Game for a Match
choki
Thump… Thump… Thump…
Do you sometimes feel the reverberating sound of the basketball dribbling across the court floor sounded like a heartbeat in love? It always starts slow (as with any normal paced heartbeat), and as the match progresses, it picks up its tempo (akin to a heart fluttering in love), and then at that one last moment, a breath-holding silence takes over as the ball traverses towards its goal in midair (like how a heart would metaphorically stop during a confession) and finally, it ends off with a jubilant cheer erupting from the ecstatic crowd (or a heart in the same manner).
Thump… Thump… Thump…
My name is Jessica Jung and I’m a basketball player.
Thump… Thump… Thump…
Are you game for a match called love?
*****
Thump… Thump… Thump…
Her heartbeat was synchronised with the ball dribbling in her hand. A drop of sweat trickled down the side of her flushed face, several strands of dishevelled blonde hairs stuck on her wet forehead. It most certainly did not help that the barefooted girl wasn’t wearing any of her usual attire. Breathing hard, she glanced up at the timer just up above. There was only ten seconds remaining and her score was still down by one point. She gritted her teeth, annoyed by her opponent’s formidable defence, but who was she to complain? That person blocking her moves happens to be one of the best players among her peers and she had all reasons to prevent her from scoring. Neither wanted to lose the match but Jessica had a much stronger motivation; she had to win the match no matter what.
Thump… Thump… Thump…
Jessica dribbled and made a quick dash forward. As expected, the slightly taller defender reacted almost instantly, closing in on the proximity.
7 seconds remaining…
Her advancing elbow clashed with the defender’s torso as Jessica nudged her way deeper into the scoring zone. It was an offensive foul but in a one-to-one match, there was no referee to blow the whistle. There were no rules and regulations. It was a match solely between the two.
4 seconds remaining…
9 to 10, Jessica knew it was pointless to break into a draw; all she needed was another 2 points. Pushing her persistent opponent off, she made a clean break away and stepped back, the three-point line was in view.
1 second remaining…
Jessica held her breath in prayer as she made the backward jump barely outside the three-point arc and flicked the ball outward just in time before the buzzer went off. The ball sailed through the air in slow motion but instead of focusing solely on the ball which would possibly determine their fate, Jessica’s gaze fell upon the back of her opponent, reminding her of their first encounter.
*****
Flashback
Thump… thump… thump
Huge sweat droplets trickled down the side of her face as her brows furrowed in concentration, never losing her sight of the ball and the opponent’s every moves. The loud cheering surrounding the stadium was deafening but that was no reason to lose concentration, especially when her team players were dropping out of the match like flies; no thanks to the ‘friendly’ opponents. The blonde girl bit her lips as she watched on intently, despite the tons of screaming fan girls all around her. She only had her eyes on the ball. Jessica steadied herself for the defence as her opponent finally made her move. Keeping her arms in place, she manoeuvred around the power forward but that proved to be futile as a hard blow to her midriff almost knocked the wind out of her. That was an obvious technical foul but the referee was too blind to notice any of that. Taking advantage of the slackened defence, the opposing team scored yet another goal, stretching their score difference even more. The fuming blonde gritted her teeth, however the damage was done. Her injury plagued team never got the chance to overtake the lead.
