Cassette Beatbox

Speaking of the devil, Carlos arrived at the scene. He's wearing a yellow tank top and green shorts, with a black reversed cap on his head. And behold, he carried a retro beatbox cassette player on his shoulder.

“Yo’ Keith! Brandon!” Carlos waved at us with his open hand.

“Hey, Carlos!” I waved at him. “Anyway dude, why are you carrying a beatbox player?”

"Oh, come on, brudda. No street basketball game is complete without some rap music.” He grinned at us.

“Who the hell is still carrying a cassette player these days? Carlos, you rock!” Brandon pointed his fingers at Carlos while winking.

“Ha-ha-ha.”

I laughed. Carlos never ceased to amuse me, he is such a chill and cool guy. I’m glad to have him as a friend.

Carlos went to the bench, putting his beatbox just below the seating. Pressing the eject button, he put the tape in and closed the lid. The cassette player started to play rap music as he pressed the play button.

“Keith, Brandon, you guys already practicin’?” Carlos asked while approaching us.

“Yes, Carlos. Your buddy here is such a fast learner.” Brandon smiled.

“That’s good!” Carlos lightly taps my shoulder with his fist. “Man, you’re gonna move up in rotation soon.”

“Oh, come on. That’s…”

My reply trailed off as there were three people who approached us. Three people around 6’3, 6’4, and 6’5 respectively. One of them started talking.

“Hey man, how long you goin’ to hog this field? Swap out, bro.”

“Heh!” Brandon chuckled. “If you wanna play on this court, then beat us.”

“Ohh… You are asking for it. Sure. Let’s go on three-on-three.” Another one of them replied.

“Okay,” Brandon replied firmly. “Juniors, let’s kick their asses so we can use this field longer.”

“Let’s go!” I replied to the captain.

“Sure, bring it on!” Said Carlos out loud.

We started to go to our own position as we gave them the first initiative to attack. Shortly, the match started.

With the match underway, I had an interesting thought.

Why don’t I use the new techniques that I've just practiced?

Deciding to try them out in this match, I dribbled the ball forward. Faking a jump shot, the defender jumped to block me. He didn't know that I would duck and drive the ball forward for a dunk.

As the match went on, I mixed up my approach, doing fake drives and throwing open threes. Most of my shots missed, but I quickly grabbed the rebound and slammed it down the rim.

Carlos and Brandon were no slouches either. With our abilities, they got overwhelmed quickly. It didn’t take long until we won the match. However, they acted like sore losers after losing out.

“Tch!” Said the biggest guy on their team. “Whatever, you can keep doing shitty drills there. Come on, we move to the other court.”

Those three people left the court, moving to the other one. Looking at the direction of the bench, there was another group of three walking toward us. But before they came, Sean and Tony arrived at the scene. Brandon waved at them as they got close.

“Hey, Sean, Tony, over here!”

As Sean approached, the group suddenly left. It seemed that they thought that they had no chance against Sean. After all, we are talking about a seven-foot giant here, it would make sense if they were scared to face us.

“Sorry guys! I had something to do earlier and ended up late.” Sean clapped his hands and closed his eyes.

“Sure, no problem!” Brandon smiled at the giant. “Meanwhile, Tony probably flirted with some girls on his way here, that’s why he is late.”

“What? Why are you guys always assuming I am playing with the girls?” Tony asked in return.

“Cuz you are literally a pickup artist, Tony.” Brandon chuckled.

We chuckled at Tony before the training resumed. Sean told me about a technique to avoid contact with a defender when doing a layup which is called Euro-Step. Tony also gives us pointers about shooting and positioning.

Time passed, and the sun started sinking to the horizon. It was time for us to go our separate ways.

We swiftly took our belongings and hoisted our backpacks on our shoulders. Carlos took his beatbox player and pulled the tape out, ending the music stream.

“Whew, guys. I need to go now,” Sean announced.

“Sure, we should disband for the day. See you guys at the club!” Brandon waved with his right hand. He carried the basketball in his left arm.

Shortly, our seniors left the scene, leaving me and Carlos behind. However, I never expected that the next thing Carlos would ask is about romance.

“Yo, Keith. What’s your progress with her?” Carlos grinned.

“What?!”

I was shocked, I didn’t know that Carlos could be this pushy about it.

“C-Carlos!”

“Sorry!” He chuckled. “I just can’t help it. I want things to go well between you two.”

I began to wonder why Carlos was so adamant about making us an item. Even though he is my childhood friend, that doesn't explain why he is so insistent about it. Curious, I decided to ask him about it.

“Carlos, I just wanna ask. Why are you going this far for me?”

Hearing my question, Carlos smiled widely.

“Keith, let’s say I just wanted to prove that basketball guys are cool. Who knows? Maybe I can finally get a girl too.”

“Oh, come on, Carlos! You are a cool and chill guy. There’s no way the girls won’t like you.”

“Nah, man. No girl is going to check out a guy who is technically a barbecued piece of meat and only plays basketball as a love interest, you know?”

He taps my left shoulder with his right hand.

“So, I just hope that if you actually hit it off, you two would matchmake me. Even if you don’t, then at the very least, it would increase my chance to hook one myself. That’s it, pal.”

“Carlos, you are probably mistaken about me, I didn’t look at her as a crush, but as a friend that I can talk to. But I suppose I could help you once I get close to her. She probably has some friends that I could introduce you…”

“Buddy, do you think you can fool me?” Carlos pointed his finger to his head. “You can fool others, you can fool yourself, but you can’t fool me. There’s no way a boy like you approached a girl just to make her your talking buddy. I place my bet that you two will hit it off, sooner or later.”

Hearing Carlos’s argument, I shook my head.

Hah! Why do people always have a quick assumption that every time a boy and a girl have a hearty conversation, it will always lead to romance? The misunderstanding keeps piling up!

I didn’t approach her because I saw her as a love interest, but because I found it fun talking with her. Whatever! I don’t have enough energy to argue. Let Carlos think that way for now.

I took a deep breath before replying to him.

“Carlos, since everyone has left, we should get going too. I shall see you on Monday at the club.”

“Sure, man! You should text her when you get home.” Carlos grinned at me, waving his hands at me before he left.

I waved him back as he left the scene, leaving me alone.

Well, since everyone has left, I guess we won’t play basketball anymore. I should change this sweaty tank top to my spare T-shirt.

Taking off my tank top, I rummaged through my backpack to find my change of clothes. Wearing my spare shirt, the dryness of the cloth saps my remaining sweat away, making me feel refreshed. A cool breeze of wind blows on my back, ruffling through my clothes.

Ah, I feel so much better!

As I enjoyed the wind stream, the dusk sky started to turn dark as the night approached. Curious about the time at the moment, I pulled my smartphone out of my pocket. The screen showed 6:06 PM, and it gave me the signal to go home.

With the sun vanishing into the horizon, I started making my way back home. The lamps are popping left and right, brightly illuminating the scenery. In the midst of bustling streets, I walked on the sidewalks, looking at the beauty of the city’s night view.

Slowly navigating through the city, I engraved the magnificent sight before me into my memory.

It was such a breathtaking view, that’s for sure.