Find your faith

Chapter 39: The final match off

Ethan's POV

8 point compass

Crystal: all the best for your match!

Chloe: GO ETHAN GO

Anika: remember to knock off their socks and show them what you've got

YZ: you've got this, bro!

Ethan: thanks everyone. Don't worry, I'm going against some top school in the country but I've practiced enough not to freeze up against them
Raffles Institution
"Here we are, at Raffles Institution," Mdm Yeo* declared. We all lined up to get out of the bus and were ushered into the school hall by the teachers of Raffles Institution.
-
The walls of Raffles Institution were a glossy beach. The floor matches up to its shiny clean standards of a top school. One grand table sat at the centre of the hall, with a bunch of empty halls. All of the players had to settle down on the chairs, and then our coach settled us down, pulling out a chair of his own. Taking out his whiteboard, he used his magnets to reinforce the most important rules of table tennis and how we could score. The atmosphere was tense, his voice more audible than anything. We felt one another's determination at that moment, wanting to bring the gold medal home. The first match up was soon announced, and my teammate went up to play.

He was shining more than before for sure. Feet dancing, there was a shuffle to his moves, yet it was sharp and fast. There wasn't any "dance element" to it, as our coach loved to joke about it. His moves were expressive and sharp, but in a technical way. Sweat was glistening in his face, as he carried the most stoic, determined expression I ever saw. We were on a strong start, with the umpire adding more and more points for our school every match. I saw all my seniors and batch mates shining on the court in their own way. Soon enough, each of the table tennis boys all won the Raffles boys by a relatively large margin, yet ending the matches with humble smiles and warm handshakes.

"Ethan," Mdm Yeo asked me in Chinese. "You're going to be the last one on the court. Show them what've you got."

"I will, thanks," I replied, leaving the court with the wind hitting on me. It felt like those anime moments Chloe described so well, when the wind hits your hair and it just blows and you just have a spring in your steps. Nothing else was on my mind now, just the hopes of doing Kallang Christian proud by winning our final match. This is my time.
-
When the whistle was blown, I shuffled to the side and raised my hand, striking the ball. My opponent was swift enough to catch it, hitting the table and trying to pass it to me, but then it hit his side and the point was awarded to me. This isn't good! I need to find a way to score a point for myself.

Locking my eyes on the small ball, I was first to lunge onto it, my opponent soon recovering and striking the ball to me. I made a few strong steps, hitting it back with a small yet strong strike. Initially, I allowed myself to soak in the cheers from everywhere, but eventually, I had unknowingly blocked out the sounds of the cheers. All I was able to hear was the sound of the ping pong ball and the swift movements of my racket. The wind was faster than lightning, and I kept flying my hand across the same few positions...

"Kallang Christian Private Secondary School is the official NSG** B Division winners for 2024!" It took me half a minute to let that soak in when my teammates screamed, "Ethan, why are you standing like this? Come with us, let's go and celebrate this moment!" They pulled me into a group huddle, and my hair was ruffled a couple of times.

"Ethan, those were some splendid moves, especially towards the end," Mdm Yeo admitted. "Excellent job. You've improved a lot since I've inducted you in the CCA."

I nodded in gratitude, and our captain led us to wear our medals and get our trophy. The captain asked all of us to "eat our medals" for the group photo as a form of keepsake for this special moment. We then started sharing our victory all over WhatsApp, specifically to our closest non-table tennis friends and family. After telling my family the great news and how I brought in the final victory, I knew the next person to announce this to...
8 point compass chat
Ethan: guys I won 1st IN THE NATION for the table tennis boys NSG!

Crystal: omg! Cg! You went through so much just to get here so I'm suuuuuuuper proud of you. If only normal students were allowed to watch the match 🥲

Ethan: not my problem. We went to another school 😭

Chloe: ETHAN POOKIE IN SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!!! I remember you used to be so sad whenever you lost matches the past two years, so I'm sooooooo happy you're smiling super big now!!!!!!

Ethan: thx

Anika: congratulations on the win! We've never gotten an achievement this high before

Lucas: LET'S GO BRO ATE AND LEFT NO CRUMBS! HAHAHA!

Ethan:'once the school musical finishes let's see who's going to say that 😏

Nicole: oh~ look who's all fired up from his win. Amazing job my ethanol 😜

YZ: LESS GO ETHANOOLLLLLLLLLL

John: am I late? Looks like there's something big going on

Nicole: you're just in time! We're having a big chat party! Ethan won the table tennis NSG at the national level!

John: at the national level?! Congrats!

Ethan: thanks guys, should we start planning an after party?

Crystal: definitely ethanol. You deserve it.

Chloe: you don't just deserve this, you deserve THE ENTIRE WORLD!
*Mdm Yeo is in charge of table tennis
**student sports games in Singapore