite not even being interested in it last year?

Well… here’s the thing… Jessica noticed that I’m pretty out of the loop when talking to people with topics like this. So, whenever she invited herself in into my house and then dragged me to watch TV together: News, Animes, Shows, you name it.

Oh, she also said it will be a good way to enjoy our time together without going on shopping spree and save budget, since all she needs to do is to use her family streaming subscription to watch these shows together with me, just after we finished our studies and have some time to unwind.

Then, she said something I wouldn’t even think a normal person would say: She even told me that it’s wiser to watch shows together, laugh together in home instead of wasting money by taking her on shopping spree and expensive ‘date’ outside.

Which, I think you had the same question as I had before:

Wouldn’t girls like it to be taken to dating spots, enjoy cafes and shop in the mall?

Her answer? Several reasons to do this:

One, to be responsible with money. She saw people struggles in her economical studies, and she asked this question:

‘How much money we could save if we manage money wisely and refrain from our impulses?’

Wow, I can’t argue with that. With that mindset, she would be a perfect wife that even know how to spend family’s money.

Two, time management. She said:

‘Since we study together every night anyway, why not use our time efficiently to just turn on TV, and laugh together for a while before I go home with a taxi? I mean, a date supposed to be fun, and we can have fun without wasting our time going back and forth. Traveling takes time, remember?’

Well, there is a sound logic in that. Instead of wasting thirty minutes to one hour in the trip, why not just watch tv and laugh together? It does make sense, isn’t it?.

Hold on, you are asking me that I shouldn’t let her go home alone in a taxi? Ok, let me tell you this. She has a taser in her purse… Yep! That’s right! A freaking taser! The reason? Her mom is quite… Paranoid. So, she assured her that she will make people that tries to pull a fast one on her with that.

I definitely don’t want to be in the receiving end, I tell ya! She is scary when she is angry.

And last, she said, to be a routine that last a lifetime.

This, is where things get so psychological. She said that we are dating in hope of marriage, to build a future together, and she can’t see us spending every weekend in malls after we married. She said we would be having problem juggling our finance if so.

In technical, it’s somehow linked to point one, and I thought it was the same before she said this:

‘But can you imagine us, sitting in sofa, watching tv while laughing together after coming off work and took our bath? See?’

Shit, I literally can imagine it in my head. Me and Jessica, laughing in the sofa, our arms crossed on each shoulder, and quite close. She’s quite right.

Then she said this:

‘Besides, I’m pretty sure that we wouldn’t crave each other as our hormones dies down. We wouldn’t be able keep the burning passion until we die like those fairy tales. But we can keep the warmth of the candle of our love in the smallest things, just like watching movies together. Because these small moments that matters.’

When I heard that, my heart aches. I wanted to say that I will love her forever, but then I realize, she might be right. People won’t have term of ‘honeymoon phase’ if it wasn’t the case. There gonna be a time when I wouldn’t able to love her as much later. Years, decades… Ugh… I don’t want to think about it.

Anyway, that’s enough. Back to the storytelling.

Ok, so I regained my footing, held my breath and exhaled it deeply as I recalling our roster selection.

Great, now we have a 9th grader syndrome Point Guard, a macho Shooting Guard, a celebrity Small Forward, and alien language afro Power Forward. Please, please one normal junior. God, I’m not asking for too much, just give me one normal junior I could talk to…