Rivals : Nothing But Net

Chapter 3

               A week passed, and Coach Kosmack still hadn't let the team know about Alex's status on the basketball team. Strangely, their coach hadn't even called for a practice in 3 days, and the one practice that they did have, he wasn't there, leaving the boys with a lackluster coach who didn't even know the proper way to shoot. As Monday rolled around again, everyone was nervous about what had happened to the coach. He hadn't informed them about his sudden absence, and it wasn't like him not to leave any notes on what they should be practicing while he was gone. When Aadit reached the school, he didn't even bother putting his jacket and bag away, and went straight to the notice board near the gym. Finally, their coach had given an indicator that he was still alive. A piece of paper with the words "Basketball practice/meeting after school today"  neatly printed on it was stapled to the board. The meeting part of the note caught Aadit's eye. Coach never explicitly mentioned that there was a meeting unless something extremely important was taking place. They had only had a meeting 2 other times, for provincials, and because Kenji had broken his ankle in a game, which had been cause for a substitute.

The day went on without any surprises, but Aadit couldn't stop thinking about the message on the board. Maybe their coach would actually tell them about whether Alex was on the team or not, and he would get closure. Aadit felt bad that Alexander didn't get to know yet, because he hadn't shown up to Wednesday's practice out of fear that Coach would get upset that he came without being on the team. Finally, the school day was over, and Aadit practically sprinted to the gym doors, seeing that his teammates were also crowded around the door, talking amongst each other. "Maybe the bastard finally got hitched and is leaving the school for good!" shouted out Alejandro, evoking raucous laughter.

"Maybe he's slowly and painfully dying from Stage 4 brain cancer, and wants to say one last goodbye to the people he cares about" piped in Kenji, quieting down the laughter instantly and instantly changing the mood. Marcus whacked the dark-haired boy on the shoulder, shooting him a disapproving look.

"You read way too many trauma fics on Wattpad," chided Dev, lightening the mood again. Before they had any more time to discuss the outcomes of their meeting, Coach Kosmack walked through the crowd of boys, silencing them.

"I hope you didn't miss me too much!" he announced, relieving everyone. Nothing serious enough had happened to change his sense of humor. He unlocked the gym doors, letting everyone in. To the boys' surprise, another man was seated on the bleachers, scrolling through his phone. He was clean-cut and casually dressed in jeans and a form-fitting black t-shirt with the NBA logo on it.

Aadit felt like he knew this person, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. Seeing the students walking into the gym, the man sat up, and came down to the court to stand next to Coach Kosmack.

"Everyone, this is Mr. Lederman, or as you may know him, Coach L!" Everybody's eyes widened as it dawned upon them just who was in their gym.

"Yo, it's that guy from the minor league!" exclaimed Marcus, eliciting cheers from the rest of the boys.

Coach L was one of the most prominent coaches in the NBA G League, and used to be assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls! In short, he was a big deal in the sports world, and one of Aadit's idols. Rumor had it that he was offered to go back  to the famous basketball team as the coach, but wanted to settle down before making any big decisions. While Aadit was still extremely excited about his presence, he wondered why such a big name in the basketball industry would choose a school like this.

"Now boys, I'm sorry I had to steal your coach for an entire week, but we were planning something very special, and I'm sure you won't mind once I tell you what it is!" spoke Coach L, in his trademark southern drawl. "In the past 3 months, I have lost 2 of my best players in the minor league I coach, Windy City Bulls. One of them had to stop playing because of a fractured kneecap, and the other one was kicked off for getting into a physical altercation with a member from an opposing team." The boys all knew this, but didn't understand the information's significance at the moment. "Long story short, I need 2 more players, since all my subs play like crap compared to the two that left, and with our big game coming up in just 5 months, we need to give it all we got!"

"Wait, so, you want us to play for you?" asked Kenji, bewildered.

"Well, yes. It will only be for one game, until we find some new people, and it'll only be two of you." explained Coach L. "Here's how it will work. For 4 ½ months, I'll be watching you guys at every practice, looking for the best players. I'll run drills and test your stamina. I'll bring all of you to the place where my guys practice, to see how you work together in a real game. At the end of those 4 ½ months, I will invite those two players to play our big game. This will definitely help you with college and your future basketball career, if you want to pursue one. However, if you slip up majorly at the game, it will ruin your reputation, and chances of making it big." Everyone was silent for a few seconds, taking the information in. Then they burst into rapid-fire questions.

"Will you be watching us at school as well?"

"Will there be scouts in the audience of the big game?"

"Can I have your autograph?"

"What kind of drills will you put us through?"

"If we make it to the big game, will we have to pay for travel?

"I really want your autograph!"

"Why did you come here? We're just some measly public high school!"

"If I don't get your autograph today, I will literally die!"

Coach L held up his hand to silence the boys, then whipped out a polaroid camera from his back pocket. "Who here wanted an autograph?" Alejandro's hand shot up, and he raced up to Coach L, who swiftly snapped a photo of the two with his camera. Taking a black sharpie out of his other pocket, he scribbled his name on the bottom, and handed the photo to the giddy boy. "Ok, now that that's out of the way, I'll be able to answer your questions. No, I won't be watching you at school, but I will talk to your teachers about your academic performance. Yes, there will be at least 12 scouts at the game. I don't know what kind of drills I'll have you do, but they will be rigorous! No, you won't have to pay for travel," he finished.

"Wait, how about the last question?" piped up Marcus, looking confused.

"What question?" asked Coach L, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"You know, the one about you coming-" Marcus stopped talking when he noticed Coach Kosmack's warning glare. "Nevermind".

"I actually have a question for our coach," said Aadit. "Is Alexander on the team or not? He really needs to know, and since you never actually told him the morning after your appearance last week, it's been a question on everyone's mind." Everybody turned to stare at Alexander, who was blushing out of embarrassment.

"I didn't tell you already? Oh, well, he is! Welcome to the team, boy!" exclaimed Coach Kosmack. Aadit smiled at Alexander, who gratefully grinned back. "Onto more important matters, we have to start practice! Give me 10 laps around the gym!"

When practice was over, Aadit noticed that Coach Lederman was talking to Alexander intently, in hushed tones. He could barely make out the words, "father", "scholarship", and "referral". He raised an eyebrow in confusion, but didn't overthink the conversation. It was probably just about Alex being new to the school.

As he started to walk in the direction of his home, he felt someone come up behind him. He turned around to see that it was none other than Isaiah.

"What do you want?" questioned Aadit, looking a little annoyed.

"I know we aren't the best of friends or anything, but I wanted to warn you" he said, sounding a little out of breath.
"Warn me about what?" asked Aadit, getting more aggravated by the minute. Whatever could Isaiah have to warn him about?

"About Alexander. He's not who he says he is, so stay away from him!" Aadit looked at the other boy in disbelief. How dare he! Alexander was perfectly sweet, cute, and did not have anything to hide!

"Whatever! You're just jealous of him because he's better at basketball than you could ever be! In fact, he'll probably be the first person that scouts will notice, not you!" snapped Aadit, rolling his eyes. Instead of saying something back, Isaiah took a long look at Aadit, then walked away, but not before saying,

"Ok, then. Just don't be surprised when his real character presents itself." said Isaiah. Ugh, as if, raged Aadit on the inside as he walked home. However, in the back of his mind, he wondered if there was some truth behind Isaiah's words. I guess we'll just have to wait and see..