Chapter 52: Bad and Good

I was out on the concrete patio, standing in loose gym shorts and a pair of Air Jordans. Six other guys, dressed in similar gym shorts and T-shirts, were running up and down the court, playing ball.Having not played much basketball in recent years, I wasn't feeling overly confident. Back in high school, my experience had been limited to physical education classes and the occasional game during summer break.

Still, I knew I was quick and had decent stamina, plus I wasn't too shabby at dribbling. It was just for fun anyway.

There weren't enough players to form full teams, so we switched to playing one-on-one and two-on-two games on one side of the court. The guys I was with weren't exactly basketball stars either; the real recruits for the team were practicing elsewhere.

After about 30 minutes of playing, the Asian girl with short black hair I'd seen around the court showed up. She was wearing baggy men's shorts and a loose T-shirt. At about 5'8", she looked delicate compared to the taller guys on the court. I was 6'2" and still felt short next to some of them.

The guys greeted her with friendly fist pumps.

"Hey, Hana!" one of them called out, giving her a high-five.

"What's up, Hana?" another one asked. Searᴄh the novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Hey, guys. Do you have full teams?" She asked as she took the ball from them and bounced it agaisnt the concrete.

"We could use another player." one of the guys said.

I ended up joining Hana's team, and we quickly got into the game.

Hana played really well, dribbling smoothly and her accuracy was great. But the boys were clearly not looking to go all out on her. They made sure to challenge her without making her feel overwhelmed.

I was running fast and had lots of stamina, so I was able to get to the other side faster than most of them and I also made some decent passes.

And I did some shittalking as well. Of course.

One standout moment was when Hana dribbled past a couple of defenders and made a great shot from the top of the key.

It was clean.

The game went on and the score was neck-and-neck as we got to the final point.

I made a break for the other end of the court, trying to cherry-pick for the last shot.

Running full speed I got a pass from one of the guys and found myself wide open.

No defenders around. I took the shot.

But for some reason, I hesitated on the follow-through. I didn't get the ball to spin properly, and the shot came off flat, hitting the net.

Before I could react, the opposing team grabbed the rebound and quickly pushed the ball back down the court.

They scored the last point with a slam dunk.

"FUCK YEAAA!" The bro who scored yelled.

We lost.

We gathered around the court, catching our breath.

Hana had a slight smile on her face despite losing.

"Nice game," I said, nodding towards her. "You played really well."

"Thanks!" Hana smiled and gave me a cute 'OK' gesture, joining her thumb and index finger in a circle. "You had some great fast breaks too."

I looked at her more closely, noticing something familiar. Gentle facial features, pale skin and almond-shaped, deep brown eyes. A hint of western heritage.

I was almost sure that the other Asian student looked very alike.

"You know, you remind me of another girl I met before. I think her name was Luna Park."

"Long purple hair and very annoying?" Hana gave me a knowing look.

I chuckled. "Maybe a bit..."

She giggled softly. "Yeah. You met my sister."

"Really?"

"Really. Anyway, come play with us more often. We usually lack enough people for full teams."

"Sure, why not," I said, picking up the ball from the ground. "But are we done already?" I looked around.

That's when one of the guys spoke up, saying he needed to go.

It made it impossible to make even teams.

"How about we play some more two-on-twos? We can swap out players every few baskets." I suggested.

We quickly split into smaller teams and continued playing.

About thirty minutes later, I fist bumped Hana and the others before heading back to the dorm.

...

Once I was in my room, I picked up my phone and dialed my dad's number.

He was supposed to have a day off today and there were a few things I needed to talk to him about.

"Hey, Dad, got a minute?" I asked as soon as he picked up.

"Sure thing," he replied, sounding somewhat distracted. "Your mom's got me out here trimming the bushes, but I have two hands."

"Did you go to the doctor?"

He hesitated for a moment. "Yes, I did…"

"So, what did they say about the coughing?"

He sighed heavily. "You were right. Turns out, I've got some chemical poisoning in my lungs."

"And are they going to do anything about it?"

"They're going to do a lung wash," he said. "It's supposed to help get rid of the chemicals."

"Alright, I told you, Dad. You shouldn't be so stubborn."

"Yeah, yeah… Thanks for caring about me," he said, his voice soft.

"How's Sydney and Mom doing?"

"Well," he said, "Sydney just took the SAT. She said she did really well on the math section. Britney must have done a great job teaching her. And mom... you don't need to worry about her. She's fine." he finished with a strangely concerned tone.

"Dad... what happened? Don't keep me in the dark."

"Well… Mom lost her job. But she's already looking for something new, so don't worry too much."

I was taken aback.

She lost her job?

How is that possible?

That never happened in my previous life.

Did I cause it?

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. "Dad, don't worry about it. I've made a lot of money recently."

"Yes? That's good that you're doing well."

"No, Dad," I said, trying to contain my enthusiasm. "When I say I've made a lot of money, I mean sums that could last you and Mom for the rest of your lives if invested wisely. I'm talking retirement-level money."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Jack... what did you do?"