✅ My Sister's Problem

36. No Contest

The rhythm of balls on the ground was almost soothing, now I was used to how it should sound. There were guys playing basketball on both of the adjacent courts as well, and I found that I knew from hearing the overlapping rhythms that one of the players dribbling was about Hugo's height, and the other was much shorter. A quick glance confirmed that; some guy I didn't know to my left, and Meghan to my right. She was determined to overcome the disadvantage of her size, even if that meant putting in more practice than any of her friends.

But right now I needed to focus on the closest ball. Hugo had reached the far end of the court and was returning. I turned to face him, quickly working out where he was and the best path to intercept. We were doing tackling practice today, and an important part of that was learning to be in the right place at the right time. Something that couldn't be mastered in the limited space of a garden or driveway.

I was getting better. Sometimes it seemed that was all I could ever say about my skills, but it was still a positive. As he looked towards the hoop, I could read something in the rhythmic thud of the ball on the ground, and I could try to guess which way he would go. I tensed up and darted to my right, closing the distance as he got closer. Timing was the key, in a non-contact sport. I had to get close enough to take the ball before he realised I was there. And this time luck was with me; I slipped past him and the ball was in my hand. A little unsteadily and I almost fell again, jinking left to keep up with it as it rebounded, but I felt like I'd mastered something.

Of course it was only once. And of course he was making it easy for me; _nobody_ could take the ball off Hugo when he played seriously. But I had still achieved something; I knew he would have given himself some handicap so that I had a chance, but he'd still be trying to make it fair.

After one triumph, he got past me and managed to score a few times. But then I stopped him again, blocking his path well enough that he would have needed to pass back to a teammate if there had been anyone else there.

"Should we invite Meghan to join us?" he asked, stopping for a quick breather. I glanced over and saw that the young girl was still pushing herself quite hard. "Always better with friends, right?"

I looked up and saw nothing but altruism in his eyes. He knew things, and he wanted to teach others. He wanted to help us both be the best we could. There was no way that this tuition was just a way to get close to me, especially not when he would so often invite his friends or his friend's sister to join in. It just didn't make sense.

"You really like sharing your skills, don't you? Some guys, I imagine taking a newbie under their wing would be an ego stroke and an excuse to show off. But for you, it's all about wanting to share." That was a big thing as well, I knew. He wasn't trying to impress me. I'd watched him enough times before to notice that he could pass the ball fast and accurately without even glancing in the right direction, leaving opponents no time to react. But he didn't do that when we were practising, because he wanted to give us a chance. When he was teaching me, he made it all about _my_ ability level so that I could see how much I was learning. When he acted like that, it was impossible to assume any kind of selfish motive.

"Yeah, I guess," he said. "You've got potential, and I want to see how far you can go. I mean, I've played with other people before, tried to be a teacher, but I think I don't really have the knack for it. People get bored, or think my standards are too high. You've stuck with my training style longer than most."

"So it's really just training? This isn't your way of... flirting?" It was hard to even think of the right word. But I needed to know now. I needed to be sure that he didn't see things playing out the same way they had with Nadine; or to know if he did, so I could think seriously about the outcome I wanted.