EX-istential Crisis

Chapter 25: The Temporary Ace

As Nelly was chilling with his friends, a loud announcement boomed from the school's PA system:

"Nelly Storme, one of the General Affairs Officers, please come to the student council office immediately."

Ryan snickered, "Oho! Looks like Mr. Important has been summoned."

Shin grinned. "Don't forget us little people when you're handling all that General Affairs business, Nelly."

Dan added with a teasing tone, "Yeah, don't trip on your way to the big leagues!"

Nelly rolled his eyes but chuckled. "Aight boys, I'm off. Don't do anything too crazy without me."

He waved them off and made his way to the student council office, walking in like he owned the place. "Yoh, Amadeus and others!"

A girl, who looked like she was in the middle of complaining, turned to him. "Who's this?"

Annika, looking unfazed as usual, replied, "Our General Affairs Officer."

The girl sighed and crossed her arms. "Good day. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier—I'm Cholette Barken, but everyone in the team calls me Coach Cholette."

Nelly misheard and replied with a smile, "Nice to meet you, Chocolate!"

Coach Cholette immediately frowned. "Hey! It's Coach Cholette, not Chocolate!"

Nelly, realizing his mistake, quickly waved it off. "My bad, my bad. So, what's the problem?"

Coach Cholette sighed deeply, clearly stressed. "Next week is our basketball team's elimination round, but our ace player just quit the team because Annika here rejected her confession."

Annika leaned back in her chair, completely unbothered. "Not my problem."

Nelly raised an eyebrow. "So, you're saying you're blaming the student council because your ace left?"

Coach Cholette crossed her arms in frustration. "I don't know who to hold accountable, but without the ace, we've lost five more players. We're down to only four, and we don't have enough time to find replacements."

Nelly thought for a moment, rubbing his chin. "So, what you need is either more players to qualify, or you forfeit, which could hurt the school's reputation?"

Coach Cholette nodded, looking defeated. "Exactly."

Nelly's mind was racing. "Hmm... basketball, huh? I kinda wanna give it a try. What if I temporarily join the team?"

Coach Cholette's eyes widened with hope. "Really?!"

Nelly shrugged. "I mean, either that or forfeit, right? If I can help out, I don't mind stepping in."

Before he could say anything more, Coach Cholette jumped to her feet, excited. "You're a lifesaver!"

She grabbed Nelly by the arm and dragged him to the basketball court without warning. Once there, the team looked up, clearly worried about their upcoming elimination round.

Nelly, now feeling the weight of the situation, introduced himself. "Hey, I'm Nelly Storme, General Affairs Officer. I'll be joining the team temporarily to help out until the game ends."

As Nelly entered the gym, the remaining members of the basketball team stood up to greet him. Each one had their own unique look and vibe, making them a diverse and intriguing group.

The first guy was tall and lean, with sharp glasses that caught the gym lights. His intense expression gave off the vibe of someone who missed nothing. He seemed calculated, like everything he did was precise and thought out.